Primary Sources from Darkon's “Age of Secrets”By Vesnia Endymion
Prior to the creation of the Kingdom of Darkon by His Majesty's predecessor, Darcalus Rex in the year 383 B.C, Darkon was a vast land untamed and largely unpopulated. Indeed, Darkon's population growth largely occurred within this century alone, growing to be over ten times what it was in census records dating back to just before the Crimson Death ravaged the populace in the years of 688 and 689, Barovian Calendar[1]. As such, it is hard to imagine a massive, sprawling landscape bereft of people as being in Darkon's distant past, and yet that is exactly what the historical records, such as they are, appear to demonstrate.
What few settlements existed lurked in the shadows of great towers and fortresses constructed by the mighty wizard-tyrants of Darkon's bygone age. While the fortresses and towers are largely but ruins now, the settlements survived and grew into the many towns and cities of modern Darkon. One such settlement along the Jagged Coast, which would overtime develop and grow to what we know today as Martira Bay, was ruled over by an enigmatic wizard-tyrant known to us as “the Nightmage”. Much like his contemporaries, his true name was purposefully hidden and would ultimately be lost to posterity.
However, through the writings of the acclaimed Darkonian historian of antiquity, Metellus (b. 330- d. 383 BC), the historians are today are provided insight into that beclouded and poorly-understood time in Darkon's distant past. Of course, as any serious scholar in the field will tell you, Metellus' own accounts are prone to embellishment and elements of the purely fantastical[2]; thus, the primary sources must be taken with a grain of salt. As is the case with most ancient historians, be they covering the histories of Barovia prior to the invasion by the Neureni Hordes or the Lucinian Empire's past splendour, one must handle the sources with some healthy skepticism.
That caveat aside, Metellus was extremely well-placed, having befriended one of the Nightmage's more promising apprentices and ingratiated himself with the wizard-tyrant through flattery and the promise of artifacts the Nightmage sought. Here, Metellus writes on how the Nightmage earned his curious sobriquet:
“The Nyghtmage hath been so named... because of hys unquestyonable commaynd over the dreames of others. He study'd dreames... oneiromancie... and he work'd to create terrible nyghtmare in the sleepe of those who oppos'd him...”
Metellus goes on to write about how the Nightmage would work to find out the fears of his adversaries and exploit them in the crafting of nightmare, or even use illusions to create “waking nightmares” for his enemies:
“Methodycal and maelvolent was the Nyghtmage, using glamours aynd phantasym to cruel'st effect on those who oppos'd hym... […] to the poynt where his foes could not tell if they were awayke or asleepe...”
Per Metellus' accounts, the Nightmage largely ignored the settlement nearest his citadel, Martitius, even if he claimed it as his demesne. His focus was largely on his own research, and on thwarting the schemes of the rival mages elsewhere in ancient Darkon. However, there is one incident in 356 where the common-folk of Marititius, in seeking a redress of grievances, came to the gates of the Nightmage's fortress. Metellus recounts the incident thusly:
“The Nyghtmage saw the smallfolke from atop the fortress rampartes, and wyth a few words and a wave of his hand, sent forthe a terryble sighte before their appoynted leader; his expression was frozene in terror, his eyes wyde, his mouth agape. He expir'd, and the smallfolk who were led by hym ran back to Martitius propyr, in horrore.”
Though the Nightmage opposed all others who might one day eclipse or threaten his power, his chief rival remained one arcanist named“Wormschild”, believed to have once ruled over what was once Nartok. Metellus writes:
“At the Wormschyld's call, the dead rose.. and he woulde send that host 'gainst the Nyghtmage. Yet he and his apprentyces would hold fast and protect what was his by ryghte...”
Of course, the Nightmage's resilience in the face of adversaries would not hold out forever. He would meet his match in Darcalus Rex, first true sovereign and king of all Darkon. Metellus offers us his final account:
“Spells greate and terryble have been unleashed 'gainst the Nyghtmage. It is no longer safe for me. I must go, else I shall naught survive the onslaughte...”
Metellus' death would come a few months after the Nightmage's defeat and his holdings brought into the fold of Darcalus Rex's own conquests. In a show of force, Darcalus Rex saw the Nightmage's once-formidable fortress, thought to be impregnable, reduced to rubble and ruin. Though they attempted to scatter far and wide, the Nightmage's apprentices were tracked down and killed to a man.
In the immediate aftermath, however, something closer resembling sound governance and rulership could be found in the village the Nightmage once considered his. Generations of misrule, senseless cruelty, and neglect had seen the village's growth stunted, and yet under the rule of Darcalus Rex, a slow and steady trickle of new families came to settle in what would become Martira Bay
[3]. Under our present king's just rule, Martira Bay's population would explode and it would transform into a thriving harbor, a center of trade and commerce.
[4]Not much of the Nightmage's presence survives; what wasn't undone by Darcalus Rex upon conquering the Nightmage's lands has been undone by the cruel and unstoppable assassin called 'Time'. However, rumors persist of the product of his many decades of research and hoarding knowledge occasionally being found. Most of these rumors have no basis in reality, and are often the product of charlatans: a staff thought to have once belonged to the Nightmage was, in fact, a forgery
[5], and a tale of the Nightmage having found a means by which to draw upon the power of the Nightmare Lands, apocryphal. However, a credible rumor of a magical scroll capable of some great and terrible ritual persists, and has been verified by other scholars, even if its location remains presently unknown. In time, perhaps a future lead to chase...[/size][/i]
- Vesnia Endymion of Neblus, Intrepid Explorer and Archaeologist