- "We will have a home, and it shall be named Dolindha."
- ―Lukaus Rogaispodhan, Antler Lord, father of the Ynnic Civilization
The Great Ride of Lukaus (Velik Maharno Lukauski) is the legend on the arrival of the Dolindhan Ruinborn Elves to the Ynn River Valley at the turn of the first century after Ash.
The Kingdom of the Mountain[]
Dolindhans trace the very beginning of their people to the mythical Kingdom of the Mountain. The myth goes that before the Ynn River flooded the world - no doubt an allegory for the cataclysm that destroyed the region - a pious elf named Dafna was chosen to be spared, and instructed to lead his followers to the highest point he could find.
There, they founded the Kingdom of the Mountain, a realm as high as the clouds, and there they prospered free of the taint of the world below.
Lukaus's Exile[]
The Kingdom spent many years in isolation, and its kings grew in hubris and lost sight of the virtues they were supposed to champion. Only Lukaus, the bravest among the Kingdom’s subjects, was willing to call out the kings for their decadence, and for this he was exiled to the world below, sure to die.
However, the Antler Horses of the forests recognized Lukaus's spirit as noble, and so they struck a pact: donning a crown made of antlers, Lukaus became Rogaispodhan - Antlerlord.
The Great Ride[]
At the head of an army of steeds, Lukaus rode back to the Kingdom of the Mountain and, in a passionate speech to its people, he invited any who still had a vision of a just, noble world to join him in settling the land below, convincing half the kingdom to leave with him on that day.
Lukaus's followers rode on Antler Horses into the region that later became known as Dolindha and settled there.
Aftermath of the Conquest[]
Attributed to Lukaus is the name of Dolindha - “Homeland”, as well as the founding of the cities of Stantirvare and Lukausta - the latter bearing his name, and the beginning of Ynnic chivalric tradition.
Out of the pre-Dolindhan peoples who lived in Dolindha, we know the fates and names of only two: the Malacnari, whose ruler was slain by a companion of Lukaus, Celatan, and Celatan became their new ruler while acting as a vassal under Lukaus, and the Brefineis, who were protected by the Vers Argan Mountains and retained their independence.
Lukaus's companions would also become known as Antler Lords and they would rule independently after his death.
Not much is known of the Kingdom of the Mountain past these events. Some say that, with their numbers halved and their location revealed, the Kingdom of the Mountain was simply unable to stave off the attacks of monsters and famished hill tribes, and thus its people dispersed, lost to history.