The Age Before Light (??? - ???)

 

Many years ago, in an age before the rise of Anthropos and Kide, there existed the Angelo and the Demon. Both were near-constantly in a state of conflict, as both saw different designs for the world. However, things began to change many ages later with the rise of Anthropos and Kide as they had begun to cement their place in the world, thus causing further conflict among the now 4 races. One of the Angelo, Micah, was banished from his order for developing feelings for a Anthro woman. Thus, he had decided to seek out a new life for both himself, and the woman he loved; but fate was not so forgiving.

 

Micah was soon pulled into yet another conflict between the Demons and his forsaken brethren, for he discovered that the Demons had developed a powerful weapon capable of cataclysmic destruction. (Appropriately called the "Devil Mask".) Realizing the threat the mask presented, Micah had decided to forge a new weapon capable of countering the Devil Mask's awesome power. It was after many months of searching that a new mask was finally made using a combination of ancient Esper techniques coupled with Micah's own light-based energy. This new mask was called the "Seraph Mask".

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With his trump card in hand and a desire to protect those close to him, Micah engaged in a grand duel with the Supreme High Lord of the Demon race, and while the battle was won in the end, the Angelo Micah was lost.

 

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Personal notes: This entire story is meant to suggest that the Lumin have Angelo origins, and are actually descendants of Micah himself.

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Tobias Lumin - The 1st Ruler (15th Age, 367th Year - d.15th Age, 482nd Year)
"The Father of Arcadia" (Rule from 15th Age, 417th Year - 15th Age, 482nd Year)
    

Sometime in the early 15th Age, a lone merchant named Tobias had travelled to the small Empire of Gehenna to sell his wares, but no sooner had he set up shop that Tobias was arrested. (Apparently because he had not gone through an incredibly complicated procedure in order to gain official permission to sell said goods.)

 

Tobias was brought before the emperor, where he was promptly sentenced to death. However, Members of what was apparently an established resistance rescued the unfortunate man before the deed could be carried out. Tobias was then brought underground into what was the headquarters of the resistance to the emperor of Gehenna.

 
After some convincing, Tobias ends up joining the resistance as a warrior and eventually ends up in a relationship with the resistance leader, Mona LeRenon. The Ivory Sol is also forged somewhere in this time frame. (And as it was originally an Angelon weapon, only the Lumin can utilize its full potential.)

After a lot of sacrifice and difficult battles, the emperor is soundly defeated and the nature of his insane power is revealed. Afterwards, it was decided that Tobias himself become the new ruler of the region, (Tobias had become a well known and respected member of the resistance which, for some reason or another, leads the other members to believe that he'd be best suited for the position.) and after a little convincing from Mona, he agrees. The resulting nation was named "Arcadia" as a monument to peace.

During his new rule, Tobias was responsible for the direct establishment of the first of many versions of Arcadia's layout, as well as the basic system of laws that would adhered to and expanded upon by the future kings and queens of Arcadia.

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Personal notes: The Lumin's unique bloodline (being of both Anthro and Angelo in origin) is what allows them alone to use the Ivory Sol at its full power.
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Fiona Lumin - The 2nd Ruler (15th Age, 460th Year - 15th Age, 547th Year)
"The Warrior of Light" (Rule from 15th Age, 482nd Year - 15th Age, 547th Year)

Several years after the downfall of the emperor, Tobias had already begun the reconstruction of what was now Arcadia. Peace had settled into the region, and somewhere in that time frame, had also been blessed with a daughter. The young princess was given the name, Fiona Lumin.

Throughout her childhood, Fiona would often ask her father to recall his "epic adventure", and as worn out as Tobias typically was from all the work, he always retold the story. Eventually, Fiona became inspired by the tale and vowed to live up to her father's legacy, and thus, she had begun training as a knight. Years passed, and Tobias eventually passed away...

With Fiona now queen, Arcadia had completed its rebirth, and all was well. During this time, Fiona would do her best to continue where Tobias left off with somewhat limited success. Regardless, Fiona successfully managed to keep Arcadia stable.

Then, one fateful day...

 

Fiona met a travelling swordsman by the name of Aquius, and through extensive conversation, learned that they share the same dreams of heroism. Though, Aquius had appeared to have already beaten Fiona to the punch, seeing as how he had already done his share of fighting against evil across several different lands. As a result, Aquius' name had also gained some renown.
 

