History of the world of Lineage/Kamael



Kamael & Hellbound

Contents

Foreword

I think, and hardly anyone will argue, that players wanted to solve the mystery of the Kamael's origin even before the race itself appeared in the world of LINEAGE II. It started with the quest "Kamael: A Window to the Future" in Chaotic Throne: Interlude, which told of a new race appearing. With the first mention in the patch notes. With the first drawings of the one-winged. No wonder: this race isn't mentioned even in the well-known "The Legend", which only briefly says that the Giants created a strong army for the war with the gods.

When word came that a new race would be added to the game, countless threads about the origin of the Kamael sprang up on various forums, and they keep appearing to this day. Many different theories were put forward, some of them the most incredible, absurd and funny. And to this day, even though several game updates have come out, the origin of the Kamael remains hidden behind a veil of the Unknown for many.

I had long wanted to gather the scraps of history of my favorite race into one whole. Only one thing stood in the way: very little was known about them. The "official" information from the developers was more than meager, and the hints NPC in the 1st and 2nd profession quests and the details of the quest in Nornil's Garden only raised new questions…

The description of the Kamael race on the Russian official server was a real letdown… But despite the lack of material, I made a timid attempt to write the history of the Kamael race. And so, some time later, my "Grey Book of the Kamael" appeared on the 4GAME forum in the "Kamael" section: almost pure speculation and fantasy in a literary style[1]… But back then my fragile Methusela crossbow girl was still growing up and didn't even dream that one fine day she would match the legendary Spicula Kamael in strength, about whom, to tell the truth, she knew nothing at the time…

Time went by, running like water through your fingers. And "Saga of the Trickster" partly lifted the veil over the history of the Kamael. And soon the Seeds of Chaos were sown and sprouted…

Still, what you read below makes no claim to be an accurate account of the history of the Kamael race. The history of this race is quite mysterious and tangled, and probably only the race's elders know it in full. I simply tried, as accurately as I could, relying both on certain facts and on my own guesses, to write down what I have learned. To piece together the overall picture from many fragments. Some of it worked out. But even now a few pieces of the mosaic are missing…

It would be interesting to leaf through the pages of the "Forgotten History of the Kamael". To find and decipher the Stone Plates of Maphr, which keep the knowledge of the ancient Giants; surely they speak of the creation of the Kamael as well. Or to read the book about the Kamael race written by Gran Kain himself. But hardly anyone will manage that, since only the chosen can read the "Forgotten History", the fragments of the Plates are scattered who knows where across the world, and Gran Kain's book was hidden by the dwarves…

But I've strayed from the topic…

I thought for a long time about how to present the material I had and, after going through 4-5 options, settled on this: let the history of the Kamael race be told by Hierarch Kekropus, since it is with him that the whole history of this race actually begins.

Legend

"A wind is rising. A wind that can become a hurricane and shake the foundations of the universe. The wind of the Kamael..."
Casca, the Hierarch's Assistant

So you have come to me again…

I remember the day you left the Isle of Souls and went out into the outside world. I also remember the day you came back. You did not want to follow the beaten path, and now you are about to set foot on a dangerous road into a hazy and uncertain future…

It seems to me that you are ready to accept our fate and fight for it… Well then, do you want to learn it? Or rather, accept it…

This story, the story of the Kamael race, began long, long ago…

This story began in those ancient times when the Elves were not yet divided into light and dark, when Humans toiled in quarries and mines under the watch of Orcs, and Dwarves raised buildings that live on only in legends. When the continents of Gracia and Aden were one whole and not landmasses with several islands. In the times when the world was ruled by the Giants.

The Giants… Have you heard anything about them? No, not those pitiful creatures eking out a wretched existence in the depths of the Giant's Cave. The Giants you are thinking of are only the descendants of a great people who lived thousands of years ago.

