The would-be researcher some knew as Jon Chess woke, becoming instantly aware of the pain in his lower back; he had fallen asleep while translated the Time-lost scrolls he had taken from chronally-phased arakkoa in Skettis. Skettis was the hidden capital of the arakkoa, located n the high mountains near the Terokkar Forest in an Apexis ruins. It was built by the ancient king Terokk as a refuge for those outcast and unwanted in arakkoa society, and a prime source of secret knowledge about their Shadow magic used by their Talonpriests.
Jon had obtained a loan of a Ravenspeech language guide and had spent the last few days translating the crimped written glyphs of their written language. He had been particularly fascinated by a scroll which talked about the arakkoan history:
The origins of the arakkoan race and its two distinct subcultures are tightly bound to the three primal gods of the Draenic region known as Arak: The strong and graceful Rukhmar, mother of the kaliri; the slight but clever Anzu, father of the dread ravens; and the cold and scornful Sethe, father of the wind serpents. Preceding the creation of the arakkoa, Sethe and Rukhmar clashed above the Spires. Rukhmar, forewarned of Sethe's attack by Anzu, managed to cast the serpent down from the skies—but it was Anzu who stepped in to deliver the killing blow. With his last breath, the defeated Sethe cursed his own flesh and blood to rot and corrupt all that it touched. As Anzu devoured him in an attempt to contain the curse, a trickle of blood escaped, creating the Sethekk Hollow where it touched the ground. The curse crippled Anzu, making him flightless and pained by dark visions.
Anzu could not bear to present himself to Rukhmar, for if she had not seen him worthy before then surely she would now be disgusted by the aberration he had become. He disappeared into the forest deeps, and he ignored Rukhmar whenever she called for Anzu to show himself. Though Sethe's curse weakened Anzu, it also gave him new power: the power of the Void that Sethe had once commanded. As Anzu grew more familiar with his abilities, he shrouded himself in a realm of shadow to hide from Rukhmar forever.
After much fruitless searching, Rukhmar gave up. She was humbled by Anzu's sacrifice, but she was also horrified by the curse that now darkened her home. Rukhmar took to the skies and left Arak, eventually settling atop Gorgrond's highest peak. It was Rukhmar who went on to create a new race of children. Rukhmar decided that if she could not find Anzu to thank him, then she would reward his sacrifice by creating a new race in his honor. Using her own life energies, Rukhmar transformed some of her kaliri followers into the arakkoa: "heirs of Arak". They embodied Rukhmar's physical grace and majesty, as well as Anzu's intellect and cleverness.
Rukhmar intended that the arakkoa would one day return to Arak, but not yet. Sethe's curse still lingered, and she did not want her children to suffer from it. After they had matured and become wise, Rukhmar intended to lead her children back to their ancestral home. Her only fear was that she would not live long enough to do so, for she had expended much of her life essence in creating the arakkoa. She would never be as powerful as she had once been, and she knew she would eventually grow old and die.
For many generations, Rukhmar watched the arakkoa develop from afar. Occasionally she communed with them, telling them stories of Arak, Sethe's evil, and Anzu's nobility. She taught them the rudimentary ways of commanding the Light, and they were quick learners. They mastered the Light and became adept healers and seers. Much of their primitive customs revolved around the worship of Rukhmar, who they revered as the goddess of the sun, which they saw as the source of their Light magic. But they were not content with the Light alone. Due to Rukhmar's teachings, they revered Anzu just as much as they did she, and they studied the arcane that he had excelled in, becoming great sorcerers as well.
Rukhmar felt her own life fading. She communed with her children one last time and urged them to claim Arak for themselves. Rukhmar took to the winds and soared south, and the arakkoa followed. But just as they reached Arak, Rukhmar breathed her last breath. Flames consumed her form and she burned like a second sun in the sky. The arakkoa saw Rukhmar's passing as a sign of their ascendancy. They vowed to create a grand civilization that would outshine any other culture, in order to honor her. The light of their knowledge and their power would blaze in the heavens just as Rukhmar had.
Calling themselves the Apexis, the arakkoa claimed the highest reaches of Arak's spire. They harvested timber from the surrounding woods and metals from the nearby mountains, and built illustrious gilded structures around their new home. Using their mastery of the Light, the Apexis crafted enormous lanterns burning with enchanted flames that hung along the length of the spire. Guided by tales of Anzu and his noble sacrifice, arakkoa sorcerers investigated the Sethekk Hollow. By carefully studying the cursed pools, they unraveled the mysteries of shadow magic and developed the unique ability to combine the arcane with the Void. Embracing both Light and Void, the Apexis believed they were both natural parts of life.
