The History of Tel'Drannar & Elix
in ElixIn the beginning, during the Aeon of Wonder, there was only Aether, the celestial dragon capable of infinite power. Forever, Aether existed in a realm that contained neither time nor space; no parameters by which to exercise any of the power the dragon possessed. Bound to an infinite existence of nothingness, Aether plucked one of their golden scales and cast it before them, creating three-dimensional space. Aether traveled the infinite expanse, shedding scales here and there, creating stars and light in the darkness; as the dragon traveled, they created the fourth dimension of time. When Aether had shed all of their scales, they marveled at the constellations they had created. However, with nothing else to witness the stars’ light, Aether grew a deep longing to create more. They were, however, out of scales to do so. One final act of creation required an act of destruction. In a massive blast of self-destruction, Aether’s essence hurled through the expanses of the universe, Aether created more life: what we understand to be the Progenitor gods.
Through arcanic and alchemical deduction, musings of the absentee gods to their creations, and cross-culturally verifiable oral passdowns throughout generations, the Progenitor gods existed during the Age of Creation, a period that is likely immeasurable to the mortal eye. Therein it is said that the Progenitor gods created all the elements as we knew them. The elements, knowing nothing but chaos and rage, demanded conservators, so the Progenitors created something remarked upon as primordials; beasts of ancient and elemental powers subservient to the Progenitors. Like all creations, the desire for freedom outweighed all notions of servitude, and thusly, the two groups went to war. Though much of what occurred here is left to imagination, it is believed that the Progenitors created the dragons as a sort of titan to assist them in their war against the elements and their conservators. Through Glemora, we have learned of a great cataclysmic event that occurred during this age, killing the Progenitor Gods and their rebelling primordials and shattering the plane as it existed at the time into two: the material plane, where we reside, and the outer planes, where all manner of raw elemental energies and fundamentals exist. Much like Aether’s destruction, the Prime Deities and Dark Ones share that they too were created in this vacuum–a manifestation of lingering Essence of Aether. Though, in their inception, they were only gods–even the Dark Ones. As they began shaping Tel'Drannar and the life on it, it is said that the group now known as the Dark Ones grew envious of the creations of the Prime Deities–jealous of the worship, sacrifices, and gifts bestowed upon them by their own machinations.
In spite, the Dark Ones began creating life in the form of mockery of the Prime Deities and commanded them to worship as the others had. The Prime Deities, believing all mortal life has the capacity of freedom and choice, detested such a commandment, and ordered its halt. The Dark Ones resisted and raised their creations to march on those of the Primes. Thus, the Age of Creation ended and the Age of Strife began. Our knowledge of such an age is far more rounded than the previous, but gaps still exist. Most reputable historians and chronologists concur that this period lasted roughly between ten thousand and fifteen thousand years. These millennia were marked by unrivaled devastation. Mortals fought mortals, gods fought gods, and in the process, entire species and landmasses were permanently altered and, in some reported cases, destroyed entirely. Yet, rhyming with the rest of Tel'Drannar's cosmic history, in such destruction came a precious gift for mortals: the Arcane Web. This weaving of energy, neither divine nor natural, allowed once defenseless creations to wield powers that rivaled even the gods themselves...
The history of mortals through the Age of Strife is as complex as it is lost to history. No doubt, the peoples of Elix faced great daily calamities brought upon by the Dark Ones and their creations, as seen through the history of the Fenhelm Plains, Dry Barrens, and even the Nomrolda Peaks. However, in other locales, such as the modern-day lands of the Arvenora Conclave and the Verdant Council, divine intervention seemingly hid–or at least guarded–them from the vengeful eyes of the Dark Ones. Understanding of Elix’s history, particularly during the Age of Strife, derives from the last two millennia of such an age, when, simultaneously, arcane learnings enabled the better self-defense of the mortal races and the gods waned in power before their disappearance entirely–known colloquially as The Slumbering. When the gods fell silent and the mortal races grew weary of divinely-crafted conflict, a new era began: the False Age.
