He found himself in a colossal hall with a high vaulted ceiling, the walls of which were covered with amazing carvings, depicting magnificent processions of tiny figures - an endless sweeping panorama filled with millions of fighting people. Someone's titanic efforts turned cold stones into magnificent tapestries, which reflected the history of all mankind from a bird's eye view, from the forgotten days to the Cataclysm, when Atlantis and Lemuria, Valusia and Grondar fought for world domination; and even earlier, when the hunched, shaggy ancestors of humans clumsily made their way through the jungle.
And above the fighting ranks of ancient kings and heroes, other figures loomed vaguely - ugly, awkward and terrible. It seemed to Conan that in the depths of his soul he had an idea of these creatures - the ancient Nameless Beasts, who dominated the universe filled with stars for many eons before the birth of Golamira, the First of Men.
L. Sprague de Camp, L. Carter
"Conan the Islander"
I. Time of Legends
Beginning with the narration of the history of the Hyborian era and the millennia that were before the arrival of the Khaiborians on the arena of History, one cannot fail to mention the times that preceded the appearance of man on Earth, the so-called Time of Legends. Man appeared in the world relatively recently, his history is rather short in comparison with the history of those who came before him. Of course, one should not unconditionally take on faith information about those times, for this information is vague and contradictory, and is drawn exclusively from ancient myths and legends, and therefore it is extremely difficult to separate truth from fiction. However, legends do not appear from scratch. Although there is practically no material evidence of those times, except perhaps for the ruins of amazing cyclopean structures, it can still be assumed that the legends about prehuman civilizations have a real basis.especially when you consider that most of the legends, despite all the contradictions, are somewhat similar to each other.
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Ancient Night, or the Age of Cthulha
"In those days, at the Dawn of Time, the world was ruled by the Black Idol, the key keeper from the gates between the worlds - the bloody god Yog-Saggot, the servant of the great Cthulha …"
There is no reliable information about the mysterious creatures called Cthulhi, only vague, distorted by the time of legend. It was a strange race, alien to even the most ancient, dark creatures of the Earth, since, according to myths, the Cthulhi came to our world from the beyond beyond the stars. They did not have a real physical shell, did not obey the known laws of nature and possessed vast knowledge and enormous power. The memory of these incomprehensible creatures did not die even after their departure to other spaces. The greatest of Cthulha were worshiped as gods of Chaos. This is what the ancient manuscripts are hinting at when talking about the Demons of the Ancient Night. The echoes of this terrible cult passed through all epochs, surviving even monstrous cataclysms that more than once changed the face of the planet.
The Great Old Ones, as Cthulhi is also called, remained the masters of the world for an innumerable number of centuries, however, despite all the power, the incomprehensible civilization of Cthulhi ceased to exist. Myths casually mention the anger of the Elder Gods, but what exactly is meant by these words?
One way or another, but after centuries another civilization came to their place - a dark, inhuman, but still created by the race of creatures born of our world.
Age of Naag, or Age of Dragons
“And there was a race loved by the Darkness - people-snakes. They became the most powerful creatures among the host of monsters, for they were far superior to the rest in intelligence. Endowed with the ability to secret sciences, they erected an empire that occupied almost the entire world. That empire became a nest of the forces of darkness and monstrous necromancy …"
The Naagi were the ancient rulers of the Earth, numerous legends call them the Serpent People or Serpent People. In the times that are separated from us by the innumerable darkness of centuries, in a time when the world entirely belonged to reptiles, this mysterious race was born. It is believed that the mind of their ancestors was granted by a great deity named Yig, who is also called the Great Serpent, Set and many other names.
The Serpent People are credited with creating the greatest empire based on alchemy and witchcraft traditions. It is argued that the serpent people then ruled the whole world, while the center of their empire was Valusia, a fertile land in the very heart of the first continent of Pangea.
