Cosmology

Era is as all know, a planet in the infinite universe. Other than Era, there are at least six other planets, a couple of moons and of course the sun that can be seen with the naked eye and/or magic. Legends tells of wizards who have managed to travel to these planets and moons, but not one has documented such feat. Around the planets, moons and sun are space, the vast empty nothing of freezing cold. Nothing lives there.

But there is something else. The Multiverse. There, but not really there, shifted out of sync with Era and the Universe, there is a place of fantastic locations filled with horrors, wonders and creatures of all kinds. This is where demons, devils, gods, the souls of the dead and much much more live out their endless eternities.

The Multiverse is an everchanging place, created by the fuel that is the souls of Era, a place where belief holds supreme, and where power and will can control the very earth and air around you. It is, by mortal standards a weird place to understand, and some areas are completely beyond the grasp of mortal comprehension.

The Multiverse is best described as a gigantic sea of astral stuff, infinite but yet finite. Two great continents oppose each other, the Seven Heavens and the Eleven Hells. In between those two infinite continents is the equally infinite Astral Sea. Souls float through the Astral Sea, but it is also possible to travel it by means of special-made ships. Technically, you can swim or rather fly through it as well, if you are incapable of tiring, because the voyage will likely be very long, and the hazards many.

The infinite Astral Sea is filled with islands, or dominions if you will (others call them planes or even realms). There are an infinite number of these, and they come in all sizes. Some infinite in themselves, others have finite borders, some are even as small as houses. Some disappear after a couple of years, others have been there always.

The most known of these islands (or realms) are:

The Underworld: This infinite dominion is where the dead souls of Era go to sit in judgement by the Raven Queen. After dieing, a soul breaches the Veil (the barrier between Era and the Underworld) and ends up in the Astral Sea. From there, it begins it's journey to the Underworld, to be judged and placed for eternity. The Raven Queen herself rarely participates in the judgement per say, and instead the Queen of queens has a bureaucracy to take care of all the mortal souls. Each soul is examined and weighed, seeing where he would fit the best. Every act a mortal has made during his lifetime is taken into consideration. The Psychomania, (The battle for man's soul) is always the fiercest here. The Underworld has no sun, caught in a perpetual state of twillight, and while you do not die from going there, almost everyone who goes there is already dead, on the way to be judged, or simply there, serving the Raven Queen for eternity.

The Casino: One of the smaller dominions, about the size of a small town, the Casino is the home of none other than Mask, one of Era's nine gods. Why he has chosen this very small dominion baffles many sages, but knowing what Mask stands for, there is surely a reason they haven't figured out. The focal point of the Casino is the House, a huge building where every type of gambling and vice can be satisfied. It is also a safe, neutral ground, where both angels and demons rubs shoulders. Be warned however, the immortals have no use for coin, and rarely bet for gold or gems. Instead, souls, memories, futures, children and many other things are at stake here. Some have even claimed that once in a while, Mask himself plays against those who have defied the odds and won extraordinarily many games, with nothing less than his godhood at stake, against the life of his opponent. Needless to say, no one has beat Mask yet. The Casino has a few gates to various establishments on Era. Noone knows for sure how many.

The Eternal Bazaar: Just like the Casino, the Eternal Bazaar is a relatively small dominion where neutrality rules with an iron fist, making it possible to encounter both agents of ultimate good and evil. No one knows who is in charge of The Eternal Bazaar. There are no laws, and thus a_n_y_t_h_i_n_g can be bought or sold. But fighting is forbidden and struck down quickly by intelligent golems (called Pacifiers) that teleport in whenever trouble starts. The Bazaar is basically just a huge, city-sized marketplace, where you can buy anything. Inns abound as well, since those trading rarely stay just a day or two. Even though you can buy anything, it can be a challenge to find what you need to buy, or a seller to buy your goods. Short of magic, patience and heavy use of market-scouts (people who make it their business to be well-informed about other people's needs) are the only ways to get a deal done. Traders from all over the Multiverse come here with their goods, and sell them, and with the no fighting rule, you could have to deal with a mind-flayer or a celestial angel.

