Zaryarez

# **Zaryarez, the renewer of the Paladin's principles**

> *"Will you follow my path then you are on the path of the ancestors. A truly beautiful path this is, may light forever be in the hearts of those who spread peace"*
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> *- Scriptures of the Paladins 7:7*
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Zaryarez was born in 389 A.E, much of his early life isn't known except that he was a slave. When he was 17 his master was killed by his own son in fear of him sharing his inheritence with Zaryarez, this is because his master grew quite fond of Zaryarez and liked his manners. After the son killing his father he blamed it on Zaryarez and thus he fled to the mountains at the source of the Avestan. He stayed there for 20 years until news reached of the ascension of a new shah, which supposedly removed his status of being wanted.

While on his way to Asyhan he rested on the banks of the Avestan and had a dream. He relates this in his book:

> *Indeed I found myself as a giant, my head touched the sky, my right foot stood on the mouth of the Avestan, and my left foot on its source. Indeed I was of such a size that I had to push the sky up with both of my hands, scattering it in the process. And thus I saw two beings descending from the sky, fighting each other viciously, and both held a tablet. They were huge in size, greater than my humble self. When I asked them who they were, one of them, a being of Darkness, replied: “I am Roh, king of the Underdark and the lord of all Evil, I can teach thee the secret to immortality and infinite power. I am of Darkness, the dominant element of the universe”. Then the other one, who was of pure light, answered: “I am Avzaya, king of Anum, I am he who has prescribed to your ancestors the laws of peace, and I am he who has sent them to spread goodness on the earth”.*
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> *Then he hit Roh with his tablet, and a piece of it broke. Roh bled black blood, It fell on the earth, and wherever it fell the earth turned black as if it rotted. Then truly he swung to hit Avzaya, and I grabbed a handful of water from the Avestan and threw it on his face, which led to him dropping the tablet, which in turn broke into many pieces. The river of goodness overpowered the king of evil.*
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> *And Roh cursed us and promised to sow havoc on earth and lead humanity astray, promising to return with his forces of evil. Yet Avzaya was not threatened by his profanity, then Roh cursed may he be, descended towards the underdark, with his eyes locked on me saying: “I do not fear you, rather I fear what you shall spread, the message you shall deliver, the people that will follow you, and the lack of influence I shall have over the earth”. Then when he had fully descended Avzaya came unto me and said: “Oh chosen one, you shall be enlightened, indeed the message of your ancestors is fading. It is time that I choose a renewer of my principles, and you, oh chosen one, shall be the one to deliver my message”.*
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> *Thus my humble soul obeyed the order. Then Avzaya taught me his principles, and enlightened me with his wisdom and knowledge. Indeed I learned the ways of the Paladins, and the ways of those before them. And he told me to stick out my tongue, and so I did, then he pointed at it and light enveloped it completely. It entered my mouth and travelled to my head, where it stayed. Then Avzaya told me: “Oh chosen one, From now on you shall only utter the truth, your soul has been enlightened, and your tongue and thoughts have been purified”. And thus I became Zaryarez, the bringer of peace.*
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> *Then I asked him what the tablets were, he answered: “My tablet is the book of wisdom and knowledge, the tablet that contains all the primeval laws, and many secrets of the world. Whilst the tablet of Roh is the book of Falsehood, it contains the secrets of evilness, and the principles one needs to spread it.” Then I asked him about the importance of the lost shard from his tablet and he said: “Oh Zaryarez, there are stories of the past that you do not know of. Your people have a rich past, mainly because they chose to follow my ways. Your history is like a beast who sleeps during the winter, only to awaken in the summer and assert his dominance. This has been the case with your people. In regards to the lost shard, it has engravings of magic from Anum”.*
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> *Indeed, he made me turn towards the source of the Avestan, and ordered me to close my eyes, and so I did. When I was ordered to open my eyes, I found myself in my original form. Then I looked up, and saw Avzaya pointing towards a place near the source of the Avestan, and so I walked until I reached a mountainous terrain, I was ordered to keep walking and I entered the woods. Mist was covering most of my sight, and the only guide I had was Avzaya whose light was still visible. Then the mists cleared and I saw a ridge of mountains, in front of which was a pond, Avzaya ordered me to drink from it, and I drank seven handfuls. Then a cave appeared in front of me, and Avzaya said: “Enter the birthplace of Earth, oh Zaryarez.”*
