Valiant Isle is a resource rich landmass in the midst of a small archipelago in the mid-south Atlantic. Today known as the National Republic of Columbia, it also has a rich history.
Chapter 1: The Beginnings of Valiant Isle and the Konai Civilization
"And thus it was that De the mighty raised up the sacred rocks of Deanda and hallowed the ground meant for the Chosen Pilgrims. Here lay the last outpost of heaven on Earth, the last holy place. This was the refuge of good and the garden of all the spirits past, a haven for the weary of mind and body."
– The Konai Myth of Plegasi
About 30 million years ago, a large volcano in the mid-south Atlantic Ocean began to erupt under the surface of the water. Spewing lava throughout the sea, it eventually established an island about the size of the state of Massachusetts about 1 million years ago.
By B.C. 2000, this patch of land in the middle of the sea had grown into a way station for animals in their migration paths, a home for several tree species, and a small outpost of the human civilization. Of these first peoples little is known. They had created small fishing villages on the western coast of the rich island, depending only on the sea for their livelihood. They stayed approximately 250 years, and then virtually disappeared. Some Konai myths depict these first people, suggesting they had some contact in the beginning of their kingdom. The Myth of Plegasi, or creation, depicts these first peoples as walking ghosts, Varadonai as they are named.
According to myth they were once human, but only ghosts of a lost age in humanity, a race far nobler and more powerful than any culture today, the Atlanai, or people of Atlantis. Because these Atlanai had chosen to bind their selves to the Earth instead of the heavenly Atlantis, they were banished to this world and were doomed to wander until they fulfilled their destinies. These creatures existed in greater numbers in the old myths, but gradually disappeared from all historical or legendary record. They faded into the realm of mythology.
The most important piece of information concerning the Varadonai is derived from the Myth of Ro-Wain, or the Brotherhood. In it, the Sons of Kon have just landed upon the shores of Valiant Isle bearing the cold body of their father, who wished to be buried in the Land of God, Deanda. Konai mythology and belief supposed that Valiant Isle was this location.
The five brothers, Memraar, Yangi, Begri, Jaksis, and Hathsas make landfall to meet an old strange man dressed completely in what appeared to be shimmering woven grass. His words have since become a motif of prophecy in the Konai culture and read as follows:
"Welcome my fathers, your task is met well. Respect, laud, and blessing for your labor is fruitful and not in vain. But such work in this world is only met with strife and anguish. Your children, as the sons of our progenitor, will indulge their natures. Such progress is then lost, but for a little time, it is secured.
"Memraar, to you is the mountains and the might of Men. Mighty bravery runs in your heart, and the sons of the sword shall come from every drop of your blood. In your hand are the hammer of justice and the spear of wisdom. In the shadow of the youngest shall the eldest be hidden, but protected. And the eldest shall one day protect the youngest.
"Yangi, second-born, to you is the government, and the peace. In your eye is held the gleam of the eastern sunrise, and in such dwelling places shall you reside, nearest your broken home of ages past. In your line shall the secret reside, long biding its time, to escape the arrow of deceit.
"From you Begri shall this deceit spring. Though you are intelligent, your craftiness holds power over your desire. Dark in the night, your existence shuns the day, cursing the ground where you are taken, and to whence you have been plucked. Though you shall strike to kill with your poisoned arrows, your own blade shall pierce your heart, and your hand of power crushed.
"Jaksis is the father of those who must choose. As there was with your grandfather's grandfather Japheth, there is division and decision. Farmers and the common man shall lay their ancestral tradition upon your work. Your family will be numerous among the brothers.
"Hathsas, great is your role in the divine story. From your sons shall rise up all those who with their minds may create beauty. Craftsmen and artisans shall cultivate this land and procure from it all their glorious works. And when the speech of water soothes the soul, then the men shall know that De has smiled upon the world and that men are saved from themselves. All will be restored."
This old prophet then collapsed in death, only to be dissolved in the wind and be carried to the next life, to his home thought to be the lost land of Atlanata, or Atlantis, of which Valiant Isle was thought to be the last outpost.
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