The Distant Home

author: Collected by Tieru

They say Earth never forgets, that past history is forever imprinted in stone and wood. That the blood of past wars still nourishes new life in the trees and plants growing in the shadow of the great forests. Life returns to dust and dust births life anew. If that's true, then there can be no sadness at a close one's demise, as beyond death his life force still grows all around us, always transforming, never dying; and his soul returns to Asha to be born again. There shall be no grief, nor desire for revenge. The balance endures. Harmony, everlasting.

I cherish these thoughts. They give me hope, hope that someday we can grow wise enough to stop repeating the errors of the past and the circle of hatred. And they remind me of the beauty, the tragedy, and the eventual rebirth of the Yon-Chall forest.

Once, Irollan and Yon-Chall were one and the same land, the realm of Sylanna, the Dragon of Earth. But the Angels and the Faceless unleashed their most destructive magic on the trees, looking for mutual annihilation. They scorched the earth, turning it into a blasted heath. The forest died. And yet... it still stands, proudly, defying the test of time and the insanity of war. Some Elves still live in its reassuring depths, as wild and free as Sylanna created them; Humans now live at its borders, and the cycle continues.

Yon-Chall means "the Distant Home" in the Elven language. It received its name a long time ago, after the fall of the ancient Shantiris, when my ancestors abandoned the Malyn Peninsula - that we now know as the Agyn Peninsula - and crossed the Irisus Sea to join their brethren in Irollan. They hoped to shelter themselves from the horror and madness of the Elder Wars. They promised one day, both homes would be reunited. There are some in Irollan now claiming this time will soon come. I think the time has long come and passed, the opportunity missed, the promise now impossible to fulfill without causing new wars and new horrors.

This is as it should be. They say the past is another country, and there is wisdom is those words. Yon-Chall no longer belongs to the Elves, yet forever will. For us Elves, the past is a distant home.

Other Lore for Might & Magic X: Legacy

• The Raider's Code
• The History of Karthal
• Sea Shanties and Harbour Songs
• Michael and His Glories
• Bestiary of Ashan
• Portal to a Distant Star
• Mystery of the Hidden Shrine
• A Passage through the Isles
• Clouds
• Darkside
• The Divine Right
• For Kin and Glory
• Night of the Destroyer
• Decree of Destiny
• The War of Bitter Ashes
• The Fabrication of the Orcs
• The Binding of the Clans
• Malassa Mourning
• Dynasties of Light
• The Myths of Creation
• Houses of Wizardry
• On the Nature of the Spirit World
• Titan Finder
• The Eighth City
• The Dragon of Karthal: a Popular Folk Tale
• The Distant Home
• Wandering the Waves
• The Treasures of the Shantiri
• A Savage History of the Pirates
• Manifesto of the Karthal League
• Song of the Earth
• The History of Hammer Fall
• Excerpt from Montbard's Journals
• Dunstan's Last Adventure
• Astronomical Notes
• A Tour of the Free Cities
• Life with the Pao Island Orcs
• The Books of Beginnings
• The Treacherous Queen Tuidhana