Dawn of the Forgotten: Lore and Literature

Creature list



Mainland Barg

Appearance: standing tall and broad with skin like hardened leather, the mainland barg strikes fear into the hearts of many. They boast horns like rams, limbs like tree trunks, and claws like daggers curving into the ground.

Size: 10 - 20 ft.

Personality/nature: they're a shy and nocturnal breed that aren't often seen, and will only attack when provoked. When a road is paved near the mountains, tales tell of bargs that set their homes nearby, killing nearby travelers and devouring what remains of them.

History & Origins:

Adapting in the great forests of Faulon, that which once covered the land now known as Lorlyn, lived as a key balance to the ecosystem, creating paths for other animals, and controlling the population of large herds. No one knows their origin, only that their influence was vast by the time of the first encounter with sentient beings - the Eyru.

The Eyru held deep respect for those creatures. Despite their beastly physique, their knowledge far exceeded that of most other creatures, able to communicate on a basic level, such as through hand signs. The bargs, being gardeners of the forest, built large woodland trails, and the Eyru gave tribute to use them. While some subspecies of bargs unfamiliar with the Eyru were known pests, such encounters were rare. The Eyru, holding a deep respect for nature, would cut down trees only to replace them right after, and to the land turned into farmland, provided abundant food for the wildlife.

The humans, however, did not hold such sentiment. They stepped onto the shores of Faulon with axes, spears, and bows. The great forests turned to plains and farmlands. The woodland faun became scores of red, from the deer, wolves, bears, and beyond all others: the woodland bargs. Betrayed, corrupted by the decency of Eyru, the bargs, with spite, demanded far greater tributes, but the humans refused.

Furious, the bargs banded together with clubs and slings, and were set to raid the human settlements. A mere dozen bargs had ransacked entire villages, with even the wooden husks of their homes rattled to the ground.

This instilled fear in the humans, but equally grew their resentment. They sought for revenge, believing they'd overwhelm them with superior weaponry and numbers, but the bargs were ready for them.

This would later culminate in the desperate act of human ingenuity: fire. Not just any fire, mind you, but the scorch of entire woodlands, with an abundance of traps awaiting them. By the end of it all, the humans had won, both at the cost of many lives, and the near extinction of the bargs in the region, or so they thought. The bargs were simply forced to migrate elsewhere, staying far away from the humans and Eyru, disappearing from the scrolls for centuries.

Later mentions of the creatures were in tribal mythologies, used as metaphors to display great splendor of beloved warriors. 

However, over time, as the humans and drakes began their wars, the bargs had returned, seeking to join the fight towards human extermination. What they didn't anticipate was the human need for power. They created projectile weapons with the might of their throws, biting deeper than their stones ever could. One shot could bring down a barg, and there were hundreds already built in the fight against the dragons: drake bows. Their great forests had become desilate, consumed by the expanse of open plains. There was nothing they could do but take what little they could, stealing livestock and crushing crops, which only grew the fight against them.

Eventually, the humans formed an army built specifically in the fight against such beasts, of dragons, wyverns, and bargs. They were named in mockery of the mightiest among them; Drakon, and a fortress named Drakonstead. Ever since then, the bargs weren't only hunted when raiding villages, but simply for living near the human settlements. They were hunted for their prized skin and flammable flesh, forcing them to be isolated to the mountains of the east, hiding in caves and living in what was left of their forest dwelling. They had grown fearful the humans that once feared them, and now only a few still linger.