Introduction:
Pandora’s Box is a well-known legend. The story first originated back in the founding days of Ezra; in the time of barbarians and monsters. Pandora’s Box is supposed to be an artifact that contains immense power. The wielder of Pandora’s Box is supposed to be granted everything his heart desires. The origins of Pandora’s Box are unknown; some claim it came from another world, others claim that it is a remnant of a past civilization, and others still say that it originated from the same source that created Terra Nullius and all the life on it. It is largely thought to not exist, but there are some that insist it does. This is the story surrounding it…
The Legend:
In the first days of Ezra, the first male human (Prometheus) and the first female human (Pandora) created the foundation for their great nation. Soon, thanks to them, the human population grew and flourished in their early barbarian tribes.
Prometheus was held up as a champion of the people; a powerful warrior in his own right. He spent his lifetime fighting against the monsters that plagued his people and the land they lived in. Pandora was considered to be the wisest woman in the land; the first practitioner of primal magic in Ezra. She created the early orders of shamanism and druidism. It is said that Pandora had the third eye; a sixth sense that warned her of danger.
Prometheus and Pandora traveled across the lands of Ezra. Their love and care for one another was said to be indomitable; a true beacon and example for others to rally around. Near what would later be called Quiet Mountain, a tribe of humans asked Prometheus and Pandora to explore and root out monsters that were living in an underground ruin. The tribe claimed the monsters would come out at night and snatch their children away.
Together, Prometheus and Pandora cleared out the dungeon—killing its denizens. At the end of all dungeons and ruins, Prometheus and Pandora began to look over their spoils. The pair would often take the finer bits for themselves, but largely they would donate their findings to local tribes to help strengthen them.
This time was different. Prometheus and Pandora came across a startling artifact: an ebony box roughly a foot by foot in size. Neither recognized the magical runes written upon it; a magic neither had encountered. Not only did they not understand the magic, but neither understood the strange writing on it. The pictures on the box were constantly in flux; shifting and changing to the whims of the chaotic magic within the box.
Pandora could sense that a great power resided within the box. Prometheus vocalized that the power within could be used by the pair; neither were strangers to powerful magic items. Pandora voiced against the use of the box and to keep Prometheus from opening it, claimed it as her own and put it under her care. She warned that she had seen the box used in a dream of hers; and the box brought nothing but ruin to the world. Pandora’s visions weren’t always infallible, though, so Prometheus believed that she was wrong.
Pandora’s Box soon became a point of trouble between the couple. As if acting as a beacon, the box drew powerful creatures to assault Pandora and Prometheus over the next few years. Conflict after conflict, the pair almost met their match. Each time a new foe came; Prometheus would make the argument to use the box. More and more, he believed that with Pandora’s Box, the human race would be able to claim their rightful place as rulers of Ezra and drive out the monsters that plagued the land.
The land was soon disrupted by the greatest beast it had ever seen: the fabled tarrasque. The great monster rampaged across the country side; destroying everything that the humans had built along with much of the landscape itself. Many tribes fell to the beast before Prometheus and Pandora could defeat it. Prometheus was greatly wounded in the conflict. After the fight, he lashed out against Pandora for not using the Box to defeat the tarrasque.
Pandora was easily able to defeat the wounded Prometheus when he tried to take the Box by force. Tearful, she knew her duty was to hide the Box away from mankind again. The temptation of it was too strong and she so believed the continuing dreams of darkness and destruction she witnessed occurring as a result of opening the box.
Unable to bare it no longer, Pandora left Prometheus and took the Box to the dungeon where they first found it. There, she stayed for years. She recruited many guardians from the monsters she once hunted and called upon the primal spirits to protect Pandora’s Box. There, she created her own fortress of sorts. Overtime, some claim that Pandora changed into something else. No longer human; more of a hag, harpy, or fae creature. The stories differ on what she became, but she either willingly or unwillingly changed herself in order to become the guardian of Pandora’s Box.
Once fully recovered, Prometheus set out to find Pandora and her Box. Her guardians were no match for his powerful might and soon he confronted her in the heart of her lair. Prometheus argued that the land was in chaos, that the humans would soon become extinct as powerful dragons and other creatures staked out their territory. Pandora argued that hiding the box was the right course of action; that by opening the box, the planet itself would fall into darkness and die one day.
Feeling betrayed, Prometheus launched his assault against Pandora. The two battled, but in the end, Prometheus was victor. As Pandora died, she warned Prometheus one last time: do not open the box or the world will be plunged into darkness. Brokenhearted, Prometheus took a hold of Pandora’s Box. He told himself that with the power of Pandora’s Box, he could help his people; he could help save them from extinction and make Ezra into something great.
It is then, Prometheus opened the box. The stories differ about what happened after that… however, the common story that gets attributed to it is the birth of the Brother, the Champion, and the Lunatic. The darkness inside the box was the Lunatic while the hope inside was the Brother and Champion. Beyond this common story, there are more obscured theories of what Pandora’s Box is, what it does, and what happened between Pandora and Prometheus.
No comments:
Post a Comment