The civilization of Old Valusia has existed for many millennia, but the time has come when the rule of the serpent-people has ended. For some reason, the serpent people were forced to go underground, fleeing from an unknown threat. These were the days when the earth shook with the tread of the Ancient Dragons, giant lizards born of the young Earth. Is it possible that these giants were the very threat to the existence of civilization, because their dull power could not be compared with the mighty intellect of the serpent people? One way or another, but it is these long-extinct lizards that are considered the cause of the death of the first empire of the Serpent People. Here is what a legend says about this, telling about the times when young mankind fought with the old masters of the Earth: “In the fight against snakes, people chose the image of a flying dragon, a winged lizard, a monster of ancient times as their sign and banner,which was the greatest enemy of snakes …"
After the death of Old Valusia, the Naagi hid, waiting for the surface of the earth to cease to be hostile. Numerous legends testify that more than once they still tried to win back their right to rule in our world, but the era of their undivided dominion on Earth is gone.
The era of Gondwana, or the Golden Age
"Those were the days of the sorcerer kings, the times when Atlantis did not exist yet, but the Valka empire was …"
After the fall of Ancient Valusia, the great empire of the serpentine people, many millennia passed before civilization re-emerged on Earth. Epochs changed, terrible cataclysms changed the landforms more than once. The monstrous lizards, who had been the rulers of the world for a long time, were gradually giving way to new masters: the Age of Dragons was replaced by the Age of Mammals.
The main source of information about the pre-Thurian times is the Book of Skelos, where, in addition to describing magical rituals and obscure prophecies, the legends of the Elder Days are collected and systematized, in many respects overlapping with the mythology of various peoples of the Hyborian era. Often these times are also called the Golden Age, the time when the gods walked the earth. Ancient texts hint that the people of that era were not born from the earth, but from the stars. This was the great era of the People of Gondwana - the Valk, whom myths call gods with human faces and the Giant Kings, their enemies.
In those days, there were two supercontinent formed after the split of ancient Pangea - the southern one, called the Land of Mu or, sometimes, Gondwana, and the northern one, which is called Ancient Hyperborea in legends. It should be noted that the mainland of Mu was then much more extensive than its fragment, known in the Turian and Hyborian eras. The Hyperborean continent was, apparently, the predecessor of the Turian continent. In the future, we will call it the Northern Continent, since its true name is unknown, and the name was given to it by the country that existed in the Far North in the Hyborian era.
The cycle of legends, dedicated to the most ancient times of that era, tells about the civilization of the Northern continent, created by the so-called Hyperborean Man. It is argued that these people, having overturned the newly growing power of the ancient serpentine people, created a great culture, built cities, developed science and art. However, the period of the existence of this culture is attributed to times so distant that its existence seems doubtful, for the early prehuman civilization that arose on the mainland of Mu was separated from it by hundreds of millennia, and it is the people of Mu who are considered the first true ancestors of modern man. More reliable information seems to be that the Hyperborean Man had a very distant relationship to the human race, representatives of this race are described as large ape-like creatures with only the rudiments of intelligence. Of coursethe existence of a developed civilization among these creatures was hardly possible. Confirmation of the second version is the legends about giant monkeys, which from time immemorial lived in the far North of the Turia continent. We can recall references to the fur-covered creatures that inhabited the Thule Ice Caves and hints that, in addition to human blood, the blood of red polar monkeys also flowed in the veins of the Nordheim people of the Hybori Era. Whatever it was, but the culture of the Northern continent was destroyed by the Cold Ithaqua - the Great Glaciation.that in the veins of the Nordheim people of the Hybori Era, in addition to human blood, also flowed the blood of red polar monkeys. Whatever it was, but the culture of the Northern continent was destroyed by the Cold Ithaqua - the Great Glaciation.that in the veins of the Nordheim people of the Hybori Era, in addition to human blood, also flowed the blood of red polar monkeys. Whatever it was, but the culture of the Northern continent was destroyed by the Cold Ithaqua - the Great Glaciation.
