3.1 - The Vaians: Faithful Odyssey

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To the far and chilly lands to the north lived the human Vaian tribe, which had survived a terrifying encounter with a Tormented Spirit of flame, fire, and quicksand. They had been amazed and grateful at the arrival of the great turtle, Winter, and joined the fight to aid the majestic beast in his battle with the spirit. After the Tormented Spirit’s defeat, the Vaian people quickly learned many valuable things from Winter, including how to live in a state of true positivity and light, allowing them the ability to clear their thoughts of any fear or evil that might haunt or plague their minds as they went through the important years in the aftermath of the epic battle. This positivity had not only allowed them to fight alongside the beast and purify the land, but also greatly enriched the lives of the Vaian. The arrival of Winter, and his subsequent appearances in other times of need, had given them a gift of great faith, with the realization and belief that spirits did indeed hear their prayers and sense their struggles, and that greater forces might answer their prayers and aid the tribe in times of turmoil. The faith gained by the Vaian quickly defined the tribe in innumerable ways, with its leaders tirelessly promoting the importance of conquering negative thoughts for greater inner and outer peace, while they also reminded their people the lessons they had learned from Winter—especially that the higher forces of Mother Nature would support and nurture them as long as they held to this belief in positivity, goodness, and pure energy.

After many years had passed, and many lives of humans, the Oracle, a Vaian elder of their people, had a powerful vision that shook him to his core. While he was at prayer one day, communing with the powers of Mother Nature around them, he saw and heard, like a clarion call, a clear communication from the greater powers. The message showed him an exquisite place – a beautiful bay– that was a jewel in the land of Ambal – a vast and peaceful place that was deeply connected with the nature spirits around. The Oracle knew at once that this vision was a message that the Vaian people should now seek this place and travel south to where the forest and bay met, to a now-peaceful area with plenty of the resources they would need to grow and prosper further.

The Oracle relayed this message to his people, who were equally persuaded that it was time for them to seek their new land. With that, he led the tribe in a great pilgrimage southward, and along this difficult and dangerous journey, the Oracle guided his people bravely and well, and on the way, he carved magical runes upon the rocks and cliffs as they passed, asking for protection and guidance, as well as offering protection for travelers who found themselves using that road in the future.

At last, the Vaian people arrived at the bay, and were glad of heart at all they observed—the beauty of the bay and landscape, the gentle shore, the lush nearby forest, still young and blossoming upon the land. As they arrived by the newly formed forest, they beheld a beautiful lady who stood tall, queenly and regal upon the shore. As they approached, they realized that the lady was singing to them in welcome, in a voice that was purer than anything they had imagined, and filled with a sense of calmness and joy. The Vaians grew closer and found themselves abashed and amazed, as they realized that the woman was of a truly towering height—an overwhelming presence clothed in an astonishing garment made of thousands of delicate and curling petals of the deepest, richest azure color imaginable. These petals covered her in a lush and delicate robe that seemed both separate and a part of the landscape itself, stretching into a lovely garden of exquisite flowers that filled the forest with their blooms and perfume. The lady’s melody grew stronger as they approached, blending seamlessly with the roar of the ocean and the song of the wind around them. Spellstruck, the tribe was silent as it reached her, fearful of breaking the beauty and harmony of the moment. The woman continued to sing, and the people found their fears quieted and their spirits restored, so that they stayed before her, motionless and reverent, for many hours without even realizing it, lost in the rapture, energy and joy of the chant.

As they stood before the lady, their energy was restored and they found the weariness of their great journey had fallen away from them. Then her singing faded slowly, the song ending, and with a soft and gentle gaze, the lady looked upon them, and only in that moment did they realize that she was not human, but instead another one of the great and mysterious beings who radiated the power of Mother Nature. Trembling with awe, the Oracle of the Vaian people asked the lady who she was, and in return, she replied that she was one of the guardians of that land, and that she was in fact the daughter of Mother Nature, the Azure Dragon, Spring.

The Vaian people marveled to see that there was yet another magnificent creature as strange and powerful as the Great Black Turtle Winter they had known in the North, and they greeted her with warm and grateful hearts. Just as Winter had done, Spring quickly became a beloved and benevolent presence to the Vaians in their new life, teaching them how to craft and use tools for building, harvesting, and expansion, along with powerful chants to energize and inspire their people. As the Vaians settled into their new land, Spring told them that they could use the wood from the trees in the nearby thick young forest, but that they must do so with care and harmony, not taking more than they needed while treating the trees and harvests they collected with respect.