The Three Pillars of Order: Assuming that the Seven Heavens and the Eleven Hells are on a north-south axis (although there is no such thing as north and south in the Astral Sea), then The Pillars are located far to the west. Rising out of the Sea, these enormous pillars are said to have been there since before Creation, before the gods arrived. Moradin lives here, with his followers and other creatures of Order, working on the laws of the universe and such. Moradin lives on the top of the central pillar, and according to some angels, he can gaze at the world from the top of the tower, seeing everything that happens in the Multiverse. The Pillars themselves are divided in an infinite number of floors, each with corridors, rooms, halls and much more, precisely arranged and built for whatever purpose said part serves. Maps of each floor are plentiful, and you move between the floors by using gargantuan elevators that go to where you need to go in the blink of an eye.

The Elemental Chaos: If the Pillars of Order are to the west, then the Elemental Chaos is to the east. The Elemental Chaos is the raw material of creation, that from which the universe was made. Perhaps the only thing older than the Pillars of Order and mostly untouched by outside influence, the Elemental Chaos is a roiling tempest of matter and energy. All the elements can be found here and despite the chaos, sometimes areas coalesce into shapes and terrain, but most of the time, much of the Elemental Chaos resembles a stormy sea of churning destruction. On the edge of the Elemental Chaos, you can find the greatest city in the Multiverse, the City of Brass. A city whose size dwarfs all metropolises elsewhere, the City of Brass is home to perhaps the most cruel, brutal and intelligent race in the Multiverse, the Efreeti. From there, the noble houses of the Efreetii raid the Multiverse for gold and slaves to finance their eternal powerstruggle to impress their Sultan.

The Faerie: Some call it the Feywild, some call it Elfland but the real name is the Faerie. As of the of the few dominions that are in direct conjunction with Era, it is the one we know the most about. Plenty of gates exist, and it is thus the "easiest" way to access the Multiverse. Of course, this does not mean that the Faerie is not a dangerous place, because it is very much so, despite it being a place of beauty. Above ground rule the Kings and Queens of the Faerie folk, and they are very capricious and careless about humans. Below ground rule the formorians, one-eyed giants infused with magical powers and sadistic madness. Being without souls, the fey have no stake in the Psychomachia, other than perhaps selling those that have a soul to the devils or the angels. And if the fey folk were not enough to have to contend with, you need to account for the dominion itself. Time flows differently in the Faerie, sometimes grinding to an halt, sometimes speeding up so much that you will be meeting up with your loved one's grand-grand-daughter instead of reuniting with the love you left behind before venturing into the land of the fey.

The Dread Realm: The Dread Realm is a place of eternal twillight, a place of no colors, a place of desolation and despair. Imagine an endless world made of large rocks and mountains, with no plants, no water, no sun, no animals and most of all, no living beings at all. Here lives only those that do not need to feed, those that could not find a place elsewhere, even in the Underworld. Here comes those that did not believe in anything, in anyone, to torment each other for eternity. Visitors are advised to be armed, powerful and get out as fast as possible. No one survives there for long.

The Seven Heavens: In some ways, the Seven Heavens remind a lot of the Faerie. They are both beautiful places, filled with beautiful people. But where the Faerie is an endless forest of serene meadows and wild streams, the Seven Heavens incorporate every type of terrain and a far wider range of creatures. Also, in the Seven Heavens, you are never cold, hot, wet nor hungry. You always feel well, and you are never sick. or The Seven Heavens are, as per the name, divided into seven realms, seven hills (as in, the terrain goes upwards) of sorts, each ruled by either a god or an archangel. At the top of each hill sits the capital and palace of that realm. The seven realms and their respective rulers are as follows: Nirvana (Mika'el), Arcadia (Ra'fael), Elysium (Ga'briel), Olympus, Arvandor (Corellon), Celestia (Bahamut) and Hestavar (Pelor).

The Eleven Hells: The first thing that hits you when you enter the home of devils and demons, is the heat. While it is not a heat that kills, it is a very unconfortable to spend much time. And as if the heat wasn't enough, nature (if you can call it that) itself seems to want to kill you. Rocks are razor sharp, clouds rain acid, lightning storms kill and destroy everything in sight and the water is poisonous. As the Seven Heavens, the Eleven Hells are divide into eleven realms of their own. Each realm is a series of underground caves, where devils and demons live in shelter of the lightning storms and acid rains of the barren above. Each realm is widely different, but one thing they do have in common, is that they each have a god, an archdevil or a demon lord in charge and their capital is found in the deepest part of the caves. The eleven realms and rulers are as follows: Pandemonium (Dispater), Tarterus (Bel), Hades (Asmodeus), Gehenna (Mephistopheles), Avernus (Tiamat), Acheron (Mammon), Chernoggar (Bane), Tytherion, Azzagrat (Grazz't), Thanatos (Orcus) and The Abyss (Demogorgon).

