Legends of Adora: This Halfryta's, Garden: This Halfryta's, Garden.

By Lupo DiNotte

For six long generations war raged in the lands of Adora Halfryta. During the reign of 2nd Cleric the colonies across the continents of Halfryta fought. In order to establish their own dominion & power, and place in his

• Language: English
• Publisher: LupoDiNotte Ind
• Release date: Dec 31, 2020
• ISBN: 9780995309715

Lupo DiNotte

I'm Lupo. I'm from Toronto, On. I studied at the University of Guelph, Ontario majoring in psychology and philosophy, while studying English literature. I have a wide background in many forms and styles of content, varying in culture and localization, and have been writing books and stories since my youth. I have some background in marketing and advertising in a B2C system and partnered/sponsorship with LupoDiNotte Ind. Working to transcribe the work into a graphic novel & comic for visual consumption.. The next literary installation in the series is a 120k+ word full length novel

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Prologue

Eons ago, before civilization, there existed nothing. There was only the Null, a limitless mass of energy. The Null severed and separated and became something. That something contained the energies for everything we know to exist today. It swelled and burst, giving birth to the very plane in which we exist. The stars came to be, and they filled everything. The Goddess Yadra came to be when the Null separated: her immense power stemming from the very energies that bore this world.

She gave birth to many things which inhabit this land. Those things evolved, and grew and changed, and eventually became beasts. Creatures of sky and sea. They became dragons and monsters, demons, and spirits. They were beings of power, strength, cunning and wit, and man was among them. Yadra bequeathed life unto many things through her power and she loved them all. In their similarities and their differences. Centuries passed and these beings grew – in size and strength. Developing their powers, they harnessed the energies within and without. They came to realize the uniqueness given to them by the Goddess. Thus, began the antiquity. Thus, there was chaos.

A millennium of war raged; victims of all sorts fell at the hands of those who sought to conquer and those who sought to protect. Unable to bear it any longer, Yadra descended upon the world and, in all her power, split the lands. In her anger at the evil, an unquenchable fire was born, and it sought to punish all who would abuse and hurt. She wept tears for those who were lost and hurt by battle. The water that poured took form and spread, that all beings may know tranquility. She breathed new life into the world and winds rumbled: freedom reigned. Finally, she took power from within herself, caressing it in her hand, and gently placed it upon the land. She bestowed the world with an everlasting strength. This strength spread and new lands and life emerged. Seeing this, she was pleased, and once again returned to her place beyond our world. Separate from us, but never too far. She named our world a new name, one befitting of the ideal she held for it. She was the world, and the world was she. She so named it ‘Halfryta; meaning ‘Peaceful Home.’

Centuries passed and life flourished and blossomed anew. War had ceased, and the world knew peace… but this peace did not last. The powers bestowed by Yadra never ceased to grow. They fell in love with her creations and eventually too, influenced by man, beast, and monster alike, became chaotic. What had become tranquil would freeze in death wherever the waters lay. Winds raged and blew, becoming a torrential storm, mercilessly ravaging all. The flames’ wrath could never be quenched, and it knew no consequence. The earth never ceased to grow and spread, beasts and animals alike growing mad from the flow of unending power she’d bestowed. Yadra could not bear to again see the world she loved torn asunder and so she acted quickly, descending yet again. Gently stepping onto Halfryta, her powers gathered before her and took form: as beast, bird, drake, and sea creature. Tranquility, the water. Wrath, the fire. Strength, the earth. Freedom, the wind. They bowed before her in fault, ashamed that they had been influenced so. The powers of the world, her powers, were now present before her, and she recognized their shame. Thus, she bequeathed one more gift to the world. She raised her hands to the sky and clouds formed. They rippled and crackled. A white flash fell from the sky, and its energy took form. Behold, it was lightning, and it took the form of man. It was sovereignty, standing unwavering amidst all; a solitary intellectual, and emotional justice. Like the others, it too was given a task: to maintain the balance between the elements which made up our world. Balance between all things which lived upon Adora Halfryta. It shared the powers of the elements to the individuals who’d gathered with righteous intent: their families and bloodlines bearing a mark and inheriting these great energies. These families joined hands with the colonies of man and held a gathering, ushering a truce with the nonhuman tribes to maintain peace. Those dedicated to that effort became the first envoys of Halfryta’s Church: The First-Generation Scions, direct inheritors of Adora’s gifts, named Clerics: one who should stand a sage above all other priests and disciples. Someone who would lead the church for its own sake. Not for worshipping the Goddess, but to work for the good of all Halfryta’s creations.

The world has advanced since then. The broken lands of Adora cracked and spread further, taking up space all over the globe of the sea. Four continental bodies made up the world of Adora. The holy land of Halfryta, where the families of the Scions reside, is where our story takes place.

End of Prologue

Historia I

The Goddess descended. How frightful a phrase to have to turn twice: First, she split the world in two and created continents. Then, came civilization. - Hecatoncheires

The oldest recorded texts date back as far 1P2R—as estimated by the best architectural scientists of modern day. This refers to an age Post 1st, Pre 2nd, Ragnarök. Ragnarök refers to the instances where Halfryta herself descended upon these lands. – Adora Almanac I

"Recollections from this timeframe and prior are broken and scattered, but they tell a time of titans and conquerors, of benevolent emperors and tyrants. They tell of a time where true miracles and chaos were commonplace. At the end of these stories—of what seems to be final chapters—the Second-Generation Scions were born to the world. This occurs in year 2.PR-30.

Three decades later, at x001. PRx001, the Second-Generation Scions became the free leaders in the continental world of Adora, alongside the now-powerful lords and the rising church and guild factions. Twenty years later, the first of the Third-Generation Scions was born.

