Origin of the Barbarians and Frogloks
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Origin of Barbarians and Frogloks:
The origin of both the Barbarian and Froglok races can be traced to a single event involving the dieties Cazic-Thule, Terris-Thule, Morell-Thule, Mithaniel Marr and Erollisi Marr. The story is related in Everquest via the books From Pond to Paladin Vol 1 & 2 and reveals various aspects of EQ Lore such as how Morell Thule and Mithaniel Marr became allies, why there are Barbarian villages in the Desert of Ro and provides an example of Morell Thule fighting against his father and sister.
From Pond to Paladin Vol 1
or The Origins of Froglok and Man by Glupurp Stoneskipper Paladin of Marr
My noble kinsman, I bring to you the knowledge of our origins, as well as the origin of Man that has been bestowed upon me by the scholars of the City of New Tanaan, and those who have visited the Halls of Honor, home of our Lord Mithaniel Marr. I am but a humble Paladin of Mithaniel Marr, born like many of our kind in the swamps of Southern Antonica, and deserve no adulation for penning these words. This work is in honor of all Froglok, current, past, and yet to come.
In the early ages of Norrath, before the arrival of Man, the Marr Twins did walk the face of Norrath. The children of a God of Power, Tarrew Marr the Water Lord, the Marr Twins searched amongst the mortals of Norrath a cause to champion and embrace with their divinity. The Gods of Nature puzzled over the Marr Twins absence of a divine purpose, and the Gods of Influence scoffed at the twins for seeking such a purpose amongst the mortals. The most malicious of the Gods, Innoruuk, and Cazic-Thule, sought to corrupt the young twins to strengthen the forces of hatred and fear.
Innoruuk, the twisted God of Hatred and Spite sent his mortal followers to Tarrews daughter, Erollisi Marr, to tempt her and seduce her into the darkness. With the wisdom imparted to the Goddess by her father, she saw through the Teir'Dals deceptions, and their wickedness was more visible to her eyes than even their physical forms. So it came to pass that Erollisi journeyed to the lands of Tunare's fair elves, to escape the sickening advances of the Teir'dal. It was in the early kingdom of the elves, that Erollisi did find warmth, peace, and beauty in the harsh realm of the mortals and it was there that she embraced and was in return embraced by a most mortal of traits. It was there she found love.
While Erollisi fended off the advances of Innoruuks mortal agents, the forces of Cazic-Thule beset her twin brother, Mithaniel Marr. Serpents, phantoms, and all manner of frightful creatures conjured and commanded by Cazic-Thule mortal minions came to Mithaniel to assault his body and mind. Mithaniel was no mortal however, and his will was strong, the minions of Thule could not instill within him the fear of their dark lord. They did succeed however, in luring the brave Mithaniel to the swamps of Norrath, the deadly, dank, lands where the creatures of Cazic-Thule were the strongest and most numerous. An army of Trolls, Lizard Folk, and forgotten creatures of unspeakable horror beset Mithaniel Marr, and so it came to pass that he became a captive to the minions of the Lord of Fear.
Mithaniel, imprisoned in magical bonds provided to his captors by Cazic-Thule and tortured by relentless monstrosities, prayed to his father day and night for forgiveness and salvation. The prayers continued, unanswered, until the brave God, weary from torture and weakened by the dark magic of Cazic-Thule fell into a deep slumber.
It was then that Terris-Thule visited the slumbering God to inflict his sleep with nightmares more horrible than the events he had endured at the hands of his captors during his waking hours. However, at the beseeching of her father, Cazic-Thule, Terris was not permitted to inflict such terror onto Mithaniel Marr until after she first deceived him through his dreams and stole the gift of life from his body. So Terris did as her father commanded and then the slumbering horrors began.
From Pond to Paladin Vol 2
Morell-Thule, the forsaken son of Cazic, and brother of Terris, took notice of Terris manipulations of the slumbering God, for while Terris is the Queen of Nightmares, Morell is the King of Dreams. For reasons unknown, perhaps simply to foul the plans of his wicked father and sister, Morell-Thule stole the gift of life that had been taken from the slumbering Mithaniel and escaped into his Demi-Plane of Dreams. Knowing that his enraged family would soon visit his home, Morell divided Mithaniels Gift of Life, scattering one half across all the swamps of Norrath, the sacred lands of his father, Cazic-Thule.
Where Mithaniels Gift of Life fell upon the swamps of Norrath, the first Froglok Tads were born. Those first Tads had the hardest trials of our people. Until that point, the swamps belonged only to the foul and destructive creatures of the dark gods. Fortunately the gift of life that had brought our first ancestors into being also empowered them with the bravery and valor Mithaniel Marr had exhibited during his trials in the mortal realms.
Once the swamps had been seeded with the first of our kind, the Lord of Dreams, Morell-Thule, visited Mithaniel Marr's twin sister, Erollisi Marr. While the Goddess of Love blissfully rested in the lands of the fair elves, Morell-Thule visited her in a dream and gave to her the second half of Mithaniel's Gift of Life. It was soon to be evident to the fair elves that their visiting daughter of the Gods was with child and they took her to an uninhabited region of the frozen northlands of Antonica, where they could tend to and guard her in seclusion.
While the elves watched after Erollisi, the first of our ancestors grew from Tads into adult Frogloks, and Morell-Thule gifted them with dreams of the imprisoned Mithaniel Marr, and visions of a means to free the brave son of Tarew. So it came to pass that from all the swamps of Norrath, the first Frogloks rose in arms against the minions of Cazic-Thule, fighting valiantly to the site of Mithaniel Marr's imprisonment, guided by visions from the Lord of Dreams.
For uncounted years the Frogloks battled the evil inhabitants of Norraths swamplands, learning the lessons of both victory and defeat. Alas, Cazic-Thule is an ancient and powerful God and his minions are numerous and diverse. Try as they might, the ancestor Frogloks could not reach their imprisoned God, but never did they cease their efforts, despite the daunting odds.
Then, after some time, a small army arrived on the borders of the swamp that was Mithaniel Marr's prison. Not an army of Frogloks, but an army of Northmen, the children of Erollisi Marr. They too had been guided by visions and dreams of the imprisoned God from whose life they were conceived. Seeking justice for the imprisonment of their father, the Northmen joined with the Froglok armies and the alliance of Froglok and Man succeeded in freeing their father Mithaniel Marr. The minions of Cazic-Thule and the Avatar of Fear himself fell before the unity and valor of the children of Marr. For the first time in the history of Norrath, the swamps were not safe for the evil creations of the dark gods.
It was in the brave and selfless actions of the ancestor Frogloks and Northmen that Mithaniel Marr discovered the mortal trait of Valor, and because of Morell-Thule's honorable delivering of the truth of our origins to our ancestors in visions and dream, Mithaniel also chose to champion the virtue of honesty as well as valor.
Such is the tale of my Lord Mithaniel Marr, and the origins of my fellow Frogloks, and of our distant brethren, the race of Men. It is a shame that so many of our kind, as well as many of the race of men, have strayed from the virtues of our ancestors. May Mithaniel Marr bless us, his faithful servants, with the powers to redeem our fallen kin from the clutches of evil.
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