Page 1/4 Remains of Rage and Sadness (1) By Flynn Lexton Stonegard is a barren and unforgiving land. Thankfully, this lends to more opportunities to meet travelers. Since you can't camp anywhere in the desert, you must find an oasis. And since there are only so many spots to choose from, you have no other option but to run into fellow travelers. Plus, if you happen upon each other often, you will inevitably become acquainted. It was at such an oasis in the desert where I first met Regina Lehman, an artist who made up for her lack of sociability with her brilliant skills. She traveled with her innumerable monster sketches and said I was the first person to show interest in her work. "I can't believe it! Everyone else just asks why I'm wasting my life with these drawings!" I couldn't believe she was the same person who had been quietly drawing for more than two hours among the caravans surrounding the oasis campfire. She immediately opened her backpack full of rolled parchments, as if to show me all the drawings she had. I wanted to remind Regina that we weren't in a peaceful inn at Stonegard Castle, but it was no use. It was fortunate, though, that she would not be dissuaded. For as she continued showing me her drawings, I realized that her cluttered backpack was in fact a bag full of treasure. Her drawing skills were delicate and full of life, and I pointed to one after another, asking how she had managed to capture such detail of what were incredibly dangerous creatures. "Oh, this one! This one was really hard to draw. It has a keen sense when it comes to detecting humans!" The drawing she showed me was a temitran with a fearsome expression. The only place temitrans lived around there was the Raging Wilds, so I excitedly asked how she had approached the creature. Page 2/4 Remains of Rage and Sadness (2) The Raging Wilds are filled with extremely violent temitrans, which makes sense for a place called "The Raging Wilds." Worse, the place is filled with masterless golems that eliminate anyone who approaches. There even exists a huge, broken golem called "Talus" that attacks any creature in its vicinity. Even some dedicated and fearless monster scholars consider the place too dangerous to be worth studying. It is, however, worth pointing out that there is a significant difference between the fields of monster and golem research (I'd elaborate further, but this is outside the intended scope of this journal, so I'll save it for a later book.) As a scholar and historian, it is extremely interesting that these two kinds of creatures that are so very different by nature constantly act with the same behavioral drive: seeking to eliminate anyone who invades their territory. Regina said she needed the help of a fairly skilled friend from the Resistance to complete the sketch. She then told me the story she heard from that same companion. "Did you know that Talus was originally someone's name?" The story she told me was an old legend handed down near The Raging Wilds. I had also heard a similar story from an old mason who lived in the Sanctuary Oasis, so I listened to her story with interest in case she might help fill in any missing details. Legend has it that a long time ago, in an age after the departure of the elves but when Stonegard was still covered with green forests, a war broke out between humans and mitrans. Originally, humans enjoyed the benefits of the forest through the goodwill of the mitrans. But, as the human population increased, this proved not to be enough for them. Some humans attempted to trap and exploit the mitrans. So, in response, the mitrans created temitrans to fight the humans. Not to be outdone, the humans developed golems using the expertise of wizards. However, the escalating conflict soon reached an impasse: neither was strong enough to win outright. So the war continued without end. This was as much as I knew of the legend based on the stories I had collected. Page 3/4 Remains of Rage and Sadness (3) It was Talus, the genius wizard, who created the largest golem. According to a commonly known story, he created that giant golem for humans, but died because the golem went out of control. However, Regina told me something different. "Talus's original plan was to subdue the temitrans using the golems and put an end to the war between humans and mitrans. His motives were understandable, given that the war had already lasted for over a hundred years. But before the golems could secure victory, the humans grew impatient and set fire to the forest." Seeing the temitrans screaming and dying as the forest burned, Talus was devastated by the selfishness and cruelty of the humans. After all, the forest they destroyed was supposed to be a home not only for mitrans, but all living things, including humans. In despair at the selfish act of the humans, at their will to simply destroy what they couldn't have for themselves, Talus was said to have remained on the battlefield as it burned. "You know the tall stone mountain that looks like a tower in The Raging Wilds, right? Well, it was really a tower, and it was the place where Talus controlled the golems. Talus remained there, essentially giving up on life even though he could have escaped." Regina said that explains why neither the golems or temitrans ever approach the tower. Having learned as much from her friend, she was able to hide in the tower and observe and draw temitrans to her heart's content. After hearing that story, I looked upon the drawing of the temitran again and could see why she depicted it as a creature full of unknown rage and sadness, and not just the lifeless wooden monster chucking stones from the accounts of most adventurers. This understanding of the monster gave her art life. Page 4/4 Remains of Rage and Sadness (4) I told her that I wanted to include her drawing along with her account of this story in my book. She was beyond excited and said she would continue to provide any other monster illustrations that I required. Although ordinary people will never see a temitran in their lifetime, it would be a true shame if they did not at least learn something from the story of the temitrans.
