Medievia Mudslinger

March 30th, 2003

The History of Lattyrna - By Noelio

A long time ago, before the island of Trellor had joined the mainland, the city of Lattyrna was a very prosperous trading city. Many beautiful things were crafted by the artisans there, and exported as far the sea elves of the western reef. The people of Lattyrna lived on a sprawling island just east of where Trellor is located today. The city was surrounded by a vast, white granite sea wall, and the port of Lattyrna was the largest in the known world.

All year round, great amounts of trade goods were shipped into the city, and an equal amount were sent out to the rest of the world. The people were almost impossibly rich, and even the lowliest one of them had a great deal of money to spare. Denizens of other countries came from far and wide to visit the great city of Lattyrna. Over a thousand people were employed to be the sanitation officials, and the great white city was kept meticulously clean. Every month, the great white sea wall was washed and cleaned of the salt stains and residue that the tide managed to kick up.

At its height, the city was ruled by a wise man, Leviathan. His council was so wise, it was deemed that the city needed no council of elders to help direct affairs. His word and rule were absolute, and none dared challenge his decrees. Not that ever did, of course, because his laws and rules were always increasing the power and wealth of the citizens of the great Lattyrna. Leviathan owned a great deal of land on the mainland, and many of the richest of Lattyrna moved to the mainland to establish great estates with fertile land. From these estates, the city received their food supply, which could last for six years should their city become blockaded. At this time many of the lesser cities looked to Lattyrna as their "big brother". They encouraged their citizens to trade there, and made treaties with the city.

Many of these treaties required the lesser cities to provide military support at the call of Leviathan. It was because of this that the people of Lattyrna began to think of themselves as all-powerful and began to stop their worship to the gods. They began to think of themselves as almost demi-gods themselves.

Leviathan told his people that they were but mortals, and not to jest with the gods. But no matter how hard he tried, his people couldn't resist themselves. They knew that everyday their great empire was growing and growing, its coffers on the verge of overflowing. It was the only time he met with any objection to his rule.

For years, Leviathan continued to pray to the gods for support and wisdom, whether his people did or not. The people refused to join him in homage, and began to taunt the gods, claiming that they did not rule. They never saw the gods but they saw their coffers and granaries overflowing. If the gods did rule, the people reasoned, than they would show themselves. The taunting continued, always growing louder and louder.

At last, a few years later, Leviathan the great and wise king began to listen to these jests. This was not that he himself disbelieved that the gods existed, but because he realized that he could not rule the people if this rift between he and they continued to widen. At last he publicly stopped praying and agreed that the gods' power was waning. This was the last stroke that ultimately spelled destruction for Lattyrna.

The gods had heard the jests for a long time, yet were convinced not to ruin the city whilst Leviathan remained loyal. When Leviathan publicly declared that the gods power was waning, however, the Gods could do nothing to protect him. Most of the gods simply wanted to erase the city from Medievia, but Poseidon, a powerful cleric in the service of the gods, declared that if they wanted the rest of Medievia to conform, they had to make an example of Lattyrna. The gods agreed, and so Poseidon set out to the city to destroy it in the most ruthless way possible.

He appeared on the horizon in a great blazing cloud and in a great rush rained deadly fire upon the city, such as has never been seen since. All about the city people were screaming and dying, all of them despairing. No amount of money or beautiful architecture could save them from the great wrath of the elders. At last, when the entire island burned, Poseidon used his long trident to roll up a tremendous tidal wave. The wave could be seen from the mainland, yet there was nothing those people could do to save the city. The wave crashed upon the island in such force that it broke every building and even forced the land to compress, until the highest spire on the palace was leagues under water.

As the sea calmed, a lone survivor could be seen floating half dead in water, clinging to a piece of wood. Poseidon descended from his cloud and levitated above the gasping man.

"By the gods!" the man exclaimed. "Could it be...?"

"Yes. It is I, Poseidon the Faithful. You have neglected your worship. You have thought yourselves all-powerful. You are, or shall I say were, wrong. Now there are none of you to think anything," Poseidon replied.

The man, groaned. "Please," he whined. "Please bring the citizens back. They didn't know the consequences their actions might bring. Please."

Poseidon looked on in puzzlement at the man below him, truly astounded. This man was on the verge of death, and yet he pled for the lives of those already dead. "You must be Leviathan. I was going to be merciful and kill you as I did the rest. But now that I see who you are, I have decided to make an example of you, no matter how pious you believe you are."

With those last words, Leviathan felt himself beginning to change. His body seemed to stretch and become larger. His arms grew into great wings, and his face became distorted, forming a great snout. At last, Leviathan looked down upon himself, and noticed what he had become - a great dragon.

"And now to complete your torment, you will never die, but shall remain chained and in captivity forever within your own city." Poseidon exclaimed at last.

Thus things came to what they are today. Poseidon descended to keep Leviathan in torment, and was granted phenomenal powers by the gods. He became the God of the Sea, but he forced the dead to live once more serve him for the rest of their lives as mermen. The city remained hidden under the waves for a long time. The estates that had once served under Lattyrna's rule now fought with each other until they had all destroyed themselves. After many centuries, the memories of the great empire were forgotten.

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