Origins of the Argus

The Argus no longer have knowledge of the extent of their common origins beyond the fact that they were changed to allow them to survive the apocalyptic destruction of the first embodiment of their civilisation. While there are obvious clues in their language, appearance and mythologies they prefer to explain this with proximity. Due to their current politics it is often considered insulting to draw close comparisons between the races. For this reason the historians of all four groups avoid it. Nonetheless those of us who were present at the birth of the race felt it was necessary to record something of its origins.

The archipelago on which the Argus evolved was chosen because it allowed a huge variety of flora and fauna to thrive in its wide ranging environments. Rich jungles and steaming mangrove swamps extend to barrier reefs off the coast, providing good protection from stormy seas. While as you move further towards the interior and up into the mountains temperate forests with oak and ash give way to pine and snow near the summits. The volcanoes of the eastern islands scour the land around them with lava and ash on a regular basis. The most frequently hit area having been covered with a broad desert leading down to the sea. Given time several species began to develop an innate link to the planes of magic. This created fascinating new balances in the life of the islands as both plants and animals adapted to new threats and new defences. One of the more amusing examples was the Teleporting Honeybee which due to its rapid return from foraging proved very successful though difficult to catch. Ultimately its only predators were the Bright Swallower (a pitcher plant with a contact poison at its rim) and the Planes Chameleon which could launch different elemental attacks depending on prey, tracking them with its four independently moving eyes. But I digress. As these creatures increased in numbers they were enticed to colonise the other islands. Whenever this happened a struggle would ensue between the newcomer and the native species. Sometimes this would be vicious and bloody but a new balance would always be achieved. Under the imposed accelerated development one race quickly achieved dominance throughout the archipelago. This most gregarious of species was the first to achieve a rudimentary culture. They were small hairy creatures with glowing eyes and pointed teeth. The colour of their fur was in huge variety reflecting the adaptation to using all planes of magic. This made them excellent hunters while also providing strong defence from larger predators, thus they had lost all pretence to camouflage. Initially hunting and foraging in packs the discovery of language and collective knowledge soon brought writing agriculture and religion.

In the earliest form of society the shaman held power. The Argus worshipped that which gave them power and the shamans, ruling by might, gained their strength from the elementals. The elementals were careful in picking their favourites however and did not simply pick those with the greatest physical strength. They wanted quick witted warriors as well. Although they could still innately cast from all the elements each tribe began to specialise as they settled in particular areas. Those who lived near the coast favoured the plane of water. This aided them when fishing and prevented drownings. Eventually they constructed artificial islands out of reeds and took completely to the sea partly to prevent attacks by the other tribes. Those of the forests preferred the plane of Earth. This they used to extend their agriculture keeping the land fertile and defending the fields from wild animals. It also gave them the immense strength and endurance necessary when tilling the soil. A few tribes eventually took to the high peaks and soon saw the benefits of air magic in safe transport and communication in such wide spaces. They could grow few crops but domesticated the woolly hilljumper, a creature resembling a cross between a mountain goat and a jumping spider, which used its eight legs to gain purchase on the difficult terrain. Lastly some tribes adopted a more nomadic lifestyle among the shifting deserts and lava flows of the volcanoes. Farming what they could in the fertile oasis that bubbled with hot springs and defending their herds from large wandering predators and static ones like the giant antlion.

Ultimately it was the instability of the largest eastern island which nearly ended the Argus but also allowed their development to be completed. The violent explosion of the mountain caused a holocaust that killed off most of the tribes. Their beliefs interpreted the world as ordered, with each thing made up of the elements and each element in its place. The explosion threw everything into chaos. The mixture of powerful magic and immense natural forces was almost impossible to defend against and only the most powerful shamans succeeded. The shamans knew the barriers which defended them and their tribes would not hold for long so they appealed to the elementals for salvation. Each element took the members of their favoured tribes onto their respective plane. The tribes spent several weeks in the care of the elementals and were altered and trained to better survive in the reshaped world.

After they were returned each tribe was placed in its favoured environment and each began to rebuild the civilisation as they saw best. The Leviathans built a great city in the deep water beyond the barrier reefs that had offered no protection from the wrath of the volcano within their walls. Their cyclopean structures kept peacefully away from the turbulence and unpredictability of the surface world. They also built a great library and museum with exhibits sealed in ice, defending for future generations what might be lost again. The Gargoyles took to the caves, the trees that had once formed their homes having been blasted flat like grain after hail by the power of the explosion. In their troglodyte city they watched the world from the darkness building up stores of food and supplies should they need to retreat to safety again. The Angels returned to the mountain peaks. They were the first of the races to see the sun again as they penetrated the clouds trying to get above the smog. They kept their dwellings light and their possessions simple with a mind to flee like birds should danger come again. A system of beacons and messengers was also set up to watch the land for new signs of danger. The Demons returned to the volcanoes and discovered at the heart of each the boiling guts that powered the chaos that had almost destroyed their world. Here they saw the embodiment of a future apocalypse and devoted themselves to the study of its destructive energies and the control thereof. The Angels in their constant vigil were the first to rediscover and contact the other Argus and rekindle diplomatic relations between the tribes. This was not wholly successful as the similarities remaining between the tribes had been diluted by the weeks with the elementals and the months surviving independently. Relations between the tribes rose and fell over the years but each is all but unassailable in its home and so battles never amounted to more than border skirmishes and the economics of trade took precedence in the end. Eventually the Leviathans discovered the mainland. The construction of a pair of teleport stones, a design unique to the Argus, allowed easy colonisation and they began to leave the cradle.

At this point I relinquish the rest of the Argus’ history to their records. I dare say they know in their hearts that they are related and should support one another, but like all siblings their differences will cause grief until they mature and truly know themselves.


Episcopus Garron