Arcana: Alpha part 1

Prologue

Five thousand years ago, four Great Stones fell from the heavens, landing upon this world in different lands. These stones, called the Alpha Seeds, released a powerful energy that affected the animal life around them. Within a short time this energy waned, but enough time had passed for great changes to occur.. Less than a century after the Seeds fell and we had already aquired numerous gifts that nature could never have bestowed upon us. Our bodies changed dramatically. Some of us grew while others became smaller. We began to walk on our hind legs, using our front paws as hands. We retained our hightened senses and instincts, but we were also given the ability to speak as Man did. But above all was our hightened intelligence, and along with this, our sacred gift of the Mask. This is our power to cast an image of ourselves to humans, making them see us as we want them to. We started to grow as a people, spreading over the face of the Earth. 

  During the Great Unification, our scattered and divided peoples became one, and we established a capitol in what is now known as the Sahara Desert. This city was named Sira-Kall, or "Atlantis," as man would come to name it. This legendary place, the same one that mankind has sought to find for centuries, was the focal point of Linnaien culture and science. A Great Haven City, one which all Linnaiens could come to from anywhere on Earth, to seek solice or knowledge. This was the most advanced civilization in the entire world, with scientific discoveries and philosophies that far surpassed man's abilities or comprehension. For over a thousand years we lived in peace, until one Linnaien, a Fox from the Far North named Alyus, thinking his kind was squandering their abilities on vain pursuits, posed questions that threatened to upturn all of Linnaien society... "Are we content with living in passiveness, allowing mankind to rule and dominate the world? Or should we, the Superior Ones, the true heirs of the Earth, go forth and conquer and bring all under our will?" 

This divisive stand, one that had never entered the minds of any before him, disrupted the balance of our world... A great schism formed.. A large faction sided with Alyus, corrupted by his influence, hellbent on persuading everyone else even if it involved violence and killing. Eventually, almost half the people of Sira-Kall were either corrupted or forced to join him. He even tried to harvest the dormant power of the Alpha Seeds using the forbidden ritual of Linnae Harra. Alyus knew that he would be unstoppable if he succeeded, as the Seeds would have given him nigh-unlimited mental powers, possibly even making him immortal. The opposing forces, made up of those not bending to the will of this power hungry mad man, prevented this, and they fought many a day to crush his armies. Finally, after much blood had been spilled, they succeeded, although it could hardly have been called a victory.. The damage done to the city was inconcievable... The loss of life tremendous... The Leaders of the rivaling faction captured Alyus, putting to death his few remaining soldiers, then passing judgment upon him. The Leaders banished Alyus, sending him far into the desert to the Korro toh Mau, a massive pit in the Earth leading to a cavernous expanse, which would serve as his prison for the rest of his days... But before being sent away, he vowed that he would escape his imprisonment, and that one of his descendants will one day reawaken the glorious purpose to which he was called, and usher in a new age, one that has mankind crushed under the heel of the Linnaien...

Shortly afterward, the Leaders looked upon their once magnificent city, seeing all the death and destruction, knowing that the war had brought the end of it.. They decided to disperse with what remained of the Sira-Kallan population, abandoning their beloved home. As they made their exodus, they used a great device known as the Quake, to bury the Great City far beneath the surface of the Earth, covering over their secrets, and their shame... The four Alpha Seeds, which had been moved to the Temple of Knowledge in the heart of Sira-Kall centuries before, were all buried but one, which was carried away with them. The Leaders hid it away, thus preventing the power of the Seeds from ever being used by wicked forces.

In time the Linnaien peoples of Sira-Kall joined with the other scattered groups across the Earth, passing along tales of their lost home, sharing what treasures they were able to save. But through the passage of time, all of this was lost, and Sira-Kall itself, which had become buried in a sea of sand, fell into legend, then slowly into myth... We remained in the World of Man ever since, using our Mask to keep ourselves hidden in plain sight.