The Earthshaker

"...rocks shift... ground quakes..."

The Earthshaker
Gender:	Male
Elemental Flight:	Earth
Region:	Dragonhome - The Pillar of the World
ID:	#1

The Earthshaker is one of The Eleven, and reigns over Dragonhome and the Earth Flight. He lives at the Pillar of the World, where the first eight gods slumbered during the second and third ages.

Description

The Earthshaker is a sturdy, rock solid dragon with a rough and rocky texture. His legs are thick and granite-caked. In place of wings and a tail juts large slabs of stone. He has small yellow ear fins, and a long beard of earthy roots.

The Earthshaker is described as a stone guardian. He is solemn and serious in demeanor, but appears to care for his fellow deities. He mourned their leaving after the shattering of the World Pillar. Addled by sorrow, the years passed him by, calcifying his body into a heap of boulders. He sought solidarity and unity once more, creating Snappers in his image.

The First Age

The Earthshaker is one of the First Four, along with The Windsinger, The Flamecaller, and The Tidelord. They were the first of the Eleven to be birthed into the world. He and the rest of the Four decided to end the magical chaos that had birthed them, spending the next few millennia forming the world into their own images.

Over this period of time, the Earthshaker heaved slabs of stone into mountains and valleys, molding a diverse landscape across the surface. Though the Four were happy with their combined efforts, they were not without their differing opinions on the direction their young planet should take. The Earthshaker believed that earth should be the prevalent element. He proclaimed that "the mountains should be taller, the canyons greater," and that "[their] home should stand ironclad against the dangers of the heavens, protected against cosmic bombardment." Concerned only with their own campaigns, the First Four bickered and quarreled over the planet, until bitter conjecture turned to combat.

The Earthshaker warred with the Flamecaller, smashing the landscape to pieces. Each broken mountain or fractured plain only riled the Earthshaker into deeper rage. With one great heave of his front leg, the entire planet wobbled in its orbit, and to this day has remained at an irregular tilt. Emboldened by the sudden disorientation, the Flamecaller beckoned several magma vents into existence, shattering the crust and spewing voluminous smoke billows into the atmosphere.

This brash action blotted out the sun, plunging the southern hemisphere into an impenetrable darkness, causing a chill that the world had never experienced. Unbeknownst to the combatants, an isolated island on the bottom of the world began to freeze over, frigid ice sheets expanding their size at a rapid pace. The southern land shelf was encrusted in a living frost that would soon freeze into the imposing silhouette of the Icewarden.

The First Four's warring had brought immense stress onto their planet, leaving it in far worse shape than when it had been newly-formed. Unrestrained energies were being exhibited in their extremes everywhere the Earthshaker looked. The relentless ejection of magical energy had not gone unnoticed, attracting a darkness known as the Shade that sought to inhale the magical life from their home.

With the arrival of the Shade, the Earthshaker fought alongside the seven other deities to protect his home from its hunger. For hundreds of years they fought, finally eradicating the last remnants of the Shade. After the truce, the deities lent their remaining strength to blanket the earth in a magical shield. With this combined energy, it was enough to protect the earth from another attack from the Shade. The Earthshaker fused his body with the other deities to create the World Pillar, his gargantuan form acting as the foundation.

Second Age

The Earthshaker was not seen during the Second Age, instead slumbering in the Pillar for its entirety.

Third Age

The Earthshaker was again not present until the very end of the Third Age. At the turning of the age, The Arcanist shattered the Pillar and the First Eight were finally returned to the world after many years.

Age of Flight Rising

At the beginning of this age, all of the Eleven but the Earthshaker abandoned the sanctity of the Pillar and went their separate ways. As the Gods gave their various reasons for leaving, the Earthshaker looked on in sadness. He communicated to the Stormcatcher and the Shadowbinder, but could not persuade them to stay. He still stands there to this day, guarding and grieving the structure that once held his brothers and sisters together.

Quotes

The following are forum posts made by the Earthshaker's official Flight Rising account. These can be assumed to be representative of his personality and way of speaking.

• "As I listen in the dark, something stirs in the stone.

I am no longer alone." - in response to the Earth lore story, Ancient Fascinations.

Gallery

Official images and depictions of the Earthshaker found on site.

Earthshaker Jigsaw puzzle

The Earthshaker's account profile icon

Heavy Earthshaker Idol

Earthshaker Stone Statue

Vista: Earthshaker

Trivia

• At one point the deities were going to have 'actual' names rather than the element-adjective names most have now. The Earthshaker's is theorized to have been Artaios.
• The Earthshaker's ID is #1, signifying his status as being the 1st of the Eleven to be born into the world.
• The Earthshaker formed the first slab at the very bottom of the Pillar when it still stood.
• The Earthshaker's official colors are Stone / Slate / Brown according to his dragon page.
• The Earthshaker is one of the two dragon deities that doesn't have wings. The other is the Windsinger.
• The Earthshaker is one of 6 deities that has the name of his flight in his title.
  • Additionally, these 6 deities are evenly split between male gods (The Earthshaker, The Icewarden, and The Windsinger) and female gods (The Plaguebringer, The Shadowbinder, and The Lightweaver).
• The Earthshaker is the largest deity by mass.
• The Earthshaker changed his account's broadcast message on February 19th, 2018 accompanied by a gif on the official Flight Rising Tumblr bearing the same message. The previous broadcast message was "We will be here when all else crumbles".

Concept Art

Earth Shaker concept art by Jessica Peffer (Undel)

Sources

The Eleven
The Arcanist The Earthshaker The Flamecaller The Icewarden The Lightweaver The Stormcatcher The Gladekeeper The Plaguebringer The Shadowbinder The Tidelord The Windsinger