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Original Wiki Page
The following is the text of the Wikipedia pages created by readers of my
books. Apparently this Wikipedia page was so threatening to Patrick Rothfuss and
his associates that
it needed to be deleted.
Thank you to the readers who believed so much in my work that they created
these wonderful pages.
Thank you to those who secreted these pages away and preserved them.
Thank you to those who continue to send updates to these pages c/o
robertstanek @ robertstanek.com.
I thank you for all the care you put into this.
God bless and take care,
Robert Stanek
The World of Ruin Mist
Ruin Mist is the name used for Robert Stanek's fictional world. The name Ruin
Mist comes from (or is thought to come from) a slang for the "the lost ages" or
the "ruin of time", so there is some possibility the stories are set in a
fictional past of our world.
The history of Ruin Mist is divided into several ages. The current Ruin Mist
books deal exclusively with events in a specific "as yet unnamed" age. Much of
what is known of Ruin Mist has been written as preludes to various of Robert
Stanek's Ruin Mist books.
== The Realms ==
Ruin Mist has three distinct realms of existence: Over-Earth, Under-Earth, and
Middle-Earth.
...Over-Earth... is the home of dragons and titans. But don't forget about the
eagle lords. Those three are the great races of Ruin Mist's past.
...Under-Earth... is an otherworldly ream that has blood-red skies and no sun,
moon.
...Middle-Earth... is the home of elves and men.
Much of the current stories take place in the kingdoms of men and in the reaches
where the elves live. Parts of the stories take place in under-earth and
over-earth as well.
== History of the Ages ==
In an age long since lost to myth and memory, a race of supreme giants, known as
titans, ruled over all the lands of Ruin Mist from their homes on Over-Earth.
Without question, titans were the masters of the gates. They moved freely
between realms and across lands.
Darkness came to mark the end of age of the titans as surely as there was ever
light at the beginning. During this time of darkness, known as the Great Purge,
it was the greatest of all titans, Ky'el, who gave men, elves and dwarves their
freedom. By the end of the purge, the only known gate to Over-Earth was sealed
for all time ushering in a new beginning. A new age. An age of men, elves, and
dwarves.
After countless wars waged against themselves, each other, and the other races,
men, elves, and dwarves settled in to an uneasy peace within their divided
lands. In time, like titans before them, dwarves became folk of myth and legend,
leaving only absence like a darkness where once there had been great presence
and a light.
The age of men and elves had arrived, its arrival marked by the coming of the
great war. Some would call this war: Dnyarr's war after the elven king who
started it. Others would call it the War of the Thousand Year Siege. Those that
fought and died would call it the War of Ten Million Tears. Victory for men
above all others brought little joy though it did usher in a new age. The age of
men.
There are some who fear this age to be Ruin Mist's last. For if men succumb to
darkness there will be no beginning and darkness will surely rule forever. It is
in this time at the twilight of the age of men that those long lost have
returned to thwart the darkness. They are the fallen sons of ages past and
present. They are the keepers, the watchers, and the guardians. They are those
who hold the key to Ruin Mist's future.
== Writings of the First Age ==
At the dawn of the first age, it was the titan Ky'el who gave the lesser races
(men, elves, and dwarves) their freedom—at a great cost to himself and his
people. Before that, the lesser races were slaves to the greater races (dragons,
titans and eagle lords).
Over the millennia, knowledge of Over-Earth's existence faded from the memory of
the living, even that of the long-lived elves and dwarves. Most believe it is a
place of myth and legend, and that it never truly existed.
== Writings of the Current Age ==
After the Great War that divided the peoples, the kingdoms of men plunged into a
Dark Age that lasted 500 hundred years. To heal the lands and restore the light,
the great kings decreed that magic and all that is magical, be it creature, man
or device, shall be cleansed to dust. Creatures born of magic were hunted to
extinction. The cleansing raged for so long that no human could recall a time
without it and it is in this time that the Dark Lord Sathar returned from the
dark beyond.
The one hope of the peoples of Ruin Mist was Queen Mother, the elf queen of old.
She saw a way out of everlasting darkness, a path that required the union of the
divided peoples. Yet the Elves of the West did not share her vision. They
thought her mad and answered her call for help with a call to arms. Now for the
first time in recorded history the armies of the West are marching toward the
sacred city of the East and an unholy war where elf must fight elf is
inevitable.
Though despair abounds and evil seeks to reign, there is hope. Queen Mother sees
hope through a union of the divided peoples: an alliance of men and elves to
fight against the forces of darkness. But between men and elves there is no love
and little trust. Only truth and faith can guide their destinies.