Early human civilization is believed to have originated on the continent of Mu, washed by the southern seas. Although legends often speak of the creators of that culture as humans, they most likely belonged to an older, pre-human race. They are sometimes also called the Elder People, or the race of the gods. Modern mankind and other younger races related to humans appeared much later, and are either their direct descendants, or, as the legends say, their creations. The legendary civilization of the Elder Folk has existed for thousands of years. During this time, they settled in almost all the lands known then, their science and crafts rose to unprecedented heights. Initially, apparently, a single people, over the past millennia they have divided into several branches. In the "Poem of Lemurian Rotas" there are references to many peoples of antiquity: Batases and Geldors, Valki and Vramma,kami, jaggtanogs and others. While many of them did not leave behind anything but a name, Valki, under various names, firmly entered the mythology of the peoples who replaced them. The greatest empire of the Valkov knew for long centuries of peace and prosperity, until a split occurred among the Elder People, when one part of them was tempted by the dark, forbidden knowledge of the Ancients, those who ruled the world long before them. The Dark Rolls have gone down in legends under such names as the Doers of Evil and, later, the Giant Kings. The long conflict between the two branches of the Elder Race ended in a destructive war that remained in the legends of all the peoples of the world as the Battle of the Gods, in one form or another. During that war, both sides used all their incredible knowledge, launched colossal forces. Some information can be gleaned from the legend of the battle with the Doers of Evil,which speaks of the outcome of that terrible war. The rulers of both peoples, the Guardians of Gondwana and the Executors, destroyed each other, having lost their physical shells, which, however, did not mean final death for them, and the liberated forces of destruction caused a cataclysm that split Gondwana into several parts. Of those who survived the cataclysm, only a few have retained the remnants of their previous knowledge, while the majority of ordinary people have sunk to a barbaric state. Human and mythical minor races were the descendants of those survivors. Of those who survived the cataclysm, only a few have retained the remnants of their previous knowledge, while the majority of ordinary people have sunk to a barbaric state. Human and mythical minor races were the descendants of those survivors. Of those who survived the cataclysm, only a few have retained the remnants of their previous knowledge, while the majority of ordinary people have sunk to a barbaric state. Human and mythical minor races were the descendants of those survivors.
Dawn of Humanity
"In the times that preceded the rise of Atlantis from the depths of the sea, the northern part of the Turian continent was much more extensive and extended far into the sunset, then people constituted a single people, consisting of many tribes, and spoke the same language …"
After the catastrophe that almost destroyed the world, a new round of history began. The outlines of the continents were then somewhat different than during the period known as the Turian era. The Middle Continent, later called the Turia or Hyrcanian, with which all subsequent history is basically connected, was then more extensive, protruding far into the Western Ocean. According to legends, here, before the arrival of a true man, peoples created their culture, whose knowledge was fragments of the wisdom of the ancient Valkov, whom they honored in their legends under a slightly different name. These peoples, whose existence, however, can be questioned, remained in human memory as the Albs, sometimes referred to as the Olts, Dwergs and others. In the East, there was then the Lemurian continent and, to the south of it, the continent of Mu - fragments of ancient Gondwana. Maybe,there was also an unnamed Western continent, but no information about it remained. There is a large cycle of legends about the people of Ancient Lemuria, but the abundance of later strata does not allow considering it as a full-fledged historical material. According to some sources, lemurs were people, according to others, they were a prehuman people who later influenced the racial appearance of the people of the East. It is curious that one of the legendary tribes of lemurs bore the name of the ancient Valkov, albeit in a somewhat distorted form.that one of the legendary tribes of lemurs bore the name of the ancient Valkov, albeit in a somewhat distorted form.that one of the legendary tribes of lemurs bore the name of the ancient Valkov, albeit in a somewhat distorted form.
It remains a mystery where and how modern mankind originated, but gradually people, awakening from savagery, began to settle all over the world. It is known that the first human civilizations began their formation on the lands of Mu, on the islands of the Western Ocean and, finally, on the Turia continent. There are practically no mentions of the kingdoms of the people of that time, with the exception of the half-forgotten legends of the Goidels, distant descendants of the first peoples of Turia and vague information about the First Empire of Atlantis in the Western Ocean, the heyday of which is known as the era of Zailm Numinos.