The Far Beyond: The Far Beyond is actually not a part of the Astral Sea. It is instead another dimension altogether, wrapped all around the Multiverse. It is said to be a place that defies even godly logic and comprehension, that here rules creatures taken from the nightmares of gods, and should they ever open a portal to the Multiverse, it would be the end of it. It is a place that can not be accessed by mortal means. Some sages speculate that is can somehow be reached via the infinite space that surrounds Era, but no one has managed to prove this yet. While no human, dwarf or elf has ever returned from The Far Beyond, the dimension of madness sometimes spills over, slips through cracks of reality and touches men, women, monsters and beasts. Those that are only grazed by madness incarnate only lose their mind, while those that are truly touched become something else. Mind-flayers, beholders, aboleths and foulspawns are all products of various creatures who once was something else, before they were touched by the madness of the Far Beyond.

 

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Cleric and Priest Portfolios, Spheres and Granted Powers

Bahamut (LG)
Portfolio: God of justice and honor. Creator of dragonborn.
Spheres: All, Astral, Combat, Creation, Divination, Elemental (minor), Guardian, Healing, Necromantic, Protection, Summoning, Sun
Granted Powers: Clerics of Bahamut can use the longsword
Note: Priests of Bahamut are paladins, and thus do not follow the same rules for priests as those of the other gods.

Pelor (NG)
Portfolio: God of healing, sun, prosperity, summer. Creator of humans.
Spheres: All, Astral, Charm, Combat, Creation, Divination, Elemental (minor), Guardian, Healing, Necromantic, Protection, Summoning (minor), Sun
Granted Powers: Clerics and priests of Pelor add an extra die whenever they cast a healing spell (Fx: Cure Light Wounds heals 2d8 hit points). Clerics and priests of Pelor turn undead as if they were 2 levels higher.
Note: Clerics and priests of Pelor are forbidden to initiate combat against any creature of the original races (humans, elves, dwarves, halflings, dark elves and dragonborn) that has not attacked them.

Corellon (CG)
Portfolio: God of knowledge, spring, autumn, nature. Creator of elves.
Spheres: All, Animal, Charm, Combat, Creation, Divination, Elemental, Guardian, Healing, Necromantic, Plant, Protection, Summoning, Sun, Weather
Granted Powers: Clerics and priests of Corellon receive Ancient History and Ancient Languages for free
Note: Priests of Corellon are druids, and thus do not follow the same rules for priests as those of the other gods. Also note that priests of Corellon are still required as druids to be TN.

Moradin (LN)
Portfolio: God of creation and civilization. Creator of dwarves.
Spheres: All, Astral, Charm, Combat, Creation, Divination, Elemental (minor), Guardian, Healing, Necromantic, Protection, Summoning, Sun
Granted Powers: Clerics and priests of Moradin can use any rod, staff and wand.

Raven Queen (N)
Portfolio: Godess of death, cold and winter. Creator of humans.
Spheres: All, Astral, Charm, Combat, Creation, Divination, Elemental (no fire related), Guardian, Healing, Necromantic, Protection, Summoning, Sun
Granted Powers: Clerics and priests of the Raven Queen can command undead as if they were 2 levels higher.

Mask (CN)
Portfolio: God of luck, thievery, exploration and adventurers. Creator of halflings.
Spheres: All, Astral, Charm, Combat, Creation, Divination, Guardian, Healing, Necromantic, Protection, Summoning, Sun
Granted Powers: Clerics and priests of Mask can hide in shadows and move silently. They gain an additional 15% to distribute each level. No matter which armor they wear, they are never penalized more than as if they were wearing studded leather. Once per day, clerics and priests of Mask can cast the spell Feign Death.

