Wyrd Dragons
The Wyrd Dragons are a mysterious race who, although they once inhabited the continent, have since disappeared. They are known by many names, including "Heavenly Beings", "Celestials", "Demi-Gods" or "Demi-Humans", the Queens of the Dragon Races, and are frequently the 'Ancient Sorcerers' referred to in modern-sorcerer research. They were one of six races of dragons who first stole magic from the gods, and turned it into sorcery that would be used in the modern world.
Founding Sorcerer: Aureole
Sorcery: Silence Magic
Magic Medium: Written Characters (Wyrd Graphs)
Curse: Unable to make descendants with their own kind
Overview
Appearance
The Nornir are said to look just like humans, except with green eyes. They are also almost always depicted with various shades of green hair, and often wearing either dark green robes or white flowing gowns adorned with large ornamental pieces of gold jewelry.
Sorcery
The Nornir used a type of sorcery known as Wyrd Graphs (Silence Magic), which allowed them to knit their magical composition through the use of written symbols. These symbols allowed for a much more complex structure, with more consistency, meaning that it was capable of creating far more intricate spells compared to normal sorcery. Because these symbols could be written on long-lasting objects, such as carving it into metal, the Nornir's sorcery is considered somewhat permament, a feat not achieved by other races.
By carving Wyrd Graphs into various objects, the Nornir left legacies that have been sought after and coveted for centuries. Magical artifacts of unknown power, some so incredibly far beyond what modern sorcery is capable of that people have fought and killed for it. In the modern world, these symbols are researched by organizations like the Tower of Fang, who recognize the Nornir as Ancient Sorcerers.
For all of its prestige, the Wyrd Graphs possess a power often too great for human sorcerers. Many have tried to take possession of this sorcery, with implications that their failure meant death. This may be especially true when considering that numerous Wyrd artifacts were created with the specific intent to kill human sorcerers, and once activated, they may have no avenue through which to stop that sorcery. See for example, the Killing Dolls. That being said, Wyrd Graphs are also considered the second most powerful form of sorcery, next to Destruction Magic.
Legacy
Though the Nornir disappeared, traces of their legacy can be found all over the continent, from ruins to artifacts. These artifacts are often inscribed with wyrd graphs, and are able to be handled by humans and sorcerers, so long as they can decipher the magical symbols. However, even if a human can figure out the spell, the power of the artifact is several leagues beneath what it'd be if handled by an actual Norn.
History
Early History
It's said that in ancient times, six species of beasts banded together to steal magic from the gods. One of these species was the Nornir. However, though they succeeded in their task, gaining access to Silence Magic (Wyrd Graphs), the gods unleashed a terrible monster upon them. The magical beast, the Basilicok. Its magic was said to be on an entirely different level from anything that even the dragons themselves could accomplish through their sorcery. Fearing for their survival, the Wyrd Dragons built Fort Basilicok, which would serve as their stronghold during their clash against this massive creature.
During the course of the battle, the surface levels of Fort Basilicok were destroyed, and the land surrounding the region decayed, until nothing was left but desert. The dragons were ultimately successful in putting a stop to the beast, however, and went on to use their Silence Magic to heal the land, and make it habitable once more. They built the canal, and soon the city of Alenhatam began to rise up around this valuable asset.
Intermingling With Humans
After hundreds of years, humans were invited to enter Alenhatam, where many began to co-habitate alongside the dragon race. With the two species so similar in appearance, with the Wyrd Dragons distinguished only by their eye color, it wasn't long before humans and dragons began to interbreed. This was roughly 300 years ago, and the union of these two species resulted in a new hybrid, the Human Sorcerers. The modern-day sorcerer that uses Voice Magic.
The Fallout
Through all of these hundreds of years, the Wyrd Dragons were unaware of an illness eating away at them from the inside. As the Celestials, they could live for an incredibly long period of time. Yet, although they had defeated the Basilisk, it had given them one last parting gift, and that was a poison that was killing their entire species. According to the Guardian of the Treasure, the effects of this poison was first felt not by the Nornir, but by the humans that they interbred with.