Those Giants were strong and clever, and not for nothing are they called the Wise. The Giants' knowledge of science and magic was vast; they could travel both through the air and under water. They could live so long that their lifespan was comparable to Eternity. The Giants were frequent guests in the City of the Gods, and their own settlements were full of all kinds of wonders. At the dawn of this world the Giants promised to believe in Gran Kain, the God of Darkness and Destruction, and Einhasad, the Goddess of Light and Creation, and for this the Gods gave them power over all other living beings.

But after the War between the Gods and Shilen broke out in the heavens, after the Great Flood that nearly destroyed the world, seeds of distrust and doubt took root in the Giants' minds. Having suffered huge losses during the War and the Great Flood, the Giants no longer felt as safe as before. They feared the unbridled and uncontrollable power of the Gods. At the same time, the Giants saw that the Gods were not as strong as they might seem. That their emotions and feelings were no different from the emotions and feelings of, say, those very Humans. And so the Giants resolved to overthrow the Gods and take their place themselves.

The Giants built a new city and named it Grandferion. It was the finest and greatest of their cities. To defend it, a fleet of airships was created, and an island was raised into the air that became the fortress of Ye Sagira.

But for a war with the Gods the Giants also needed an army. Orcs were brave, strong and hardy warriors. They would have suited the Giants' purposes perfectly, but Orcs had no magical skills. Elves, on the contrary, were well versed in magic but were completely unable to handle melee weapons. And neither of them could fly. The winged Arteas would have done for that, but the Giants could not impose their will on these freedom-loving creatures. And yet the main "flaw" of these races was that they had all been created by the Gods. And so the Gods held power over each of the races…

Doesn't it seem strange to you that each of the five races has a God or Goddess who protects it? The Elves serve Eva, the Dark Elves serve Shilen, the Dwarves serve Maphr, the Orcs worship Pa'agrio, and the Humans revere Einhasad. Only we, the Kamael, stand apart from everyone. Without Gods or their protection, and our only faith is our swords… Doesn't that seem somewhat unnatural to you? If one of those Gods or Goddesses created us, then why don't we worship him or her? Who is our true creator? Listen further and you will get the answers to these questions…

The Giants came to the only right decision, as they saw it: to create a new race. A race that would combine the military potential of the Orcs and the magical knowledge of the Elves, could fly like the Arteas, and would not be subject to the will of the Gods.

The Giants had long been experimenting with living organisms, crossing existing species and producing completely new ones. Because of the Giants' long lives, time hardly mattered in their experiments, so reaching their goal seemed, to them, no great challenge.

Several research laboratories were built on the huge continent, where their scientific experiments in creating new life began. But time passed, years turned into centuries, and the Giants' experiments did not bring the desired results; they simply could not create new beings. And so it went until one of their most outstanding scientists, Mimir, made a breakthrough in his research. He created an elixir that could pass the traits of one race to another[2]. And then, in one of the laboratories, Arviterri, under the guidance of four Giant scientists, a new living being was born. A being that, in the opinion of its creators, was to bring about the downfall of the gods, and that would later be given the name Kekropus…

I see surprise and incomprehension in your eyes. But everything you have heard is true. This happened more than ten thousand years ago[3]. It was much later, years later, that I would be chosen as Hierarch, Elder of the Kamael race. But in those distant times I was simply discovering a world that was new to me and helping the Giants in their research to create Kamael like you…

That's right, you heard correctly. Although we look very much alike and both belong to the Kamael race, physically we are completely different. We have many differences, each with our own strengths and weaknesses… Listen further…

Soon the Giants created several more beings like me. The Giants named this new, artificially created race Kamael, which in their language means "The One Who Avenges", "The Avenger".

The Giants created two kinds of Kamael. One of them were the Spicula: strong, practically immortal beings. Beings with only one purpose: war. The Spicula Kamael were warriors born with a fate planned in advance. They were destined to become the tip of a spear aimed at the heavens. I am one of them.

Yes, we were not as strong as the Giants, let alone the gods. And yet the gods had no power over us, and we could challenge them! As everyone knows, constant dripping wears away the stone.