Regardless, they both decided to take advantage of the opportunity and share their experiences and knowledge with one another, and over time, the two grew close. During their time together, Fiona and Aquius would often have mock battles. Though Aquius would typically emerge the victor, due in no small part to his experience, but there were plenty of instances where Fiona's determination would win the day. After a time, the score was 60 to 60.
  

Being the hero he was, Aquius would often receive missions, causing him to leave fairly regularly. In the meantime, Fiona had her own issues to deal with in the form of a rebellion, consisting of a group that supported the old emperor, that threatened to overthrow the Lumin rule of Arcadia. 
  

After a good deal of fighting, Fiona had finally found the location of the rebellion's headquarters. Meanwhile, Aquius had received yet another mission to subdue a relic known as the Devil Mask. Apparently, some poor fool had been seduced by its corrupting power. The day before both great battles were to commence, Fiona and Aquius met one last time and exchanged their goodbyes, and with one last promise to return safely, the two parted ways.
    

Fiona's final battle with the resistance was fierce, resulting in the destruction of the fortress. However, no sooner had she returned to Arcadia that she received news that some incredibly powerful foe was destroying anything and everything in its path. It had already destroyed two cities, with Sallows next on the list.
    

Fearing the worst for Aquius, Fiona attempted to intercept the demon outside the second (unnamed) city. Upon encountering the "demon", she wasted no time and took action. As the fight wore on, a nagging suspicion tugged at the back of her mind, and though she chose to ignore it, the thought persisted. Then, as if a bolt of lightning had struck in her mind, Fiona realized what was happening. This twisted being's fighting style proved it above all else, that the opponent Fiona was facing...
    
...was Aquius.
    

In this moment, however, Fiona was off her guard, and was injured as a result. She managed to escape to Arcadia, however, and began preparations for Aquius' arrival. When he arrived, reborn by the Devil Mask's power, Aquius was greeted by the entire Arcadian army. As to be expected with the monumental power gained from the Devil Mask, Aquius made short work of the soldiers and proceeded to the castle. There, he confronted Fiona in the throne room where he tried to convince her to join his "crusade". Fiona refused, claiming that Aquius no longer existed, and a battle ensued.
    

If Fiona's last battle with the resistance was fierce, then her battle with Aquius was cataclysmic. The clash of the two warriors resulted in the near complete destruction of Arcadia, and what was left was on fire. When the final blow was landed and the dust settled, Aquius lie broken, mono-armed, and with a good portion of the Devil Mask destroyed. Unfortunately, Aquius' corruption was too severe, and after some debate, Fiona had decided to seal him within an underground chamber several miles below the surface. There, it was expected that Aquius would die.
    

Heartbroken, Fiona returned to Arcadia. There, she began re-reconstruction with a special contribution to the capital city: a statue of Aquius as he was, a hero. Fiona had also decided that any future Lumin would be trained in the fighting arts, learning how to utilize both the Ivory Sol and the family's ability to manipulate light energy to protect the world from evil, no matter what form it may take.
    

It wasn't until much later that Fiona realized the final score was 60 to 61.

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Personal notes: This is meant to set up both Aquius' hatred of the Lumin family and the true beginning of the Lumin family's legendary status in the world.
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Zebulon Lumin - The 3rd Ruler (15th Age, 523rd Year - 15th Age, 627th Year)
"The Shadow that Fell" (Rule from 15th Age, 547th Year - 15th Age, 580th Year)

In the next several years, Fiona had brought about the second incarnation of Arcadia and did her best to continue where her father left off, with limited results. Some time later, a new heir was born by the name of Zebulon. Zebulon was a scholar at heart but was very gifted with a sword, albeit not so much at energy manipulation. He was the first to carry out the five-year training period, but his went on for nearly four years after that due to his intense desire to learn. 

 

When he returned to Arcadia, he noticed that the government was... well, messy. It had been established at the end of a rebellion, and as needs arose, new divisions were added. By the time of Zebulon it was a shuddering mess that threatened to collapse. He re-organized it into a system of Ministers, each of which handled a certain function and collaborated in the day-to-day running of Arcadia. He also discovered, while exploring the Lumin Castle, the dungeon where Aquius was kept. 

 

Fascinated by the prisoner and the darkness around him, Zebulon visited frequently, striking up... not a friendship, but an acquaintanceship with the man. Eventually, Zebulon grew consumed by this, spending almost all his time in the dungeons and neglecting Arcadia, and when he did pay attention, making poor or downright unethical decisions. As a last-ditch move, the Ministers ousted him in favor of his son, and he spent the rest of his life wandering Arcadia, homeless and stripped of his surname, trying to repent.

