FoundationsBefore creation there was Chrysaor, the nothing, an endless void of black space. Within it floated chaotic dust trails, vapor clouds, and raw, lancing energy. For eons beyond measure it ruled, all-encompassing, all-powerful. Then something happened, the first event, bringing time and meaning to an otherwise empty universe. A goddess was born from the roiling powers within vacuous space, the first star Raya.
Raya possessed a motherly conscience and, finding Chrysaor barren and pointless, decided to create a world. She would call it Othyr and be its sun, warming and lighting her planetary child. Upon it she nurtured forests and oceans, mountains and plains, and most special of all a godling daughter to share the joys of life.
She named her daughter Lordanna Manythings, and, true to her title, she gifted Othyr with all manner of life, animals, magic beasts and insects among them. Her most prized creation, however, were humans. Into them she poured her passion, aspirations, emotion and complexity.
However, man was just an animal and struggled with the souls Lordanna had bestowed them. While exemplifying nobility, wisdom, integrity, genius and love, man also reflected hate, greed, fear, anger, and lust. These unbridled human aspects gave rise to other godlings. Some were good, like the warrior-god Altan Battlemeister, others neutral like the tempestuous titan Thorm, and some were purely sinister like the Dark Godlings.
Man struggled in those days, much like in every age, to come to terms with his conflicting nature. Raya, feeling for her daughter's humans, created a race of teachers, epitomizing morality, caring and intellect. She called them elves. Lordanna likewise made a companion race, hoping that through diversity man would find his way. She lay with Altan Battlemeister and bore dwarves, single-minded creatures that, while brimming with emotion, were never ruled by it. For ages after the three prime races coexisted, sometimes fighting, often cooperating, and ultimately bettering from existing with the other.
During these ages of mass creation, as gods and races were born, something happened to the void. Chrysaor recognized a change within itself. It felt creation inside it and was nauseated. This was not how the void was supposed to be. Light and life were corrupting its perfection. Gathering errant energy, dust and vapor, it pained itself to form an avatar of its will: Caz Wintervein. Caz would be its messenger, the destroyer, the ender of life and light. Against Raya's warmth, he would bring intolerable cold, fueled from the black depths of the infinite cosmos.
Caz struck Raya was all his power, but the two proved equal. Though Caz's cold was endless, so too was Rada's love, bolstered by Lordanna and the prime races. Human, elven, and dwarven souls each contained limitless emotion, enough to keep Caz from victory. Caz and Raya were fated from then on to fight for all time, death against life, dark against light, nothing against everything. The seasons formed as a result of this cosmic duel, Raya birthing summer and spring while Caz produced autumn and winter. With Caz also came the night, when the good of the world receded and evil flourished.
Among Caz's curses against existence, the worst was aging and death. Up until his arrival, the prime races were immortal. No race was prepared for their own sort of seasonal change from the spring and summer of youth, the autumn of middle and old age, and the winter of death. To mock the blessed duo of Rada and Lordanna, Caz shaped the powers of death and aging into his own godling daughter. He called her Delilah-in-Shadow, a cruel deity as strong as Lordanna, who began expanding her power through manipulation of the prime races. Delilah-in-Shadow whispered to the weak-willed and maddened, coercing them to murder and thus increasing her and her father's strength.
Lordanna knew, as did all the gods, that for existence to endure so too must all the souls of men, elves, and dwarves. Souls, after all, were where Raya drew her power of love in which to fend off Caz. Lordanna fashioned On-High, an afterlife of unimaginable paradise, to house the souls of the dead. All those who lived by the ideals of good would be admitted and cared for by the wise and benevolent angels. However, even the souls of evil-doers were needed to reinforce existence against the mammoth power of Caz. For those unfortunate persons, Lordanna bade the Dark Godlings create another afterlife, the antithesis of On-High, which they gleefully named Torment.
For a time the struggle remained at a stalemate, until Delilah-in-Shadow coerced a god...
