glowingisle

[glowingisle]

A Mysterious Document from Kalos

[glowingisle]

The Splitting of the Dragons-The Draconids and The Drakoboros

Many many years had passed since dragons began roaming the world, and in that same time came humans who chose to try and understand the beasts, befriending them and welcoming them into their families.

In that time the stars began to shift, another star group taking the place of The Great Sky Dragon. Many believed that she had come down to the world herself, and allowed others to take her place in order to travel and see the world and all the beasts that had called it home. Some even said that there was an island in the middle of the sea with a large cave that dragons flocked to, where she had made a home. It was believed that one day The Great Sky Dragon would return to their rightful place in the heavens, one day.

There came a great calamity in one part of the world, where super-ancient beasts were awoken and began to devastate the seas and earth. Through the power of wishes came a being to stop the raging battle between the two beasts-a great serpent who wielded the sun and wind.

A group of humans known as The Draconids were split from each other as they witnessed this miracle. One group saw the serpent for what they were-green with multicolored rays as if a halo, golden bands that snapped into the sky and kept the super-ancient beasts away from each other.

The other group had their vision obscured by the sun, and only saw the silhouette of the serpent. These humans were ecstatic-as they believed this was their Great Sky Dragon who came to their rescue. It fit all their descriptions of a beast of the night, form indiscernible and might beyond measure.

The two groups were reunited with each other after the super-ancient beasts were subdued, quickly learning that they each had their own differing views as to what they witnessed. The group who saw the shadow of the beast were insistent on what they saw, and so a wedge began to form. While they stayed near each other physically, their teachings began to differ more and more as the years went by.

Eventually there came another calamity, though not involving the super-ancient beasts of the past. Both groups in awe as they witnessed two serpents chasing each other across the sky-the fabled green serpent that stopped the beasts in the past, and a serpent as dark as the night. The green serpent was eventually caught in the maw of the shadowed serpent, swiftly killed and cast to the side. And with its death came the vindication of those who saw a beast of shadow all those years ago.

A second serpent of the night appeared shortly after, the two much more evenly matched. Their battle was long and gruesome, and it was near impossible to tell which serpent was which-the two groups often lost track and would swear they saw the beasts biting at their own tails. In witnessing this, the group that had defected from The Draconids found their name: The Drakoboros.

Eventually the second shadow succumbed to their injuries, the first serpent battered, bloody…yet victorious nonetheless.

The beast took off into the night, blending into the sky and towards unknown corners of the world.

[glowingisle]

Dragon Creation Myth and The First Draco Meteor

There was a belief long ago when the sky and stars were new, that a great serpentine beast resided at the top of the heavens. The beast would circle its throne every day and night, watching over everything that resided below it.

One night, the stars began to fall from these heights and onto the world below. Some of these stars blazed in a furious glory, but never could reach the surface of the world below. Others held tight to their resolution to see this new and different world that was below them, and would crash into its surface in a grand fanfare of flames and roars that shook the planet to its core.

Those who rose from the craters they created gave rise to the first dragons. Beasts with fangs and claws, some serpentine, some not. What united them no matter what was the gaze they held towards the heavens, pointing to the great star circle high above. No matter who asked, they all proclaimed the same thing: “That is home, and The Great Sky Dragon watches over us.”

The original dragons became accustomed to their lives on the new planet, learning alongside the other beasts that had called it home. However they were weaker in comparison-they had borrowed skills and teachings from the other beasts of the world, but had nothing of their own to wield and pride themselves in. 

A smaller group of beasts-the humans-taught the dragons about wishes and the power they hold. They thought that by making a wish, their plea could be heard.

And so humans and dragons alike looked to the night and wished, and wished, and wished…

And the stars rained down from The Great Sky Dragon once again, filling the hearts of the dragons with a new resolve.

This was the first Draco Meteor.

[glowingisle]

Reyes Familial Sash

It is said that this specific pattern is one that originates from the Raiex people. The dark purple is supposed to represent both the late evening sky as well as the indigo coloration of the ocean waves after sunset-both blending together once the sun has set and creating a seamless boundary between the night and sea. The zig-zag pattern is theorized by few to emulate the likeness of a Darkrai's collar-more evident when the wearer has the patterned fabric wrapped around their neck. According to the Ciquex, the lighter pattern followed by the dots along the middle are to represent the harmony between the island's physical form and spiritual form-the dot representing either the individual wearer or as a never ending lineage of those from the past and the future. The latter is most often represented when the pattern is worn on a fabric that wraps on itself-such as a sash. 

