The Legend of the Five Lords

Written By Salim Al-Mumin

Long ago, well before the recorded history of man or even the birth of the planet Earth, there were five mighty brothers. These were not brothers connected by blood however, but brothers bound together in spirit, by the intangible chain of love. They were great and powerful lords graced with the magick of the stars and as such embodied the ethereal elements of light and the universal spirit of all that is good.

There was Sreksihw, a great soldier of fortune, who shone with the light of courage and perseverance. It was said that he could never know fear, although this was not quite the truth. Long ago, Sreksihw was a very fearful beast indeed, but in time he learned to transform his fear into courage so that no matter how frightening the world around him became his heart would always transmute his fears into courageous fury. The might of his bravery was as a great thunderous roar which left all wicked hearts to cringe and quake in his wake. That is why he came to be known as "The Fearless Warrior"!

Then there was Wac-Am, the wild and flighty fool, who soared on the winds of blissful joy. Mirth was forever in his heart, for not a inkling of anger or sadness ever settled in is soul. His giddiness and zeal often adorned him with an aire of madness that left others to think him little more than a jovial idiot, but despite often acting the fool, stupidity was nay in the least part of his nature. Though he seemed senseless and erratic, the eccentricity of his merry mind gave him a keen sense of intuition and insight. His perspective was not as restricted as most, for he had a knack for seeing things from a most unusual point of view, and this gift he used to express himself through arcane science and an odd necessity for invention. There was no problem he could not devise an unorthodox solution to. There was no task he could not accomplish with the proper application of creative ingenuity, and it was for this reason he came to be called "The Brilliant Warrior"!

Perhaps the mightiest of the five brothers was Oryp, a great behemoth of considerable size and strength. Being one of the eldest brothers, he seemed to command a certain degree of respect and fear, partly from his great power but also from his immense knowledge of history and lore, for indeed Oryp was no mere brute. He was every bit as mighty of mind as he was in body. He knew the history of the world, he knew the power of stones and the language of beasts. He could call down the elements to work miracles on his behalf, and he could even turn back time and twist the very Hands of Fate. The life's blood of the universe could he seize in his hands, and this is why he became known as "The Supreme Warrior"!

Hate and spite held no place in the heart of the meek and humble Ekaj, the most loving of the five brothers. His soul existed in a perpetual state of tranquil zen. He knew a peace which few men seldom find even in death. He was one with all things. He could feel the very heartbeat of the cosmos itself, and he moved to its rhythm. He felt connected to all living creatures as if they were distant family. With patience and reverence for all life and people he taught the wisdom of the ages to all who were willing to listen. Rarely would he be moved to acts of violence, for his was the gentle soul of a pacifist. Where his brothers would throw care and caution to the wind to ride into battle, Ekaj would always seek a better way, for the destruction of life and peace was abhorrent to his all-loving spirit. This is why he was bestowed the title of "The Peaceful Warrior"!

Herald of Chaos and Jester of Mischief, these are just some of the many colorful titles bestowed upon the fifth and final of the five great brothers, Sucinootrac Airogamsatnahp! He was the spritely spirit of youth and flightful fancy. A carefree whimsical sprite who answered to no authority beyond his own free will. He was a spirit of hope, a champion of liberty, and an impish gentleman-of-fortune! He believed not in rules and existed by his own unique set of moral ethics, yet even though he was amoral and often seemed much the like of a noble scoundrel he would always rise to fight tyranny and oppression wherever it dared to rear its unholy head bringing with him the wrath of the stars and the aether of the mind. It was his unpredictable nature and his high-flying adventurous spirit that led to him being christened "The Willful Warrior"!

There was no force in all the heavens or upon all the Earths throughout space and time which could feter Sucinootrac's unruly will, save but only one...a bewitching enchantress known simply by her earthly name, Adilia. She was the dancing Flame of Passion, a blazing rose which set the world alight bring radiance to the darkness, blessing all with the gift of spellbinding twilight. She was Sucinootrac's muse, his mate, and his mistress. She was his one and only True Love. Unlike Sucinootrac and his brothers, Adilia was not a Child of the Stars, but a Daugther of the Earth. She was as kith and kin to the great nurturer, Mother Gaia. Half-fairy born, her parents were pagan witches, and from her mother did she inherit the blood of the Fay. Because dryad was in her veins, Adilia had an intimate bond with the forests and the trees. From them did she draw her strength. She would call to them and the trees would sing in their olden songs which only trees can sing and hear, and their songs would fill her heart and lift her soul to soar upon the wind. She was friend and protector to all who dwelled within the forests of the land, and as their protector she was blessed to wield both the gentle healing hand of Mother Gaia and the fearsome fiery wrath of her fury. Great woe fall upon any who dared to threaten her wooded dominion.

