The history of the Ryuu-

	A long time ago, when the world was new and the nations of man and elfkind had yet to be, a great force split the land, and the peoples who lived there. The Great Divider reveled in the seperation of all peoples, and became the gods of war and chaos, such as the concept of gods existed in those days. Another force sorrowed over the loss, and promised to one day avenge the Undoing, and bring those long seperated back into unity, and became the gods of change and peace and goodness, given form now as the Great Winds the ryuu praise, though what names man and elfkind give them the ryuu know not. Indeed, since time forgotten, the ryuu do not treat with the smaller humans and elves, seeing no reason or desire to. But that is now, and this story is of the beginning. 
	The ryuu then were of two kinds. The kaze ryuu, relatively small creatures with four wings and fleeting lifespans of perhaps a thousand years. They literally could live their entire lives without setting foot upon the ground. Their speech was song in of itself, lilting and ever-changing, like the winds which they rode upon. They were ungainly on land, but a sight to behold on the winds, for they almost danced in the air, a world which they shared, at that time, with no other.
	The other where the chigi ryuu, creatures living ponderously long spans of time, easily several hundred times the lives of the kaze ryuu. Their armor was like the very stone of earth, their  inner fire matched only by the fire mountains of the Guarded Isle. They were huge, though they grew but slowly, they had aeons in which to grow before passing back unto the earth that they lived upon. They did not fly, nor did they need to. With the very fires of the earth and armor of mountains, they did not need the winds.
	For a time, the two races knew not of the eachother, until a traitor wind brought the kaze ryuu to the lands of the chigi ryuu. The two races saw in each a similiarity to their own, and distrusted it. A great war broke out soon thereafter, for each thought the other inferior. The sky was thick with smoke, the very earth bleeding fire. Mountains rose, only to fall, the seas boiled, and the winds howled as the two races fought for supremacy, driven by the Divider, unknowingly playing into Its desire for chaos.
	Despite the intense fighting, the two sides were in a perfect stalemate. The talons of the kaze ryuu could not harm the chigi ryuu, but the chigi ryuu could not strike the swift-winged kaze ryuu with their fires or gigantic talons. The war continued for many many long years and several generations before the clear voice of the avenging force was heard. Several of the kaze ryuu and chigi ryuu heard Its call and gathered on a remote island where the winds blew clean and constant off the ocean, and the earth's fires sheltered it from intrusion. They named it the Isle of Learning, though long years since it was renamed the Guarded Isle, home of the Eldest and of the Consulate. There, the two races found common ground, and those bold few learned the ways of the other. This did not end the fighting of the rest of their Kindreds, but it was a start.
	Some time later, those that had met and learned went back to their peoples and spoke of a new life, one of peace, without the war, where the gifts of each Kindred might be shared and made stronger. Some few listened, but for most, the words fell upon deaf ears. In frustration, one of the chigi and one of the kaze returned to the Isle of Learning, as it was then named. Left to themselves for some years, the two somehow came to make a youngling, a strange hybrid creature. The youngling quickly grew larger than the kaze ryuu, possessing only two wings, not four, and armor that could repel all but the harshest of attacks. This youngling, soul given wings and fire, was named Ryuusama. Seeing the end of the long war and hope for the future in the youngling, the two took great care to raise the littling with love and understanding.
	When it came time, Ryuusama took to the skies, learned in the ways of the winds and the fires of both Kindreds, and approached both as living evidence that the two races were not so dissimiliar, and certainly had no reason to fight. At first, Ryuusama was regarded with fear and loathing, for who had thought such a thing possible, the blending of two warring races?
	Others who had learned returned to the Isle of Learning and made younglings of their own, while Ryuusama undertook a long journey, seeking a way to make his kindreds see the truth. He set his soul to the winds, pleaded with whatever gods would listen, and travelled as far as his wings and the winds would take him. It was some years before, legend has it, the gods replied.
	"Look to the south, youngling, to a place where the earth's fire and the winds meet, as they hath in thine own blood and bone. Thy kin have suffered long enough in the darkness, go now, and seek thy soul's fire and lofty dreams made real."
	Ryuusama followed that advice, found the Great Wind and was permitted to fly easily on that high, swift river of air, where the weaker kaze ryuu had never dreamed of flying, and came after some time upon a vast land untouched as of yet by the war. Farther south he flew still, finding a great mountain that pierced the heavens and bled with the earth's fire. Ryuusama landed there and found, tucked away on that high, lonely mountain, a strange thing. A swirl of some shimmery substance, like the very air on a hot day, that burned from within with a strange flame.
