Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="nopantsyet" data-source="post: 402601" data-attributes="member: 3109">Prologue III: The VekOur first-father Kereg led  the Vek from the blights and cleared the lands before them of unworthy inhabitants.  Having led the Vek in strength and honor, he lived out his days at their head until he died in glory as he slew the giant lord Raphaim.  Before this time, there had been many sore disputations among the sons of Kereg as to which of them would stand in the place of their father at his passing.  At the fires of his death bed, Abed, the third son of Kereg, called together the five sons of Kereg and made quorum.  There he persuaded his brethren to enter into a pact, each to stand at the head of a fifth part of the Vek and make no war amongst themselves.  They forswore to eachother and in memorial of the event, called the tribes ?garugh,? after the word for ?quorum,? which word is now unspoken save in reference to the five tribes of the Vek.  They called the garugh each after his own name.  And their names were Kereg, Zakh, Abed, Natta and Teg.  Natta, also called "the lame," being the more cunning of the sons of Kereg on account of his infirmity, and having ambition to surpass all his brothers, was the first to break the pact, seeking to destroy Teg, perceiving him to be weaker, and thinking his people most easily conquered.  But Teg did prevail upon Kereg the younger to give aid to his people in defense of their lives and lands.  This Kereg did, but for the price of a fourth part of the lands of Teg.  In this first war of the Vek, Natta was wounded and taken captive by a warrior of Kereg, and Kereg and Teg determined to put him to death for his offenses.  But Abed, hearing of these disputations, interceded, and prevailed upon his brothers to spare Teg, and not take his life, but to cause  him and his people to take an oath that they would come forth in battle no more, which oath they did take.But a few years were passed in peace before Kereg the younger did gather his people to come against Zakh, for ever was Kereg jealous of his younger brother's great strength.  And so the people of Kereg did rise up against Zahk, but were driven back by the greater strength of our father Zahk and his f warriors.  A second time did Kereg bring battle to Zakh but again was he driven back into his own lands.  But the third time, he made an alliance with Natta, for Abed and Teg refused to rise up against their brother Zakh.  Together Kereg and Natta came against Zakh with such force as was not seen since Kereg the elder led the Vek from the blights and swept the Fari and Askaani before him.But poorly did Kereg and Natta estimate the strength of their brother and his skill in battle.  For the warriors of Zakh perpared themselves  for battle in a manner never before seen among the Vek.  They took up clubs and their spears in both hands and met their foes with such fury that the greater part of their numbers were destroyed in a single day.  And Zakh did take the life of Kereg, whom he slew  in vengeance for the lives of his own people who had been slain by the hands of Kereg .  And thus died the first son of Kereg.And Natta did place himself at the head of the people of Kereg and did possess all the lands of Kereg, including the fourth part of the lands of Teg that Kereg had obtained.  But Milakh, the son of Kereg, despised his uncle.  For he did perceive that it was the ambition and cunning of Natta that was the cause of the death of his father at the hands of Zakh, and he believed it was his rightful place to lead the remnant of Kereg.  So Milakh undertook to kill Natta and did put forth challenge against him which Natta met.  But Natta, being slowed with his infirmity, could not stand against Milakh.  And so fell another son of Kereg.  And Milakh took the head of the people of Natta, who he renamed Kereg after his father.  But the people of Kereg were divided, those who were for Milakh and the remnant of Kereg, and those who were for Zez, the eldest son of Natta.  And so there was war between the remnant of Kereg and the remnant of Natta.  But Abed and Teg, having seen too much bloodshed among the people of their father, negotiated peace between Milakh and Zez.  And their lands were split and they became once again Garugh Kereg and Garugh Natta.During the time in which the four garugh were occupied with the matter of Milakh and Zez, the Nephelym first came down from Hah'reb and Iremsha against Zakh.  The Nephelym having resolved the disputations amongst themselves and being united under Zamzummim, saw the great strength and skill of Zakh, who now occupied the lands abutting their own.  And the Nephelym were angry that any should appear in the land with strength as great as their own.  In their anger, the Nephelym came down from the mountains against Zakh.  But the Zakh, being hardened from years of battle with Kereg and Natta, were strong in the face of the giants and drove them back into the mountains which we call ?Dire.?  And so began the first of many wars of our people with the Nephelym.  Never has any creature so despised man as the Nephelym do the Zakh.  But never has man resisted such hatred with such strength as the Zakh.S'Gath, Elder Sage of Garugh Zakh, speaking on the Vek</blockquote>

Verification