The History of the World

The Beginning

In the Beginning, there was Wyld, an endless sea of pure chaotic energy where nothing with form ever lasted. Within that chaos, being with consciousness came to be. They were concepts and thoughts, formless, lifeless and timeless. Within that chaos, these beings began to desire form that remained, so they gathered and made the world.
They anchored the world within the five elemental poles of Water, Fire, Air, Earth and Wood. Together, they were Creation.
These beings each took form and became the very first primeval beings called the Primordials. They roamed the land for eons, reshaping the world many times before it resembled the Creation today. When they were finally satisfied, they retreated to the Heavenly City Yu-Shan and soon became weary of the tedious task of managing the world.
So they made the very first gods, the Unconquered Sun, Luna and the five Maidens of Destiny to help them govern their kingdom. These are known as the Incarnea. Under the watchful guidance of these highest of gods, Creation became full of life. Yet Sol Invictus, Chief of the Incarnea had pity with the mortals who were but slaves to the Primordials. The thought of rebellion came into his mind, to set the mortals free.

The Primordial War

However, Sol Invictus cannot lift his hand against his own creator. Gathering his brethren around him in council, Sol Invictus proposed to share their power with worthy mortals who can fight this battle for them. Then the gods each chose mortals of their liking and imbued them with an undying part of their divine power. Thus the very first Exalted were chosen.
The Unconquered Sun elevated the most honorable and righteous among the mortal beings, each of them possessing an iron will and the potential for greatness. Luna sought her chrildren among the most resilient and loyal, for as she was an companion to her brother-husband the Unconquered Sun, her children shall be the same to their Solar mates. The five Maidens of Destiny looked to the stars for guidance, taking their agents as fate would have it.
Yet still, the armies of men could not oppose the forces of the Primordials. The solution was provided by Gaia, the only Primordial to side with the Rebellion. She proposed to create a new breed of soldiers for the war, sired by her children the five Elemental Dragons upon healthy mortals. These scions would carry with them the blessing of the elements, becoming the first Dragon Blooded . Elemental Exalted who would serve as soldiers and administratives for the Celestrial Exalted.
No record remain how long the Primordial War lasted. Some say it was only decades, others claim it to have been centuries. In that ancient war, many species were driven to near extinction, yet the persistence of life endured.
In the end, the Primordials were overthrown. Seven of them were slain, vanishing from Creation in the moment of their last breath. Millenia later, it will be discovered that for they were never born, they cannot turly die. For all eternity, they were caught in the moment of their last breath and are still slowly dying to this day, becoming only known as the Neverborn. In that moment of their destruction, they gathered all their bitterness and hatred into a Great Curse, laid upon all Exalted who had dared to oppose them. With the their slow death, they took the very essence of Creation and descented with it into darkness, creating the Underworld.
Seeing their seven brethren slaughtered, the rest surrendered. By the magic of the Solars, they were forever banished. From the body of their general Malfeas a prison was made for them. For eternity, they were known as the Yozi and their brute were the demons of Malfeas. In that mad and cruel world, they lingered, forever plotting their return, to claim what is rightfully theirs.

The High First Age

With the defeat of the Primordials and the liberation of mortals from slavery, the Incarnea retreated to the Heavenly City Yu-Shan. The Unconquered Sun, the very embodiment of perfection and virtue became the Lord of Heaven, ruling over the world with his infinite wisdom and strength.
By his decree, dominion over Creation was given to his chosen. The Solar Exalted became the divine sovereigns of Creation, Kings and Queens, Emperor and Empresses. The Lunar became their consorts and generals, the Siderals their courtiers and advisors. Together, they made Creation into an Utopia, shared and directed from the great Solar Deliberative.
For Millenia, their ingenuity and prowess impressed their heavenly patrons. Weather Controlling Systems were installed across the land, making even the frozen north and blazing south into rich and fertile land. They founded floating city in the air and rode on ships soaring through the skies. There was no poverty under the Solar's rule, no famine or sickness. There was no war, no misery and no obstacle the Solars could not overcome.
Yet as time went by, something changed within the Solar. A darkness began to take root in their minds and corruption set in, slowly dimming the golden light that brought such prosperity to the world. Their greatness became madness, their thrive for perfection a thirst and obsession. Honor became a chain and valor became vanity. As they bored with the perfect world, they started to experiment. No mortal nor spirit was beyond their reach and eventually, the Solars unlocked even the mystery of necromancy. Until even that bored them.
Then, they turned on each other.

