The Origins of Existence: The Tale of Ages
The Rise of Enlightenment
”…it is as it has always been. Forever enduring. Take heed, those who seek to amend the nature of the inevitable . One cannot halt the movement of water. The river shall always flow towards its end. It will find a way.”
An excerpt from The Book of The Dawn ~Daimler Zahn, High Protector of The Order of The Divine Light
Existence has always been. It may be altered by those with the means to do so, but in its many forms it has endured throughout time. The world as we know it was formed, as all things are, by an entity of immense power. Time, however, robs the world of fact and history. Through the ages, the details of the origination of the planes and those who mastered it’s design have been lost. Their names evaporating into the mists of time. Today, they are simply known as Those That Were Lost.
Although life exists throughout all planes of existence, the realms of man take residence on what has become know as “The Convergence”. A stretch of existence that was expanded to fill the void between all planes. It is older than us all and will outlive the lines of all humanity. It serves as the bridge between life in its entirety. Through the planes, many exist. Some more powerful than others. Beings without time. Most lacking what is considered passions of life. Existing for the purpose of their creation. Content in their place of things.
Among the beings of origin, there were some who wished to test the bounds of their capacity. They came together upon the convergence and each took from themselves to form something new. New residents of the bridge across the void. Life in many shapes and sizes. Souls inhabiting many visual forms. They took of themselves and created landscapes. Kingdoms of beasts. They taught their creations of themselves, of the planes around them and the entities that dwelled there. Tangible information of fact and certainty. Knowledge took root and thought was born in the minds of the created.
For a time, the experiment of new life was good. The beings of origin marveled at their creations. They watched as the created grew They found joy in watching their progeny aligning themselves with others. Forming social groups and civilizations. The created
Then came the task of teaching that which was intangible. Feeling rooted in emotion and perception. This proved more difficult and began to fracture the beings of origin along lines of what was to become understood as good and evil. The creations took the lessons to heart and doted upon the creators with whom their interpretations of the intangible aligned and casting a wary eye on the ones who did not.
The creators who were interpreted as “good” gained the title of The Giving Pantheon. Those who seemed to align with evil, The Malevolent Chorus. There were those that were not so easily distinguished. Who resisted the labels placed upon them. Choosing instead to cultivate and teach the balances that reside between all things. Thus, resisting their creations attempts to classify their intentions. With the culmination of these lessons, the great experiment of new life began.
The Banishment
“…this world was of us, and what has befallen it is of us as well. We created in our image and held the idol of our hubris to the fire. In the light of the flames our shortcomings have been exposed to all that would see.”
An excerpt from The Book of The Dawn ~Daimler Zahn, High Protector of The Order of The Divine Light
Once created, prosperity reigned. The world was new and possessed ample abundance to sustain all the fresh lives that lived within it. As it has proven time and again, however, hunger is inevitable. Those who give into the dark cravings of greed are doomed to sow seeds of controversy. What resulted was The Origin of Dissention. A great war between creators, both good and evil. Many races joining in in the name of their respective deities. The Races of the Light fought alongside The Giving Pantheon. The Fallen Offspring battled alongside The Malevolent Chorus. Lives were lost. Gods fell. The mortality of the divine was tested.
In the end, The Giving Pantheon expelled the Malevolent Chorus. The Pantheon banished the darker races alongside their masters into the Opaque Beyond. A plane of unquenchable darkness and torment. The new residents turned upon one another to create a society fueled by the worst desires creatures of their ilk could produce. Forever striving to achieve vengeance for their dismissal.
The Giving Pantheon gazed upon the havoc and destruction that had devastated the world they loved and created. Its beauty marred with the grisly scars of conflict. What once was lush and fertile, was now shattered and broken. Great plains of vegetation had become uprooted and torn. Forming monstrous chasms and unforgiving mountains. Serene waterscapes flooded rich soil to create fetid swamps and marshes.
The Pantheon bore witness to the horrible atrocities and wept great tears of anguish. Rains fell and formed vast oceans to detach Kul De’Has from the rest of the planes of existence. To not subject others to the pains birthed there. The oceans surged and crashed. Gnawing upon the shores to form jagged cliffs and tortured bluffs.
When the rains had cleared, and the oceans returned to their eternal vigil, The Giving Pantheon came to a harsh conclusion. The gods decided that their presence, however altruistic, had fostered this desolation. They decided to leave the world to its inhabitants. Allowing freewill to mold and shape the world. In Hopes that without interference, their progeny would begin to heal the fragmented pieces of their birthright. From their recluse position, they watched their experiment create itself in its own image. An image that, for the first time, was not seen through the lens of the divine.
The Age of Proliferation
“…and they turned to the youngest of them. “Look inward,” they beseeched, “draw of yourself, as we have done, and shape the lands of your birth.”
An excerpt from The Book of The Dawn ~Daimler Zahn, High Protector of The Order of The Divine Light
For the first time, humanity was left to their own devices. For those who remained, a great loneliness crept through their soul. It ached and created a hole, where once the essence of the divine held space. How to fill it? A question that rang throughout the ages. For now, however there was no time to dwell.
It was time to rebuild, grow, and create civilization, once again. Although they watched from their lofty perch, The Pantheon gave no direct aid. Their knowledge and teachings, however, were not lost to the world. So it was knowledge of the past that began to influence the creations of humanity.
Early civilizations remembered both The Pantheon as well as The Chorus and worshipped them and spread their interpretations of the lessons given by their creators. They also shared their warnings of the opposition. Planting seeds of distrust of the others “dangerous” ideals. The followers used the fires of their devotion to fill the void within. For a time, it worked. The empty gnawing that they felt subsided and grew faint. Rhetoric and scripture, however, is a poor substitute for the divine.
