[Spritz]

Over the age that that Pantokrator ruled, the skies were still. Those who glanced upward would see them unified by patterns in the pale clouds.

On the day that the Pantokrator disappeared, a glowing spear burst skyward from his abode. Those who glanced upward saw an inverted vortex from which swirling dark clouds formed.

Those who kept life in their eyes during the following days may have noticed a new place in the violent sky that seemed a faint focal point for its furious motion.

And they may have noticed, one morning, a single strike of lightning from this point, brighter than any seen before, strike the highest of Caelum’s mountains.


A spire of ice had stood on the summit of the Eagle Kings’ mountain since the last age of chaos drew to a close. Its ice had not thawed, had not grown by condensation, had not been chipped or scratched, and had not flowed for thousands of years. Not even the High Caelians came to this highest place.

The lightning bolt, streaking through the spire, turned its core to water and steam. It exploded. Shrapnel of ice pierced air, snow and rock alike. Dislodged stones and boulders tumbled from the summit. Specks of boiling water turned snow to vapour, scorched wild ice flowers, hissed and sizzled on stone. Steam rose over the destruction as, deep within the mountain, what once was still began to move. The fury of lightning was unstoppable.


“The fury of Caelum shall be unstoppable,” were the first words The Glacial Yaz spoke, on the evening after the lightning strike. The voice was soft and calm, but thousands heard it and every one of them turned towards the Eagle Kings’ summit.

“Listen, Yazatas. Listen, their children, High and Spire Horn Caelians, bright and dark winged Raptors. The Pantokrator is gone. With its passing I, Yaz, have heeded my summons and my wait is over. Your long wait is over. All of you, your fathers and their fathers and their fathers have been waiting for this day, even if some of you have forgotten. It is time for you to strike this freshly deserted world. It is time for you to reclaim your birthright and more.

“There is much to be done. I shall tell you what will befall…”
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I hope you all enjoy the start of Caelum's story.

Anyway, let the games begin.