Winters WarThe Dark Godling Greed, by nature, thought only of himself and his immediate gain. Delilah came to him under the cover of night, when the power of Raya was weakest, and seduced him with promises of power. If he would side with her in a war against his siblings, he would inherit Othyr and all the wealth there-in.
That same night she visited the other Dark Godlings, but, despite being incarnations of their vices, each refused her. There was an instinct even more powerful than pride, anger, lust, and the rest, one that permeated all beings in existence, the will to survive. The Dark Godlings understood their continued existence depended entirely on the prime races. Only Greed would be so blind and selfish as to forget that simple fact.
Delilah-in-Shadow was furious and spirited Greed off Othyr and into Chrysaor. There she infused him with a portion of its power. Greed adopted a new name, Kultuss, and used his new-found power to create a race as selfish and greedy as he. He called them dragons. To further add to their mighty army, Delilah wove another portion of Chrysaor's chaotic innards into the abominable race of demons.
The following night they attacked. The combined fury of Kultuss's dragons and Delilah's demons easily plowed over surprised cities and makeshift defenses. Death tolls from the initial plunge were devastating, with over a quarter of the prime races killed within a night and day. With such massive extermination, Caz's strength exploded and an ice age ensued. Kultuss and Delilah-in-Shadow reveled at the might of their army, riding the back of the colossal glacier Polarbite from the dark, northern pole further into the sunlit south.
Raya's strength wavered and the sun dimmed. Lordanna, fearful and desperate, infused Altan, Thorm, and even the Dark Godlings with the power of creation. They needed an army to support the mobilizing prime races or face extinction. Altan formed the Neanderthal, lacking the higher qualities of humanity, but making up for it through their strength, hardiness, and skill in battle. Thorm crafted the giants, massive reflections of men. The Dark Godlings quickly grew drunk with such an awesome gift as creation, and spawned orcs, goblins, and, most powerful of all, the devils.
Altan and Thorm took the head of two great armies consisting of all life's creations, young and old, angels, races, animals, plants, insects, everything Othyr could muster, and moved to counterattack. The Dark Godlings served as bodyguards for Lordanna Manythings as she headed for the Polarbite Glacier and the source of their woe. The devils, meantime, slipped behind enemy lines and began inciting fights, mutinies and insurrections between the dragons and demons.
Due to the trouble the devils stirred, Delilah and Kultuss were forced to personally intervene and didn't notice Lordanna and the Dark Godling's arrival until they were on top of them. The subsequent fight was epic, one that tore the well of the eastern ocean. Kultuss and his dragon generals, one of each color, fought furiously against his siblings, supported by the strongest their devils. As surely as Raya was meant to oppose Caz, Lordanna charged Delilah-in-Shadow. Behind her flew the Seven Epitomes, the highest of angels.
Further south, the armies of Altan and Thorm clashed with the dragon/demon onslaught. The fighting was fierce, with both sides taking tremendous losses. As each being died, Caz grew even stronger, and the world's freeze deepened. Rada was barely a twinkle in the long night. Dead lay everywhere, piling until there was only Altan, Thorm, and a small contingent of angels and races, standing against Kezzaboloth the Dragon King and Phalzamut, Demon Lord of Bones. Altan mustered his troops for a final stand, but Thorm told the mortals to stay back. Altan nodded grimly. There was nothing more mortals could do. It was a fight of divine proportions. Thorm was the first to charge, bull rushing the Lord of Bones, as Altan swung his great axe for Kezzaboloth's neck. Othyr quaked as the blows fell, but ultimately the angels were slain and Altan and Thorm bested. Phalzamut, in a gruesome spectacle, tore out Thorm's very spine. The resulting scream broke the land into continents and would have killed every mortal nearby if not for a last protection spell by Thorm. Then the god died.
However, instead of empowering Caz, it weakened him. Altan fumbled for a reason why the ground around Thorm's body suddenly thawed, until he realized self-sacrifice was not death at all, but the preservation of others, death serving life. Moved beyond reason, the mortal races charged, and, while falling in scores, their sacrifices were not in vain as each death brightened the sun and weakened the snows. One among them, the elf Vaness, landed the final blow to the Dragon King, an impossible feat that infused her with the dragon's Chrysaotic energy and raised her to godhood. Now two against one, Altan and Vaness finished Phalzamut and took what was left of their force north.