For the first few decades of the False Age, most lived in fear; in fear that the Dark Ones (and the Prime Deities too, in earnest) would return. While arcane discovery and manipulation was just beginning to take hold continent-wide, priests and clergy of this time found themselves completely powerless, for in the gods’ absences, so too were their gifts. Though, when this fear subsided, by all accounts, every recognizable nation on Elix would find hope in a future free from such wanton and divine destruction. A future whereby mortals could forge their own legacies. It is in this era we see the rise of powerhouses such as the formidable Kingdom of Silverlight, the cunning merchant houses of Artill, and the tinkering minds of the Valgrad. However, unbeknownst to the nations of Elix, many leagues off its eastern coast, another threat was brewing: the Tierysian Empire. If the Tierysians believed only one thing, it was that they were superior and they had the capacity to prove it. By roughly 1,250 BT, the Tierysians had sailed eastward from their island-capital, Tierys, and by the sheer sight of their arcane and military advancements and might, subjugated the nations of Atrius without a single ounce of conflict.
Pleased with the ease of their conquering, the Tierysian Empire set its sights west of their island on Elix. In the beginning, the empire sent envoys to treat with the local kingdoms and share in hospitality; in truth, these parties sought to gauge the levels of resistance to be found in any upcoming invasion and secure allies. By all accounts, the Tierysians had assessed that, while a few of the nations of Elix would rise up in defense of their lands, such a defense would be easily countered. Moreover, in their initial encounter with the peoples of Elix, the Tierysians secured the merchant houses of Artill as an ally, who they promised to reward with wealth and sovereignty after their neighbors on Elix had been completely subdued. Loyalist merchants to the Artill Unison, having traveled far and wide and garnered much respect, were easily able to infiltrate their neighboring countries and secure key intelligence to report back to their newfound secret allies. An official declaration of war would occur when, in 1,242 BT, the Tierysian Empire fired upon and decimated the fleets of the Steinhar Empire off the coast of Kirahm. The Kingdom of Silverlight, having suspected an invasion since their first meeting with the Tierysian foreigners, called upon all the nations of Elix to enter into a military alliance against the attackers. The peace loving Verdant Council and Arvenora Conclave rejected this call, as did the Artill Unison, whose cooperation with the Tierysian Empire was already suspected amongst many.
The Republic of Valgrad, the Steinhar Empire, the Ziyan Empire, and the Sybaris Triumvirate all joined the Kingdom of Silverlight in taking up arms to defend the continent from the foreign invaders. While many battles and skirmishes would break out over the several months following the declaration of war, it would be the siege and destruction of the Steinharian city of Kirahm that would mark the Alliance of Elix’s first tremendous loss. Witnessing the technological might of the Tierysians first hand, it was the Republic of Valgrad that urged a total and uncompromising defense of the Valgradian city of Leonov in 1,240 BT. Having already lost a significant number of their forces, the alliance, in hindsight, was already destined to lose. The loss of the Sybaris Triumvirate’s fleet en route at the hands of a Tierysian ambush sealed their fate. With overwhelming numbers and radically advanced weaponry, the Tierysian Empire descended upon Leonov without mercy. In the conflict, the city was leveled and the vast majority of its defenders and inhabitants lie slain. At that, the nations of the Alliance of Elix were forced to capitulate and accept the presence of their new overlords. In the coming years, the denizens would come to name this conflict the Great War.
The nations that accepted an otherwise peaceful subjugation by the Tierysian Empire enjoyed a relatively more benevolent occupation, whereas the nations that formed the Alliance of Elix endured a much harsher reality. These nations became home to numerous Tierysian military regiments tasked with maintaining the peace, as each was quickly demilitarized far beyond the capability of meaningful rebellion against their new suzerain. Numerous Tierysian advisors and informants were planted within the upper echelons of government and society, assuring that the Empire’s wellbeing became the priority for each of its subjects. As the years and decades passed, all the peoples of Elix began to truly realize who their new rulers were, their history, and the plans they had set into motion.
