The History of Graanek

Written by Onag Garafol

The Graanekites are an entire race, not just a civilization. From a scientific point of view, it is suspected that before proper Graanekite history, a collection of hybrid births between gargoyles and humans for a span of three thousand years or so created Graanek. The Graanekites resemble wingless, shorter, and weaker gargoyles with various skin colour that always has a greyish tint.
Graanek was a civilization that took to the seas after some eight or ten generations of living around the Madagascar area. The Graanekites settled on a large uninhabited island and claimed it as their own. Very early on in their history, Graanek developed portalling technology. Now of course, back then, the projectors for these portals were the size of buildings. However, they did find it was a very efficient way of getting around, and so looked into it. In generations to come, the portals became more stable and safe, as more extensive research was done. Soon a tradition began. A group of people constructed a portal, and left with it. They would establish an outpost, and then portal back for supplies and commerce. Every hundred years, every Graanekite settlement did this again. If you do the math, you'll find that in just a thousand years or so, Graanek had developed an extensive array of outposts. And every outpost was closely knit together with a complex network of portals. Graanek soon became one of the most powerful forces in the known world.
But however powerful Graanek was, it did have its weaknesses. The Gorgon Stheno was immortal, and after centuries of mournful agony on the Island of the Gorgons, she set out to have her revenge on the race that took her sister from her. Now to Stheno, this appeared to be everyone who wasn't a Gorgon. So the first thing she came across was Graanek, and she took it hostage. Stheno was immortal, and no matter what Graanek did to stop her, her rule over Graanek was ruthless and steady. So Graanek turned to its sorcerers, who had been a somewhat unknown caste amongst the Graanekites. The sorcerers built the Dagger of Graanek, which was a small dagger with a sapphire blade, capable of killing an immortal. But they would only have one test drive, and it worked. Stheno was killed and her body was buried below Graanek with the dagger still sticking out of her heart.
Graanek soon stumbled across Atlantis, and was quick to form an alliance. Atlantean scientists were amazed at the portals, and in the coming centuries, assisted greatly in the development of portalling technology. Over the generations, portals became able to form without another projector at the other end, and the projectors themselves became smaller. Soon the size of a horse, then a book, and in a few generations, necklaces, belt clasps, and wristbands. Graanek set off to make more Alliances. Ambassadors were sent to Scotland, Asgard, Greece, Avalon, and so on.
Sadly, when the Roman emperor saw the Graanekite ambassador materialize in his throne room, he overreacted and promptly killed the Graanekite.
Graanek was, understandably, quite furious, and war was in question. The Romans apologized profusely, and explained the situation in detail.
An uneasy alliance between Graanek and Rome was formed. Secretly, the Romans gathered as much information as they could. Finding out that Graanek had outposts beyond their known world didn't settle too well with them, as did the fact that their soldiers could portal through Roman defenses. The viziers to the Emperor immediately dismissed any concept of frontal assault. Reinforcements would arrive in nano-seconds. It would just be a waste of men. So they turned to more clandestine approaches.
The Sisters of Circe were Greek sorceresses for hire. Rome hired them. They demanded that the Sisters find a way to destroy all Graanek outposts simultaneously. The ever resourceful Sisters of Circe found a way. They summoned meteors to fall from the sky and destroy all but one of the outposts of Graanek. The death toll reached in the millions. Graanek was lost, and in the confusion the final outpost experienced, Rome invaded. They wanted their prize intact. The ability to become invincible was all too appealing for them.
A few refugees used portals to get to Atlantis. Immediately Atlantean soldiers, as well as warriors from all over the Alliance, came to Graanek's rescue, and any alliance Atlantis had with Rome was utterly shattered, and the Sisters of Circe, who already weren't high on the Atlantean people-we-like-list, moved up a spot on the people-to-kill-list.
The Graanekite survivors, as few as they were, left the burning ruins of Graanek and took up a district on the continent of Atlantis.
Portalling technology became a part of Atlantean society and the surviving Graanekites, who seemed (and still seem) to have an instinctual knack for this sort of thing, continued to work on it.
Meanwhile, the Brotherhood of Osiris was up to no good. Scouts reported that the Brotherhood had taken control of the smoldering ruins of Graanek. Their plans soon came to fruition. The Brotherhood had desecrated the now skeletal remains of Stheno and removed the Dagger of Graanek from the dust of her heart. They were going to Avalon to kill Oberon and Titania (who both still lived there at the time). Immediately multiple messages were sent to the Lord and Lady of Avalon, and Atlantis mobilized the entirety of the Alliance to stop the Brotherhood of Osiris. They did, and the Dagger of Graanek is now in safe keeping on Lan Mesinsure.
Since then, not much has happened, aside from the Purge of Atlantis. Most of Graanek now lives with the Starhammer Centaur clan in Scotland and Ireland, and I have been appointed current ambassador to Lan Mesinsure. So, if you're ever in a Graanek settlement, be sure to try all the different rice dishes.