The legendary Battle of the Gods has long been a myth, but the consequences of that terrible catastrophe made themselves felt for many centuries. Local cataclysms occurred from time to time. One of these almost completely devastated the islands of the Western Ocean: a giant wave hid the centers of island cultures, including the brilliant empire of the First Atlantis. And centuries later, the monstrous convulsion of the Earth gave rise to new outlines of the continents. Vast areas of Turia sank to the bottom of the ocean, leaving only a chain of islands from Ancient Lemuria. Elsewhere, the sea receded: the flooded areas of Atlantis became land again.
Humanity has returned to an almost primitive state. Now people, as thousands of years ago, dressed in animal skins and worshiped the wild forces of nature. The great past was consigned to oblivion, remaining only in fairy tales and legends. The man of the primitive Turia had to face many difficulties, constantly struggle for survival. Having not yet recovered after the great shock, people were almost brought to the brink of extinction in the face of a terrible threat from the East. This threat was the ancient serpent people. Once driven to the most remote corners of the world, they have been waiting in the wings for thousands of years to revive their former power. In Ancient Lemuria, they accepted their first attempt, but were defeated by the children of the New Gods. They had to hide for many more centuries, but, finally, a favorable moment came for them. Primitive people were unable to provide a worthy resistance to the invaders who possessed a formidable weapon - knowledge accumulated over innumerable thousands of years. Arriving in the land that would later be called western Turia, they again became the masters of the earth's surface. Here the serpent people founded their new kingdom, calling it Valusia, after an ancient land from their legends. People were forced to flee to lands less cruel to them, fleeing from complete extermination. But unfortunately for snakemen, the era of reptiles is long gone. Snakes could oppress humankind, primitive in comparison with them, but they were few in number and marked by signs of degeneration. People, being a young race, followed the path of tireless development. The Second Serpent-Man Empire of Valusia did not last long compared to their great first civilization and was eventually wiped out.possessed a formidable weapon - knowledge accumulated over innumerable thousands of years. Arriving in the land that would later be called western Turia, they again became the masters of the earth's surface. Here the serpent people founded their new kingdom, calling it Valusia, after an ancient land from their legends. People were forced to flee to lands less cruel to them, fleeing from complete extermination. But unfortunately for snakemen, the era of reptiles is long gone. Snakes could oppress humankind, primitive in comparison with them, but they were few in number and marked by signs of degeneration. People, being a young race, followed the path of tireless development. The Second Serpent-Man Empire of Valusia did not last long compared to their great first civilization and was eventually wiped out.possessed a formidable weapon - knowledge accumulated over innumerable thousands of years. Arriving in the land that would later be called western Turia, they again became the masters of the earth's surface. Here the serpent people founded their new kingdom, calling it Valusia, after an ancient land from their legends. People were forced to flee to lands less cruel to them, fleeing from complete extermination. But unfortunately for snakemen, the era of reptiles is long gone. Snakes could oppress humankind, primitive in comparison with them, but they were few in number and marked by signs of degeneration. People, being a young race, followed the path of tireless development. The Second Serpent-Man Empire of Valusia did not last long compared to their great first civilization and was eventually wiped out. Arriving in the land that would later be called western Turia, they again became the masters of the earth's surface. Here the serpent people founded their new kingdom, calling it Valusia, after an ancient land from their legends. People were forced to flee to lands less cruel to them, fleeing from complete extermination. But unfortunately for snakemen, the era of reptiles is long gone. Snakes could oppress humankind, primitive in comparison with them, but they were few in number and marked by signs of degeneration. People, being a young race, followed the path of tireless development. The Second Serpent-Man Empire of Valusia did not last long compared to their great first civilization and was eventually wiped out. Arriving in the land that would later be called western Turia, they again became the masters of the earth's surface. Here the serpent people founded their new kingdom, calling it Valusia, after an ancient land from their legends. People were forced to flee to lands less cruel to them, fleeing from complete extermination. But unfortunately for snakemen, the era of reptiles is long gone. Snakes could oppress humankind, primitive in comparison with them, but they were few in number and marked by signs of degeneration. People, being a young race, followed the path of tireless development. The Second Serpent-Man Empire of Valusia did not last long compared to their great first civilization and was eventually wiped out.calling it Valusia, after the ancient land from their legends. People were forced to flee to lands less cruel to them, fleeing from complete extermination. But unfortunately for snakemen, the era of reptiles is long gone. Snakes could oppress humankind, primitive in comparison with them, but they were few in number and marked by signs of degeneration. People, being a young race, followed the path of tireless development. The Second Serpent-Man Empire of Valusia did not last long compared to their great first civilization and was eventually wiped out.calling it Valusia, after the ancient land from their legends. People were forced to flee to lands less cruel to them, fleeing from complete extermination. But unfortunately for snakemen, the era of reptiles is long gone. Snakes could oppress humankind, primitive in comparison with them, but they were few in number and marked by signs of degeneration. People, being a young race, followed the path of tireless development. The Second Serpent-Man Empire of Valusia did not last long compared to their great first civilization and was eventually wiped out. People, being a young race, followed the path of tireless development. The Second Serpent-Man Empire of Valusia did not last long compared to their great first civilization and was eventually wiped out. People, being a young race, followed the path of tireless development. The Second Serpent-Man Empire of Valusia did not last long compared to their great first civilization and was eventually wiped out.
