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====== The Tale of Lord Butakis - The Lost Stars of the Lake ======

This story begins nearly four thousand years ago, when Kadriosa IV, King of [[world:Scorn]], invaded the southern territories and pushed back the [[races:elves|elven]] barbarians that lived there.

The elvish people fled, and many of them settled in a place they called Vkovzerov, "The Country of the Three Waters", as it was a rather unique meeting point between a river, a lake, and the sea. There they enjoyed a great prosperity, working with the local sprites to build Tashkeren-tah, The City of the Wooden Towers.

Two centuries passed, then three. The elven princes of Tashkeren-tah had become powerful - and never in their hearts was the thirst of revenge and hatred towards the people of Scorn extinguished. Now very familiar with the various water creatures that inhabited their territory, they had developed great skills in commanding rivers, and the beasts inside them, and the creatures made from them. They knew that Scorn was highly dependent on its seaport, and they had planned for the many years their long life gave them to use the great power of water spirits to crush and flood the city.

But despite all their accumulated knowledge, their powers were too limited to direct the most powerful entities of the seas, the Mouthes of the Mariner, none other than the Greater Aquomons.

For a long time, they were hesitant to call those, as they were dangerous, treacherous creatures born during the darkest ages of the world, when Haemdel the Legendary was crushed and the Three Artifacts lost. But so strong was their flame of hatred that it soon burned the ropes of their carefulness. Using their most powerful summoning spell, they convocated one of the Greater Aquomons before them.

"Who are you, you creatures with pointy ears, to dare awaken me from my dreams, me, Vërno, the Fourth Drop ?"

Elven Princes exposed what they wanted to Vërno, and the creature seemed very interested at the idea of grabbing all the richesses of Scorn, and bringing them back into his dark kingdom of the depth of the sea.

"Very well, said Vërno, but you know, I suppose, that we are all bound by the Law of Equilibrium, established by the gods themselves when the world was new and the seas infinite. And for my services, you'll have to pay the price."

- And what do you want for a price ?
- Well, my needs are rather modest. I'll only claim a tenth of your own lands as a reward."

The Elven Princes quickly discussed the matter, and came to the conclusion that it was a rather fair price to pay - after all, their territories weren't very large, and there was a lot of empty space all around, so it wasn't really a problem for them. Maybe it would for a couple of peasants, but who cared about them more than of the vengeance against Scorn ?

And so they answered: "The Fate of Scorn is Sealed, then. We accept."

What happened then is too long to tell in details here, as it belongs to another story. In short, Jovidjevska the elven girl, who had heard everything, travelled to Scorn, and convinced the city wizards of the truth of the menace. And when Vërno came to crush the city, they moved it two days into the future, and the water hand of the Fourth Drop grabbed only emptiness.

Vërno, furious, came back to the Elves with a big smile, and told them: "I did what you wanted, and flooded the territory on which Scorn was established. Now I take my due price."

And that said, he selected the area on which the Elven City itself was built, and covered it with water, its inhabitants trapped  and killed there without understanding what was happening.

Two thousand years passed. The lineage of the kings of Scorn died, and another dynasty came, and another one after that. Wars were conducted. Wizards of Scorn fled, and most of the knowledge disappeared, and there were nothing but lakes and forests above the dead city of the elves.

And then, a man came. Where did he come from ? Nobody knows for sure. Butakis was his name.

Butakis was an ambitious young man. He had heard here and there strange pieces of a weird story, about a sunken city, about a dark pact, about the secret power of elves... 

For years, he studied the Arcanes, hunting for traces of the city, as he was convinced that the lost wisdom of the elves of Vkovzerov would give him a great power. And, finally, after 20 long years of searching, he concluded that the secret was in the area now called "[[world:lakecountry|Lake Country]]".

And there, he came, and there was a small house made of wood, and there was a tree, and there was a young elvish woman, dreaming at the stars, under the tree. And Butakis fell in love, and the elvish lady fell in love, and they both watched the stars. But soon, Butakis felt the need of getting back into action, and finding the lost city and getting its power.

The lady told him: "The true wisdom is in those stars, and in that tree, and in that house you see. You'll only find unrest by aiming for more."

But Butakis had already made up his mind, and he brought back engineers, and sappers, and miners, and they all worked to build a huge machine to pump the water, and discover the city. During ten years, Butakis worked on this, hoping that in the end, the elvish lady would be at his side, and that she would be his wife, princess of the restored city.

During all the work, he was perpetually annoyed by a small group of bandits, lead by Twak the Red Fox. Twak and his men conducted a real guerilla war against Butakis, as they saw him as a danger for the whole country, because his plans were damaging nature and could also have awaken dark power sleeping in the sunken city. Several times, they sabotaged the machine, stole tools, raped engineers and designers. But each time, Butakis and his followers repaired the machines, engaged new people, and increased security.

And now, ten years after the beginning, the work was completed, and he invited the elvish lady to come and see the accomplishment of a lifelong dream.

The Elvish lady came, as beautiful as ever. And on the balcony at the top of the pump, they watched the stars, and she kissed him, and she when they were in the bed he had prepared for that very special night before the pumping started, she whispered at his ear.

That, Butakis had waited for long, but he didn't expect what she told him then.

"Ten years you were away, and ten years I watched the stars with Twak. And now for him, and for he choose me and my heart, I'll disappear, and so does your dream."

Butakis understood that he had been fooled, that she only kept her attention away enough for Twak and three of his faithful men to sabotage the pump. And so came a great rumble from the basis of the huge building, and so the huge engines exploded, and so was his dream reduced to smoke, smoke that still covers most of Lake Country nowadays.
The Elvish lady probably died, as nobody saw her again after that. And so did the brave Twak, but his spirit survived in the wind - or so say some people.

Butakis, so strange as it may look, managed to survive, although in bad shape, as one would expect. Disfigured, he survived until now using black magic or machines to keep him alive, and he tried to gather again men to restart his project. But it was now said all around that it was a doomed, broken man - and so he in fact was Lake country was said to be haunted by Twak, and several travellers saw a young elvish lady, watching the stars at night, under a tree, near the lake.

Nobody ever accepted to work on the foolish project again. Butakis now awaits in his sinister castle, ruling a shattered kingdom lost in the fog his machine left behind. A tormented man, that is said to look in the direction of the lake from the highest tower of his castle, every night.

But for him never came again the Elvish girl, and forever his soul stays alone. And so ends what we know about Butakis and Twak, and so dies my story.
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