== Inhabitants ==
Ruin Mist has many inhabitants. The ...Beastmen of the Hunter Clan... first
appeared during the Great Wars. Little is known about them except that they are
for-hire hunters and trackers. They are half human and half animal—the type of
animal is unknown but suspected to be that of a black tiger or black wolf.
Saliva dripping from the upturned canine fangs of beastmen indicates they are on
a hunt and may have sighted their prey. They frequently lick their hair-covered
faces with their long, sticky tongues and ride magical horses that have the
power to bend time and distance. No other race has been able to tame the Beast
Horse, but many have tried.
Long ago extinct, or so it is thought, ...dragons... are the stuff of myth and
legend in Ruin Mist. Stories say dragons are a hundred times the size of man and
that titans rode from the heavens upon their backs. The only true facts
regarding dragons, recorded in an early text, is that there were once many races
of dragons and each was as unique and distinct as men, elves and dwarves.
...Dwarves... dwell in many areas of Under-Earth. They are friends to the dark
elves and loath the forest elves, which are aligned with the Gnomec Dwarves.
They are highly regarded for their prowess in battle and their ability to mine
ore from deep within the earth.
Dwarves, Gnomec Gnomec Dwarves, simply called gnomes, are an ancient line of
dwarves whose ancestors once had great powers of divining and magic. Magic in
dwarves is rare and was regarded suspiciously by other dwarves until the Rhylle/Armore
wars, when the gnomes were driven out of the known lands.
The exile sowed the seeds of discontent and thus a cycle of hatred and revenge
between Gnomec Dwarves and other dwarves was born. This led to the Gnomec
Dwarves aligning with the kingdoms of men against Under-Earth.
Of the ...eagle lords..., it is said that eagles once looked more like men than
birds. Known for their great wisdom, able to speak, to fight and to fly, they
were formidable allies and enemies. Many clans of the great eagles existed. One
of the greatest clans was the Gray Clan, and their mightiest warrior, their
liege lord, Ayrian, ruled the skies over the Rift Range for hundreds of years.
The ...dark elves... of Under-Earth control Greye. Their gray skin, dark hair
and pointed ears are unmistakable. Since the fall of the three kings, the dark
elves lands are organized into fiefdoms, loosely allied to the old kingdoms.
The ...forest elves... live in the Reaches. Although their skin is silvery or
bronze, and they tend to have fair-colored hair and lavender eyes, forest elves
can blend into their surroundings and change the color of their hair, skin and
eyes at will.
Giants Six clans of giants are known to exist: hill, stone, mountain, ice, fire
and storm. Giants are a secretive lot and do not often mix affairs with any
other races. Giants are incredibly strong and untiring of will.
...Men... are the primary inhabitants of the kingdoms. Their peoples are
organized primarily in kingdoms. They tend to keep to their own affairs and
don't like to get involved in the affairs of other races. During the Blood Wars,
mankind drove all the other races out of the kingdoms and severed all ties.
...Titans... are a mysterious and secretive race of super giants that inhabit
Over-Earth. Their time of power and rule came before the dawn of the First Age.
During the Great Purge, the titans were overthrown and thus began the First Age.
In many parts of the kingdoms, titans are remembered as wicked, foul and evil,
but there are those who say this is a great misjudgment, for the greatest of all
titans, Ky'el, is the one who gave men, elves and dwarves their freedom.
Other inhabitants include many other creatures from ancient Greek, Norse, and
Roman mythology.
== Languages ==
Stanek created multiple languages for the inhabitants of Ruin Mist. The language
of the reach elves has origins in the romance languages (primarily Slavic
languages). The language of the eagle lords has or origins in Native American
Indian languages. The language of the dark elves has origins in far eastern
languages (primarily Korean and Japanese). There is a common ancient language
used, postulated to be that from when the titans rules over all of Ruin Mist.
Other languages spoken include the language of the Ice, spoken by the peoples of
North, and the kingdom tongue or common speech, the language of the kingdoms.
== References ==
2003 Magic of Ruin Mist
2003 Robert Stanek: Candid Conversations
2003 Teacher's Classroom Guide to Ruin Mist
2004 Student's Classroom Guide to The Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches
2005 Teacher's Classroom Guide to Magic Lands
2005 Student's Classroom Guide to Magic Lands
2005 The Complete Idiot's Guide to Elves and Fairies
== External Links ==
http://www.robertstanek.com The Official Robert Stanek web site
http://www.themagiclands.com The Official Magic Lands web site
http://www.ruinmist.com The Official Ruin Mist web site
http://www.reagentpress.com Reagent Press Robert Stanek's publisher
http://robertstanekfan.tripod.com/index.htm Robert Stanek fan directory
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