The people of the mainland, later known as Gaels, and even later Goidels, again began their ascent to the heights of civilization. The epic "Battle of Yokundiak", recorded by the Nemedian priests, tells in a somewhat allegorical form about those times. People began to discover sciences and crafts, and instead of the worship of primitive beast-gods, a distorted remnant of the ancient belief in Jebbal Saga, the god of life, another religion came. Non-Median scribes indicate the brothers Mithra and Ahriman as new gods, but apparently, in the early version of the legend, the gods-brothers Great Valka and Fiery Hotat appeared, who were, apparently, ancient prototypes of the aforementioned deities. Soon barbarian states began to emerge on the ruins of ancient civilizations. The first of these was Wa-Lucia, then civilization began to spread to the South and East.
Thus ended the Time of Legends. Young mankind began a gradual ascent to its greatness. People became full-fledged rulers of the world, while the Ancients, if ever they existed in reality, left, remaining only in myths, fairy tales and legends.
II. Antediluvian times
Turian era
“We know very little about that era, which the Nemedian chroniclers call antediluvian, this period of time is hidden by a veil of legends and conjectures. Among the antediluvian civilizations, Camellia, Valusia, Verulia, Grondar, Thule and Commoria dominated. The people of these countries spoke kindred languages and had a common origin. The barbarians of that distant era were the Picts, Atlanteans and Lemurians …"
The beginning of a new era was laid with the arrival on the historical arena of peoples known under the general name Turians, after whom the era was named. The Turians, whose roots are supposedly lost somewhere in the East, gradually captured the entire west of the continent, which later received the name Turia. The first state founded by them was called Turania. Gradually moving to the west, the Turians assimilated the local tribes, thereby giving rise to new peoples. The original Turians were short people with light skin and dark hair, however, as a result of mixing with the conquered ancient peoples, both tribes of fair-haired people and dark-skinned people with a narrow cut of eyes appeared among the Turians, descendants of conquerors and semi-nomadic tribes from the western bank of the Stagos River.
Centuries later, new powerful powers of the Turian peoples appear on the political map of the world. In addition to Turania, Zarfhaana, Kommoria, named after the Kommorium, a land from ancient Turian myths, Verulia were founded, as well as several small states, many of which were later conquered by larger neighbors. Valusia is now also ruled by the Turians. There were also kingdoms inhabited by peoples that from ancient times lived in these lands - Farsun and Camellia, which were not inferior in development to Turania or Valusia. The northern territories behind the Mu mountains received the name Tule from the Turians, in memory of the fabulous Mu Tulan. It was inhabited by the tribes of the Goidels, a people who once inhabited most of the western lands. Several states were founded by the Goidels and related mountain peoples. They waged constant wars with the hostile tribes of the Fir Bolg, as well as with the barbarian tribes who lived to the north, in the icy wastes. The lands to the west of Stagos were named Grondar. Here, centuries later, a powerful centralized state was founded.