The Dark Godlings were maelstroms of power, but Kultuss could not be turned, so infused with Chrysaor's power. His dragon generals were down, but the devils with them. It looked grim as Kultuss, in the form of a five-headed serpent, strangled Wrath, Lust, Pride, Gluttony, and Sloth. Lordanna faired just as poorly, barely deflecting the strikes of the goddess of murder and death. Her Epitomes dead or crippled, she resigned that her strength was not in conflict, but harmony. When Altan, Vaness, and the surviving army topped a hill crest, Lordanna saw them and was moved. In the greatest sacrifice Othyr had-ever or would-ever see, Lordanna accepted death, every last ounce of Delilah-in-Shadow's power, and in turn fed the evil goddess all her love, life and dreams. Neither could withstand their opposite and in a brilliant flash that melted the age of ice and nearly all the Polarbite Glacier, both goddesses ceased. Raya flared into brilliance and the balance was again restored.
Altan, Vaness, and the Dark Godlings subdued Kultuss, but so fat off cosmic power none could find a way to destroy him. Thus they carved a prison in the remains of the Polarbite Glacier and locked him away for all time, to suffer an endless life in the cold, empty prison he tried to make Othyr.
Thus the Winter War came to a close, the world in shambles, the surviving gods battered and weak, the races and all other life few and tired. Altan leaned on his axe handle and weakly rose. The job was theirs to rebuild...
The Modern Age (0 After Winter)
Altan took command of the rebuilding process, teaching his dwarven children the finer aspects of mining, crafting, and architecture. Together, the races and the gods Altan and Vaness rebuilt the cities of the south. The Dark Godlings, no longer in danger of ceasing to be, scattered back into the hearts and minds of all the races. Their devils marched into Torment to become infernal kings and rulers over the souls of the damned.
When the reconstruction was complete, Vaness offered to head north, to ensure Kultuss never escaped and the dark events of the Winter War wouldn't happen again. A loyal band of elves followed with her, as well as a brigade of dwarves who, after all they'd seen, converted to the honor and worship of the fallen Thorm. Giants and Neanderthal also headed north, fearful of civilization and preferring hinterlands.
As for Altan, weary of war and meddling with mortals, he chose to disperse himself into the hearts and minds of all the races. Unlike the Dark Godlings, who sought to undermine the races, Altan infused each living person and all their descendants with a dormant something, a deep bravery, sustenance for the soul when all other things failed, namely hope.
In the Northland, Vaness built the ice city of Ivristel out of Mount Ilon. It was then she recognized a dark taint in the mountains. Kultuss had already begun breaking his prison apart. Dutifully, Vaness marched alone, ever north, to the secret location of the prison, to reinforce it with all her power...
In time, the Ivristelian elves began worshiping St. Vaness and changed. Their reflexes quickened from living in such a harsh environment and their features paled and sharpened. They adopted the name ice elves and for centuries removed themselves from the outside world, dedicated solely on watching and guarding the glacier.
The original dwarven brigade dug the halls of Clangsong in honor of Thorm. For centuries after the music of hammers on anvils echoed across the wide open skies. Then, silence. Some speculated they'd dug so deep they could no longer be heard, while others feared something more sinister.
The giants and neanderthal spread throughout the frigid wild, forming barbarian tribes and nomadic clans, settling the tundra, ice wastes, even the high and looming mountain ranges. They were followed not long after by the orcs and goblins, who lost a war against man, elf, and dwarf for rulership of the southern empires.
Without divine guidance, giants, orcs, and goblins began to turn from neutral or wild into evil and maddened. What power might have leaked from Kultuss into the mountains could have caused it, or the whispers of the Dark Godlings, or perhaps their fear and prejudice of civilization. They became enemies of the ice elves and for long centuries the three fought epic stand-offs. Neanderthal man remained hopeful, however, and stayed clear of these wars in remote places.