When the Tierysians occupied Elix, little was known of them except their magical advancements and their vanity. According to early biographical writing, during the Age of Creation, Glemora created Tierysians coinciding with Ebris’ creation of Humans. While the latter was instilled with a lust for freedom and adventure, the former was to serve invention and ingenuity. Their island home of Tierys and apparent safeguarding by the Matron of Knowledge rendered them practically untouched by the struggles of the Age of Strife. Yet, it is within such an era, upon the creation (or discovery) of the Arcane Web, that the Tierysians would develop their national and cultural identity. While their early cultural work placed heavy emphasis on the reverence of their matron, Glemora, it is after elementary arcanic breakthroughs that Tierysian culture would shift entirely.
Coinciding with the apparent fading and eventual slumbering of the gods, Tierysian writing and culture began to simultaneously emphasize the importance of the arcane in securing utopia, while denouncing the apparent worthiness of the gods (both prime and dark alike). Whatever their motive, their teachings and actions would pay off, as divine influence would cease entirely during the False Age. The arcane web, however, would prove the new frontier for the mortal races. Whereas the peoples of Elix were still developing rudimentary arcane theory, those of Tierys had already mastered complex spell weavings, glyph constructions, and artifice techniques. By the time of their conquest of Elix, the Tierysian Empire already had in their possession at least two dozen ships capable of sustained flight; at least seven of these were equipped for warfare, yet were never seen in Elix. Tiersyian spellcasters, during the prime of their empire in the late False Age, are still considered to be the most potent across all of known Tel’Drannor. Their warriors, equipped with advanced magical armament, were said to be worth ten of the fiercest Eadneren fighters.
While Tierys itself was almost exclusively reserved for Tierysians, the descriptions of such a city are as numerous as they are glowing. The island (sharing the same name), rumored to be a long dead volcano, was roughly circular in shape and measured no more than seven miles at its greatest width. Yet, it is remarked that not a single inch of Tierys went undeveloped and, when lateral development was no longer a possibility, the Tierysians began building vertically. Various illustrations depict the entirety of Tierys as having been constructed of beautiful stones, precious metals. and valuable gems. These materials served not only to demonstrate the wealth and beauty of the empire, but also as the physical base in which various magical enchantments could be placed; these enchantments would serve to increase productivity of industry buildings, provide comforts for the population, and even serve as defensive mechanisms in the case of invasion. Out of shame, or even truth, there are never any mentions of poverty, crime, or misfortune on the island of Tierys. Through their own depictions, the Tierysians managed to create the utopia they had dreamed of since the early days of the Age of Strife: one that equivocated arcane progress with the divine. In the eyes of the Tierysians, they became the gods that faded so long ago.
Like all things, the Tierysian Empire would eventually meet its tragic end. While many in Elix would eventually breathe relieved, free of their occupiers by the end, they would first endure something much worse. At the beginning of the roughly two-week period that would mark the end of the False Age, the gods, both Prime and Dark, awoke from their slumber with a host of power likely not seen since the early days of the Age of Creation. While the Prime Deities still sought the defense and well-being of their creations, it was the Dark Ones, reinvigorated and full of rage, that sought the destruction of all, for many of their creations too had abandoned the path of war their malevolent creators intended for them. This short period became known as the Trial for Existence and the first victim of this trial’s wrath was the Empire of Ziyan.
There was a deep and low grumble, deep within the belly of the earth. The ground shook and the hills quaked, then all the lands before the Aket Mountains fell into darkness. For a whole minute, the screams of entire cities echoed in unison in the abyss. Then everything fell to silence.
It started with a guttural and brash boom, far beneath the sands and stones of the Dry Barrens. The snowy peaks of the Aket Mountains shed their icy crowns and then there was a low growl followed by snapping noises. In one second, the basin of the Aket Mountains was gone and with it went the Ziyan Empire.
The earth opened like a gaping maw and swallowed half of the Dry Barrens whole. In the pit it left, we saw the remains of cities and castles. We saw a civilization snuffed. As the distant braziers and fires began to die out, I swear I heard it: a low, satisfied cackle.The Dry Barrens weren’t the only target of destruction. West of the Aket Mountains, the Haggard Marshes were once home to thick forests and jungles. This coastal area was home to a number of druidic orders, nomadic gatherers, and shepherds from the Ziyan settlement of Neksu. It is said that Dhamos, the Storm Warden, was battling Iona, the Mistress of Blight, who had encroached on his tempestuous seas. In their skirmish, Iona flung herself to the coast to flee the Storm Warden’s pursuit. Spying the number of mortals who had made this land their home, she snickered. From her mouth oozed a pestilence that blighted and twisted the lands and its inhabitants in an instant, turning the fertile land to muck and mire. Pox and disease spread across all the denizens of the region; though most would die, those who survived became mind-rotted shells whose only function became spreading disease and corruption to those foolish enough to brave the marshes.
