The Collapse of the Sodality
At an unknown point in history, the gods created an order known as the Sodality. This was a pact made by many of the prime deities to achieve peace. The creation of this fellowship was a joint effort between 4 gods: Pelor, Sehanine, Hextor and Boccob. Gods have a nasty habit of vying for power, and this was an agreement amongst the prime gods that they were all of equal power and were equally deserving of worship and respect. The world of Midrial was created just after the Sodality was formed as a joint effort by the gods in celebration of their newfound brotherhood. The world was to be a place of equal representation, where each gods could have domain over their own people, land, and ideals. The gods went about creating the land and the sea, the sky and the underdark. Even lesser deities were allowed to fill the world with their ideals. There was no one to regulate who was doing what where. The gods simply did as they pleased. A single agreement was made by the gods that life would begin on one nation, this way it could be assured that gods would be worshipped in equal part. A god unworshipped is no god at all. The gods were allowed to place lesser life forms around as they saw fit.
The day of creation came 1,000 years before the collapse of the Sodality. The gods of specific races were allowed to place life onto Oldvale. Unbeknownst to many, Oldvale was not the only place life was created in the first 1000 years. Many lives were made in many different places. It wasn't long before the prime deities found out. They were enraged. The balance of worship had been thrown off, and thusly so was the balance of power. Some gods believed that they should create however they see fit. The people should be left to their own devices and not influenced to worship specific deities for the balance of power. These gods would soon be known as the Simerians. Hextor, the god of war, had originally been against the philosophy of the Simerians. But, having found that a world without war is one in which he has no power, he began sewing the seeds of conflict.
Those who opposed the Simerians would be known as the Radiant. Sides were chosen and in 100 BC (before the collapse), the Sodality was broken and war erupted in Oldvale. The first strike of the war was orchestrated not by one particular side, but rather happened out of manipulation by Hextor, who set a trap on Celestian, hoping to send his ethereal form to an outer plane. When the trap failed, Pelor scorched the earth where Melora's domain once was in revenge (creating the Ironburn Badlands).
The war raged on for 70 years before Hextor, seeing that the war may be coming to an end, took matters into his own hands. The war made him stronger, and he wanted it to continue. Reaching deep into the astral plane, Hextor brought 3 ancient leviathans down onto Midrial. Rather than affecting the war, it captured the attention of the gods. Having banished these creatures to the astral plane once before to keep them far from harming anyone, they knew that they would have to join forces to banish them once more. The leviathans, known as The Ancient Ones, were too large for the mortals to visually comprehend. Many went insane upon seeing these beasts and began to attack their fellow man in fits of insanity. The mortal war divided the continent into the nations that it exists in today.
The 3 ancient ones were stopped using "divide and conquer" tactics proposed by Labelas (a previously abstinent god who joined the conflict to stop the beasts).
The Eldritch One was lured into the deep ocean and put into a deep slumber by Boccob. Legend has it that it remains there to this day.
The Draconic One was fought back to Merriby East, where Grumsh and Melora were waiting to strike him down. After a brutal year long battle, they finally killed the great white dragon.
The Withered One was the strongest of the three. It took the effort of both sides of the war to push him back a few miles to where Celestian was holding a portal back to the astral plane. Day by day, inch by inch, they fought him back to where the Biting Sands are today. The portal stretched for miles, and was only just large enough for The Skeletal One. With a final blast from Pelor, the beast was thrown back into the abyss.
The war was carried out (mostly) on Oldvale, and the aftermath left much of it in ruin. The society that had once been built as a new order of the gods now lied in ruin. Many of the mortals had become jaded by the gods, some even leaving Oldvale behind in search of a new land.
Several gods were slain, while others were banished or punished. In the wake of the war, the Sodality was shattered. Today, the gods who survived do not communicate, carrying out their personal wills through mortals. Some manipulate circumstances, while some have all but left Midrial behind for good.
Many gods exist today who did not exist many years ago. Much has changed but one thing remains true: the Collapse changed Midrial forever.
The Conflict
Battlefield
Central Oldvale (primarily)
Aftermath
The landscape of Oldvale was forever altered. The conflict caused many to migrate away from the continent, and most civilizations had been forced to the coasts.
Historical Significance
Technological Advancement
Many artifacts from the Collapse of the Sodality are scattered about the world. Some are buried beneath crumbled temples and broken earth, while others pass from person to person in crime syndicates and powerful organizations.
The sides were as follows:
Simerian:
Melora: Goddess of Nature Sehanine: Godess of the moon and death Kelemvor: God of the dead and judge of the damned Elistree: Goddess of beauty, song, dance Grumsh: God of orcs Lesser Simerian Gods: Karaan- lesser god of lycanthropy, cannibalism, wild savagery and urban decay Fenrir- wolves, the hunt Syreth- lesser goddess of guardians and protection Urbanis, lesser god of cities, growth and improvement Trithereon- intermediate god of individuality, liberty, retribution and self-defense.Radiant:
Pelor: Sun, light, strength Correllon: Elves, music, art Moradin: Dwarves, construction Kord: Courage, sports, athletics Lolth: Drow goddess of assassins, chaos, darkness Joramy: Goddess of fire and wrath Celestian: Stars, space, wanderers Lesser Radiant Gods: Lyris- lesser goddess of victory and fate Selen, demigoddess of outcasts Cas, demigod of spite Zoser, lesser god of wind, tornadoes and dervishes
Included under Conflict
Included Conflicts
Conflict Type
War
Battlefield Type
Land
Start Date
-100
Ending Date
0
Conflict Result
The Radiant left the gods to create as they saw fit
Location
Belligerents
Strength
Powerful, but evenly matched by the Simerans
Outmatched by prime deities, but a larger force as a whole
Casualties
Zoser- consumed by The Skeletal One
Urbanis- assassinated by Lolth
Tithereon- killed in battle by Joramy
Objectives
To place restrictions on creation and make everyone equal
To allow free creation and to let the world develop naturally