Bane (LE)
Portfolio: God of War and Domination. Creator of humans.
Spheres: All, Astral, Charm, Combat, Creation, Divination, Elemental, Guardian, Healing, Necromantic, Protection, Summoning, Sun (minor)
Granted Powers: Once per day, a cleric or priest of Bane can use the wizard spell Cloak of Fear. Clerics and priests of Bane gain a +1 to hit and damage when using a flail (priests of Bane can use flail).

Asmodeus (NE)
Portfolio: God of Betrayal, Tyranny and Magic. Creator of dark elves.
Spheres: All, Astral, Charm, Combat, Creation, Divination, Guardian, Healing, Necromantic, Protection, Summoning, Sun (only reversible)
Granted Powers: Clerics and priests of Asmodeus can cast wizard spells from the illusion school. They get spellcraft for free, and can use arcane scrolls and items as if they were a wizard.

Tiamat (CE)
Portfolio: God of Destruction and Greed, creator of dragonborn.
Spheres: All, Astral, Charm, Combat, Creation (minor), Divination (minor), Elemental, Guardian, Healing, Necromantic, Protection, Summoning, Sun
Granted Powers: Clerics and priests of Tiamat can cast wizard spells from the evocation school (only fire, lightning, cold, electricity and acid spells)

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Elves, Dark Elves and Drow

The History of the Elves

After seeing the work Moradin had done on the dwarves, Corellon just had to "have" his own race. Designed to live in the forests Corellon had already created, the elves were very much made in his image, or rather as he saw himself. Slender and elegant yet powerful, wise yet carefree, the elves were perfect creatures to inhabit the forests of Era. 

Corellon's passions were nature and magic. He wanted to instill the same passions into his creations, but something went wrong. Instead of all elves having both equally, some became very in tune with nature while having a slight interest in magic, while the others became intrinsically linked with magic while having next to no interest in nature. While the two kind of elves still to this day cohabit, the difference between the two types of elves have become more pronounced as time has passed, and today, many of them live separately.

When Corellon created the elves, he inadvertently set in motion the events that would create the Sibling Wars and thus influencing the entire history of Era. The elves were so perfect that his twin brother Asmodeus could not help love them just as much. At least at first. That love soon changed to hatred, to jealousy for not being the one who had created such magnificent beings. After all, Asmodeus was the god when it came to magic, hell, he had even taught Corellon how to make the creatures. Luckily, Asmodeus also saw that the elves could be improved upon. After all, they did resemble his weaker and younger brother a bit too much. They should have been made more focused, more ambitious, more powerful, just like Asmodeus.

So Asmodeus created the dark elves. Just as he and Corellon were alike, it made sense that their creatures would be alike. At least on the outside. For where the elves were carefree and easy-going, the dark elves were ambitious and ruthless. While the elves were perfect hunters, the dark elves were the perfect predators. And just as Asmodeus had certain issues with Corellon, the dark elves certainly had some issues with the elves. In order to gain the upper hand, Asmodeus made sure that the dark elf females were just as capable as the males. That way, the race would have more potential, more power. Little did the god realize that his decision would prove the downfall of the race.

For a while though, the two elven races managed to get along. Never very amicable towards each other, there was still some sort of respect. After all, both races excelled at hunting and magic. Just like the twins were very competitive with one another, so became the two races. And for a while, it worked well for them both. Many magical breakthroughs came because of the rivalry between the two races, many legendary feats were performed due to the competition.

But at some point, the contests turned sour, both races would do anything to win, to perform better, and thus the rivalry grew bitter and brutal.

For years it went on like that, but in the year 937, The First Elven War broke out. Prince D'rak of the Dark Elves was brutally murdered while visiting King Elas Moonshadow. The elves claimed innocence and ignorance, but the Dark Elves to it as an act of war, and marshaled their forces. For 4 years, the two elven races waged war on each other, filling the forests of Ular and Nala with blood. This was not a battle for territory or for borders. This was a battle of races, to exterminate the other. After 4 years, right after losing their king in the Battle of Sharks, the dark elves sued for peace, and the elves were only happy to give it to them. The war had taken a told on both sides, and with their very low birthrate, there was no way they could keep up, had they continued.

For more than 45 years, the dark elves worked very hard to make up for their part in the attempted genocide. They had accepted that the elves had nothing to do with Prince D'rak's death, and their new king, Prince D'rak brother, spearheaded a new era of brotherhood between the races.

