Kiune and Majari

Hekara's Abyss, the lair of Lajaka, Ice Dragon of Lassa, is odd in that its monikers, past and present, are derived from myth. The lair rests beneath the Guardians, two peaks that tower above the rushing waters of the Kordi Rini. The canyon is treacherous on its best days, with slides, harsh terrain, and predators that do not mind taking a bite from a human. Perhaps these hardships draw in the type of person whose life lends well to myth. For this reason, Kiune and Majari's tale is a natural fit. Many retellings of this rivalry exist. The most popular takes place in the dead of Frozen Air, where the dangers of snow and cold play with the siojhetioxh and their entourages. A bardic enhancement; documents and first-hand accounts say the events took place in the late Strong Heat and into early Spiced Air, long before the first snows touched the slopes.

~Genophyte Pendarrin of the Iovan Palace School

Kiune and Majari: A Brief Retelling
by Genophyte Pendarrin

All artwork by Shade Melodique
unless otherwise stated
featured image: biletskiy, Envato

Brief Comment About Catak:

No Dragons

In the days of Giarel and his son Fidaran, two dragons backed the Jonna Empire; Kykini Cede, Flame Dragon of Kassak, and Lajaka, Ice Dragon of Lassa. When faced with such mighty foes, smaller countries bowed to Condi might and became another prize in the empire's expansion. But this did not last. The Flame Dragon's companion, the siojhetioh Eserial, and the Ice Dragon's companion, her son, Jaioron, flew to the Abysses, as a human does at the end of life. The dragons, uninterested in continuing their role as menacers, returned to their lairs and ignored the pleas of the empire to remain. This would not do. What would become of the empire, if the dragons turned from it? Adraoshen, King of Condioh, son of Fidaran, believed dragon support was his due. He sent out a call for heroes to brave the lairs and return to Condioh on the back of a dragon. Two lightartist siojhetioxh answered the call.

Kiune

Kiune was a Condi lightartist who inherited her waxen hair, her green eyes, and her magic prowess from her Ga Iniria ancestors. She saw the Jonna Empire as an obvious, glorious expansion of her beloved Condioh. She, a respected graduate from the Kand Theove Lightarts School, took up the challenge and focused on Death's Gate, the lair of Lajaka. Gathering an entourage of peers and a host of servants paid for by her noble family, Kiune traveled to Ay a di galay and made her way to Kath ri'dan, the largest city nearest Death's Gate. There, she purchased supplies and information about the best way into Lajaka's lair. Annoyed that none of those she asked, whether huntsman, scholar or religious authority, knew a way inside that bypassed the official entrances, nor the specific place they kept the Vendari, she focused on those who paid homage to the Ice Dragon, the dragonpriests. Annoyingly, they, as notorious keepers of secrets, did not part with the information she desired. If you seek the Vendari, the dragonpriests said, you must find it using your own wit and strength. Whether the lowest commoner or loftiest king, the trials to find the Vendari are the decider. So has Lajaka decreed, and so will it always be. Kiune dug into her travel purse for more bribe money, but stopped, frozen, as she beheld another lightartist known to her; Majari.

Majari

Majari was an aki n'di ori lightartist who inherited her raven hair, her gold eyes, and her magic prowess from her aki ancestors. She saw the Jonna Empire as a necessary evil on the way to tribal glory. She, a respected graduate from the Ay a di galay campus of the Ruojheviorioh Lightarts School, took up the challenge and focused on Death's Gate, the lair of Lajaka. Gathering an entourage of peers and locals who believed it beyond time for an aki n'di ori to become a dragon companion, Majari traveled to Kath ri'dan, the largest city nearest Death's Gate. There, she purchased supplies and information about the best way into Lajaka's lair. Eager responses met her questions, whether from huntsman, scholar or religious authority, but none knew a way inside that did not involve the dragonpriests--and all knew, the dragonpriests kept public ways into the inner sanctum sealed because the trials to reach the Vendari were a danger to everyone. There must be another way inside, since Jaioron had found it. Too bad the dragon companion never told anyone where it was. Majari asked the dragonpriests for confirmation. They told her yes, there were many unofficial ways adventurers could take into the lair. She need only find one--a trial in itself. Sighing for the truth of it, she turned--and froze, as she beheld Kiune, fat purse in hand, attempting to bribe a dragonpriest for aid.