The second kind were the Methusela, whose descendants you are: weak, like the Humans of that time, but gifted with an innate ability to adapt. Compared to the Giants' other creations and the servants of the gods, the Methusela were like little children. But they had time on their side, which we did not. Both kinds of Kamael were created and lived side by side.

Sometimes I think it would have been better if you had stayed weak, with your shortcomings… But back then no one could know what would happen next…

To improve the weak Methusela, the Giants turned to the Spicula, who were close to them. That is, to the only female Spicula, Rodenpicula. Figuratively speaking, Rodenpicula became your mother. That is what the Giants created her for. A particle of her essence was woven into your souls, slowly increasing your strength. And now, after a long time, even female Methusela, originally created to continue the line, have learned to wield the crossbow and the rapier.

Then the Giants forged the sharpest sword, able to wound even the Gods, and created the mightiest cannon…

But the Giants' plans were not to come true: secrets always come out, and the Goddess Einhasad learned of their designs and decided to punish them. The other Gods decided not to interfere for the time being, since Einhasad and her angels had enough power as it was. And so a new war began.

At first Einhasad's angels were defeating the Giants, pushing back their troops, but then the Spicula Kamael joined the battle, those destined from birth to become heroes: Harkilgamed, Katenar and Rodenpicula. The battle took place in the Golden Hills[4], near the Arviterri laboratory, and brought this trio immortal glory for ages to come.

The Spicula Kamael were magnificent in battle! The hero Harkilgamed wielded the legendary sword Enuma Elish, forged by the Giants' smith, and with it killed Einhasad's second daughter in battle[5]. The Spicula Katenar unleashed the might of the Leopold cannon and dealt a crushing blow to the enemy army. Every attack aimed at the Kamael was repelled and turned back on the enemy by the Prana defensive magic used by Rodenpicula.

And yet the Kamael created by the Giants did not live up to expectations; they only delayed their creators' doom… A dagger remains just a dagger and will never become a mighty sword… With the help of the Kamael the Giants defeated Einhasad and thought they had already won the whole war…

But while they were celebrating their victory in Grandferion, the Goddess Einhasad brought down the Hammer of Despair on them. Meteorites rained from the sky, the earth shook and began to split… Grandferion was destroyed in a single day. Even the Giants, armed with their science and magic, who rose into the sky, could not stop the Hammer; their power was only enough to deflect it slightly.

When the monstrous destructive power of the Hammer was unleashed, the part of the land where the Giants' city stood became the seabed, and the huge continent itself was split into several parts. The race of Giants was destroyed. Those who survived fled east and hid from the wrath of the furious goddess in deep caves, to continue their wretched existence, degrading and degenerating year after year. Centuries later, the only reminders of this great race's existence were the Tower of Cruma, the ruins of Pavel's weather observatory and their last refuge, known today as the Giant's Cave, where the descendants of a once great race degrade as slaves to their own machines[6]…

While the servants of the Goddess of Light were wiping out the surviving Giants and hunting down the Spicula Kamael, the head of the Arviterri laboratory still hoped to create stronger Kamael. Borrowing the power of some being for a while, he hid the laboratory and the surviving Kamael from the eyes of the gods in the Dimensional Rift. Katenar and Harkilgamed escaped the angels' vengeance, hid somewhere, and nothing was heard of them for a long time. Rodenpicula found refuge here, on the Isle, in Nornil's Garden. But even now, several thousand years later, Einhasad has not given up her revenge on the Spicula who took part in that war…

All that remained of the Kamael race were memories, scraps of tales among the Orcs and Humans[7] and a few lines in the chronicles of the Dwarves and Elves…

Two thousand years have passed since then. In that time, the knowledge of the race of winged warriors created to destroy the gods was covered by a thick layer of the dust of oblivion. The Arteas, who served as their prototype, vanished without a trace, and the elven manuscripts holding scraps of meager information burned in the fires of countless wars. It seemed our race would be forgotten forever…

But one day two strangers appeared on the Isle: a man in blue-black armor and a girl in a blue dress. This happened several decades before our liberation. The power coming from them left no room for doubt: before us were gods. Gran Kain and Eva[8].