Rise of the One Kingdom(forthcoming)
Veluvia (1247 AW)
Over time, the realm grew complacent and forgetful of what had transpired during the Winter War. Instead of sending aid to the ice elves, whom they barely recalled existed, they sent exploration teams, bent on finding rare ore veins and other valuable resources. In a half-hearted attempt to stake claim to the northern frontier, the One Kindgom sent a mass contingent to form a town. This pilgrim band was made of many types of people, some dutiful soldiers of the empire, other enterprising merchants, some curious mages and missionary priests. Others were fugitives running from southern law and a majority of the workforce were prisoners, who were freed by kingdom contracts after the large town was constructed. It was a volatile bunch trying to survive in the frozen reaches, but for over twenty years they lived in relative peace in the town called Veluvia. But winter bore its teeth at encroaching civilization and old evils once again sought freedom...
Winters Maws (1267 AW)
A mass influx of orcs, goblins, and giants spilt over the tundra and crashed against the stone ramparts of Veluvia. It was said a white demon led them, sighted by farmers stealing cattle and robbing storehouses. Despite rumors, the creature mysteriously left gold and gems as compensation. A desperate Lord Marshal Gravant Marr, unsure how long his isolated town could last against the ever-increasing hordes or the mysterious white demon, sent messenger falcons in every direction, praying for aid.
All but one bird succeeded, reaching the city of Ivristel, home of the ice elves. They too were feeling the brunt of the goblinoids and giants, but, relatively safe in their ancient mountain, decided to send aid. A convoy was deployed, led by the able Commander Ilari Serenor, a ranger of Vaness and daughter of the ice elven king.
After reaching Veluvia relatively unscathed, Ilari was charged with discovering why the hordes were attacking and the origin of the white demon. Tira, a favored soul of Vaness and friend of Ilari's, demanded she go along. Gravant also sent with her a band of volunteer adventurers, among them the barbarian Buliwyf, James the elven rogue, a dwarven druid named Scrin, and the goblin turncoat Timok. At first Ilari despised the goblin, but the little thief's knowledge of goblinoids proved invaluable during the course of their mission and they eventually became close friends.
They're investigations led them through the Marx Woll and into several encounters with orc and goblin bands. It was during their hike through the snowy woods they discovered a shivering elven girl that could only speak Angelic. Among the few things she could relate to the group was her name, Ilpa. Surrounded by orcs, goblins, and giants, the group decided to keep Ilpa with them as they moved onward, perhaps recklessly, further north.
In the tundra, the group faced a powerful pack of wargs led by a pale winter wolf. It was there Scrin met his companion Curck and saved the group by causing an avalanche along a cliff face. Buliwyf also played a pivotal role, slaying the winter wolf in a one-on-one match. That night an unlikely new member snuck into camp, Alia, Ilari's younger sister. While furious at the young elf, Ilari had larger matters to concern herself with and, for safety's sake, allowed her to stay.
The group traveled farther into the wastes, following sporadic trails left by the white demon and the hearsay of barbarian nomads. In a week's time they met the white demon face to face, in actuality a half-dragon named Khelror. He told a strange story how his father, the white wyrm Khebozeluth, discovered a set of tablets deep beneath his lair and began deciphering their power. Khebozeluth used these artifacts to fuse dragons and humanoids, intent on creating an army to take the world.
Khelror was the first of dozens with strength enough to subdue the entire giant population. Unchecked, Khebozeluth began taking orc and goblin tribes, mostly killing indiscriminately and using the rest for food and experiments. The goblinoids and giants hadn't been invading Veluvia and Ivristel, they'd been fleeing the mountains in mass exodus.
Khelror despised what his father had done to him, changing him from a mighty being into something less, tainted with the blood of man. He and the group made a pact, agreeing to help one another in the defeat of Khebozeluth before his mad plans destroyed the balance of the entire world. The nine traveled hard through the foothills and low mountains. Every night Ilpa was plagued by nightmares and hysterical visions. Tira, beginning to decipher Ilpa's language, puzzled out that Ilpa was looking for her grandfather, Kotur, imprisoned somewhere in the mountains.