	Cautiously, Ryuusama reached out and touched this strange thing, grasping it reverently in his mighty talons, knowing that this must have been that which he sought, a power able to unite his kindred and end the senseless war that tore apart the world in which he lived. In that instant, Fire burned through him and the Winds howled about him, and he cried out in that instant and was changed.
	Some time later, Ryuusama returned to the lands of his kindred. There were more like him, indeed, there were easily a hundred members of his strange kind, and they looked to him to lead them, as he was the first and eldest of his race. He then led them from the Isle of Learning to the lands of the chigi ryuu, where he demanded they stop fighting, or face the wrath of the Winds and Fires.
	"Cease your senseless war with your Kindred, the kaze ryuu! Are you so blinded by hate that you cannot see that you are of the same kind? Look upon me and mine and see! Your destiny, indeed, your very existance is tied to those that ride the Winds!" He cried out, hoping to convince his brothers of another kind without invoking his Gift. "We are not so far apart as to be fighting! Join us now in peace, or forever be blinded and crippled by your hatred which only speeds you to your doom!"
	Some of the chigi ryuu listened, and agreed that the fighting must end, but many still refused peace and even attacked Ryuusama, striking out at him with their gargantuan talons and fires that could make stone flow like water. He took to the air and evaded easily, and saw in the distance a great flight of the kaze ryuu, obviously flying the Winds to fight. He and his kindred flew to meet them, to hopefully talk their cousins of a smaller kind from their course of action.
	"Stop, name of the Winds, please stop and consider your actions! If you fly to war now, surely it will be your ending! Surely there is another way, my kindred!"
	"We are no kindred to such abominations as you and yours, halfling! Our war is not your business, go back to your lands and be gone!"
	Some few of the kaze ryuu were convinced, but several others attacked Ryuusama, darting about him with great speed and trying to harm him with their talons. Like the chigi ryuu, his armor withstood their claws, and he was able to breathe Fire at them, driving them away.
	Much to Ryuusama's despair, the great flight of the kaze ryuu sped toward the amassed chigi ryuu, and the greatest battle of the entire war began. The battle carried on for some time, with great losses to both sides, for the kaze ryuu had over the years found the weak spot in the chigi ryuu's armor, but to attack it, they had to come within the range of the chigi ryuu's great talons and fires. Those who had agreed not to fight stood with Ryuusama and his kin, and despaired over the fate of their kinds.
	As the sun came to rest on that bloody day, and as the moon was waking to begin watch over a bloody night, Ryuusama felt Fire burn within him at the anger he felt. He leapt into the air and the Winds howled with him. He sped to the darkening battlefield on the Wind's wings, and flew between the warring factions, veritibly glowing as he stood in his power, gleaming silver, heat  pouring off his glowing hide in waves- the moon's light and sun's heat given form.
	"If you'll not stop fighting, then I will strip from you the weapons of war, though it pains me to do so!" Ryuusama cried out, but his warning went unheeded. When one thought it impossible, he gleamed brighter then, the very air about him burned, and this strange aura about him grew, engulfing all who fought.
	When this strange burning wind touched the chigi ryuu and kaze ryuu, both screamed out in agony as they were /changed/ where they stood or flew. The kaze ryuu became tiny, their armor even weaker, their talons rendered all but useless, and the chigi ryuu either became stiff and ceased movement all together, but not life, or shrank to small size, losing the armor and fire that they were so proud of. Both were robbed of their intelligence and became as beasts, merely living. Those that had not been in the battle stared in surprise, awe, and horror at the strange power of their silver king, who had, with a thought, changed all they had known.
	The kaze ryuu became the birds and flying things that share the skies with the ryuu, able still to fly and sing, but nowhere near to what they had been before, since they had paid for their hatred with that which they had held dear.
	The chigi ryuu became all manner of beasts, furred, plated, hooved... and lived upon the land, become food for the ryuu, the enlightened race. They also became the trees and plants, living but without life, reason, or voice.
	The war ended, and the remaining kaze and chigi ryuu wisely learned to live in peace, not wishing to witness a second time the great power Ryuusama possessed. Over time, those who remained of the old races presumably passed into memory, their legacy living on through the ryuu, a balance between the forces that had shaped them, winds and fire.
	Some years later, Ryuusama stepped down as the Eldest, appointing another of the ryuu to lead them. He departed the world one golden dawn, flying on the Wind's wings to some unknown place. None know where or how, or even if he did die, but his legacy lives on with his name, as the title Ryuusama is passed from one Eldest to the next.

	Though, legend speaks still of a mighty silver being appearing to those to be touched by destiny, or those in truely great distress. Some believe it to be the spirit of Ryuusama, others think it the Great Winds given form. In any case, none know for certain who or what this Ryuushinsei, or Timeless One, in the language of the ryuu, truly is.