estored Harmony.
In the year 8888, the Dragons could no longer withstand their enemies. The latter indeed had become much too powerful to be resisted, thanks to the Immortals’ and the Gods’ support, and also thanks to the power of the Mana emanating from the fountains.
On the 11th day of the year 8888, the Dragons signed a peace treaty: « the Great Treaty », by which they admitted their defeat. Only a few Dragons continued to resist and took refuge in the most remote places of Calder’s and Aesir’s realm. Two main factions of hostile Dragons remained : Red Dragons -fire power- and Blue Dragons - ice power-.The other Dragons remaining offered to serve the pacified world. In Al-Drifa, where they had been obliged to get used to living side by side with members of different peoples, they had already proved to be particularly useful as a means of transportation. After their defeat, this episode turned out to be really salutary for them, since they could refer to it to convince the most sceptical of their opponents. The Orcs and the Trolls, who had stayed for too long under the domination of the Dragons, never returned to their normal selves.
As early as the 9th day of the year 8888, the Men asked Gothar to grant the free peoples absolute independence from the Gods. Gothar agreed and enacted several laws. Once peace was restored, he decided it was high time to punish the nine Gods, who were to be held responsible, according to him, for past disturbances and massacres. He complied with the demands of people from all races and promulgated a treaty of ten items:
1. Gothar will not deal with the world affairs anymore but he will always be willing to hear the demands of the boldest and the most valiant among his people, and to comply with their wishes.
2. The Immortals will be recalled to the Wahl to protect it. Any mortal wishing to enter the secret precinct shall be subjected to the compulsory tests and answer the questions prepared by the « master of his class », according to the class he belongs to. Only then will he be allowed to present his request.
3. The nine realms will lose all divine influence and be totally neutral. Therefore, the Mana fountains should be stopped and « doomed to ruins ». People who chose to live in complete peace of mind would do so without resorting to magic.
4. All practice of magic shall be prohibited in the nine realms.
5. Two giant fountains only, situated in the two most important cities, will keep the contact between Gothar and the different peoples. The Southern one will dispense Light Mana whereas the Northern one will dispense Dark Mana. In these cities shall live the people who choose to have access to magic.
6.The Dark and Light magic, by their origin and by their purpose, are incompatible.
Followers of one magic or the other shall not enter enemy territory, otherwise they will
lose all their powers and their energy.
7. The nine Gods, as a punishment for their mistakes, will be sent into exile in the constellations produced by the Great Cataclysm. Once a year, they shall be allowed to go to the Wahl to attend the summer solstice banquet, which will last for three months. None of the constellations shall influence the world.
8. As three seats were broken in a quarrel between the Gods in the Wahl, the nine Gods shall never feast together again.
9. During the banquet, if «the Concordat of the Gods » was to be found again and brought back to the Wahl by the « Messenger of the Gods », the bearer of the document, Gothar will give them back all their powers.
10. Once the treaty will be returned to Gothar, the emerald table will determine which God shall rule for the coming solar year, according to the amount of worshippers he has. So, the parchment will be put aside and the corresponding realm shall spend a « golden year ». As a reward for his efforts, the « Messenger of the Gods » will be given a present by the Gods, which shall impart to him great powers for a whole year.
Once they had all read the treaty, each of the nine Gods was sent to a cosmogony, far from
Ganareth:
Ysatis was sent to the constellation of the Spike of Stars.
Agnar was banished to the constellation of the Grim Reaper.
Zephyr flew away to the constellation of the Compass Rose.
Hydra withdrew to the constellation of the Red Pentagramme.
Neutra migrated to the constellation of the Moon Tree.
Malecta was held prisoner in the constellation of the Eye of Freïa.
Hel was sent to the constellation of the Thunder Hammer.
Calder was sent to the constellation of the Scarlet Forge.
Aesir was sent to the constellation of the Cold Demon Breath.
As to Gothar, he withdrew to the constellation of the Sun Cart.
For more than 111 years, a certain harmony prevailed on Ganareth. Al Drifa became an influential, thriving city, where all kind of goods could be traded. Among each people, some individuals distinguished themselves by their mastery of skills. Gradually, they assembled in various craftsmen’s guilds. Old folks passed down their knowledge to young folks, and civilization expanded along new lines.
In the course of the past centuries, the Dwarves had acquired a great experience in the handling of metals. In collaboration with the craftsmen of other races, they set up three different branches of specific learning : boilermaking , arms manufacturing and forging. On the very first day of year 9009 was founded the forge craftsmen’s Guild, which comprised these three disciplines.
The fabric and leather craftsmen‘s Guild was set up on the same principle as the forge craftmen’s Guild. The apprentices had to travel all around Ganareth to be taught by the ones who had the mastery and the know-how. Two special fields were developed: tanning and tailoring. The Guild was founded in the year 9009.
The Guilds succeeded so well, in terms of product quality as well as in terms of sales, that the innkeepers and the café-owners found the demands of their customers more and more difficult to meet. The food craftsmen’s guild was officially founded in 9194. Four special fields were possible for beginners: cooking, brewing, spices trading and animal quartering.
It is only in the year 9495 that the small objects craftsmen’s Guild was founded. It consisted of master glaziers, potters and paper-makers.
All these Guilds were based in Al-Drifa, where they thrived for many years.
During that period of growth, some individuals, who craved so much for knowledge that it was their only one reason for living, gathered together. They were called the Explorers. Many of them spent their time contemplating the whole wide world and travelling all over it. Some others took interest in past civilizations vestiges and acquired a vast knowledge of far-off times.