But it was all a lie.

In 987, Prince D'rak had convinced the Moonshadows to let him host King Elas' 400th year birthday. But, just as the charade that had been ongoing for the last 40 years, it was all part of an elaborate ploy for revenge and retribution. In one swift stroke, the dark elves eliminated the entire elven royal family that had been ruling over the elves since the race was created.

War began anew, and since the dark elves had known this was coming for many years, they were much better prepared. The elves died in great numbers, and many elven cities were completely razed, leaving only scorched earth behind.

For seven years, the elves fought just to survive, and had the war gone on for long, it would surely have been the doom of them. Both Corellon and Asmodeus had taken a very active part in the war, and the devastation to the forests was enormous. However, Corellon alone could not turn the tide of the war.

But Moradin could...

The All-Father simply ordered both of his sons to stop the madness, threatening to rally the other gods and make war on both them and their elven races. That stopped the war, and a peace, also known as The Last Truce, was brokered in 994.

After the war, there was no longer any relations between the two races. Gone was the competition, gone the rivalry. Left was only a desire to expunge the other race from Era.

For years, both elven races nursed that feeling, making alliances with the other races. Then after the Divine Pact was created and the gods had retreated from Era and the dwarves had removed themselves underground, tensions grew and grew, until the inevitable happened.

In 1157, the dark elves, now allied with the humans worshiping Bane, began a much larger campaign, this time not only to eradicate the elves, but to control and rule all of Era. For almost 150 years, the entire Era was at war. There was no place to hide, and no one that could stay out of the war, perhaps except the halflings. Unimaginable horrors were created, and more people than one can imagine died to sword or magic.

At the end, the humans of Bane and the dark elves won and the Ebon Empire was born. The Banites and the dark elves assumed dominion of most of Ular and Nala. All elves were placed in gigantic work-camps or became slaves.

After about 150 years, there was no longer any doubt who had control of the Ebon Empire - the Banites. While a lot of dark elves were perfectly happy with being left alone in their dark woods, there was a significant fraction that believed that they should rule everything, not some mere humans. These dissenters were also extremely disappointed with Asmodeus. He had after all told them to exterminate the elves, but then changed his mind when the war was won. For them, having those that was once their brothers in work-camps was not enough. They wanted them gone. Amongst those of that pushed the hardest for such a radical solution was Tierna K'ral and her sisters. Powerful priests from a noble bloodline, the three sisters finally got enough of trying to get things their way.

In 1443, they led a large fraction of dark elves away from their homes in the dark forests of Era, and below ground. They renounced Asmodeus for being too weak, claimed that the male leadership of the dark elves had failed, that only females could be decisive enough and fled underground, where they founded a matriarchy based on the worship of the Raven Queen, around death.

They are now called drows, an ancient elven word for death.

Playing an Elf

While the average elf doesn't mind most of the other civilized races, he absolutely loathes both the dark elves and the drow. They are to be killed on sight, no questions asked. The horrors inflicted upon his race by those go far beyond any kind of possible redemption. Even mention of those two races can make any normally balanced and merry-going elf turn into a somber and brooding shadow of his former self. The scars left upon the elven race have not yet healed. Far from it. Elves are likewise not fond of worshipers of Bane but the biggest part of the hatred is aimed at the dark elves and the drow.

The Wood Elf is in his mind completely in tune with nature and it's beasts. He feels that nature is one of the, if not the most important thing there is, and he will thus go to great lengths to protect nature, should it be threatened. Most wood elves live in the forests of Era, but some, mostly those who have been rejected or forced out due to circumstances, live their lives amongst the humans, working as scouts and trackers.

The Wood Elves are a fairly recluse people. After being almost totally decimated by the dark elves and later the work-camps of the Ebon Empire, most elven communities exist deep in the woods, far away from the humans and the other races that they do not trust. Those few that for some reason are a part of that world, still feel that distrust, at least to some degree. They most certainly feel sorry for the hardship their race has endured. 

The High Elf's focus is usually magic. While he does have a certain affinity with nature, he is much more likely to live in villages, towns and cities. The High Elves have even fewer communities than the Wood Elves, and they are all closely kept secrets. No non-elf has been allowed to enter a High Elf community for at least 500 years. At least not let to tell about it afterwards. Maybe there are none?

