Horn of Agraya

The Horn of Agraya was a historical fraud. According to legend, it was a trumpet made from a bull's horn, blown on the day the Second Chaotic Period began, when its thunderous sound rallied the free peoples and began a great revolution that eventually brought about the Golden Age. The horn was said to be lost somewhere on the Agras Plain, and had been made in a vibrant and wealthy city-state which was destroyed for blowing the horn. It was said the horn was blown the moment Eieber first freed his blade (careful observers will note a problem, here).

History

The tradition of a magic horn heralding the changing of an age has a long history on the Agras. Trumpets made from animal horns had been common since the Age of Darkness, and were often used in battle as means of signaling. By the late Dynastic Period, it was common for long-established city-states to have special ceremonial horns blown at certain intervals. The tradition of "the hundred-year horn" was the most popular, whereby many states had a special horn that sounded only once a century at a specific festival. Legends of the Mythical Age refer to a 'Horn of Heroes' that could summon deceased legendary warriors to the trumpeter's assistance, and several Mage Towers, as well as the Wizard Breakers, claimed to have it.

The Horn of Agraya was, according to legend, given to the people of a now-lost city state called Tel Arnum during the Age of Darkness. The King of Arnum was to save the horn, and would 'know when the time was right' to bring about a great change and 'allow all the worlds to live as the people of Arnum did'. Supposedly an unbroken dynasty that lasted for five thousand years passed the horn from father to son, until the wise king blew it to signal the destruction of the Marcon Alliance.

No mention of the Horn of Agraya exists before the late Golden Age, millennia after its alleged use. Further, no such city-state as Tel Arnum has ever been found, and no known site on the Agras remained continually inhabited for five thousand years. Further, the most common account states that the king sounded the trumpet at the same moment Lieber drew his sword, beginning the 'year and a day of misfortune' that destroyed the Marcon Alliance. These two events happened over three hundred years apart, and the campaign that weakened the Marcons began off-world.

By the late Golden Age, the legend had been debunked.

Theories about Origin

The only possible explanation for the origin of the legend is a carefully illustrated hoax. While no one has ever been able to discover who perpetrated it, it is thought no malice was intended. Carefully forged documents had been placed in several archives, as well as back-dated books placed in the Library of Arindell. When the hoax was uncovered, the legend was quietly forgotten.

Later developments and "Discovery"

In A.Y. 2105, famous adventurer duo Merres and Ella Cornwall claim to have discovered the ruins of Tel Arnum and recovered the Horn of Agraya. The subsequent documentary and books they released were a huge hit, but reminded serious historians that "no, that was definitely a hoax". The academic community brought attention to this, and the Cornwall expedition was treated as a joke. The Cornwalls had done things like this in the past, so it did not harm their reputation much. While Merres never formally owned up to an attempt at deceit, he did say the goal was only to get people interested in history, and refused to comment further.