Dagda

The **Dagda** were a race of Mer that existed between the years of 0 ADA and 510 ADA. The ancestor-race of the Kells, they lived in Lothor, where they formed a short-lived empire that would eventually fall with their enslavement and transformation into the Kells.

## Physiology

Resembling the Kells, Dagda were pale-skinned folk with emerald green eyes and curly red hair. With large eyes made to see in the dark, they were a very lean race. With deep ties to the forest, they had adapted to life under the shade of trees, and were very sensitive to sunlight.

The Dagda were innately magical, and one of their greatest powers was the ability to telepathically speak with any form of wildlife. Combined with their advanced understanding of magic, this ability proved to be extremely useful to the Dagda, especially while hunting and in times of war.

## History

The history of the Dagda is a short one. This article will cover only the most crucial information on the antiquity and origins of the Dagda.

### The Dagda and the Earth Mother

In the dawn of recorded history, known by many as the *Age of Dawning*, a great being came to be through the preexisting "Natural Order", the idea that life will always exist, and that there is no beginning and no end; only transitioning. This being became known as Dumara, or the Earth Mother. Dumara saw the emptiness of the world around her and sacrificed her body and spirit to create Agara; a plane of existence where new life could exist without end.

Upon sacrificing her body to create Agara (literally becoming the world), the Earth Mother's first living creation was the races of Men and Mer. One such race of Mer were the Dagda, the most magical humanoid race at the time. Recognizing the Earth Mother as their creator, they did everything they could to ensure her protection, but also made sure not to waste her resources and gifts. Thus, they pledged to forever make proper use of whatever she gifted them. With the wood from her trees, they built their homes. From her streams, they drank her water. From the meat of her animals, they would feast. Nothing was wasted, and for a long time, the Dagda were the Earth Mother's favored children.

### The Alder Gods are Born

At the same time as the mortals were created, the Earth Mother gave life to immortal beings, with the purpose of providing what she soon could not to the mortals. Known as the Alder Gods, these immortals would became the patrons of certain domains, and would eventually create lesser immortals called the Callow Gods. Soon, the Dagda worshiped many gods. So many, in fact, that it was considered rare for an individual to know every single one. In order to balance the worship of each deity, the Dagda separated into different tribes, and each dedicated themselves to a different god. After the Earth Mother eventually lost her powers over the world, the Alder Gods inherited this duty, to which they have done since.

### Rise of the Dagda Empire

After years of living in tribes, the Dagda began to grow rapidly in populous. In the year 200 (Age of Dawning), the Dagda chiefs decided that the tribes could now maintain a proper alliance among each other, and decided to build the stone city of Daediir near the highlands of Lothor and frozen wastes of Valkendur.

Within these walls, the Dagda chiefs decided upon a proper king and system of ruling. After 5 years of planning, the Dagda had decided that Daediir would be ruled by a king chosen by the high priest of each Alder God, who would have power only over the territories in and around the kingdom. None of the Lothor wildlands would ever be subject to the rule of a mortal.

The first king, King Deredus, proved this system to be quite effective and popular among the Dagda. However, as history has proven time and time again, the greed of mortals always finds a way to creep into ruling authority.

### The Curse of Faustus

After only 100 years of Dagda rule over Lothor, hard times fell upon the land when Tarragon invaders from the southern nation of Norstrei began to sack and pillage the land in the name of their Dracae gods. During this period of time, food was scarce, and many Dagda perished not at the end of blades, but due to starvation and dehydration.

Seeing his land being crushed by invading armies, the King Faustus of Daediir ordered his armies to continue fighting without any means of sustenance. Soon enough, the lack of food became a problem among even the nobles of Lothor, and the royal family sent archers out in search of local food. One fateful night, a scout reported a massive white elk just beyond the city walls. Sending a party of hunters to find and kill it, Faustus was later told by the high priests that the elk was a mortal agent of Aine, the first Alder God. However, it was too late, as the hunters had already slain the beast. For his impatience and poor leadership, Aine punished Faustus by stripping his whole race of their innate magical powers. This degrading punishment caused the Mer race of Dagda to become but a mere race of Men. In addition to punishment by the gods, Faustus's own people began to rise against him and the royal family. By the end of that night, Faustus and his family lay burning in a bonfire, and the royal hall of Lothor was left to be ransacked by Tarragon invaders. From this day forward, the city of Lothor never again had a king, queen, nor even an emperor. The Dadga Empire is said to have been one of the most short-lived dynasties in history.

### Enslavement and Uprising Edit

After their crushing loss in Lothor, many of the now powerless (and hopeless) Dagda were transported south to Norstrei, where they would serve the Dracae that resided over the Tarragon. For years, the Dagda were forced into slavery to their new overlords. The few that could hide from the Tarragon stayed in the wastes of their homeland. It was in 510 (Age of Dawning) that the Dagda found hope in their gods, yet again. For one slave, known nowadays as Yuna the Savior, discovered that she was the first champion of Aine, and had been blessed with his power to overthrow he Dracae. Following a series of uprisings across Norstrei, the Dagda slayed countless of their Dracae masters, and escaped back to their tribes in Lothor. Once the Dagda had escaped and regained their strength, they renamed themselves as the Kells (the dated term for "Saved Ones"), and proudly proclaimed their status as a race of Men. Even after The Great Divide, in which the land of Mer and Men split, the race bore their honor and pride.

## Notable Dagda

* King Deredus
* King Golor
* King Faustus