We spied a humanoid figure at the edges of the Wyndriver Forest, its body bloated and covered in oozing growths. It hacked and coughed a bile-like substance that withered the grass beneath it. While we made no movements, it seemingly detected us, either through smell or sound, and let out an agonizing screech before its limbs cracked and popped audibly. It dropped to all fours and moved as fast as a spooked elk. Our scouts filled it with arrows before it could descend upon us. In death, it wailed and twisted horribly, before all the growths on its body filled with air and fluid, exploding when the rotting skin could contain the pressure no longer. The same bile it oozed from its mouth covered its surroundings, which too began to mold, wither, and die. [Redacted] There were no fatalities.While other conflicts would break out across Tel’Drannor in its entirety, in Elix, most were contained by the Prime Deities who rallied in defense of all mortals in opposition to the rampaging Dark Ones. Approaching the end of the fortnight since the gods awoke from their slumber, the world of Tel’Drannor would change forever.
There was a pillar of blueish-white light. It shot up from Tierys in a blinding flash. A shockwave tore across the surface of the Teal Ocean. Many shop windows shattered from the force and ships rocked hard in the harbor, destroying piers and devastating smaller vessels. Then, in an instant, the light faded and there was another flash, followed by a large explosion. Another beam, like a rainbow, burst from the island–somewhere eastward. I was knocked from the blast, but when I regained my footing, all I saw was a cloud of smoke and large chunks of stone and metal, jettisoned miles into the air. No doubt, the Matron of Knowledge saw what had become of her creations and reminded them who the true gods were.
It started with a low-pitched humming. The hair on my arms, legs, and chest stood on end, even in the heat and sweat. There was a bright flash and a sizzling pop, which shook the boat horrendously and cracked the main mast. There were other snapping and popping noises on the ship, followed by muffled screams underdeck and in the captain’s quarters. A strand of white hot-light flickered from the heavens and descended deep into the city; it bended and spiraled before fading along with the humming. There were a few seconds of uneasy silence. For a split second, the strand of light returned, then there was a cataclysmic explosion. Next thing I remember was the cold water hitting my skin and my head throbbing, massive chunks of stone and earth pummeling the waters around me. I and a few others managed to cling to a piece of boat as smaller pieces of debris, flesh, and bone rained from the sky. We floated for hours in a sea of death before the Artill ships arrived. We should have died.Those of Elix would later come to learn that, in addition to the complete annihilation of Tierys, an arcing beam of pure energy that was expelled during the devastation completely bissected the easterly continent of Atrius. This destruction and literal splitting of the continent would contribute to its new name: the Shattered Continent. At the destruction of Tierys, or some time immediately after, all the gods had vanished, marking an absolute end to the Trial for Existence. The Tierysian Empire, completely managed and controlled from Tierys, was entirely crippled. Their remaining servants on Elix were either killed or fled. Their outpost of Axum quickly denounced the Empire and claimed independence, no doubt to spare themselves of any impending invasions by previously annexed nations. Though still reeling from the destruction of the Trial for Existence, the people of Elix looked to the future with hope. The gods were seemingly gone, but not dead, for acts of the divine were still capable amongst mortal priests, clerics, and paladins. Without the Tierysian Empire dictating the actions of the Elixian nations, each looked to rebuild and redefine who they were as a civilization. This era–the current era–is known as the Age of Rebirth. The people of Tel’Drannor, after this monumental point, began referencing time relative to the Trial for Existence: Before Trial (BT) and After Trial (AT). Now, 488 years into the Age of Rebirth, the peoples and nations of Elix have found their stride in a world without the Tierysian Empire and physical presence of the gods. However, despite the peace, many still wonder with fear in the back of their minds: when will the gods return anew?
