The Story
The word Oubliette is derived from the French, and means a dungeon with but one
escape. To help you further your understanding of the Oubliette
and the world surrounding it, a brief history of the world
follows.
The Beginning
In the beginning, Tokal (meaning "world" in the
ancient language) was a savage place with savage
inhabitants. During the Tokgorin era, the world
was ruled by the great beasts of the earth, who legends say arose
from the mountains to the north. For countless years these beasts
fought among themselves, each seeking to win control of its
territory. From the maelstrom, the first evidence of fire
thought, or humanoid creatures, came to the fore.
The
humanoids, while not possessing the great strength or special abilities
of the earth creatures, had a great advantage -
intelligence. Toward the end of the Tokgorin era, these
clever creatures began to assert their superiority, and slowly
there formed small tribes of humanoids who were able to resist the
earth creatures and claim homelands of their own.
The Fiegorin
Thus began the Fiegorin, or fire thought
era. Named for the element (fire - FIE) which gave them
their strength, the humanoids learned that collaboration with
others of their kind gave them an advantage over the earth
beasts. From the early tribes there came
eight great races of humanoids, all of which live in
the world today.
As the populations of the fire thinkers
grew larger, they began not only to fight the earth animals
for territory, but each other as well. In the years
that passed, the humanoids continued to fight amongst each
other, with no true leaders or tribes having control over
any region, not to mention the world itself. During this
time, some groups splintered off from society, such as it
was, to seclude themselves in the forests and the
mountains. In their seclusion, these small societies
flourished, and initiated the study of nature, magic and
religion. They discovered much of the secret power of the
world hidden in the Varget, or ancient language.
Eventually, these clans began to prevail against their enemies
through magic and religion, rather than
by physical force.
The Later Years
In the later years of this renaissance, a great
wizard known only as LIGNE came down from the mountains to
the north, and along with a handful of trusted
disciples, civilized a region of the world near the border
of the mountain range. The small town was eventually
fortified and became known to the world
as LIGNE castle.
As the city and the surrounding area
was tamed, the hostile creatures, both animal and humanoid, were
placed in a general holding area beneath the castle which later became
known as the dungeon. Castle low life and criminals
were also placed in the Oubliette, which was soon teeming with life.
As
the dungeon and the city above matured, it
became popular among the young citizens of the city to venture
into the dungeon, seeking gold and glory, almost as a rite of
passage. To others, it became a lifetime quest.
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