This is who they were but their home and how they all came to be is an even grander tale, for they all lived within a distant realm in a place where time held no meaning.

Despite all appearances, Sucinootrac was actually far older than all of his brothers combined, for he was a phantasmal traveler from a time beyond time and a space beyond space, a phantasmagoria of many minds and many faces whose existence spanned across the countless facets of the infinite crystal that is the universe. Few knew the significant role he played in their world's creation however. To most, his transcendental efforts were assigned to the mysterious idol known only as "The Great Dreamer".

Long did Sucinootrac the Wanderer traverse the far-reaching chasm of infinity before fate decided to play its divine hand and thus led Sucinootrac to meet his bride, Adilia, upon the boundless Plane of Dreams. Their love soon blossomed like the breathtaking lilies of a Spring morn, and to consummate their bond the two danced a celestial dance across the great canvas of the stars. He led her in a glorious dance and her whipping flames set light to his aether as they waltzed across the star-lit heavens, and from their union a great cacophony erupted giving birth to a maddening symphony of melody and color so beauteous and abominable that even the angels only dared to bare witness with quaking hearts and breaking minds. Once their dance was done all resumed quiet again, but newly had something been born. Where there was once nothing, there now laid a vast sea of twilight mist, and there in the center of that sea sat a shimmer pearl of light and dreams. 'Twas the dawn of Oneiroia, the Phantasmal Sphere!

To complete their new home, Sucinootrac called down the spirits of the stars on high, and from four vast heavenly bodies, his four brothers came to join him and his bride in their new world, and what a grand happy family they were! This merry band of brothers and their cheerful host of friends thrived in hardy prosperity for many a rising suns and changing moons, but all their fun and adventure would not last forever. In time a dark shadow fell over the realm of Oneiroia. From a distant world of evil came a monster more sinister than all the devils of Hell, a spiteful creature who was called Malanchton by the throngs of his anguished victims, a name which in their foreign tongue meant, "The Malicious One"!

The Five Lords did what they could to repel the invading horror, but a barrier is only as strong as its weakest point, and Malanchton knew well Sucinootrac's one great weakness...his love for his beloved Adilia. Deceived during battle, the brothers were divided, and it was then that Malanchton struck his most devastating blow. Powerful though she was, the wave of darkness that washed over her was too much for Adilia to withstand alone, and thus with a single fell swoop of cruel fate, the Flower of Oneiroia was lost to the darkest shadow. Sucinootrac knew the instant his love expired for her death sent a shockwave through all of Oneiroia and struck him in his heart of hearts like a poisoned dagger. When his eyes first met the sight of her lifeless form, grief and rage overtook him causing the empyrean winds of his fury to sweep throughout the realm. His lament was such that it torn all of Oneiroia apart and drew the mists of its remains deep within himself, and without the united bliss of Sucinootrac and his love to sustain the necessary gravity to bind them to that realm, the spirits of the constellations, Sucinootrac's four brothers, were drawn back into the stars where they remain to this day resting in eternal slumber until the day Oneiroia's light returns to the heavens.

Enraged by the death of all that he loved, Sucinootrac engaged Malanchton in one final battle, a duel to end all duels! The Kingdom of the Stars was set alight with the fury of the two clashing titans. The fabric of time and space was torn open drawing both phantasmal lords through into the endless rift between the worlds. Summoning all his love for all that he had lost, Sucinootrac struck the last deathly blow into the heart of the Elysian devil poisoning his evil black heart with a surge of divine light. The evil abomination was ripped asunder by this act, and the pieces of his dark being were scattered across infinity by the rippling waves of the celestial.

With the dark phantasm banished to oblivion, the battle was at last won, but in this case the spoils went not to the victor. Heartbroken and gravely wounded, Sucinootrac fell through time and space, through countless dimensions of existence losing more and more of his essence to the fathomless aether of eternity until what was left of him came to rest upon one of the infinite multitude of Earths floating amidst the vast harmonic pool cosmic complexity.

What became of the astral trickster, you might ask? He lives on to this very day, using a human soul as a chrysalis until his strength has returned to him. As we speak, the weaver of fantasy toils away fighting through the vexsome strife of this mundane world to plant the seed of Oneiroia's memory in the minds and hearts of mortals so that the psychic energy of the generations to come may reverberate through the aether to someday awaken the sleeping spirit of the world he knew and loved, and once that day has come to pass there shall come a new star in the night sky shining as brilliant and beautiful as Polaris herself, for upon that day the light of Oneiroia will be rekindled and retake its rightful place amongst eternity once again.