The Aftershock War

In the middle of the Golden Age, a single Primordial who had escaped both capture and death returned from beyond the world's edge to reclaim his land. As all Exalted enjoyed the spoils of war and relished in their utopia, they were taken at unawares.
After many cities fell, the Solars recovered from the shock and gathered their hosts to meet the onslaught. The war was short, yet brutal and at its end, the last free Primordial fell.
Ever after, the Solars would never be at ease again. The Great Solar Deliberative decided that no Solar shall ever lay his weapon to rest again, for they were the Chosen to defend and protect Creation of all foes. Never again shall they be caught unprepared. Never again shall they forget their duty.

The Usurpation and the Fall of the Solar Exalted

Thousands of years after the Primordial War, the Exalted came to a shocking realization. When the first Solar died of old age, they realized that they were not immortal after all. That even they who had created an utopia were not eternal.
Driven by boredom and this new revelation, the Dawn Warriors became restless. They started challenging each other for territory, resources or simply to quench a thirst. By now, the first generation of the Celestial Exalted were ancient beings, grown so weary of and distant from their subjects that a mortal life seemed almost senseless to them. As more and more of them died, new heroes emerged, returning to them as young men and women carrying ancient souls. It was difficult for those young Solars who had never experienced the Primordial War to compete with their millenias old peers. Some were disregarded as unworthy, others met with open resentment.
Beguiled and entranced by the Zenith Caste who challenged the power of the Unconquered Sun, the Dawn Castes made open war upon each other, chasing past glories and lusting for greater deeds. They new Twilight Caste reached to surpass their old selves, creating even more wonders and horrors alike. As the Solars descended into madness, the war enveloped the whole world, destroying marvels and murdering millions.
In those days, the Night Castes became reclusive and paranoid. They disappeared from the light, holding secret councils with each other only, seeing enemies and corruptions everywhere. Great men and women died by their blades in the thousands. They unleashed their skills upon the world and empires fell at their schemes. And in darkness, the Night Castes chose their next target.
As mistrust and treason ravaged, no tale of an Eclipse Diplomat could be trusted in those days, for these were the men and woman who played with words and made pacts that doomed all those who believed them. Lies they told and oaths they sealed. They played with Heavenly Law and watched as their web of lies ensnared all those around them.
In all this chaos, the Sidereals became concerned.
One among them, an ambitious and respected Sidereal named Chejob Kejak consulted the Loom of Fate can came to a terrifying conclusion. If the Solar Exalted are not stopped, they will end Creation. Thus, he went to the Five Score Fellowship consisting of all Sidereal Exalted and three suggestions he made to them.
One, if they do nothing, Creation will be destroyed. Two, they can try to guide their Kings and Queens from this doomed path and perhaps Creation can prevail. The third suggestion he made the Five Score Fellowship accepted.
At the turning of the year, all Solars were invited to a grand banquet at seat of the Solar Deliberative upon the peak of Mount Meru, highest mountain in Creation and the elemental pole of earth. Using all power at their disposal, The Sidereals poisoned the wine and watched the Solars descend into ecstasy. Then, the gate was closed and all were slaughtered inside.
Simultaneously, a group of Sidereals invaded the sanctum of Reincarnation in Heaven itself. They overpowered its guardian god and watched the souls of the murdered Solars return to the Sanctum's halls. In an act of sacrilege, they gathered these souls into the Jade Prison which was crafted for them in secret and sank it deep into the depth of the Inland Sea.
In the chaos following the Massacre, the Sidereals incited the Dragon Blooded who had long become discontent with their masters to rebellion and hunt down those remaining Solars who had escaped. Following the guidance of Chejob Kejak, the Dragon Blooded gathered their hosts and made war upon the remaining Solars.
Feeling their Solar Mates fall, the Lunar Exalted experienced a sense of freedom they had not felt since their creation. Those who had come to resent their mates for their cruelty and madness were the first to abandon their duties. Others remained loyal and fought to the bitter end. Both liberated and heartbroken, they fled to the edge of the world, hiding away from civilization to silently lick their wounds.
The Usurpation lasted for centuries, in which much of the world's wonders were destroyed. Though a Solar outmatched a Dragon Blooded one to a hundred, the Dragon Blooded outnumbered the Solars a thousand to one. Eventually, even those who escaped the slaughter were hunted down and murdered, one by one, and again and again.
Thus ended the first age of the world.

