The Beginning

In the time of primordial existence, since the dawning of creation, the ancient gods walked the vast expanse of the land. Little did they know, they were held captive, ensnared by the Titans in a realm unknown. Yet, amidst their bondage, the gods clandestinely bestowed life upon the world. Some of these beings were granted the gift of words, taught by the divine to communicate, while others were left untouched, their path unfettered. These creations, the sentient races and the animals, emerged as the precious fruits of their makers' labors. Neither wholly divine nor wholly titanic, this nascent life rose to the defense of the gods when rebellion ignited against their captors. And thus, the scales of power were tipped. A brutal war ensued, and through great sacrifice, the gods emerged triumphant. They pierced the fallen Titans with colossal, enchanted swords, imbued with an incantation to prevent resurrection or reconstitution. Liberated from their prison, the ancient gods yearned to depart, but they could not carry their creations through the barrier known as the balemist. Instead, they bequeathed the land to the mortals and assisted them in crafting The Great Lighthouse, alongside the artifacts that safeguarded the realm, repelling the balemist and its inhabitants while bestowing beauty upon the land.
Mystra, the weaver of magic, aided in the creation of the Loom of Larai, gifting the mortals with the arcane arts. Lathander breathed life into the sun, while Selune and Shar graced the world with the moon. Moradin bestowed the secrets of ore, and Tyr, Torm, and Helm delivered justice unto the realm. Chauntea taught the mortals the ways of farming, and Mielikki guided them in the art of hunting.
Yet, not all gifts of the ancient gods were benevolent. Bane unveiled the path of evil, and Cyric sowed the seeds of strife. Talona unleashed pestilence and disease, while Talos summoned storms and devastation. Loviatar introduced the mortals to the horrors of torture, and Malar unleashed the savagery within them.
With their cosmic duties fulfilled, the ancient gods departed from the realm, their influence persisting as they answered the calls of mortals through their chosen clergy. Over the passing centuries, the devotion of some gods waned, and their responses to prayers dwindled, until silence engulfed them entirely. It was during this epoch that a stirring arose among certain mortals, hearing the whispers of the New gods, who promised magic and afterlife to their devoted adherents.
Opinions diverged as to the nature of these New gods. Some viewed them as impostors or a test of faith in the ancient pantheon. Others speculated that the New gods were merely the ancient ones in guise, their names and domains transformed. Still, some believed it to be a ruse, a contrivance of the influential elite to ascend to godhood themselves.
Approximately two centuries past, a Queen emerged who elected to shift the Kingdom's sanctioned faith from the Old gods, who had faded into near-silence, to the New gods, who manifested their presence fervently.
Thus, it is said that the torch of faith passed from the Old gods to the New.