The reason for their arrival on the Isle soon became clear. They said they needed our strength to stand against Shilen, who was growing stronger with every day. We learned that the invisible tentacles of Darkness had long since wrapped around Gracia and had begun to seep into the continent of Aden, separated by the sea and until then protected by the seven Seals of Emperor Shunaiman. The Darkness struck monsters, ordinary people, members of royal families, travelers and even mages. One of the signs of the advancing Darkness was Kamaloka, a dimension between the real world and Hell, where everyone who fell asleep ended up, fought and sometimes died. The Age of Chaos had begun.

But after Emperor Baium's insolent stunt of building the Tower of Insolence[9], the goddess Einhasad lost interest in the affairs of the kingdoms of Aden and Elmore. The world was left to its fate, although deep down many hoped for a miracle like the one that happened during the reign of Emperor Shunaiman.

The coming danger frightened the goddess Eva so much that she decided to take a risky step: to free us from our centuries-long imprisonment in the hope of turning our strength against the ever-growing tide of monsters.

We were offered a deal: if we agreed to help, we would be freed from our centuries-long imprisonment. It sounded tempting. But to trust the Gods, especially when they ask for help… The race's council deliberated for a long time, and it was decided to accept the Gods' offer after all.

But as it turned out, our race had been imprisoned for too long, and our strength had weakened[10]. Then Eva said she would help us regain our former strength, but it would only be available to worthy Kamael…

I still remember a conversation between the Gods that I overheard by chance: "So you have granted them forbidden power…" Gran Kain said gloomily. "And now, holding it, they can destroy us at any moment. Including you, by the way…"

"I believe in their wisdom and strength," Eva answered him. "And if our goal is to turn the great flow of Fate to overcome Chaos and Destruction, we cannot do without their true strength…"

In the deep dungeons of Nornil's Garden, an artificial intelligence that had lain dormant until then, inherited from our Giant creators, was awakened: Mother Nornil. With her help, an ecosystem hostile to the Kamael was artificially created on the island. Everything that now lives on the Isle, apart from us, is Nornil's creation. The world you know so well was created artificially… But this was necessary to spur your development.

For several decades I trained you and made great warriors of you so that you could stand against Shilen and her demons[11]. All this time Gran Kain and Eva watched over us, visiting the Isle from time to time.

Then one sunny day the Isle of Souls appeared in the real world again. At the Giran Assembly, where the elders of the five races gathered, Eva revealed the secret of the Isle and of our race. And soon embassies of the five races arrived on the Isle of Souls. From that moment most races tried to form secret alliances with us. The Humans, because, as written in Gran Kain's book, with our help they could achieve total dominance in the world of Aden. The Dark Elves, because they fear our alliance with the Elves, after which, as they say, the Elves would destroy them. The Elves, because they believe that with our strength and Eva's blessing they will cleanse this world of Chaos and Darkness. And only the Orcs simply welcomed us as brothers in blood and spirit…

And so our race appeared on the world stage again, by the whim of fickle fate turned from would-be god-slayers into their protégés… Fate…

We can only become followers of the three heroes, the Spicula Kamael, and nothing more is given… No growth, no change… We are what the Giants created us to be: Kamael, the Avengers… We were born for war. And that became the wall that keeps us away from our true destiny…

Look at the Elves and Humans. When they are born, whatever they are born as, they can become whatever they want: wizards, warriors, priests, merchants… The weak Humans turned out to be very skillful: they managed to learn the magic of the Elves, become as greedy as the Dwarves, and learned to be as strong as the Orcs…

Our birth was planned, and we live our lives by plan as well. Only our swords support us… We have no God, and we can neither use holy power nor sing magical songs…

You are a little better than us, the Spicula, though I wouldn't say in everything. The power of Darkness and Chaos flows in your veins. The power of the Spicula sleeps within you. The Giants hid the Seeds of Chaos in you, letting you live as you wish rather than be slaves of fate. All this will let you lift the limits of your race and choose your own path… Go your own way… Your future history is in your hands…

