1 Chapter Zero

In the world of Gaianova, there's told a legend across a single, united, tongue. The tale of how they had become unified. If stories rang true, there was a mutual threat known as the Furulians.

It was said that the Furulian people were a warrior race named for the care of their sacred Furulan trees. The trees were found only in the Furulian Tree Orchard, which was surrounded by giant ornate walls, and armed guards. Many tell of the trees being imbued with magical power as they were often depicted with trunks of gold bark, and the branches also glittered with beautiful golden leaves. If that weren't enough, the fruit resembled rubies the size of an apple. It was a garden of treasures.

Soon after reports of the Furulan trees started to surface, other rumors began to come to light. People spoke of strange rituals being held in the orchards, their dead used as compost, cannibalism, and even disappearances of those who set out to gaze upon the trees. Before long, every other nation on Gaianova was working together to build a global defense against this secretive society. The Furulians were, though oblivious, enemies of the united world.

When the Furulian War started, Dwarves, Elves, Trolls, Orcs, and even human slaves made up ninety percent of the worlds population, all opposed to the Furulian way. Though they were out numbered, they were not over powered. Furulians harnessed the power of light, wielding impressive abilities and strength that toppled armies and balanced the scales of the war. After a while it was believed that their strength came from the foliage they, so diligently, protected.

With the cover of night, four armies descended upon the Furulians in what can only be described as a massacre. Man, woman, and child were all locked within the orchard walls to serve as kindling, and flames licked their people, same as it did their sacred trees. Only five escaped this fate, four being the generals of their armies, sent to one of four kingdoms for execution. The last being the traitor, he who opened the gates, left, now, to drown in the knowledge that he was responsible for the genocide of his entire people.

The four remaining kingdoms continued their alliance for as long as they could, but now dialect and minor trade is all that is shared. Fear and prejudice was once strong enough to unite them against a common enemy, but now it forces them into isolation. Greed and racial tensions are high, when sightings of the mythic Furulan Trees start to sprout.

Will the peoples once again unite on the hunt for Furulians? Will this just become a power race? Either way, you can bet this is the bedrock of the Second Furulian War.