Codex 02: The Moon of Deznessuian

Author's Note: People didn't seem that interested in the last codex, so this will probably be the last one. I'm only submitting it because I already had it done. This is the history of the gem that Datoran gives Lyriena in chapter one.

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69 years before the beginning of the current Age of Peace, the Moon of Deznessuian was found in a mine on the isle of Felara. Roughly the size of a chicken egg, it was found already cut, polished, and in pristine condition. The original miner who found it, a commoner whose name has since been lost to history, attempted to steal it but was discovered and hanged. The Lord who owned the mine, the count of Ishira, was initially going to give it to his overlord, the Duke of Beris, but decided to keep it instead. He was so entranced by it size and clarity, he likened it to the moon in the sky, from which it gets its name. He had it set into a necklace which he wore as a badge of office. The Count became obsessed with its beauty and recklessly dug deeper into the mine, hoping to find another. He was personally overseeing the excavation of a new shaft he was sure would reveal the diamond when it collapsed and killed him, along with a dozen others. Their bodies were eventually recovered, and after seeing how the diamond corrupted his father, the new Count gave it away as part of his sister's dowry.

The marriage was a disaster almost from the start, though no true records from the time document exactly what happened. Some say that the Count's sister had a affair with servant in her husband's employ. Others say that the husband was a cruel man, who abuses his new wife. Regardless, he refused to return the diamond with the rest of the dowry. The Count, furious at the theft of the diamond and the supposed abuse of his sister, began a feud with the nobleman that killed hundreds. At the end, the petty king of the island where the diamond was found confiscated it along with all the lands of his feuding vassals.

The King, who history tells us was named Gatherien, had it set into his crown, and wore it for many years. When the Zentarans made contact with the elfs 59 years before the current age, a generation of bloodshed ensued. The Zentarans played the elfish petty kings against one another and reaped the benefits of trade and treasure. In the ensuing chaos, Gatherien and his line were exterminated, and his island absorbed into the Duchy of Falathriel. The Duke of Falathriel removed the diamond from the crown and kept it in his treasury. However, within a year it was stolen, and worse, all the evidence suggested it was one of his kin who did it. In a paranoid rage, he murdered all his sons one by one as he attempted to torture a confession from them, though no confession was ever forthcoming. The diamond was never recovered, and the Duke died without an heir, his line extinguished.

It resurfaced a decade later in the collection of a rich silk merchant named Eonimier Lithwelian. The merchant refused to say how he got it, except that he bought it from a trusted client who needed gold. There was nothing to tie him to the original theft, but the odium of the bloodshed surrounding its disappearance clung to the merchant, and many of the noble houses refused to do business with him. He attempted to expand his trade with Zentara to make up for it, but the ongoing war with Heste meant that all trade in general dried up and Eonimier went out of business. The diamond was auctioned off to his creditors, and despite having already gained a reputation for being cursed, was eagerly in demand.

The winning bid was so ruinous it sent its new owner into arrears for years. However, the merchant who bought it was eventually able to turn his business around, and eventually came to believe that he beat curse. He had many children, and was admired by all. Unfortunately, he died suddenly of a heart attack before he had time to draw up a will and make his intentions for his estate clear. The ensuing feud left all but his eldest son, Frerwin, penniless. He took the diamond and his father's wealth for himself and cast the rest of his brothers and sisters out in the cold.

The son thrived, though it was said that this was only because the diamond found a ruthless partner in him. He vastly increased his wealth through loaning money to the desperate at outrageous interest rates and ruthlessly ruining those who were even a little late on payment. Though it was never proven, rumors at the time suggested that he agreed to support his sisters in exchange for sexual favors, though that may have been cruel gossip, as he was not a popular man. Regardless, Frerwin had it for over 40 years, before being murdered while dispossessing a family of their home. He left no heir, so the diamond and his wealth eventually passed to his brother's son.

This seemed like the first good stroke associated with the diamond, as he was a poor wretch. Alas, unused to having money, he quickly squandered it all, and had to sell the diamond before ending back in penury.

The legendary scholar and inventor Fistandewel possessed it next. Despite being a man of science, he believed in the power of the curse and resolved to lock away the diamond for all time. He designed a special vault to hold it, one he said would contain its evil powers. The vault was grander even than the one he built for the new King of Zentara, and was designed to be the corner stone of his house so that should it ever open, the whole building would collapse. The Moon disappears from history for a century. Fistandewel died without ever revealing the secret of how to open the vault, and to this day the vault is still sealed beneath his old manor. Nonetheless, the Moon of Deznessuian managed to escape confinement and enter the world again, though to date no one has figured out how.

The diamond was fund being sold at an estate auction for a wealthy count, though none of his family knew where or how it had come into his possession. It was bought by general Damien Harrowen, a haughty, ambitious man who dreamed of expanding the Kingdom onto the continent. He proposed an alliance with Heste, to use their ships to launch an attack on Ruar and divide the Kingdom of Zentara between them. The King of Deznessuian was against the scheme, so Damien attempted a coup, which quickly failed since elfs are a generally mercantile and peaceful people with no desire for war. After his execution, the general's son took the Moon with him into exile, and it disappeared from history again.

It resurfaced in Heste in possession of the Duke of Fulnath. The Duke of Fulnath led the last great invasion of the Catabrian Tribes, attempting to subjugate them and add them to the Kingdom of Heste. He led his host into the hills, where they were bitterly resisted by the clans. Though he won many victories, each one wittled down his army until he had nothing left and was forced to flee in disgrace. The cost of the war ruined him, since there was no treasure in the hills to defray the expense. He had to marry his daughter off to a merchant from the Duchy of Braden, the diamond as part of the dowry, in exchange for enough money to save his own estate from collapse.

The Duke's new son-in-law was overly proud of his diamond, wore it constantly, and boasted of its magnificence. Between the diamond and his new marriage alliance with the Duke of Fulnath, his pride became overbearing. Finally, Carmine Kollmar, the Duke of Braden arrested the merchant for stepping beyond his station and confiscated the diamond. The Duke of Fulnath, pleased to be rid of a troublesome relation, did nothing but ask for his daughter back.

The Duke of Braden refused to return her, instead keeping her hostage to ensure Fulnath's cooperation in his own scheme. Carmine had grown rich from controlling the trade with Zentara, and had designs on the crown o Heste itself. Fulnath, eager to regain royal favor after his disastrous campaign, betrayed the Duke of Braden to the King. His daughter was killed, but Braden's plot was defeated and the Duchy of Braden was confiscated and given to the King of Heste's brother, Gilbert.

Gilbert kept the diamond for many years, and those closest to him said he eventually planned to set it in his crown when he became king of Zentara. During the First Hesten War, when King Turogg and Queen Jeanette besieged his Castle Wareg, one of his servants stole the diamond and opened the gates for the Zentaran army. Gilbert was killed soon after in circumstances still not entirely known.

The diamond most recently has reappeared in the possession of Datoran, the Duke of Stohlnoth, who had it set in a necklace and given to his fiancée, Princess Lyriena Eomowien, to wear on her trip to Zentara to impress upon them the wealth and majesty of the Elfish Isles.