Rivals

Kiune and Majari knew each other; they battled in competitions between lightarts schools, with an equal number of wins. They sought to out-wield each other, even stepping outside lightarts precepts to gain the upper hand. If one reached the Vendari first and overcame its magick trials to become Lajaka's companion, they would achieve the ultimate victory over the other. Each left the dragonpriests, intent on reaching Death's Gate first and winning the prize. There was but one overarching problem; Frozen Air. Frozen Air seasons in the alpine regions of Death's Gate meant deep snow, deep cold, and deep trouble. Dragonpriests had difficulty keeping the official lair roads clear, and never bothered with any other access point until the snows disappeared during The Melting. Avalanches commonly roared down the slopes of the Guardians, and the hungry, snow-white canines, the avewen and their catty sisters the ze nal found humans as delicious a meal as the stocky feleden goats. Kiune, confident she could use her magick to mitigate the natural dangers and reach the Vendari before her rival, gathered her entourage and rushed to the base of Death's Gate. Majari, confident that an aki n'di ori could navigate the natural dangers through wile and local knowledge and reach the Vendari before her rival, gathered her cohort and rushed to the base of Death's Gate.

The Split

The two factions arrived at the broad road that ran above the Kordi Rini. Glaring daggers at each other, the two separated; Kiune to the east, Majari to the west, each floundering through snowed-in trails to put distance between them. The eastern Guardian, with a gentler slope, had drowning snowdrifts. The western Guardian, with a steeper slope, had freezing winds. The siojhetioxh, accustomed to maintaining temperature through wieldings and safety through shields, could not battle nature as they anticipated. Each found clearings and set up base camps, and after fortification, they began to scour the mountains for hidden entrances. Days turned to eight-days, as neither discovered a way into the lair. The searchers crept higher and higher up the peaks, trying to find caves or cracks. They encountered hungry predators and avalanches, bitter cold and even sharper winds. Supplies ran low, companions had to be taken to the dragonpriests for healing help, and neither discovered a thing. The Night of Two Stars came, along with a deep freeze. Mist rose from the river, clouding the view of the opposite side of the canyon. Each party huddled in tents for warmth, but Kiune and Majari braved the elements to look at the sky and pray for guidance. Both beheld light at the tops of the Guardian peaks, and excitement filled their hearts. A sylfaone heard their prayers and gave them a light to follow! Despite exhaustion, they marked the spot with their magick, providing a reference once day broke.

Finale

Come the crisp light of morning, each beheld the other's mark. Fury filled them. Had a sylfaone helped both of them? Why? Each, warmed by their sense of betrayal, saw a threat in their rival across the canyon, ready to make the trek to the top of the peaks. Each refused to let the other succeed. Each called upon their power, and each threw a storm of Light magick across to their opponent. The battle raged, with companions serving extra power to the two women. Those not involved in the battle attempted to hide, some attempted to flee, but once outside the shielding the lightartists created, they fell to the sizzling remnants of powerful spells and their ashes blew away in the stiff winds. Snow fell, the cold fifth wind whipped down the canyon, felling trees, and starting avalanches. Desperate, Kiune sucked up the last of the power given her and hurled it at Majari. Desperate, Majari sucked up the last of the power given her and hurled it at Kiune. The side of the western Guardian exploded, sharp pieces of debris and trees raining into the river far, far below, taking the remnants of Majari's cohort with it. The top of the eastern Guardian exploded, the sharp pieces of rock flying high into the air and raining down onto Kiune's entourage, breaking shields and crushing those loyal to her. Dust from earth and snow settled. Nothing remained of the two camps but scorched earth and bloody corpses.