Recent geographical records describe the events which created the formation of islands to the south, the moon continents to the west, the floating jungles in the east and the ice in the north. And at the centre, the last true living body of the original holy land, on which Cephas and the church capital, Hal Astu, would not bear full fruit until the year x189.

The Thunder Peaks broke a crescent to the west. The vast snow-lands of Prunia to the north, the Torch Isles to the south, and the Axel Ilse: Terra Fluens. Together, these islands make up the continental world of Adora Halfryta" - World Geography I.

Historia Est Finis

Act I

x288

Parte et Rai

"Adora translates to beloved one, while Halfryta translates to peaceful home. The old ones brought these two words together, and so we call the Goddess who created our world by the same name we believe she gave it. Thus, she is Adora Halfryta or Beloved, Peaceful Home. The old ones believed that, because she created this world through & with her powers, the world is to her and she is to it. Many also call her Yadra, or mother," the teacher finished.

Teacher, I don’t understand. When the world was no good and full of fighting, it was because of power. So why did she give more power to the world? Asked a small boy, who sat at the front of the classroom. His hair was a red, dishevelled mop adorning his head, soft brown skinned.

Well, Lord Marise, if I should hand you a sword stained with blood, and my hand was also stained with the same blood, would you blame the sword for murder? He posed.

Haha! No way! He called aloud. The sword can’t do anything on its own. It’s just metal. The boy gave a light chuckle.

Ah, yes my dear boy. There are all sorts of powers within this world, but it is not in the nature of power to cause chaos. It is only in the nature of those that wield it, he professed. My dear students, be wary. Power, however small, will test your character. The mix of white and ash in his beard and hair ran to his shoulders and past his jaw. A light demeanor to him, Professor Elrik stood in professional, but comfortable, attire. His robes a mix of browns and purples unique and dark, yet colourful.

The classroom was filled with many young children who were no older than 8 or 9. In the world of Adora, the monarchy was strong and thriving. Kings and queens, lords, dukes, and nobility of all ranks populated these great lands. In this classroom were children who would eventually take up the reigns of the world: sons and daughters of powerful and notable families across the reaches of the continents. Each sat on a mat; a small table in front of them with scrolls, quills and study books placed upon each one. They wore garments and garbs of lavish colours and styles: some simple, some complex. No two were alike, yet none were uniquely different.

The Goddess has… weak character then? At least if what you say is true, right? I threw at our teacher. Marise looked back at me, puzzled.

Why do you think so, Lord Fenris? My teacher questioned.

Power tests character, right? What about the character of people who share power? Each time she shared it, there was chaos. She failed to give power to the right people. Not once, but twice. Is that not a weak character? I argued from behind Marise.

Well my young prince… you certainly raise an interesting point. I ask you this: suppose she never gave any power to anything at all. Or even suppose she’d learned from the first ‘mistake’ and didn’t share her power the second time. Where would our world be?

I… can’t say for sure. I admitted.

I see. Was it a character flaw that drove the Goddess? After all, caring is never truly the wrong thing to do. He stepped somberly around the room, pacing as he lectured.

Perhaps she truly could no longer standby watching. History tells of the great wars which brought Halfryta forth from the clouds. Each time, in reaction to the greed by man and beast & daemon alike. Without her gifts, there is no telling where we’d be and because of them here we are. It is not a matter of what happens next. No, what happens next is almost always entirely out of your control. What Halfryta gave to the world was not merely power, but a choice… and the power to make it. At times, the choice was wrong. And at times, right. But the Goddess held a faith that we would ‘right’ ourselves…and in time, we did. Can you tell me what it was she believed in? He stopped and stared at us for a moment, silently. That we wanted a home. She believed that when the time came to build our home, we would put all else aside and work towards it: a place of freedom, tranquility, and strength.

Wrath and sovereignty? I half-scoffed.

I suppose those words might ‘sound’ less emphatic than how they should be translated, He smiled into a soft chuckle. I would prefer consequence, and completion."

"But teacher… you do write the books." A petite, brown-haired girl with glasses said, holding a small handguide notebook, with a gold-coloured watermark reading ‘Elrik’ on the back.

Hrmph. I suppose I do. He replied with a gleeful mug. As he finished speaking, a long bell tolled. Come now children, gather your things. You are dismissed. The young elementary students gathered their books, quills, pens, and utensils, and began to exit the small classroom. Outside, the hallway stretched wide to a balcony overlooking the lower floors. Wooden pathing ran a square in the main hall as 4 bridges connected to the long spiraling staircase downward.

The great hall was painted in a brown-burnt auburn. The wooden railings and stone pillars held up banners and markings – symbols of all sorts, while glass murals and paintings hung across the high-rising walls, giving light and to the room. These depicted the elements, and a variety of the beasts & spirits which worshipped them – and humans. From the doors which sat along the second-floor hallways, more students began to appear. Here, in the Adora capital, the Church of the Goddess housed and taught students of all kinds: from future rulers and diplomats, dukes, and duchess, to knights, warriors, and academics. This hallowed, majestic hall has been a symbol which has kept Adora Halfryta united through the teachings of, and belief in the Goddess for as long as it has stood.

The teachers and instructors in it were decorated individuals: both students and masters of the assorted arts. They were men and women of several species who had demonstrated skills and talents some could only dream of. It’s these individuals who were tasked with rearing the bearers of the future.

The Church Castle sat at the end of the capital looking over the rest of Adora Astu, filled with tall towers and buildings. A bell resounded —the Light Bell. A clock tower which sat in the centre