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A.R.Yngve

DARC AGES Book Three
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FROM THE YEAR 941 AFTER MONRO, OUR WORLD BEGAN THE REBIRTH THAT IS STILL IN PROGRESS.

At times, even I must ask myself whether these recent decades were but a dream. So much change, so many discoveries made, so many fantastic events. A majestic greatness has crowned this war-torn, battered planet, and is just now reaching beyond it. As I write these pages and look out into the nightly sky, I do not always know whether to believe my own two eyes.

Yet, in these times of flux, the following legacies of Darc's great work can be counted...

The Amrecan Federation of City-States he founded remains to this day, and grows stronger by each year. The old Leper chief Claw is reported to still be alive and well in Exa, where he has retired from his long service in the Senate Court. Visitors to Hesus City may behold the site where Chief Claw struck the first blow of the dismantling of its outer wall, or even hear him tell his story.

Democracy thrives in Juro, since the revered Lord Dohan of Damon City initiated the contract of public elections. Most states in Juro have now signed the Contract, and the world-spanning Conference of Knights is still a vigilant guardian of its principles. Without the Amrecan Constitution that Darc wrote, the Contract would not have become reality. Never again shall Castilia succumb to tyrants and usurpers such as Tharlos Pasko.

Lepers all over the known world, once the feared scourge of the Wastelands, are slowly gaining stature in society with varying degrees of success. Since when most cities were opened to the outside and inoculated against the Plague, agriculture has benefited beyond belief. The specter of starvation is now a thing of the past. Many nomadic Leper tribes, stubbornly wary of the city life, now roam the plains of Amreca on horseback, herding huge hordes of bison cattle. But all their children, even as the traditional double-helix tattoo remains on their foreheads, are strong and healthily shaped.

The islands of Kap Verita are currently in dispute with the mainland states over fishing rights; but the King Chosen of Kap Verita, the honorable Mechao the Twentieth, is a shrewd political player whose University of the Sciences gathers the best and noblest minds of the world. The University stands as a guarantee of scientific growth and cultural exchange, which bridges most disputes between states. The Mansion of Mechao has been restored, and is still in use.

The Church of Monro has undergone several upheavals ever since the arrival of Darc -- upheavals that are unlikely to end soon. The Central Dogma has been lifted, and high-priestesses are no longer required to have blond hair and blue eyes. The music now named Rokenrol is no longer controlled by the priestesses, and the art of Rokenrol has become more like a creed in and of itself. As a consequence of this, the older generations often lament that today's youth has no respect for the Goddess. Some like to call this era the King's Age or the Singing King's Reign. They may be right, but I think not. The ways of the Goddess are countless.

Furthermore, a new faith has been founded around Darc's awaited return from his exile. Many believe him to still be alive in the southern continent Awstrala, or claim to have seen him. Your humble narrator is not prone to speculate in matters of faith. Yet I firmly believe, like my mentor the previous Librian, that Darc came to us for a purpose -- a purpose unknown perhaps even to himself.

We shall now in detail chronicle the most recent era, commonly known as the Age of Miracles --

Excerpt from Librian's "Chronicles" (translated from the original language)


TO BE CONTINUED IN
DARC
AGES:
BOOK FOUR