The Salvation

When Aethos visited Tera for a second time and witnessed the dire situation of humanity, he knew something had to be done or the entire race would be doomed. Instead of directly intervening himself, he considered this situation as an opportunity for his former pupils: the Vesaja . Eight individuals were selected and sent to Tera to topple the scales of power, and to guide humanity towards a brighter future.

Those responsible for the downfall of mankind, and therefore the enemy to defeat, were a unique race of giant ancient beasts: the Titans . Extremely powerful and often quite clever for anything non-humanoid, these beasts had been ruling on Tera unchallenged long before there was any mention of humans. Strong in their own right, but even the strongest and biggest titan on the whole planet would be no match for the magic of a trained Vesajan mage. Aethos wanted to push his former pupils to their limit, to force them to be resourceful, and to make an alliance with mankind to achieve this task. For this reason, and because the Vesajan magic could cause irreversible damage to the planet, he forbade the use of magic for this undertaking.

And so the war began, with on one side the Vesaja and the plagued inhabitants of Tera, and on the other the titans. Twelve years later they successfully liberated a large area protected by natural borders, now known as the World of man , and the salvation ended.

While the salvation went into the history books as a war, the event is best described as a series of hunts.

• The hunt on Gort

Gort the insatiable was a bearlike titan that lived in the Belt , and terrorized a large territory in now called Arkalon . The hunt on Gort was one of the first, not because it was the closest to stargaze valley (the place where the Vesaja landed on Tera) , but because it was the most talked about. The nighttime raids of Gort were the fuel of nightmares, and the end of it's reign would mean a huge boost to the human morale. Avast and Bolkion built a giant deadfall trap, designed so that an entire mountain would collapse into a canyon, near one of Gort's lairs. One particular night Arkun managed to lure the beast into the canyon and sprung the trap, instantly killing it. The head of the titan was preserved, and was taken by the Vesaja on a tour through western-Theria. While it was a collaboration of several Vesajan hunters, Arkun was the most public at the time, and took most credit for the kill. Not only did this kill make the continent safer, it also made the mankind more trusting towards the Vesaja, which were now rapidly gaining a respectable following.

• The hunt on Firi

Firi the scourge of men was a greater dragon that came from the east to feed on the early farmers and their livestock around the Eldor river in now called Arkalon. Greater dragons were the main obstacle for civilization as they are drawn towards larger groups of prey, and Firi was by far the most deadly among them. Killing it would be a challenge, as the dragon came from an unknown land behind the now called Sea of men , which back then was the home of several deadly leviathan. The matter was urgent, but a large party would draw too much attention, so Rekna , the vesajan warrior, took a risk and departed from western Theria in a simple rowboat, in search for the home of Firi. He found this unknown island which was called firigront (ground of Firi) by the westerners, and with it the lair of the legendary dragon. A fight ensued which was said to have taken up most of the year, and at the end Rekna came out victorious. Later Rekna would return with settlers from west-Theria to found a new empire on the island-continent, and firigront became known as Firigon . After the fall of Firi, many greater dragons in Theria acknowledged defeat and fled the continent.

• The hunt on Ungael

Ungael the abbysal dread was a kraken that lived in the sea of serpents and terrorized the coast of eastern Theria. Ungael was smart, and managed to avoid the combined efforts of Avast, Bolkion and Kartan for a long time. Every time they managed to track the aquatic titan, it managed to simply disappear. After some time Kartan discovered a huge underwater cave system near the belt, and figured that was where Ungael always managed to escape. An attempt was made to map the network of tunnels, but it was just too deep and big, even for the Vesaja. They then decided to build another gigantic underwater trap, and use bait to lure the kraken to them. Ungael fell for it, and got one of it's main arms stuck in the clamp of the trap. Before the Vesaja could land the finishing blow though, Ungael amputated it's own arm and once again escaped in the cave system. Since then Ungael does not dare to leave the cove, and the safety of the tunnels nearby. As the eastern shore (aside from Ungael's cove) was now "safe", the Vesaja decided to move on and come back later to finish of the kraken, which they never did. Ungael is still alive today, and reckless fishermen that dare to enter the cove are at risk of encountering this illusive titan.

• The hunt on Slek

For the first few years in east-theria, the Vesaja didn't even know Slek the dwarfbane existed, as it lived deep in the gresrok mountains, and never left the safety of it's tunnels. Slek was a huge worm-like creature with dozens of spiked tentacles located arount it's mouth. It used these tentacles to catch prey, and to scratch away the dense rock to expand it's tunnel network. No human had ever seen Slek before and lived to tell the tale, and therefore humanity and the Vesaja couldn't have known about the fight for life and death that was happening under their feet for years now. You see, when the Vandurr dwarves dug northwards, in search for new resources, their tunnel network connected with the network of Slek, with a bloodbath as result. Slek loved the taste of dwarves, and the scent of them was easy for the titan to track. The dwarves were unable to stop the beast while it slowly advanced closer and closer to their main stronghold in the Adler mountains. More and more dwarves fled the stronghold, which eventually caught the eye of Bolkion, who joined the Vandurr dwarves in their fight against the giant worm, and together they managed to kill it. The dwarves would be forever in dept to Bolkion, with many now considering him a god.

• The hunt on Abak

Abak the devourer of herds was the first major hunt in Suthria . Living in the Suthrian sea, Abak was a giant crocodilian titan who used ambush to catch several prey at once where earth meets water. Before the dry season commenced, the semi-aquatic titan would follow a river and migrate to the everlake, which would soon become one of the few sources of fresh water. Tens of thousands of animals, including humans, would have no choice but to defy the giant crocodile. Avast and Damatis were the most active in the Suthrian continent, and they managed to ambush Abak when it was most vulnerable: during it's migration towards the lake. The creature was heavily armoured, and managed to escape and disappear into the sea. For long it was thought to have been fatally wounded, but recent reports suggest that Abak has returned.

• The hunt on Esreaval

Esreaval was the biggest leviathan living in the now called sea of men , and the main reason why humanity had never dared to stray far from land. Killing Esreaval proved to be extremely difficult, and the combined efforts of Arkun, Ykryn, Kartan, Bolkion, Avast and Damatis were needed to kill the giant beast. Esreaval was the last titan to fall, and it's death made the sea safe for mankind to discover and make their own. In addition this made the contact between Suthrians and Therians possible, which resulted in imporant trading routes that changed the world economy forever.

It is no coincidence that the Vesaja liberated this particular area now known as the world of men. Natural borders engulfed most of the area, and the Vesaja made sure to protect the weak points that weren't:

- The northern border is protected by the Belt; an enormous mountain chain that splits the entire Therian continent in three: north, east and west. It is deemed impossible for titans to cross this onehundred thoustride wide mountain range.

- The eastern border is protected by the sea of serpents, which is connected with the sea of men through the strait of kelp . With the help of the merfolk , a species of aquatic fauns, Damatis managed to plant a forest of celestial kelp here, which had a repelling effect on titans and therefore prevented entry for them.

- The southern border in Suthria is protected by the mark of sear , an area where the atmosphere is damaged by the fight of two greater dragons millenia ago. The temperatures here are extremely high, and the Vesaja deemed it unlikely for titans to cross.

- The western border is protected by another giant body of water: the Treacherous sea . Also here there is a strait which connects it to the sea of men, and possible provides entry for aquatic titans. To combat this, Bolkion built a gigantic lighthouse in the now called strait of trades, and Arkun placed a franction of his magic on top of it. This magical, purple light still shines today, and prevents the titans from entering.