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Personal notes: Zebulon is a very strange name. Not that I dislike it however, it makes the character memorable in a way.
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Edward Lumin - The 4th Ruler (15th Age, 562nd Year - 15th Age, 649th Year)
"Master of the Shining Arts" (Rule from 15th Age, 580th Year - 15th Age, 649th Year)

Born some time during Zebulon's rule, Edward Lumin spent much of his childhood  enthralled in various texts, expanding his knowledge of the family's Light Arts, as well as various political and economic workings. Also in accordance with Fiona's protocol, young Edward was put to training once he came of age. 

 

However, Edward never really took to the swordsmanship. Rather, he always appeared more interested in the energy manipulation. Throughout his childhood, Edward continued to perfect his light abilities to the point where he had practically abandoned the Ivory Sol completely. On the flip-side, however, Edward's energy prowess was second to none. However, he was also a rather introverted person and often kept to his studies.

 

Regardless, upon Zebulon's banishment, Edward appropriately took the throne and continued to spend his days studying any and every book, tome, and scroll he could get his hands on. His habit of isolating himself led some to believe he was cold, while in actuality, Edward was actually a kind man, if not a bit cynical. Edward also lacked a thorough understanding of self-expression and personal attachment due to an estranged relationship with his father.

 

One afternoon, Edward received news on a handful of reports of acts of terrorism in the nearby Marr empire. Unfortunately, there was not much information beyond that, but Edward decided to investigate, regardless. upon reaching Marr, Edward was greeted by an ambush from two unknown warriors, one using a wakizashi sword and wind energy, with the other wielding a massive greatsword along with earth energy. Edward successfully held his own against the two, though, he did not actually defeat them.

 

The one with the greatsword introduced himself as Yamamoto, and attempted to convince Edward to leave Marr to the designs of their organization, and no harm would come to Arcadia. Edward refused, declaring that he would put a stop to their plan. (Whatever it was) The young man with the wakizashi, whom it turned out was named Iggy, dared Edward to try, and the two made their exit.

 

After meeting with the Marran emperor, Edward learned that the organization known as "The University" had been decimating settlements, not just in Marr, but in other countries all over the world. Unfortunately, all they had in the way of clues were a few unclear messages involving the organization's superiority and the preparations for some kind of "cleansing".

 

Edward proceeded to investigate, and after tons of encounters with University members, he learned that "The University" was actually an organization dedicated to the creation of superior beings by combining Anthro and/or Kide test subjects and various DNA samples, and through this process, plan to usurp the world's dominant races and claim ownership of their new world. These experiments would also apparently extended the subjects' life spans to incredible lengths, with an average subject living around 600-800 years.

 

On his way to confront the remaining members, Edward once again encountered young Iggy and the two battled once more. This time, Edward emerged victorious, stood over Iggy, and readied to deliver the final blow when Iggy questioned how Edward knew all of his techniques. When Edward remarked that they had already fought each other, Iggy claimed that he had no memory of such a thing. After a few more words of questioning, Iggy managed to escape, leaving behind a very confused Edward.

 

Afterwards, Edward continued on to The University headquarters where he faced and defeated its members one by one, with only Yamamoto surviving the onslaught. Edward encountered the organization's leader, called Ven, deep within the compound. It was here the two faced off. Though the fight was intense, Edward managed to emerge victorious and proceeded to question Ven about Iggy.

 

As it turned out, Iggy was a special case in the University's line of experimentation. He had been combined with wolf DNA, which in of itself was nothing special, but what made Iggy different, was that his genes had become unstable due to a mutation involving the violent nature of the modified DNA, causing Iggy to be highly susceptible to "berserker episodes". So, as a precaution, The University heads had decided to instill a fail-safe where Iggy's memory would periodically wipe itself every 200 years or so. 

 

In the end, Edward offered Ven a deal: that he would not kill him in exchange for a peaceful surrender. The leader responded by setting off the self-destruct sequence.

 

As Edward was making his escape, he faced off one last time with Iggy, the two warriors displaying exceptional dueling skill, but Edward had succeeded in pushing Iggy into his fabled "berserker" state where he took on the form of a large wolf. In this state, Iggy's physical and energy prowess were enhanced to insane levels, but with this power, Iggy also lost control of himself. Edward managed to subdue the rampaging Iggy and consequentially knocked him out; however, rather than leave him, Edward had decided to carry Iggy from the collapsing base.

