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The Second Age
The beginning of the Second Age
Was a time of wonder.
New races strode the earth -
The scions of the woodlands,
The Elves;
The sons of the Earth,
The Dwarves;
The offspring of the Mountains,
The Giants;
The light-fingered younglings,
The Kenderkin;
And amidst them all walked
The Middle Race,
The Humans.
It was in the early beginnings
Of this Age
That new spells and skills
Were discovered,
Practised, and mastered.
New classes of Heroes rose
To walk the paths of the Light
The paths of the Dark,
Or the narrow path of Neutrality.
There arose great explorers and
Great champions of the
Tournaments of the Lance.
The seasons turned,
The Age entered its maturity,
And the Gods began a new era
Of Creation.
New races sprang up amongst us
Fades, Trollocs, Aiel, Ogiers, Lycanthropes.
So many that memory fails to name them all.
And new classes of heroes arose -
Psionicists, Dark Knights, Elementalists, Liches,
And all the other arcane classes
Of unique abilities.
Of phenomenal powers,
And capabilities of such wonder
That they could
Scarce be believed.
The World became a land of
Thunderous might.
Heroes warred for gain,
For greater glory and achievement,
For loot, plunder and riches.
Mighty Clans arose
To claim title and power,
Mighty Clan Wars
Thundered across the skies and
Shook the fabric of the land.
Such was the glory of the early days
Of the Second Age.
As this glory of the Age swirled and flashed
In the spinning might unleashed
Of those who walked the lands and seas,
Slowly the world changed once again.
The hidden cracks in our souls began
To manifest themselves, to show,
To grow and gnaw at our beings.
And all the glorious shining armour
Became mere shells
Hiding the writhing rot within.
Baser instincts and blackest desires
To dominate and domineer,
To bully and sneer
At the small, at the weak,
At the less powerful,
At all who could be
Victimised, hurt and ruined.
The power of the Second Age
Was spinning out of control,
Was swirling beyond reason,
As the balance tipped
Into Insanity,
Into Hate and
Stark, cruel
Fear.
Then came the Second Great Darkness
The End of the Second Age.
For the Gods decreed that this could not be.
This was not meant to be.
All was smitten from the world,
All was smashed
To dust,
Blasted, scoured and burned out
Of existence.
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