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> *When I entered the lost Garden I saw a land of beauty, there were trees that reached the clouds, mountains with the most beautiful tips, hills filled with purple and golden flowers, and wells and springs with the clearest of waters. Truly I beheld a sight the likes of which I had never seen before. I took slow steps as I looked around me, I saw old but beautiful houses, uninhabited but not void of splendor.*
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> *Then Avzaya descended towards a mountain and sat on it, whilst he sat he picked grapes from the big grape trees that were near him. He then signalled for me to come closer. Then he said: “Oh Zaryarez, from this mountain I taught my laws to your forefathers, and they stood right where you are standing, and they listened to my words just as you are listening, and they accepted just as you have accepted. Now let me tell you what transpired after them.”*
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> *Avzaya said: “Your ancestors lived here for hundreds of years, in peace and unharmed. Abiding by my laws which I had given them, but then Roh chose to wage war against me to achieve domain over the universe. He ascended towards the earth with an army of underdark deities, And he divided them into six groups, three on his right and three on his left. Each one led by one of his spirits. Then I came with my army and we met in the sky. We fought for three days and nights, using our most powerful magic. It was the greatest war to have ever happened. Both parties hurled stars and comets at each other, and when they collided it became smaller pieces and fell down towards the earth. The earth’s sky was like that of a thunderstorm but with many colors and dozens of thunderbolts, and the sound of thunder were the war cries of the deities.”*
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> *Then I asked him what the inhabitants of the earth did when this battle was commencing, he said: “The people were amazed by this battle, and they watched as shards of magic from the elemental stars fell on earth. The giants rushed to claim this magic, and that is when they discovered this art. Your ancestors on the other hand were watching from this garden, and magic fell towards this garden, but it got caught up in the branches of the big trees. And so on the third and last night of the battle, the Giants rushed to climb these trees, which they did with ease. Humans on the other hand climbed the mountains to reach a branch that touched the side of the mountains, but they failed to acquire any magic. When the giants were high enough they looked out in the distance, and they saw the earth beyond the garden. They saw magic spread everywhere, and so they left the magic on the trees and rushed to get out of the garden. Thus all the giants left the garden in one night, the moment they left was the moment I descended and grabbed the great moon and ripped it apart, then I held them. Then I threw them to each side of Roh’s army. And indeed the moons scattered them and they fled in pain. Then Roh cursed me and left with his army. And I made the moons stay as they are. I named them Zuda and Zudi, and they took on a new orbit. The forces of Roh were scattered, and the skies were void of danger.” Then he pointed towards the big trees next to him, and I looked up and saw that their tips were glinstering, and I understood that this was the magic that the giants had left in order to attain the magic beyond the garden.*
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> *He continued: “Then by my order the astral deities instructed the giants to bury the magic that came from the dark elemental stars, and the giants obeyed. And so we allowed them to use our elemental magic, and great civilizations arose from among the giants, meanwhile humans were living on the outskirts of these civilizations, for the giants were dominant and the humans hated to be subject to them. But they rarely had conflicts.*
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> *Then after a few hundred years there came a king from among the Azarian giants, Zarnabal was his name, he dug up the dark magic, and many other giant kings followed him. Then we sent to the giants an emissary from amongst the astral deities to warn them that they are doing something which is harmful, and truly evil. But they denied him and shunned him away. But Zarnabal wanted to show his power and killed the deity, after which he extracted his element by means of dark magic, he then mixed this element with dark magic, and created a form of magic which was more evil than any other before. Necromancy.”*
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> *And then I asked Avzaya what the resolve was of those who went against the astral deities. He said: “Indeed we sent an army to fight the giants, but we met hardship for they used the darkest of magic on us, it was as if we were fighting the army of Roh, but then some of your ancestors interfered and aided us with disrupting the giant camps and settlements, and destroying every sign of black magic they could, many sacrificed their own lives for this. In the end we annihilated the giant race. Your ancestors had left the Garden of earth to help us destroy the darkest of magic, and these people, Zaryarez, were the first Paladins.”*