Ilari and the group entered the base of Mount Kosmir and began a long and arduous journey through the ice mazes of Khebozeluth's lair. They fought ice golems, giants, dragons, and half-dragon bands along the way, not to mention deadly traps on par with an old wyrm's cunning.
They reached an underground ice bridge just before Khebozeluth's resting place. There they faced their mightiest challenge yet, an ancient creature who called itself the Angel of Slaughter. It claimed to be one of the Seven Epitomes, resurrected by the tablets into a dark puppet. None were a match for him but Khelror. The two fought a ferocious battle and ultimately fell together, taking half the cavern with them. When the dust settled, Ilpa had been separated from the rest of the group by countless tons of rock and ice.
Ilari and the others, emotional from the loss of Ilpa, forged ahead into Khebozeluth's lair and fought a battle that would fast become legend in the Northland. In an epic struggle they defeated the white wyrm, but not without a price. Tira and Timok both suffered death to restore the balance.
Ilpa, however, found herself in a very different struggle, uncovering the ancient tablets and finally meeting the grandfather of her dreams. Kotur was something much more than Ilpa could ever have imagined, another of the Seven Epitomes and the true evil behind the tablets. It called itself Mog Ruith, a fallen angel of justice disillusioned by what he believed to be a divine conspiracy. He claimed Raya was slowly planning the demise of all mortal races and their replacement with angels so as to defeat death and evil forever. It was up to him to undermine her, for the greater good and the memory of Lordanna. But he had to escape the enchanted mountain range first, which all fell under the same ancient curse that bound Kultuss. Ilpa was the key. Mog would infuse himself with her and escape, forming a new army, destroying the churches of Raya and reclaiming the world for the races. Ilpa struggled for her body and soul, discovering during the struggle that she was half-angel, a dormant weapon of the Church of Raya that had been awakened by Mog's call. This angelic side sustained her against the fallen one for two-and-a-half years.
During this time, the ice elves and Veluvians agreed to split the spoils of Khebozeluth's lair, building a fortress called Winterguard to secure and protect the monetary interests of the North. Veluvia grew and economies boomed as Ivristel opened trade routes with the young settlement.
Ilari was appointed ambassador to Veluvia, Alia became the youngest captain of the royal guard in ice elven history, Scrin and Curck moved into the wilds of the Marx Woll to establish a druid circle, and James used his cut of the loot to pay the bounty on his head. Buliwyf, having fallen in love with Ilari but certain it could never work between an ice elven princess and a human barbarian, fled into the icy wastes to rebuild the shattered barbarian tribes. Ilari was never able to tell him she was with child.
Ilpa reappeared three years after the fight with Khebozeluth and eventually married Gravant Marr, a somewhat controversial affair from how old she looked, though in reality she was thousands of years his elder.
Calm settled over the North, with little more than a skirmish here or there with orcs or giants. It seemed there would be a lasting peace until one cold day...
Clangsong Reopened (1273 AW)
The dwarves of Clangsong have returned! They call themselves glacier dwarves now and speak of untold riches and wonder in the Underfreeze, a strange subterranean realm they discovered. Clangsong is currently being renovated as a way point between this new realm and the Northland.
Revenge of the Ice Queen (1273 AW)
The archfiend known as the Ice Queen has broken from her prison and brought devastation in her wake. In a massive surprise attack, Veluvia has fallen at the hands of undead, demons and white dragons under the leadership of the demoness. Over a thousand survivors managed to escape and headed for the safety of the Fist.
There the leaders of all civilized races met to discuss this new demonic threat, but unseen forces allowed the Ice Queen's second army of constructs and ice elementals to flood the massive keep. Many of the North's leaders were slain, and with them much of the refugees, but the surviving giants and Veluvians made for Port Athas.
The Ice Queen is still at large, with sights likely set for Ivristel once her two armies join.