Outside Turia, forces were born that, after millennia, will play an important role in history. In the western ocean lay a small continent - Atlantis, where wild tribes lived, barely familiar with the processing of metals. Farther west were the islands inhabited by the Stone Age people of the Pictish people. The short, dark-skinned Picts were either from the Isles of Sunset or from a mysterious continent rumored to be far to the West. And far to the east of Turia, aliens from the foggy continent of Mu invaded the Lemurian Islands, crowding out the ancient semi-human race of lemurs. In further history, the Lemurians (as this people was now called) became famous as skillful navigators and fierce sea robbers. These were swarthy people with slanting brown, and even yellow eyes, they created a strange, semi-barbaric marine culture.
The next few centuries are the heyday of Valusia. The Crystal City, founded on the site of the pre-Thurian settlement of Burunagr, became the center of a huge empire, the provinces of which were Zarfhaana, Kommoria and Verulia, as well as many islands of the Western Ocean. Then, having passed the time of its heyday, the great empire disintegrated. The provinces regained their independence, and in Valusia itself there came a time when short-term rise of the state alternated with periods of deep stagnation.
About five centuries after the collapse of the Valusian Empire, western Turia is dominated by the lost glory, but still mighty Valusia, ancient Turania, Zarfhaana, Kommoria, Verulia and Farsun. In the lands of Thule, the Goidels created a powerful united state - the United Kingdom of Rudraige, which entered into an alliance with the barbarians of the North. The powerful Seven Kingdoms were adjacent to Camellia, the still semi-wild Grondar, the so-called Lesser Princedoms, as well as lands that left nothing in history except names: Mujaria southeast of Turania, Keralia somewhere in the North, and others. To the south was the gloomy Kheshia - the religious center of the adherents of the ancient cult of the Great Serpent, the lost Harkulia, as well as the mysterious, jungle-covered Kaa-u archipelago, inhabited by warlike savages. Atlantis remains a wild country whose tribesbreaking away from constant civil strife, they raid the lands of Turia and wage an eternal war with the Picts and Lemuria of the West - a large colony of Lemurians who seized the northern islands that once belonged to the Valusian Empire. The Far East of Turia is in the possession of the mysterious Khari people, with whom Lemurian sailors occasionally come into contact.
Many legends have survived about this period, it was then that the legendary Kull, born in barbarian Atlantis, ascended the throne of Valusia. The Valusian state, ruled by Born, the last monarch of the ancient dynasty of Eallal, was greatly weakened by numerous campaigns of conquest and internal turmoil. Ultimately, a palace coup took place, as a result of which the crown of Valusia passed to Kull-Atlant, who held a high army post. Under King Kull, the country regained its former greatness. Kull, having defeated the forces of the anti-Valusian Triple Alliance, for a long time suppressed the attempts of neighboring powers to seize the lands of the ancient empire, and also in a fairly short time brought order to the country by carrying out several state reforms. The era of King Kull's reign also went down in history as a period of religious wars,famous for the massive persecution of adherents of the ancient cult of the Great Serpent, which successfully competed with the cult of the general Turian deity Valka. It has been announced that the serpent worship is being instilled by the serpentmen, an ancient people from the old eerie legends. Rumors persistently spread that snakes live among people, hiding their true appearance behind the masks of the Serpent priests, that decrepit ancient people in the catacombs of their temples are trying to bring out a new race of masters - half-humans, half-snakes, which will have to supplant humanity. Carrying the banner of struggle against the enemies of the human race, the allied army of the Turian empires defeated the strongholds of the ancient religion - Kheshia and the mysterious kingdoms of the East.an ancient people from the old eerie legends. Rumors persistently spread that snakes live among people, hiding their true appearance behind the masks of the Serpent priests, that decrepit ancient people in the catacombs of their temples are trying to bring out a new race of masters - half-humans, half-snakes, which will have to supplant humanity. Carrying the banner of struggle against the enemies of the human race, the allied army of the Turian empires defeated the strongholds of the ancient religion - Kheshia and the mysterious kingdoms of the East.an ancient people from the old eerie legends. Rumors persistently spread that snakes live among people, hiding their true appearance behind the masks of the Serpent priests, that decrepit ancient people in the catacombs of their temples are trying to bring out a new race of masters - half-humans, half-snakes, which will have to supplant humanity. Carrying the banner of struggle against the enemies of the human race, the allied army of the Turian empires defeated the strongholds of the ancient religion - Kheshia and the mysterious kingdoms of the East.the allied army of the Turian empires defeated the strongholds of the ancient religion - Kheshia and the mysterious kingdoms of the East.the allied army of the Turian empires defeated the strongholds of the ancient religion - Kheshia and the mysterious kingdoms of the East.