The High Elves suffered the same fate as the Wood Elves, but where the Wood Elves talk about it a lot and feel very sorry for their race, the High Elves have taken another approach. The Sibling War and it's aftermath is simply not mentioned, at least to outsiders. But make no mistake, their hatred for dark elves and drow know no bounds, and in their own circles, the leaders are surely still plotting revenge against their dark-skinned brothers.

Dwarves

The History of Dwarves
Created at the Dawn of Rebirth by Moradin, the dwarves were then very different from what they are today. Tall, strong and beautiful, the dwarves were perhaps the most perfect race of mortals ever created, almost rivaling the gods in beauty. Of course, back then, they were not called "dwarves", but something else.

Moradin gave them the gifts of building and creation, and they soon set upon building and creating. At first it was walled villages, but as the years passed, they started to build towns and cities as well. They lived in harmony with the other races, and taught them freely most of their secrets.

As time passed and racial tensions grew, the dwarves moved deep underground, ordered so by Moradin. They hid deep beneath the earth, and there, during their exile, they perfected the art of building and built the first of six dwarven wonders, the ancient city of Tor Hal.

Unfortunately for the dwarves, they dug too deep, too far below in their search of the perfect stones for Tor Hal. They dug too close to a place of mystical energies and those energies were unleashed, or freed, as some sages speculate. No one knows for sure the nature of the energies that were unleashed, but they weren't brutal nor quick. The foul energies slowly infected and changed the dwarves. For a while, it was not noticeable, but as soon as the dwarves realized that something was wrong, it was too late. They prayed and prayed to Moradin, but to no avail. There was nothing he could do, or nothing that he would do. The became smaller, stockier and surlier, just as most dwarves are today. Their love of beards, ale and gold grew, almost to the point of it being a problem. Dwarven sages have named it The Curse of the Deep, or just The Curse for short.

Years later, after the Sibling War had ended and after coming to terms with their new appearance, the dwarves wanted to rejoin the other races once again, so they moved closer to the surface, closing up all their cities deep underground and started building new ones near the surface.

Once they got started on the building, they could almost not stop. A couple of hundred years after returning to the rest of Era, the dwarves celebrated 2000 years since their creation. King Torak III set a plan to reestablish the dwarven race as the dominant one in motion. The dwarves were going to demonstrate the superiority of their craft. All the five other Dwarven Wonders are from this period. First Tor Keep, an exact replica of Tor Hal and then Ker Moradin. Some years later, the dwarves continued their quest to put permanent and spectacular marks upon Era, when they first built the Pillars of Fire, then the Great Bridge and finished by perhaps the most spectacular of all, Tor Durnek.

At this point, the dwarves were at their peak. Maybe they were individually less than what they were before the corruption of their bodies and souls, but together, they had achieve more than all other races combined. They dominated the lands of Era from their castle-cities in the mountains, trading with those that would and waging war with those that would.

Now, a bit more than two thousands years later, the dwarven kingdoms and empires are no more. In fact, most of their once so great cities are in ruins, only inhabited by the dead and the undead.

The race is now splintered. Not every dwarf prays to Moradin. Most notably two factions of the race have struck out on their own, finding new gods. The Deep Dwarves who were the first to leave the fold of the All-Father now worship The Raven Queen and obsess about death and dying while the Iron Dwarves have turned to Bane and seek dwarven rule over all lands. Actually, the splintering of the dwarven race started much earlier, after Tor Hal was finished, but the divide has become more obvious in the later years, as both Deep and Iron Dwarves have gained significantly more power.

Playing a Dwarf
If you are playing a (regular) dwarf, you probably love your ale and your gold, although probably not in that order. You worship Moradin, and regularly thank him for sticking with you, even though you now are just a stunted version of what he conceived. You most assuredly mourn the days when the dwarven race was dominant and built the greatest cities Era has ever seen, often commenting on how the humans (or any other race for that matter) produce shoddy workmanship. You might dream of making a pilgrimage to one of the six Dwarven Wonders or discover one of the many lost underground dwarven cities.