Spring stayed with the Vaians for many years while teaching their leaders even more powerful and beautiful chants as well as helping them create and build their first settlement. However, once the great village of the Vaians was established and their lives were filled with purpose, harmony and order, in a single powerful gust of wind, the lady bid them farewell, and then suddenly there before them was the Azure Dragon Spring, now seen for the first time in her true form. In a great leap of her petaled form, she took to the air and flew away, too fast and far for the human eye to follow. Greatly moved by the gifts that Spring had given them, the Vaians never forgot her lessons and remained true to the beliefs that she had nurtured within them. That first village grew and prospered to become the beautiful city of Nisu while the Vaians continued to devote their time and energy to maintain balance in thought and deed, to promote the purification of all energy, and to stay on good and peaceful terms with the spirits of nature all around them.

3.2 - The Samai: Mind over Matter

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In the darkness of the great and distant past, before the arrival of the Seasons to Ambal, the human tribe known as the Samai had begun their formation to the East. Their lives in those early days were difficult and dangerous, and these obstacles shaped the early humans into a formidable, brave,  organized, and tactical force. The Samai spent difficult decades fighting the Shadows and other terrifying creatures in that misty, swampy, and often unwelcoming Eastern region, yet their discipline never waned, even when that difficult landscape seemed filled with a constant proliferation of evil creatures that were too many to count. Nonetheless, the Samai persevered, and in time their struggles were rewarded with the arrival of the great and legendary Azure Dragon Spring, who had helped their clouds to dissipate and the land to become more gentle and welcoming.

After the weather cleared, the Samai tribe came face to face with the great dragon, realizing the astounding nature of the power that had helped to save them, although they did not at first recognize that she was Spring itself. Spring, meanwhile, was greatly impressed by their courage and discipline in their efforts to help the East, and she helped the Samai people increase their battle prowess and combat tactics. After several years, the tribe realized that their benefactor was Spring itself, one of the legendary four Seasons helping to guide the lives and growth of those across Ambal. Even as the people realized this, Spring, who had been watching the Samai, saw within a young boy of the people a strong and special aptitude for magic. Spring taught the young boy to develop and use his magic, especially in the powers of Air Magic, so that he would be a blessing and protector to his people.

However, life for the Samai was still not an easy one. During the following decades, the very presence of Ignoblum, an evil Primeval Spirit, created a constant number of Tormented Spirits across the eastern lands. These Tormented Spirits were a threat and a terror to every living thing in their paths, so the Samai worked tirelessly to purify them as soon as they were spotted.

During one battle against an especially powerful Tormented Spirit, the strongest warrior of the tribe, Teresa Rineo, lost her sword. Reacting quickly, Spring conjured the appearance of a beautiful and magical blade that would soon become a sword of legend, to be passed from generation to generation within the Rineo family to follow. Armed with this formidable new sword, the warrior was now able to defend herself. Further, Spring’s benediction upon Teresa was a clear sign to the Samai that she had been blessed by Mother Nature, and afterward they chose her to be their queen and ruler for as long as she lived. Their choice was a wise one, as Teresa’s impeccable concentration gave her a preternatural focus upon whatever she did—a focus that made her an unbeatable swordswoman. It was an ability meant that she was able to see things as they were, in a clear and tactical way, without distraction, so that her mind was calm even in the most perilous or stressful of situations.

Not long after, in another battle against Ignoblum itself, as things looked darkest and the tribe had lost most of its elite fighters to insanity, sickness, or death, Teresa would once again prove her grace, courage, and impeccable mastery of the sword to rally her people to victory once more.

The Samai founded the city of Ocayba, located just beside the Dragon Gorge—the famed location that marked the arrival of Spring in rescue upon that fateful day. The Samai chose this spot for symbolic as well as practical reasons, as the location had been chosen by Spring itself to protect Ambal from the shadows over the East, while it also served as a strategic gate against future danger, providing a crucial watchpoint that would enable them to be vigilant if there was any additional activity from Ignoblum or other threats from the Eternal Dunes, the mysterious wastelands to the far East that were still largely unknown.

Queen Teresa’s talent for concentration was not just innate to her, but something she was able to teach to others. She therefore taught it to all she could throughout the city, though no one ever achieved Teresa’s marvelous skill and focus. Under her guidance and care, the city of Ocayba became famous for the discipline and skilled fighting abilities of its people, all dedicated to protecting the land of Ambal.

Once Teresa ascended to queenship over the Samai, the strongest and wisest members of the tribe created a noble guard for the new queen that was responsible for keeping order within the newly formed city, and this guard eventually became the Ocayba Council.