Over time and through the ages, man, began to forget. The stories of the old world lost their gravitas and power. The fire of devotion began to fade and with it, the hole within began to return. Humanity once again began the search to quell the gnawing within.
Without any stories of grandeur or a sense of history or creation, new gods began being raised and heralded across the world. Gods that held no position in The Pantheon or The Chorus but emerged from the ideals of the world around them.
With the introduction of these new gods, there were some facets of humanity who raised a voice of concern. The elves saw that in the introduction of new gods, they brought with them a reinvigorated strength, but also a danger. To protect their world and way of life, the elves abandoned the lands of their creation and sailed across the sea. To search for the creators of their world. They took with them their knowledge of the arcane, and with time the remaining knowledge of magics in the world fell into lore and myth.
These new ideals and forms of worship took the culture of the world in a new direction. Into and through ages of technology. The Dwarves, directly descended from the gods of craftsmanship, began to see a divergence from the cultural significance of the ancient trades to that of modern achievements. The arrogance of humanity placed great value on new technology and its advancement and created a stigma against those who practiced the arts of trade and craft. This prejudice began to drive a deep wedge between humanity and the Dwarves. Alienated from the modern world, the Dwarves went deep underground and locked their halls up tight, and in time, they too fell into lore and myth.
Beasts of fantasy eventually were hunted for sport or driven from their natural environments. Left in such low numbers that they felt the need to hide for their own survival. The Halflings and Gnomes saw the suffering of the beasts and knew that their fate would not veer far from their path. They too retreated into the periphery of reality, becoming the subject of folk tales and superstition.
In and of themselves, these new ideals were not dangerous. The Malevolent Chorus, however, saw in them an opportunity. Acting through unknown and forgotten agents, The Chorus formed tendrils back to the world of their creation. Upon arrival, they planted and stoked seeds of corruption within the hearts of humanity. Without the aid of balance from The Giving Pantheon, the world once again fell to into turmoil. Pollution began to eat at the bodies of humanity. Corruption, fueled by greed and gluttony, feasted on their hearts.
Gazing upon the realm of their creation, The Giving Pantheon lamented. It seemed that their grand experiment was doomed to repeat the mistakes of their forbearers.
The Echo of Abatement
“…and the fall came swift and without consternation. For it existed as an echo of failures past. A judgement of that which is inevitable. You shall witness, as all that you hold dear will fall to dust. Returning to the essence of its creation.
An excerpt from The Book of The Dawn ~Daimler Zahn, High Protector of The Order of The Divine Light
Through hubris inherited from their creators and the disdain sown by their detractors, humanity brought forth a second fall of the world. Toppling under the weight of its own greed and corruption. The Malevolent Chorus rejoiced in the destruction of what The Pantheon held dear and seized control of the world once more. Devouring all remaining elements of power and prosperity. Plunging their new playground into a sea of desolation and dust.
The Pantheon, though conflicted, remained resolute in their decision of non-intervention. Though feelings of ultimate responsibility rested heavy on their shoulders, they left humanity to their fate, allowing them to wallow in the pit of their own making. The reasons are unknown. Perhaps it was to punish humanity for its sins. Maybe it was to ensure the eradication of the evils of the past. Perhaps it was to teach a broader lesson. Intervention does not abate the repercussion of action.
Whatever the motivation, The Giving Pantheon withheld action and watched the decent of their creations. Allowing The Malevolent Chorus to rise. Stronger and with great malice, the origins or torment sucked the marrow from the bones of the age. If this was a lesson, it was a hard one. Life was not easy.
Eventually, The Malevolent Chorus grew fat from their unabated feasting. Leaving the world a hallow shell of what it once was. With nothing left to consume, they too withered and grew weak. Perhaps this was the plan of The Pantheon from the start. Out the ashes and sands of eradication, a new era began to emerge.
The Harmonic Inception
“…and upon the shoulders of ash, a new world shall grow. Bringing with it the burdens of hope. For the naivete of idealism will always be confronted with the sweet aromas of temptation.” An excerpt from The Book of The Dawn ~Daimler Zahn, High Protector of The Order of The Divine Light
With the reclusion of The Molevolent Chorus, the vast fields of desolation experienced a resurgence. The influence of The Giving Pantheon began to be felt once again. Druids emerged. Keepers of the earth and forests began to reintroduce life back to the lands. Without the dark hunger of The Chorus holding vigil, vegetation once again began to thrive. The protectors of the green slowly transformed the wastelands of the past into lush, diverse landscapes. From the gaping mouths of their origins, the great rivers erupted to rush and tumble through their familiar tracks once again. The beasts that were driven into hiding deep underground discovered the lush, new expanses presented and began to reemerge and repopulate.
Visiting as visions, The Giving Pantheon enlightened their chosen among the populace. New Clerics and priests began to emerge. Rising in leadership and aiding their people in the argues process of rebuilding. Guided by faith and knowledge shown to them by their deities.
With this new abundance of prosperity, sails were once again seen in the east. The elves had returned. Bringing with them their knowledge of the arcane. Reintroducing magics long forgotten, to be shared with those who possess the aptitude.
Stubbornly, as is their nature, the halls of the Dwarves cracked open. Rejoining the outside world and aiding in its shaping. For their knowledge of craft is unparalleled. Without their proficiency, the world would be hard pressed to fill the void of their expertise.
The Pantheon began to tread a careful line. Too much intervention, and they risk repeating the desolation of the first fall of the world. To little influence, and The Echo of Abatement rises like a specter in the mist. Balance has become the guiding force of existence.