If you are playing an Iron Dwarf, you still love your gold, but instead of loving ale, you despise it. You see it as a weakness, a coping mechanism that dwarves use in order to get through their miserable lives. Instead, you live for power, for war. You hate Moradin with a passion, having renounced him countless of times since you were born. You thank Bane for saving you from Moradin and his weakness who allowed the dwarven race to fall from it's former heights. You dream of the days to come, when the dwarves will once again rule the other races.

The Nine, The Races And The Sibling War

Once, The mortal world of Era was overrun and inhabited by demons and devils, waging war against each other. After hundreds of years of devilish and demonic warfare, Era was almost a barren rock. The only living creatures left which weren’t devils or demons, were the dragons, and they were all but extinct.

Then The Nine arrived, beings of extraordinary power, and the tide changed. They claimed the world as theirs, and told both devils and demons to be gone. They didn’t. So great battles were fought, and in the end, the demons were pushed into the Abyss and the devils into the Nine Hells, and Era was all but closed off to them.

The Nine, now self-proclaimed gods, set upon restoring the mortal world, breathing life into Era, so that it once again would be a pleasant place.

Moradin, the All-Father, showed the way, and soon created the perfect creatures. Dwarves. Tall, powerful and hard-working, they were all a god could wish for. He showed them how to build and organize things, and soon the dwarven populations grew and populated Era, building cities in the mountains.

Corellon, his wisest child, having grown forests and populated them with animals, decided to follow his father’s example. He created the elves, slender, elegant and serene, perfect for living and enjoying the wilds of the new mortal world.

Asmodeus, Corellon’s older brother, quickly became jealous of his brother’s creation. Or rather, he saw room for improvement. The elves were way too free-spirited and freedom-loving, too undetermined for Asmodeus’ taste. He wanted creatures much more driven, just as himself. Not long after, Asmodeus created the dark elves, a darker and more malign version of the happy treehuggers his brother had created. The dark elves lived in the forest too, but whereas the elves loved dancing in meadows in the sunlight, the dark elves loved prowling in the shadows, hunting and hurting.

Not wanting to take the backseat compared to the other kids of their father, Pelor, Bane and their sister the Raven Queen pooled their magical might and created humans. While individually not as powerful as the dwarves, elves or dark elves, the humans were none the less a force to be reconned with. Especially their quick procreation and ability to adapt and learn proved to be a decisive factor. Humans soon eclipsed the other races in numbers.

Mask, the enigmatic brother/cousin, soon followed suit. Not having the creative powers of his brethren, he made a hybrid. He took a little of each, and although the result was surprising, Mask was satisfied. The halflings were definitely different, an unknown quantity.

Tiamat and Bahamut on the other hand, seemed satisfied with their newly acquired symbiosis with the dragons.

Time passed and differences grew. Slowly the gods came at odds with each other, either directly or through their races.

In order to not ruin their creation in the war that everyone by now knew is coming, the gods made the Divine Pact and seclude themselves away from the mortal world, vowing to never interfere directly with the business of mortals.

Moradin even ordered the dwarves to take no part in the upcoming conflict, as he thought his children to be silly and careless. He sent the dwarves underground to be far away from the war. There they are somehow affected by mystical energies, and slowly turn into what they are know as today, short stocky and stubborn people.

The war, later called the Sibling War or the War for Dominance, began, with Pelor, Corellon, Bahamut on one side, and Bane, Asmodeus and Tiamat on the other. Mask played both sides, and the Raven Queen played none - or both perhaps. The humans of the triplets were divided as well.

The war raged for years before Mask openly participated. He stole some foul magic from Bahamut’s personal spellbook and gave the magic to Tiamat. She used the magic to corrupt stolen eggs and created the dragonborn. Later during the war, some of the dragonborn rebelled against Tiamat and joined Bahamut, who welcomed them home, like lost children. Tiamat became desperate after losing a big part of her own personal army, so she corrupted eggs of her own chromatic dragons too, hoping they would be more loyal.

As time passed, the magical might of the new races start to take on horrific aspects.

The dark elves use evil ancient demon-magic discovered in the ruins of the demon-cities to twist captured elves and halflings into horrible creatures called trolls and goblins. Meanwhile, in retaliation, the elves capture humans and use their magic to change them to orcs, brutal warriors to put in their vanguards.

(TBC)