Aftermath

Whether a sylfaone provided guidance or not, the altars that lit the previous night had been obliterated by the two rivals' attacks. Dragonpriests roamed the Guardians, seeking survivors. Only a handful between the two parties were found, and their harrowing tales of the battle and escape frightened all who heard them. They feared the lightartists, and the retaliation they feared would hound them for surviving. They need not have worried. The dragonpriests found no trace of Kiune or Majari--living, anyway. Their spirits raised havoc, but that is another tale. Lajaka, annoyed at the damage they caused, cloaked Death's Gate in a new spell, one that prohibited wieldings but for a designated set of dragonpriests. Jonna Empire mystery artists who nosed around the mountains afterwards, were given a cold welcome and even colder kick down the canyon by those who did not want their home to become another death field. No other human became a dragon companion during the Jonna Empire's rule.

Pendarrin's Notes

For the curious, I've provided notes that relate to how the aki n'di ori tell and view the story of Kiune and Majari. Just know, that neither are considered heroes, but villains.

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The battle between Kiune and Majari happened in 2783 AGI. The records of note come from a servant named Casion, one of the people with Majari's retinue, and Ladallel, a minor Condi wielder aligned with Kiune. Casion hid during the battle and did not come out until the smoke cleared. He was shocked by what he witnessed in the aftermath and documented everything on Majari's side. Ladallel drained herself energizing more powerful artists' spells, and was ostracized to an overhang to recover. She didn't have the chance, before the final, simultaneous attacks. She's the reason we know more of what happened, magick-wise, during the battle. The Jonna Empire buried both accounts, attempting to hide the failures. Desperate, Casion gave a copy of everything to the dragonpriests, and they, refusing to remain silent, spread it far and wide. Their efforts preserved these first-hand accounts.

While Majari was aki n'di ori and Lajaka's lair rested in her home country, she has never been viewed as the hero of the tale. She, after all, chose to attend a Lightarts school run by Condi, rather than study the shadowarts with a tribal wielder. The snowy version is the retelling kindest to her, but we know, from Casion, that she was as wealthy as Kiune. Her family was Ifenede diniki, and as a member of the ruling family's kin tribe, they aligned with the invading Condi to keep their money and standing. As an aki n'di ori who wanted to keep her people subjugated to the Jonna Empire rather than ride Lajaka in defense of Ay a di galay, she was (and still is) viewed with more contempt than Kiune. This contempt led to aki n'di ori calling her 'Condi-like'. It now refers to any undesirable.

As mentioned before, eyewitness accounts have the rivals entering Death's Gate in late Strong Heat, and staying through early Spiced Air. Rockslides caused by rain and predators may have factored into the dangers, but snow, cold and avalanches did not. It appears aki n'di ori bards first added snow and cold as a danger within a few years of the event, more as a warning to stay away because Lajaka was upset, than a moral tale of arrogance, which it later became.

The tale was told often enough, the eastern mount became known as Kiune, the western as Majari. The two together were still referenced as the Guardians, though no one considers Kiune or Majari 'guardians'. Two altars rest on the tops of the peaks and are also named for the two lightartists. Despite the difficulties in getting to them, thousands of pilgrims make the journey every year. The popularity of the tale is why the two rivals replaced the sylfaodolon originally worshipped at the spots.

There is no evidence of an anti-magick spell protecting Death's Gate before Kiune and Majari. There is plenty after their battle, beginning with non-dragonpriest rescuers unable to kick-portal those in need of healing care. This is important for three reasons. First, the anti-magick spell still protects the canyon, and second, it led to the tale of Hekara, another Jonna lightartist who was driven mad by her inability to wield a spell near the lair. Death's Gate became known as Hekara's Abyss (referencing the even more ancient name 'The Tenth Abyss'), and retains that name in modern times. Third, the no-magick played a role in the later eradication of the Abyss's dragonpriests by two religious sects. Rumors claimed that the sects' deities reflected the no-magick spell onto the dragonpriests, letting the attackers slaughter at will while the victims had no defense. There are many odd things about the simultaneous attack on all five lairs to eradicate the dragonpriests, and this is one of them. Contemporary accounts from rescuers say the evidence of magick on both sides was overwhelming. If so, how did the sects overcome the prohibition? Their sylfaodolon? If so, was that why Lajaka did not help his priests? He had two bigger issues to deal with?

Further Reading The Intermittent
The Guardians
Hekara's Abyss
Anti-Magick of Hekara's Abyss
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Answering: "Myth"

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