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> *I reveal to you the origins of the Paladins, as Avzaya said to me: “We rewarded those who left the garden in order to help us with a magic unlike any before: the magic of Anum, which is magic I have created myself. It is the most powerful astral magic. I descended to earth, and I gathered your ancestors around me, and I said to them: “Oh you who have sacrificed your freedoms in order to aid goodness, I have come to you with a reward not seen before. I shall bestow upon you the art of the magic of Anum, thou shall be able to bend light and control the element in many ways. All forms of the magic of Anum shall be given to you, it is a most befitting gift for people the like of you. You shall be my Paladins, spreading my laws on this land and fighting our sworn enemy; the forces of evil and deception.”*
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> *Then when I had finished they all lowered their heads in respect and replied: “Oh you who had given us the means to achieve peace, this is but a wonderful gift, undeserving of it we are for it was our duty to aid goodness whether or not we were to be rewarded. We shall be your Paladins, spreading goodness on the land and destroying the forces of evil. We will sacrifice our lives just like our friends and companions did in order to fight evilness. None of us shall draw his last breath before striking a blow to his enemy, whether with words, or with swords.”*
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> *And so I showed them a part of my tablet which contained this magic, and they read it and were enlightened. I touched the tip of their tongues and light enveloped it and traveled to their heads, after which they did not utter any form of falseness. They were purified people, my Paladins on earth.” Then Avzaya pointed towards a rock which looked like a boulder with smooth edges and said: “That is the shard that broke from my tablet when I hit Roh, and that is the part of the tablet which the first Paladins read. It is the part that contains the lost magic of Anum, for the last Paladins who held this magic have passed away whilst fighting the forces of evil. Fulfilling their duties as Paladins of Avzaya”.*
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> *Then I asked Avzaya what happened to those humans who had not left the garden and stayed. He said: “Truly only seven hundred humans had left the garden to aid us, whilst thousands others stayed. They knew that if they left the garden they wouldn’t be able to find it again, just like the giants did and those with the other eye colors. The garden had been their home for hundreds of years, and they were attached to it. It was the birthplace of earth, and the birthplace of their forefathers. The first place humanity set foot on, and the place I came to them to teach them the laws of peace. They knew that no evil force could find them, and so they chose to stay in the garden, urging the others not to leave, but my Paladins ignored their cries and left their properties behind. Knowing that they would never be able to see it again.*
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> *Then when I had rewarded them I showed them the way back to the garden just like I did to you, oh Zaryarez. Then they entered it and the people who stayed were overwhelmed with joy and happiness. But I told them that their time in the garden was over, it was time for humans to inhabit the land of Daera, and to settle where the paladins settled, for they must aid the forces of goodness in their journeys to fight evilness. Thus every human left the garden, and bade farewell to their homes. They took with them purple and golden flowers and many grapes for it was their favourite fruit. The last message the Paladins gave to the empty garden was: “Oh mother of the earth, we have lived on your plains for years and years, and now it is time for us to depart. May the righteous set foot on you one day, and may the honest ones eat of your fruit, and the good ones take shade under your trees.” And so they left the garden, never to return again.”*
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> *I asked Avzaya about the resolve of the ancestors of Daera, and he said: “Indeed when all had left the garden they followed the paladins and settled around the Avestan. Then on a night among the nights Azraban, a leader among the paladins, led a group of thirty paladins on a journey to wander around Daera. And he rested on the banks of the Avestan just like you are, and I came to him in a dream and pointed him towards the star of Anum. When we woke up he followed the path of the river until he reached an illuminated place right under the star of Anum, and he said to the paladins: “Let us establish the enlightened settlement”. And so they built Asyhan, and a golden age started.”*
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> *Thus Avzaya told me the tales of the ancestors, and I listened to his words whilst we ate the fruits in the garden, then I asked him about the Shahs of Daera, and he said that they were many. Each one ruling his own settlement, whilst the paladins moved through the lands and fought any evil doer they saw. They destroyed any trace of black magic they could find. Their capital was Asyhan, and every Daeran with a good heart flocked to trade in it, and build its settlements for the inhabitants, and many settled there. Then came Shakhtan who united the Azarian tribes and established the kingdom of Daera. He was the first one to call us Daerans.*