The pattern is never observed as starting below the waist-most commonly seen as a sash that crosses the body from the left shoulder to the right side of the body. In some instances, being worn from the right shoulder indicates someone who is a valued outsider and is typically reserved for such reasons. When an outside wears the pattern as a sash, it is generally expected of them to sit next to someone of the family-doing so creates a zig-zag pattern, and solidifies the harmony between two worlds: both in the pattern's original meaning as well as the coming together of two different perspectives and peoples.

[glowingisle]

"The Hoenn region is...beautiful, simply put. I've been blessed to have called it my home for so many years. I originally lived in Alola well into my early adulthood, then moved here and settled down to have a family while living in Ever Grande City. By the time I had my eldest son, Alan, our family had been accepted as honorary members of the Draconid people that called the Meteor Village home. In doing so, our family now had intimate access to the Rayquaza that they so revered for eons. 

The dragon type has always been a beautiful set of pokemon, despite their appearance. While difficult at first to befriend and train, they prove to be of utmost strength and loyalty once given the chance. The Draconid knew this as well as I did, and I would frequent their little village to chat with the elders on history and the general nature of these beasts, so we already had a connection that was no longer surface-level.

Working together, we were able to gradually steer away the stigma that this type had in Hoenn, much like the dark type’s reputation in Johto for a number of generations. The Draconid and I became like family, and I would come to attend many of their ceremonies as an equal.

There was a period of time however, that this relationship would be tested. 

Team Rocket had begun to migrate into the region as subtly as they could, but with the risks they took in their raids to achieve the maximum result in regards of pokemon captured, they were soon enough discovered and had the officials on their tail for years.

They noticed that dragon types could be considered useful for the potential of destruction and intimidation, much like the dark types. Through cooperation with admins that saw the errors of their ways and ran from the organization, we came to learn of the locations of their secret bases within Hoenn. I would always tell Oscar to fall back, considering he had just reached his seventh century on this planet. Sonara, my Noivern, she was also quite relentless in tracking these individuals for a number of years; the two made many successful captures, with Oscar lulling any criminals into a deep sleep for easier apprehension while Sonara would scout from the sky. 

There was finally enough control that the police and league could take over these raids without the help of the Draconid, Team Rocket’s presence in Hoenn fading into the shadows and nothing more than a few petty raids rather than the completely insidious operations that they had decades before.

In response to the cooperation and success with dwindling Team Rocket’s numbers, the Draconid had allowed me to be considered one of their own. Lorekeeper Aster had always been a great friend ever since we knew each other, and while the Lorekeeper will tend to sacred duties involving the Rayquaza-who seems to respond to Quetzalcoatl-I and all my descendants are welcome to befriend the beast.

I can only hope that in future generations, the bond would grow to be something legendary.

-Nathaniel Luis Reyes-de Leon”

[glowingisle]

Field Report No.???

Date: Fall, First Moon

After spending several years on the island and befriending the indeginous population, we’ve slowly gained the-while minute-trust of the Darkrai native to the island, of which tend to flock to the northeastern coast and its surrounding territories. While wary of us, they also seem to be rather curious and follow their human companions closely-taking glances at our party whenever we seem to not be paying attention to them. 

Compared to the few observations from the Sinnoh region, these Darkrai have a different appearance; beyond that, there seems to be a split in variation among the island’s population. Some-the ones who are a bit of loners and shy away from the other island inhabitants-seem to be a touch smaller than what we could be presumed to be the domesticated variety. Both variants have larger arms and hands-perhaps to break open the tough fruits that they happen to feast on when there is nothing else around. Their collar spikes are thinner and curve inward rather than up and out as the Sinnohan variant; meanwhile, the domesticated variant seem to have a thicker spike consistency while maintaining the same inward curve, perhaps to act more like a protective shell should they retreat their heads inwards.  

A feature that has only seem to have appeared in the domesticated variant is a usage of eye and eyebrow muscles, perhaps to communicate with the humans they have bonded with in a much more accurate manner. Their disposition and smaller presence of the under-eyelid makes them appear calmer than the Sinnohan or wild variants, thus more approachable as a testament to the efforts from both parties to understand each other. The gown of the domesticated Tanoan Darkrai seems to feel the tug of gravity more than the others, as well as having less of a billowing tail-like appendage. They’ve made use of their “legs” more than the others, which we have seen in action as they are surprisingly great swimmers. Their shoulder blades seem to have shifted over as little as three generations, more than likely to aid with more blunt tasks such as splitting coconuts and tree limbs while still maintaining their use for slashing damage. They have also lost most of the prominence of the dorsal-like structure on their backs, of which the expansion of the collar spikes and shoulder blade movements seemed to have been the cause.