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The Shogunate and the Second Age of Sorrow

After the Usurpation, the world was in chaos. The land was devastated and no real government existed to rebuild what was destroyed. Dragon Blooded Warlords refused to join forces with each other, all of them demanding to be kings and queens themselves. They fought amongst themselves, trying to claim whatever riches and wonders the Solars had left behind. But without the Chosen of the Sun, these artifacts that ensured their prosperity began to crumble.
The world spanning weather systems was the first to fail for no mind of a Dragon Blooded could comprehend the complexity of the Solar's genius. The North became a frozen tundra again and the deserts of the south burned eternity. The forests of the east thickened, overtaking entire kingdoms as they expanded unchecked. Even in the West, nature roamed. The sea became an untamed beast again, storms and hurricanes swallowing landmasses, devouring ancient civilization in an instant.
Fearing the nature's wrath, the Dragon Blooded Shoguns fled towards the center of the world where life still resembled what they knew from their childhoods. Endless war raged among the Terrestial Exalted, until their children's children forgot why the fought. Even in this age of chaos, the sidereal watched and nodded. At least the Dragon Blooded were not powerful enough to undo Creation and Chejob was glad.

The great Contagion and the Fair Folk Invasion

Even as the Dragon Lords thought their misery could not be surpassed, a terrible plague spread among the corpses. This sickness had no cure and killed men and cattle alike. Nine out of ten were taken by the plague in unstoppable speed. This disease of unknown origin became known as the Great Contagion.
Again, the Sidereal became concerned for they found no answer among the stars. Voices grew louder in their ranks that the Solars could have found a cure where they still here to study it. But Chejob who has now become their leader would not relent and open the Jade Prison where the souls of murdered Solars were gathered.
In the Heavenly City endless debates were heard as death ruled over Creation until they were silenced by a new horror.
From beyond the edges of the world, war drums sounded as huge hosts of Fair Folk marched. These beings of the Wyld ravaged across the world with their infinite hatred for all that contained form, slaughtering and destroying without any semblance of remorse or humanity, yet driven by a hunger to feed on the mortal misery. With no host left to oppose the Balorian Crusade, war marched unchecked.
It was said that in that hour, some of the Sidereals bitterly regretted their decision to rebel against their Solar Souvereigns.
Yet not all was lost. In the last hour of the Invasion when the Fair Folk stood upon the shores of the Inland Sea, a single Dragon Blooded warrior rose from the ranks. She gathered her sworn brotherhood around her and charged for the largest Temple in the world, a construct of massive size and scope made by the Primordial Autochton himself. The The Sword of Creation, the largest and most powerful of all Solar Manses had stood sealed and abandoned ever since the Usurpation and this single warrior believed that it possessed the might to drive the Fair Folk back.
No one knowns until this day how she achieved to unlock that manse, only that she and her brotherhood breached the gate in that final moment. When the Sword of Creation fired, entire Fair Folk armies were obliterated in an instant. Using this greatest of all weapons ever made, she who would later be known as the The Scarlet Empress defeated the Balorian Crusade and drove the Fair Folk back into the Wyld.
But the victory was not without cost. The recoil of that massive weapon tore the land asunder, causing enormous earthquakes throughout the world. The sea rose to swallow yet more western islands and mountains across the world crumbled and made tombs for those who remained. When the smoke cleared, entire section of Creation simply disappeared.

