"In ages past, the races of the world maintained very little contact with
each other. While most of them did have some familiarity with the others,
the people known as Ogres remained the most mysterious. They tended to form
rather small tribes and dwelt in remote, hilly, or mountainous areas. As a
result the other races looked down upon the them, criticizing their lack of
cities and technological progress.
"There were a few recorded cases of people who claimed to have been
kidnapped by Ogres. These individuals often reported seeing vast
underground caverns and a highly-developed society, but most of the time
they were not reputable enough to be believed.
"Ogres were generally viewed with great distrust. On the rare occasions
when they came into towns looking to trade, they were treated with contempt
and fear. Much of this attitude was due to the few ogre warriors that
roamed the land, since they were famous for their incredible cruelty and
fighting prowess. And so the situation remained... Until the coming of
the stones from the sky.
"As the case has been throughout history, the corruption in the Druidic
circle was caused by a lust for power. The leader of the Druids decided
that it was his destiny to protect the balance of life on the planet, and
felt that a fresh start would be the only way to assure perfection. The
destruction that followed his casting of The Spell was almost absolute, but
through the efforts of the rest of the Druids several major cities and
sacred places were preserved.
"One town that was chosen to be saved was known as Decara. Located at
the foot of Mount Malius, it was one of the most beautiful and sophisticated
towns of its time, home to the obscure but powerful group of warriors known
as the Archons. In order to ensure complete safety, the shield spell
protecting Decara was one of the first to be cast. But no one was able to
predict the events that would follow.
"When the first of the meteors struck the ground, all seemed safe in the
city. The shield was obviously doing its job, and the residents of Decara
were hardly concerned. However, through a strange twist of fate, the base
of Mount Malius was hit especially hard by the rain of rocks from the sky.
Because the dormant volcano's interior remained fairly unstable, the force
of the impacts was enough to set off a chain reaction and cause the entire
surrounding area to collapse inwards around the mountain. Even the powerful
shield surrounding Decara was not enough to protect it from the disaster,
and when the debris finally settled the city appeared to have vanished
without a trace.
"The survivors mourned the tragedy that had taken place, but eventually
they were forced to move on. The true dangers of The Book were realized,
and the Druids decided that it should be sealed safely away. In the
meantime civilizations rose again, building larger and more sophisticated
cities. Decara became little more than a memory, and eventually the name
faded into obscurity.
"However, recent scholarship suggests that Decara may not have been
destroyed after all. Studies of newly-available Ogre folklore have produced
several stories of a city that once existed above ground, but somehow fell
through the earth and became integrated with Ogre society. If these tales
do speak of Decara, the information that must be persevered there would be
invaluable to the academic community. More investigation on the subject is
definitely called for."