Human beings were not as robust as the Nornir, and their vitality waned against the deadly poison. Humans began to notice that they were dying in droves next to the Nornir, all of mysterious circumstances, and came to the conclusion that the Nornir were trying to eradicate them. Their justification for this belief was a suspicion that the Nornir had grown jealous of their shared offspring, the human sorcerers. After all, the Nornir were cursed, unable to produce pure blooded children, and the human sorcerers were rapidly climbing in both numbers and power.
Eventually, the humans and their sorcerer offspring rose up to drive the Nornir from the city. To the Nornir, this was a terrible betrayal. It's unclear if the Nornir ever realized that they had been poisoned, at least in the early part of this conflict. The humans sorely underestimated the power of the Wyrd Dragons, and one after another, the human sorcerers were crushed by the merciless counterattacks. Though the human sorcerers seemed to have fought alongside humans, the rapid slaughter of the sorcerers, including by the use of Killing Dolls, was later interpreted in the city of Alenhatam as a sorcerer hunt, rather than a battle that involved both sides. This led to many citizens today still wanting to persecute sorcerers in the city.
This war also seemed to span a substantial distance, as the war also destroyed the city of Taphrem (on the opposite side of the Fenrir Forest from Alenhatam) shortly before the disappearance of the Nornir.
Disappearance
200 years before the main story takes place, the Nornir suddenly disappeared from Alenhatam. One morning, they were no longer there, and nobody knew why. A theory held by some Dragon Faith is that the Nornir were so disappointed at the abarrations they had created (human sorcerers) that they decided to leave. The Dragon Faith thus still resents the sorcerers for the Nornir's disappearance.
The unspoken tragedy behind this rumor is that the Nornir, decaying from the poison of the Basilicok, were growing old. There was no new blood in their species. Their children, the human sorcerers, had turned against them in the defense of the humans, who they perceived to be targeted by the Nornir. The years of battling against their supposed traitors had worn down their power, and in time, their natural resistance to the toxins began to fail. One by one, the Nornir fell, until finally, only one remained.
Sister Istershiva, in the throes of death, commanded that there be witness to their existence on the continent. She developed a secret plan from the shadows of Alenhatam to destroy the human race. For this plan she prepared hundreds of killing dolls. She would have them lie in wait, until the city had forgotten all about them, then have them deploy in secret and kill every sorcerer in the city. Humans were of no consequence. After their task was complete, the rest would wake up and deploy across the continent, hunting for more sorcerers.
Conclusion
There have been countless explanations for what might have happened, and how things got as bad as they were, but to this day, sorcerers are not particularly welcome in Alenhatam, and often met with violence. This list will include several theories existing today about how this event actually transpired.
The Theft of Sorcery
One prominent theory is that the Nornir were horrified at their descendents developing Voice Sorcery. As they had stolen their sorcery from the God's magic, so had human sorcerers stolen their sorcery from them. Some say that the Nornir were horrified at this, potentially even afraid of their descendants' power, and sought to destroy them.
Unexpected Betrayal
It's possible that the Nornir had no idea at the start of the war that they had been poisoned. If they saw the humans as the traitors, their slaughter of them would make some sense. The Guardian of the Treasure proposed that both sides lacked trust in one another, and rather than to extend that trust, they destroyed each other.
Saving The Human Race
Another theory is that the Nornir realized that they had been poisoned, and were faced with the very real threat that this poison would pass down through their descendants. Even if the sorcerers were strong enough to survive it, what would happen if it then just kept spreading through the human race? Orphen theorized that it's possible the Nornir had no choice but to kill the human sorcerers in the city, regardless of the stigma they'd face, to prevent them from ever possibly spreading the poison on to others.
Assorted Facts
Details
• The Nornir are rumored to be a race of only women.
• The Nornir are said to live for hundreds of years.