Meanwhile, some changes were brewing in the world. Young barbarian states began to appear on the islands of the Picts. In the western part of Atlantis, a kingdom also arose, giving rise to a period of glory for the Atlantean people. In addition, the Atlanteans founded a colony in the mountains on the southern borders of Thule, and not far from the southern coast of Valusia there was a colony of the Picts, who became allies of this mighty power.
The next stage in history was the heyday of Atlantis, the memory of which has remained for centuries.
Age of Atlantis
"The ancient Atlanteans were once wild and fierce, but after centuries they rose to such heights that they could fly through the air without any magic and imagined themselves equal to the gods …"
The young kingdom of the Atlanteans, founded at the time of Kull of Valusia, in just a few centuries has risen in development to unprecedented heights. The learned priests of Eann, the divine sea beast, have accumulated colossal knowledge and made many grandiose discoveries. The scientific knowledge of the Atlanteans allowed them to master a mysterious energy called vril, which was the driving force of their flying ships and served as the basis of the Heavenly Fire - a weapon of monstrous destructive power. Atlantis was called at that time the Golden Empire or the Land of the Seven Cities. Many generations of emperors ruled the island-continent from the City of the Golden Gate, formally ruling the numerous tribes of those of their kind who never left the barbarian way of life. The Atlanteans-colonists in the lands of Turia remained the same barbarians as centuries ago.
Meanwhile, the Iron Legions of Emperor Kaa-Yazot, who dreamed of uniting all the Seven Kingdoms into a single empire, marched across the western lands of the Turian continent. True, the new empire quickly disintegrated after the death of the conqueror, and the former provinces were engulfed in wars. Kaa-Yazot himself went down in history as a ruthless tyrant, and it was he who, most likely, was later known as the legendary King Calenius.
In the confused kingdoms of Turia, the once forbidden cult of the Great Serpent began to gain more and more popularity. All over Turia, new temples were opened in honor of the ancient deity. The cult's emissaries also penetrated Atlantis, where their sermons were received with keen interest. Living in their huge cities and knowing all the benefits of technical progress, the Atlanteans experienced a deep spiritual crisis, and therefore the teachings of the Father Serpent found fertile ground here. In addition, fashionable sects quickly proliferated in the Seven Cities, where forbidden demonic cults were practiced. Soon, these sects turned into influential political groups, influential so much that the White Emperor, who was trying to somehow resist the priests, was expelled from Atlantis, and the puppet king Tevatata was placed on the throne of the Golden Empire.
Turia continued to be torn apart by bloody wars. For world domination, Verulia and Grondar fought, Thule and Valusia, which at that time became the world center of the snake cult. The legends that tell about Valusia during the sunset of the antediluvian era are often called the country of snakes, and the last known ruler of Valusia, Tseenor Zera, has in these legends the characteristic features of the mythical Naag. In turn, all these ancient powers were successfully opposed by the expanding continental state of the Atlanteans. The colonists, being half-barbarians, nevertheless possessed immense military might and were renowned as fierce warriors.
The chaos that gripped the world exacerbated the first signs of what would later go down in history as the Great Catastrophe. There is a lot of controversy about the causes of the cataclysm, it is said about the anger of the Gods, and about the destructive consequences of the Heavenly Fire of the Atlanteans, and about the tailed star that fell in the lands beyond the Pictish islands. Be that as it may, the Great Catastrophe caused the death of Atlantis and the Seven Empires of Turia.
Igor Babitsky
Next part: The Hyborian World: Myth, Legend, History. Part two