For the most part, this domesticated variant are much more social and open to those around them as long as their human companions are nearby to aid in any altercations. Some even wear locks of their companions’ hair, and even more of them hold a marking on their center spike to match the symbol that the native humans also wear on their bodies. For a species that has often been seen as a bad omen, the Raiex people have a profound bond with them that will continue to be an outlier for years to come.

[glowingisle]

A peculiar set of markings and symbols, found in an abandoned den near the center of the island...

[glowingisle]

Into the Core and The Other

I had a rough time, so I retreated into my dreams. Being the current Ciquex in this family-although the title hardly holds meaning in the current state of the island-I’m granted this sort of permission to seek out the island and explore the interior much like any of us would during an eclipse. How I evade the eyes of my ancestors I have no idea, but I’ve done so enough with the spirit guide-a Lunala by the name of Suen-that I’ve started to explore some rather...unknown territory, to say.

I’ve had this call that I can’t help but answer, something that gives me the faintest feeling that I’m actually doing something with myself...so I just kept to exploring. It’s a rather strange place, the glow from the rest of the island hardly reaching these spiritual depths. It took many nights to get here, considering time passes so different in the waking world, but I eventually found myself deep enough to find this...other place, of which of course was connected to the rest of the island but seemed to be in perpetual dusk.

Beaches, mountains, marshland, forests-so much forest honestly. There’s a lot of strange creatures that call this place home, all quite the set of tricksters too. I found that call in here, in some foggy forest. Somehow Oscar’s kid also found this place, I’m honestly led to think this could be the boundaries of his dreaming realms...but I don’t understand why...

Either way, once I start to find myself back to the main portion of the island’s “core” so to speak, I did come to notice a particularly dark region that was below the entrance to this other place. There were...voices, really awful ones...I think it was to keep anyone crazy enough to come down here from going any further by hurting their feelings, and with the smell of iron and rust coming from further below, I wouldn’t want to stick around and find out.

This island holds a lot more than any of us were led to believe, that’s for sure.

[glowingisle]

The Interior

Field Report No.??? Date: Summer, Second Moon The natives here spoke of a certain phenomenon that's aligned with solar eclipses that frequent the island. It's apparent that the central part of the island-of which is elevated-seems to almost crystallize under the influence of the sun's corona, becoming a reflective beacon that spans the island and its waters. Our biggest surprise was what resided inside this central region, what once was a closed off mass of land opened up with a clear view of the prolonged eclipse above as the space around us was hollowed out to be what seemed a cavern system. There were many glowing figures, the residents of the island saying these were the souls of those who parted from their lives and continued living as the island's spirit. Each one glowed with a color corresponding to their family ties, and a river ran above the ground and alongside the path we traveled-of which was a daunting sight to see that our understanding of physics held no ground in a place like this. There were a set of four souls that flew above the rest, almost as if ready to fly into the eclipse above. We were told those were the spirits of the original founders of the island, the ones who established borders and with them-the families that resided over the land. According to our current guide-who...surprisingly was a Solgaleo-they, alongside their counterpart, held the sun and moon in alignment by creating a sort of temporary pocket dimension to carry the island along the path of the eclipse. This extended the time frame of totality from something at most a few minutes long to several hours at a time, allowing family members to visit with their departed if they so wished. It was a sight to behold, the newest leaders and their partners venturing a little further inwards and receiving what could be deemed as prophecies and future sights. It's truly a wonder to behold, and to consider this is hardly a once in a lifetime opportunity for those who live here. It's no wonder that this is called the Spiritually Aligned form of the island, even without being one of the lucky individuals who call this place home I feel a deep stirring within, calling for my soul to open its eyes to the world around it.

[glowingisle]