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> *When I sat in the Garden of Earth, speaking with Avzaya, I asked him about the resolve of the Paladins, and how they became extinct. Avzaya said: “When Shakhtan united the tribes he established his kingdom, the paladins were not as numerous as they were before. And so Shakhtan took over Asyhan, in peace. The Paladins carried on with their missions, they made sure Shakhtan and his descendants ruled by my laws. Then came a dark being from the southern lands, and he possessed the dark magic of necromancy, and so the Paladins grouped together to fight him, they numbered around two hundred, and the war was fierce. But at the end eleven Paladins survived and managed to kill the dark being. Then they knew that their end was near, for their descendants were not born as Paladins, rather they lacked much of the Anum magic. And so the last paladins fought whoever they could, and spread goodness to wherever they could, until only one Paladin was left.*
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> *And so the forces of the underdark planned to take over the earth and to spread mischief on it for indeed the Paladins had died, and there would not be any resistance powerful enough to withhold them. They awaited the day the moons eclipsed the sun, a perfect time for them to emerge. But they underestimated my last Paladin. Indeed he called forth his descendants, and said to them: “Oh descendants of the good ones, I am the last of the paladins. Avzaya has taken away the magic of Anum from your hearts. So remember the fourteen laws, and remember our peaceful way of life. We have fought to spread this message, our ancestors sacrificed themselves to uphold it. We have built the gem of the world, and we have a golden history which is not written, rather it is engraved in the hearts of those who respect it, and they shall uphold it.” He then walked with them towards a dark place, it was the epicentre of evilness on earth; The gate to the world of the Underdark, the entry point for the forces of evil.*
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> *He stood in front of it, and he bade his descendants farewell. Then he looked towards the star of Anum and said: “I shall not die until I fulfill the promise of my ancestors.” Thus I said: “Then smite them with thy fist, a fist of power and a fist of light.” Then he turned towards the gate, and he recited some words that the ancestors had held secret, words written on the shard that contained a most powerful magic, the opposite of necromancy. And thus the light of Anum enveloped him. At that moment the sun eclipsed, and the earth shook below. The forces of evil were charging their way to earth. The last paladin made a charge from his light, the likes of which was not seen before. He pointed his hands towards the gate, and the light was in front of his hands, a strand of which was attached to his soul. Then he said his last words: “From the Avestan to Anum, may there forever be light.” And the light was thrown to the gate, with his soul being the seal. And thus the gate of evilness was sealed. The Paladins have fulfilled their vow.”*
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> *That was the last piece of history that was spoken to me, and I cried because it touched my heart. Truly the Paladins sacrificed a lot to fulfill their vow, and I am honoured to spread their message. And Indeed during my last moments in the garden Avzaya told me: “Oh Zaryarez, tell the women to cover themselves when in public, and when the men marry, let them bathe in a water of white flowers, stripes of white wood, and pure alcohol. When the women marry they must bathe in a bath filled with the best of leaves, and they should wash their hair with rose water. And on the night of the event, the man must not turn his wife on her belly, nor on her side. He may not come from behind but from the front. And do not be excessive in your food or drinks, when you eat of an animal, you must drink with it either water, milk or the juices of grapes, and do not drink that which makes you drunk, for your ancestors did not prefer that. Be clean in your homes and in your settlements, and do not eat whilst standing or walking in public places. And speak unto the people with the word of peace.”*
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> *These were among the ethics of the ancestors, they are the best and earliest of traditions. Then Avzaya told me that my time had come, and that I was to return to my body, and so I bade farewell to the garden. Then I exited through the cave, and when I looked back I could not see the garden anymore. When I asked Avzaya about it he said: “It is how I have hidden it, using the magic of Anum.” Then I returned to where I was originally standing, and I was ordered to close my eyes, then when I opened them I found myself as a great giant again. With my right foot on the mouth of the Avestan, and my left foot on its source.*
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> *Then Avzaya asked me: “Oh Zaryarez, when one asks you about your mission, what shall you say?” I replied: “I shall say that I bring the message of the ancestors, a message known to those who have not forgotten the path of the Paladins, I preach the laws of Avzaya, and I am an opponent to the evil doers.”*
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> - Scriptures of the Paladins 4:2-7:6
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