Afterword

At the moment the text is not yet finished, and the thread of the Kamael's history keeps unwinding. Only now not by the will of the gods or the Giants, but by their own will. Modern Methusela Kamael never did become equal to the Spicula in strength, as their Giant creators had hoped. But at the same time, at the peak of mastery their followers gain access to the power of the legendary sword Enuma Elish, the destructive might of Leopold and the Prana defensive magic. And the Seeds of Chaos awakened inside them open up possibilities the Spicula never had…

Still, much remains unclear to this day. Take, for example, how the Kamael absorb the souls of the enemies they kill. Or who the Inspectors are. And with whose help was the Isle of Souls hidden in the Dimensional Rift?..

Notes

  1. ↑ Unfortunately, the 4GAME forum thread containing the text of the "Grey Book of the Kamael" was deleted by a moderator. So far it is unknown whether it will be restored.
  2. ↑ This refers to the well-known "Mimir's Elixir".
  3. ↑ In the quest "Seeds of Chaos", Katenar says that Hierarch Kekropus has already lived more than 10 thousand years.
  4. ↑ Many NPCs on the Isle of Souls tell of this memorable battle. The enemy the Kamael trio fought is not named. At first I had two guesses about this: 1) the attackers were Einhasad's angels, who set about destroying the Kamael after wiping out the Giants; 2) the attackers were invaders from the Dimensional Rift, when the Isle of Souls had been placed there. But comparing the NPCs' stories with Kekropus's story from the quest "Saga of the Trickster", it's not hard to guess that it was indeed the angels of the goddess Einhasad.
  5. ↑ Here it should be remembered that besides 5 children, the second-generation gods (Pa'agrio, Eva, Maphr, Shilen and Sayha), Einhasad had other children too. Here is what the Revelation of Kaisha says about it: "...Einhasad, the goddess holding absolute power over other beings, shed light on the heavens and the earth. The rays of light shining in all directions had a will of their own, and they made themselves bodies in the image and likeness of their creator and became angels. Their light was very bright and did not belong to this world, but since they had bodies, they could not remain in the rays of light. Those who wandered aimlessly about were taken by Einhasad and became her servants. Einhasad had nine more children, whom she made leaders of the angels... The last of the nine was Anakim, in the form of a woman with three pairs of wings."
  6. ↑ The Giants who escaped Einhasad's wrath hid in the deep Giant's Caves, also called Krumatap. There they tried to preserve their culture for their descendants, hoping in time to regain their former might. They kept using a variety of machines and artificial life forms, controlling them with an artificial intelligence called Hekaton Prime. But centuries passed, and the giants gradually degenerated, growing ever more dependent on their machines and devices, until one fine day they found themselves under the complete control of Hekaton Prime, turned into slaves of the machine.
  7. ↑ After the religious reform of Emperor Shunaiman, in the course of which the history of Humans and their creation was completely rewritten, Humans forgot about the Kamael race.
  8. ↑ The quests don't name the Gods directly, only the same "man in black" and "girl in blue". But ordinary mortals could hardly have reached the Isle of Souls. And remember the Lady of the Lake from the quest "Mimir's Elixir"
  9. ↑ Probably everyone knows the story of the Tower of Insolence and Emperor Baium: the aging emperor of the Elmoreden Empire wished to rule forever, and for this he built the Tower all the way to the heavens to reach the gods and ask them for immortality. The gods were angered by such an insolent stunt by a human and cursed him, sealing him forever on the top floor of the Tower. But in fact the Tower was built to use it to obtain the magical power of the armies of the Lilim and Nephilim, sealed in the distant past by the Seal of Greed in the catacombs and necropolises.
  10. ↑ I think the Kamael's loss of one wing is connected with this too.
  11. ↑ Most likely this is why all Kamael warriors have skills for defending against Darkness, while the Weapon of Darkness was put into them by the Giants, since the Kamael's main enemy was the angels.