These conflicts continued to arise-the contamination of the water systems around Montex, deliberate fires to the forests of Yuentex, and overuse of the land in Veaxquex to the point of infertility even with the help of Landorus. Despite conflicts with these newcomers and fear of leaving their people without a leader, the Ciquex of each corner of the island met once more to decide on a course of action. It was after three nights of debate that Raiex suggested a purge of the island with the help of the Titan Legendaries, moreso the help of the northeast's Patron Legend-Lugia. The other Ciquex agreed to the idea-for the exploitation of the land was too much to bear and was at this point irreversible. In the following weeks the original people of the land took under the cover of night to sail to Alola and from there, other regions. The Ciquex of each group decided to stay on the island and see its end through-each receiving a blessing from their Patron Legendaries and being remembered in the history of those they sent away. Once those that desired to leave evacuated the island, it was then through Lugia that a powerful storm engulfed the island-the hurricane twice the size of Tano and lasting for 40 days and nights. The strength and duration of the storm forced the Kalosians and Unovans on the island to either perish at sea for trying to sail the storm or wait it out on land-where death still waited. The Ciquex were at peace knowing that their home could no longer be exploited, and were more than glad to rejoin the land in which they grew up on. When the storm settled, only the eastern part of the island remained above sea-level, said mountains soon eroding into nothing in the coming centuries that followed. It is said that the island is a myth, recent oceanographic expeditions have found no evidence in the ocean crust or along the Alolan Plate of any underwater mountain ranges. These stories have been passed down by oral tradition and have only few cultural artifacts. The names of the villages and their leaders have been passed down and changed to match the language semantics of the time- Reyes, Vasquez, Fuentes, and Montes, respectively. They say that Tano never existed, but to those who have the names associated with the island... They have other ideas.

[glowingisle]

It was until there was a skirmish in Raiex did tensions finally break loose-in which members of Kalos' Royal Military slayed one of the Darkrai that lived in the area. Their mate, in such rage and grief, cursed the Kalosians with nightmares for as long as they stayed in the boundaries of Raiex. Seeing the rage justified, those of combat rank in the village went against the Kalosians, suffering a dent in their population but ultimately succeeding in driving the Royal Military out of their boundaries and into the mountain range that lead to Montex...   

[glowingisle]

These four groups lived in peace, it was very rare for a skirmish to occur and if such thing did happen, it was settled with physical competitions that resemble current day sports. There was a well thought-out and fair trade system, plenty of interaction between the villages-as if they were all one family. ...

Things began to change in the next centuries, as explorers from ancient Kalos came to seek more land in the name of their Kingdom. They first arrived at Yuentex, where they were greeted with much kindness and many gifts and offerings. The visitors from Kalos spread the news to Unova, and members of both regions came to this island to interact. At first it was in the name of commerce and diplomacy, but the newcomers became greedy and took advantage of those on Tano. The villages of the island were inexperienced in the warfare these two groups brought with them, and so tensions stayed high as the groups attempted some sense of a truce...

[glowingisle]

The southeast was the home of the Montex, friendly rivals to the Raiex who functioned as sibling villages. The Montex had the Patron Legends of Solgaleo and Ho-oh, the tallest mountain peak in their boundaries being the fabled meeting places for the Ciquex to meet either legend to give praise for the sun that gave them warmth and life. The Montex had an unconquerable spirit, auras as bright as the sun itself. This group had an excellent skill in the act of sailing and fishing-the lakes and rivers around them being more than enough to survive...

[glowingisle]

In the southwest were those of the Yuentex, a densely forested community who was said to be watched over by the mythical Celebi. These people were some of the most cheerful on the island-being the epicenter of culture and creating massive amounts of songs and praises for the patron legends of the island. They were the most welcoming and often were the arrival site for those travelling from the Alolan island chain.

[glowingisle]

To the northwest was the village of Veaxquex-an area that received the blessings of Landorus in abundance-who also kept his brothers in check from causing unnecessary destruction to the plains. This northern community was one not to be messed with, for they knew how to survive on the bare minimum that the land gave them. The Veaxquex were known for making the first techniques of preservation on the island, which was very difficult to achieve in the humidity.

[glowingisle]

 One of the more respected groups was that of Raiex-a village to the northeast of the island where the bravest of the island lived, for they were the first to receive the wrath of the seas in the form of cyclones and hurricanes, their towering mountains killing the storms before they could get to the other villages. Shrines dedicated to the moon and sea are found along their coast-Lunala and Lugia being their Patron Legends. These were a brave people for also associating with the mythical species of Darkrai-seeing past their fearsome nightmares and treating the creatures as kindly and with the level of respect as the Ciquex-the chief of the village-themselves.

[glowingisle]

Long ago when the land was young...

... and the Titan Legendaries roamed the earth before their slumber, our humble island was formed. Close enough to the Alolan Islands but far enough to be our own entity-our small but mighty island of Tano found its place as a result of the harmony between land, sea, and sky. Crystal clear shores, misty mountain peaks surrounded by forests and waterfalls, plenty of rivers and lakes, plains and brushland-the land was absolutely beautiful and treated with great respect.

Four groups lived in each corner of the island, the leaders making pilgrimage every three moons to the center of the land to meet and converse...