Two factions formed within the Apexis: the Anhar order studied holy magic, while the Skalax studied shadow and arcane magics. Both groups occupied the upper echelons of arakkoa society, sharing equal prestige and influence.
As the arakkoa solidified their power in Arak, they also began to explore the rest of Draenor; though not expansionists, they were curious. Outposts were forged across the land to observe local flora and fauna, and by studying and mapping the forests and mountains they were in awe when they realized that many of these were the remains of ancient creatures that had once walked Draenor. Based on stories from Rukhmar, the Apexis realized the Primals and Breakers were the primordial giants' offspring. They watched the endless warring between the two with pity and fascination. However, they never intervened; they had inherited a touch of Rukhmar's arrogance and to play a part in the lives of land-dwellers was seen as beneath the Apexis.
Centuries after defeating the Evergrowth and 1,200 years before the opening of the Dark Portal, the Apexis had flourished into an empire and their population had swelled. They saw themselves as the most powerful force in the world, that not even the mightiest of Primals had been able to contend with. With nothing to threaten them the Apexis dedicated themselves to the advancement of science and magic, and knowledge became their culture's most coveted resource. The Anhar and Skalax became the caretakers of wisdom with the duty of cataloging history, the study of magic, and information about the world and its various creatures. Rather than keeping this knowledge in tomes or scrolls, the Anhari and Skalaxi sorcerers combined their magic to develop Apexis Crystals. By merely touching one of the crystals, an arakkoa would consume all of the knowledge contained within and could even experience the memories of whoever had crafted it.
During the height of Apexis culture, a small group of Anhari priests sought out the remains of Rukhmar. They found her charred bones near the spire, and they used their magics to resurrect her. But it was only a partial success. This new Rukhmar had only a sliver of the original's power and intelligence. Nonetheless, the Apexis worshiped her as their goddess reborn. The Anhari infused her with their Light powers, granting her a long life so she could soar the skies for millennia.
The Anhari priests constructed a gleaming sun temple around the Breath of Rukhmar used centuries before. Hundreds of arakkoa gathered each year to commemorate the Apexis victory and honor Rukhmar. Other arakkoa visited shrines carved into the solid rock near the foot of the spire where the Skalaxi sorcerers performed rituals to honor Anzu and his ancient sacrifice. Though Apexis culture seemed destined to continue its rise, a rivalry developed between the Anhar and Skalax as each vied for the support of the greater populace. The Anhari knew that to seize power they would need to control knowledge. Their leader Priest-Lord Velthreek order his followers to gather as many Apexis crystals as they could, and the Anhari did so in secret over a number of years, storing them in their sun temple atop the spire.
The Skalaxi and their leader, Sorcerer-Lord Salavass eventually uncovered what was happening. They believed that knowledge was a basic right for all arakkoa and Salavass called for the immediate release of the crystals. However, Velthreek ignored the demand. He declared the Anhari the sole rulers of the Apexis and that they would decide who would access the crystals and their knowledge. In addition, he claimed that he and the Anhari were the living representatives of Rukhmar herself. Therefore, following their teachings was the only way to attain her favor. Salavas was cunning and knew what would happen to his order if they did not act: the Skalaxi would become marginalized in society and gradually lose influence. He gathered his followers and struck at the sun temple to take the Apexis crystals by force.
The battle that erupted at the gates to the sun temple quickly spilled into the lower levels of the spire, with some arakkoa allying with the Anhari and others with the Skalaxi. The civil war engulfed the spire for many months, and to turn the tide of the conflict the Anhari harnessed the Breath of Rukhmar. As the weapon ignited and they prepared to incinerate the Skalaxi, Salavass knew they would be doomed against it and led a handful of his most gifted sorcerers to the top of the spire where they stormed through the Anhari guards. As the Ahhari cut down the intruders Salavass weaved a spell to destabilize the Breath of Rukhmar. It worked, but the result was catastrophic: a furious explosion erupted from the Breath of Rukhmar, instantly killing most of the arakkoa on the spire and shattering the land. After the light dimmed, all was dark.
The explosion had split Arak's spire into many smaller spires and the surrounding region was left a barren wasteland. It would take generations for life to bloom in the area again, and even longer for the surviving arakkoa to recover from what had happened. The Apexis society was no more.
Jon knew that Apexis Crystals were still found periodically, and it made Jon want to go on an acheology dig unearth Apexis secrets, perhaps even more of the curious admixture of the arcane and Void that was the backbone of arakkoan Shadow magic.
He sighed, and used his telepathic link with Alia to send her an apology for falling asleep over open books, as he had often seen her do. Alia and Arexzia may have cured Jon of his addiction to the narcotic Sa'diablo drug, but it seems that Alia had given him a new addiction.
Research.
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