 

Outside, Iggy awoke to find Edward sitting beside him, looking off over the cliff side. Iggy attempted to attack Edward, only to have his attack repelled. Edward then proceeded to inform Iggy that he had saved his life, and when Iggy questioned why, Edward simply replied, "...Honestly, I can't say. It's my job as a Lumin to help those in danger, to be sure. But, I think it goes beyond that. Perhaps it's because I have sympathy for you, being forced to forget everything just as you come to understand yourself..." Edward also said that he would be willing to help Iggy with his... "temper."

 

From that point forward, Edward and Iggy were close friends. Future records would indicate that Edward had attempted to find the cause of Iggy's periodic memory resets, but to no avail. He did, however, manage to strike a deal with an old mountain-dwelling swordsman to look after Iggy when the time came. (As Edward believed that the calm environment would reduce the chances for one of Iggy's episodes.) Afterwards, Edward did his best to leave directions for the future memory-wiped Iggy. 
 

Afterwards, Edward returned to Arcadia and continued to build upon Zebulon's established government, officially bringing Arcadia into its first true era of prosperity.

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Personal Notes: Edward was designed to work as a Lumin that would rely on his intelligence and energy manipulation, rather than the use of the Ivory Sol. A separation from the norm, as it were.
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Victor Lumin - The 5th Ruler (15th Age, 608th Year - 15th Age, 664th Year)
"The King of Kings" (Rule from 15th Age, 649th Year - 15th Age, 664th Year)

 

After the events of surrounding Edward Lumin and The University, things had remained calm for quite some time. Arcadia had time to become fully realized as a nation, as Edward would continue to make improvements far into his twilight years. As for the benefits in the family, Edward had developed a plethora of useful techniques using the family's signature abilities with light energy. (Such as improving upon the "flashblink" technique created by Fiona Lumin.)

 

But as with the leaders before him, Edward had eventually found a wife, and at some point, gave birth to an heir. This was Victor Lumin. Victor was trained in the art of fighting like those before him, and as an added bonus, Edward even gave him lessons in tactician and leadership skills. 

 

For the next 40 years, Victor had studied under his father and peace continued to be maintained, only to be broken temporarily by whispers of conflict between the great nations. Edward eventually passed, and Victor took the throne. As a leader, Victor was a prideful man, firm and unwavering with an air of power and control around him. A king's king, they called him.

 

One afternoon, a courier had arrived at Castle Lumin to deliver a message: the neighboring country of Marr had declared war against the Kide of Shrade, and Marr had begun gathering forces and making alliances, with only a few countries avoiding the conflict. Battles between Anthro and Kide kind had already been waged, and Marr was officially demanding that Arcadia join the alliance with its nation.

 

Victor, believing that he could help end this war quickly, agreed to support Marr. Thus, Arcadian soldiers were mobilized, and Arcadia's involvement in the Cataclysm War began.

 

Battles were waged, lives were lost, and many once peaceful landscapes were reduced to scarred battlegrounds. In time, the Kide were forced to abandon Shrade in favor of a larger territory to the west that came to be known as Emperia. It continued this way for many years until even Marr's resources had begun to dwindle and their soldiers began to tire. Desperate, the Marran emperor gave a decisive piece of acquired Intel to Victor and decided to leave the end of the war to Arcadia. The intelligence Victor received revealed the location of what was believed to be the Emperian military headquarters.

 

Using what was an elite unit of soldiers, Victor led an assault on the fortress in one final attempt to end the war. No one knows the details of the attack, but in the end...

 

Victor never returned.

 

The fortress was rocked with the apocalyptic conflict that ensued, and neither Victor nor his men returned from the battlefield. He was presumed dead, and Arcadia mourned the loss of not only their leader, but the only hope they had of ending the war. In this time, Marr had managed to reconstitute itself and continue fighting "in Victor's name", and thus, the Great War continued.

 

With no leader, Arcadia was forced to appoint Victor's young son, Alden, as not only king, but their final hope in saving the world...

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Personal Notes: I figured at least one Lumin should be "King-like", and thus Victor was born. (I took some cues from what I imagined a more traditional king would be like, making Victor more "iron fisted" as a result.)
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