The Scarlet Dynasty

This legendary warrior from the City State of Lookshy, who had single-handedly won the war emerged alone from the Sword of Creation three days later. Using the manse' power, she projected herself across the entire Creation, into every city and every town. She spoke to those who remained, claiming her sovereignty and declaring herself Empress of the World. Though most warlords knelt before their new Empress, other still chose to oppose her. Those were swiftly dealt with, one by one.
Even in Heaven, Kejak Chejob soon recognized the worth of this Terrestial Exalted. He came to her, dressed as a humble monk and abased himself at her feet. He proposed a plan to her, a new doctrine that would raise the Dragon Blooded to the pinnacle of divinity on earth. In this new doctribe, the Solar and Lunar Exalted shall be condemned and marked as Anathema of the World, thieves who stole the power of the gods to destroy the world. Hearing this, the Scarlet Empress nodded and the Immaculate Order was born.
To ensure the Solar souls who escaped his capture cannot return and gain power, Chejob created two more branches of the Realm, the intelligence office known as the All Seeing Eye and the Wyld Hunt, a special unit trained to hunt down all demons, undead and Anathema.

The Arcane Fate

Cunningly, Chejob took advantage of the curse known as "Breaking of the Mask" what was laid upon all Sidereals for their defilement of the Sanctum of Reincarnation. Ever since that day, no Sidereal remains constant in the memory in another's mind, save their own kind. Forcefully, they were being forgotten, their wisdom and schemes an echo that can not be recalled, save by the most hardy in spirit.
Using this curse, the Sidereals stepped back into the shadow, making sure that their very existence was forgotten by the world and thus not threatened by the new institutions he had created. Ever since, the Sidereals have been manipulating the Realm from behind the veil.

Within the year, the Scarlet Dynasty became the strongest power in the world, known usually as The Realm. Their base was on the Blessed Isle, the large island with the most fertile land, most stable seasons and the largest repositories of First Age Technology. Untouched by the Balorian Crusade, the beginning of the Realm was truly blessed.
The Scarlet Empress ruled with absolute power. To govern her world, she sired 13 great houses with different consorts, giving them land to rule and armies to build. For the next 800 years, her scions expanded and conquered, bringing all free cities across the coast into her Realm. Those cities became satrapies, paying tribute to the Realm for protection and station.
For over 800 years, she gave her people direction and purpose. She reformed morals and virtues, social system and spiritual thoughts. Under her shadow, she was a blessing and a curse. She is security, she is order. Her realm is civilizaion and the last safe haven in the world.
Yet to others, her rule is both tyranny and corruption.

The Return of the Solar Exalted and the Time of Tumult

At the turning of the Realm Year 821, the Scarlett Empress disappeared. The 13 great houses were thrown into disarray, for the Scarlet Empress left hundreds of children but no heir apparent. Dissention rose in their ranks as to who should ascend the throne and soon, soon civil war loomed as each house gathered their forces. When the resources of the Realm was no longer enough, they exact heavy taxes from their satrapies.
In the same year, the Jade Prison was breached. With horror, the Siderals watched from Heaven as golden light reappeared within Creation, newly freed souls seeking out worthy heroes. From the far corners of the world, Lunar Exalted were drawn back into civilization, each of them following the call of their returning Solar Mates. Cities far away from the Realm's influence were conquered and liberated, uniting under the leadership of powerful, ancient God Kings. War horns sounded and banners of the Unconquered Sun was again unfolded and flew freely in the wind.
Yet at the same time, a new breed of terrible Exalted emerged from the night, styling themselves Deathknights and carrying with them the horror of death. They acted as champions for Lord of the Underworld, ancient and powerful beyond man's conprehension. With necromantic monsters and armies of the undead, they leveled cities and drenched its streets in blood.
Elsewhere in Creation, demonic cults gathered power and seduced mortals into their service to wrech havoc far from the reach of the Dragon Blooded. At the borders of the world, the Fair Folk hosts drummed again, preparing to finish what they failed 820 years ago.
Even in Heaven, the ranks fo the Sidereal were split. Some still followed their leader Kejak Chekob, trusting that the Usurpation was necessary and just. Others openly supporting those they once betrayed.
As all planes of existence were busy with war, people asked themselves, where are our gods? Were are the Incarnea and their Chosen? Who will save us now?
This is where the game begins....