The Times of Wild Magic
In the old days wild magic was roaming free in the world causing chaos and war. Each kingdom used its destructive power carelessly to settle their disputes. The forest was brought to the brink of ruin. To stop the misuse of wild magic, the people of the Flower Fairies, one of the most powerful magical races of their time, decided to trap the wild magic in the Heart of the Forest leaving only the magic bound to the world for people to use. All people of the forest agreed - except for the bugs who had build a dark empire on the use of wild magic. They raised an army to stop the wizards before they could set their plan in motion.In the war that followed all the other races of the forest united to stop the bugs. Eventually they made a last stand at the Heart of the Forest to give the Flower Fairies enough time to complete the spell that would bind the wild magic. The battle was won mostly due to the fighting prowess of Boreas, the king of the snails, who faced the bugs without his troops to support him so his people would not have to fight and die.
At this time the snails were the most powerful warriors in the forest. Each man and woman was trained to fight from their early days on. Roaming the forest as nomads they offered their skills to the various kingdoms as mercenaries. When the plan of the Flower Fairies had been revealed to him, Boreas had seen an opportunity for his people to become more then just warriors. But a day before the final battle Boreas received a prophecy from his shamans revealing that if the snails would not join the fight the war would be lost. However no snail taking part in the battle would survive the day. Boreas did not want his people to die but also knew losing the war would mean doom for all of the forest.
To cheat fate he commanded his shamans to perform a magic ritual that would transfer all the strength of his warriors onto him. He would then face the bugs as an army of one. The warrior strength of his people would die with him, but they would live on with a chance at peace. Clad in magic armor and armed with a magic crystal cannon he and the armies of the other races were able to hold the bugs off long enough for the Flower Fairies to complete the spell. All the wild magic was trapped forever in the Heart of the Forest leaving only a faint amount of magic in the world that was bound to the life force of the forest or trapped in a few remaining magical artifacts.
When the magic disappeared from the world, the strength of the warlocks in the bug army vanished and they were easily conquered by the other races. They were banned to the shadow side of the forest to live in disgrace and without magic for all time. King Boreas was recovered badly wounded from the battlefield. On his deathbed his shamans told him that they had received another vision showing them that the snails, while lacking the strength of old, would live on in peace for centuries. But one day, when evil would rise again, their strength would be reborn in one of Boreas' descendants and the line of warriors would be restored. Knowing that he had not let his people down, Boreas died in peace.
Only one Flower Fairy, survived the ritual to bind the wild magic. He was tasked to keep the new balance of the forest and never allow wild magic to cast the world into chaos again. Therefore he founded the order of Forest Knights allowing each member of the races who had fought against the bugs to join. A mighty castle was build around the Heart of the Forest to protect it and to accommodate the knights.
The World in Balance
For centuries the world was in balance. Kingdoms still had conflicts but none was ever as devastating as in the old days when they had the destructive power of wild magic at their disposal. The Forest Knights kept the balance. They punished those who tried to use magic for destruction again and hunted down and destroyed the remaining magic artifacts in the world.In time the forest became peaceful. Until the day the bugs returned. Selene, the 47th queen of the bugs, discovered a forbidden technique from before the binding of magic, that allowed extracting magic energies from the souls of living beings. Those whose souls were absorbed were left totally obedient and without any sense of their own self.
Preying on her own people she was able to acquire magic powers not seen since the days of old. With her army of soulless bugs she set out to conquer the world and release the wild magic from the Heart of the Forest to gain ultimate power. Neither the other kingdoms nor the Forest Knights seemed to have the power to stop her. It was in this hour of darkness that the powers of king Boreas were reborn in Arthur, a young snail, to once again save the forest from doom.
The Legend of the Warsnail
After their warrior strength had perished along with king Boreas, the snails had settled as peaceful farmers. In time the rest of the world forgot that they had ever been warriors yet alone that one of them had been decisive in the great war.So the Forest Knights were surprised when one day a young snail named Arthur showed up at the castle and wanted to become one of them. Arthur had wanted to become a knight all his life. For as long as he remembered he had visions in his dreams showing him that one day he would defend the forest as a warrior.
The Forest Knights felt sympathetic to him but would have turned him away anyway would it not have been for the intervention of the Flower Fairy who reminded them of the by then long forgotten tale of Boreas. As he could not keep up with the other Forest Knights in combat, Arthur was offered a position as squire instead. At first he was disappointed but soon settled into his new role, carrying out his duties with great care and intelligence.
But when one day a large force of Forest Knights was led into an ambush by the bugs, Arthur was summoned to the inner sanctum of the castle, where the Flower Fairy lived. The Flower Fairy told Arthur that his dreams had been telling him the truth. He was a descendant of Boreas and destined to inherit his ancestor's warriors strength. The Flower Fairy had kept this from Arthur so he would learn humility and responsibility first before being given such a power, but now it was time for Arthur to face his destiny.
The Fairy showed Arthur to a secret chamber. He then pointed to the key Arthur was wearing around his neck. This key had been given to Arthur by his father who had made him vow to always carry it with him. Arthur quickly opened the chamber. Inside he found Borea's old magical armor that the dead king had left there for one day to be worn by a worthy successor. As soon as Arthur donned the armor he was given the strength of a hundred warriors.
He rushed to the aid of the ambushed Forest Knights and fought off half the attacking bug army himself.
The Forest Knights welcomed Arthur into their ranks and he soon became one of their greatest heroes thwarting the advance of the bug army again and again. The Legend of the Warsnail was born.
