The Age Of Alshara
Disaster / Destruction
“Kingdoms rose, civilizations grew. This time is marked by the eventual rise of the Oathbreaker Alshara. He who would try to break the blood red sky and let the souls of the departed finally return home. Alshara’s cult grew in such strength that he was able to build and defend great pillars designed to steal the Arga’sheel from Laruna and her people. This age would end with a dead Alshara, his cult in shambles, and both the land and its people suffering in the absence of magic.” - from Forenon’s Folly, ancient Descendant text
In the time since the departure of the Descendants, mankind had met with hardship. Absent were the unassailable guardians that once looked after them, and many of the native races of Laruna proved vengeful. Having seen their world ravaged by the meddling of the Young Gods, humans became a perfect target for their collective ire, as the Bloodoath guaranteed the Young Gods could no longer interfere with Laruna, save through human hands. The human kingdoms soon found enemies in many places, and entire civilizations were reduced to ruin during this period. Much of what the Descendants had taught humans proved useful in maintaining a presence in the world, yet even with the Young God’s blessings, they were woefully unprepared to deal with some of the threats looming in a wild, magic laden land like Laruna. Even with the fae-folk of Moolsheel sharing their vast knowledge of magic, humanity as a whole grew desperate in its need for further assistance. Despite the growing number of prayers they sent to the Young Gods, no answers followed. The Bloodoath rapidly became a hated limitation that kept mankind from the protection of their deities. Even their dead forefathers were said to drift through the skies as large clouds waiting to pass through the Dreamcatcher into the loving arms of the gods. Be it circumstance or happenstance, seers and soothsayers throughout the human kingdoms began telling of a new prophecy. It spoke of a human boy who would be called the “Oathbreaker.” His magic would be so great that he would shatter the Bloodoath so people could once again have their prayers answered. When a human child named Alshara was born, prophets from kingdoms near and far came to see him, and humans all across Laruna rejoiced that their hero had come. Alshara lived a life of privilege and devotion. He was granted access to the finest of educations, and was tutored in the many magical traditions of the mortal races. It quickly became obvious that his skill with magic was unmatched by any mortal alive. While the prophecy stated Alshara would shatter the Bloodoath, his understanding of magic lead him to the conclusion that doing so would be disastrous. Rather than break the Bloodoath, Alshara would peer beyond it to gain access to the knowledge he’d require to become the hero so many others believed him to be. By leaving the Bloodoath intact, he could act without fear of repercussion from the Young Gods. And so, Alshara set his plan into action. In addition to his magical knowledge, Alshara began to consolidate his political and military power. In time, a cult of followers flocked to his banner. Known as the Towermen, these servants furthered Alshara’s purpose by acting as his own personal army with all the righteous fire of religious zealots. Throughout the kingdoms the Towermen erected large tower- like structures to serve as places of operation and found no shortage of funding or support wherever they went. As Alshara and his cult grew in power, he became less and less of a public figure. Instead, he relegated minions to make most of the announcements regarding his progress towards breaking the Bloodoath. Chief among his followers was the Descendant Forenon Emol, Alshara’s apprentice. Eventually, Alshara interacted with the kingdoms of man exclusively through Forenon. Now left to his own devices, Alshara learned the Young God’s word for power: Arga’sheel. With this knowledge, he decided that the best possible outcome was for him to use this discovery to reach godhood and simply answer the prayers of mankind himself. The process of creating a physical representation of the Arga’sheel proved taxing. Godtongue was not meant for mortals and Alshara spent years of his finest work creating this representation. His plan was to harness the magic power of Laruna to fuel it and then bind it to himself, cementing his godhood status. The genius and madness of Alshara’s work was not truly revealed to the outside world until all across Laruna each of his towers became ablaze with magical energy. Working as a sort of great syphon, the towers began executing their true purpose, draining magic for miles around. Every person, place, and thing caught in the huge lattice the series of towers created was simultaneously drained of all magical residue, and that power was sent to Alshara’s primary ritual site for his own sorcery. Using this vast stolen magic, he empowered a physical representation of the Arga’sheel and started the task of binding it to himself. Before the binding could be completed, Forenon, Alshara’s apprentice, had seen enough. Despite the scorn of his people, Forenon had faith that the human Alshara may someday succeed and so tutored him through his formative years to gain his trust. He stayed with Alshara and turned his back on his people to ensure that when the moment came when Alshara would change Laruna into his playground, someone would be there to stop him. Forenon betrayed his master moments before he could fulfill his destiny. The many towers across Laruna crumbled with their creator’s death, and his cult of towermen was promptly crushed and scattered.
