Just as the greater gods were created by the elemental gods to bring balance to the universe, the beginning of the Age of Monuments was marked by a second pact of these gods to create creatures and bring balance to Norrath.
Fizzlethorpe Bristlebane and
Cazic-Thule came next to Norrath.
Brell Serilis met them and concocted a second pact with these latter gods, wishing another excuse to create more peoples into the world.
Rallos Zek again watched from afar, determined to add to his creation as well, and this time
Brell convinced the Warlord to join the pact, assuring him that it was indeed an appropriate time to fulfill his desires.
Deep in the earth
Brell returned to create the
Gnomes, resembling
Dwarves to some extent, yet more wiry and gnarled, consumed with tinkering with devices more so than their cousins. On the surface, away from
Elves and
Giants,
Bristlebane made the
Halflings, short and stubby folk, agile and with a propensity to meddle and even pilfer at times.
Cazic-Thule, was drawn to the swamps and jungles of Norrath and there created the green skinned
Trolls, the snakelike
Shissar, and the reptilian
Iksars of
Kunark.
Rallos Zek returned to the surface, pleased with his sanction to create even more peoples for his army. He made the
Ogres, massive, unmovable beings of great intelligence, and the
Orcs, bred for battle and singled-minded in their desire for conquest.
It was during this age that the world was to be graced by a new god:
Cazic-Thule, Lord of Fear. He unleashed his force of frightful Amygadalans and Lizardmen, constructed the grand Temple of
Cazic-Thule, and set forth his creatures on the world led by the the abominations he called Fear, Fright, Horror and Dread. He then began to consider a home for a new race and it was on the other side of the world far to the east that
Cazic-Thule would deposit his
Shissar race, gigantic snake like creatures which were unparalleled in combat and the dark arts. Settled deep within the swamps and jungles of
Kunark, the race thrived from their capital of Chelsith, building a mighty empire maintained by it's slave race: the
Iksar. It was not long before this race overstepped it's boundaries and began even to dabble in planar travel, entering the homes of the gods themselves, stealing godly artifacts, and slaying all manner of holy creatures. For their crimes against him and the pantheon,
Cazic-Thule would never forgive them and unleashed the
Greenmist upon them. Despite their efforts, the
Greenmist covered all in a deathly fog that destroyed all of the cities of the
Shissar. In a desperate attempt to escape, some
Shissar used their knowledge of the arts of translocation and escaped in the only place the
Greenmist could not find them –
Luclin, one of the two moons of Norrath and others deep into the bowels of the under of Norrath known. Emperor Ssraeshza, in his paranoia following the destruction of his race, demanded the land their new temple was built upon on the moon of
Luclin be drained of all oxygen, so – in the event the
Greenmist ever did arrive – it would never be able to reach their new fortress, the Ssraeshza Temple. Other
Shissar banded together to escape to a
Shissar fortress in the underfoot known as Empotith – they would be led by a
Shissar named Zhisza who would soon seek to become Emperor himself.
Far away from the lands of the
Shissar and among the other races, two new Gods did arrive upon the land of Norrath. Created by their father,
Tarew Marr, they were named
Erollisi Marr, Goddess of Love, and
Mithaniel Marr, God of Valor. They first came upon the lands of Norrath and did not draw any attention from the other Gods. Naively in their youth these new twin gods believed they could act like the elder gods and create their own mortals.
Mithaniel created the
Minotaurs intended to personify honor and courage a decision he would later regret. For the gods did notice these actions, and
Innoruuk, from his dark
Plate of Hate would come down upon Norrath and attempt to corrupt
Erollisi. Fleeing in terror she escaped to
Takish-Hiz, city of the
Elves where she took refuge while her brother is led deep into the swamplands of Innothule, far to the south of
Takish-Hiz. Little did
Mithaniel know that he was being led into a trap by
Cazic-Thule – on his arrival he became assaulted by lizardmen and
Trolls and, despite his efforts, was captured by the God of Fear. In his capture,
Cazic-Thule's daughter,
Terris-Thule, Goddess of Nightmares, drew out from
Mithaniel the Gift of Life. However, despite her success in overcoming
Mithaniel with her terrifying nightmares; her brother,
Morell-Thule, God of Dreams, stole the Gift of Life from
Terris and broke it in two, splitting half across the swamps of Southern
Tunaria. From this gift the waterborne
Frogloks did arise. A valorous race who would be the saviors of their lord
Mithaniel in times ahead.
It was following the destruction that the
Iksar, the slaves of the
Shissar, now found themselves freed from their shackles of bondage on the lands of Kunzar. Spared by the
Greenmist and
Cazic-Thule, they built their own empires. The first mighty tribes to grow in power were the Kunzar, Jarsath, Kylong, Nathsar and Obulus. It was one of these tribes that would first make contact with
Zebuxoruk, God of Knowledge.
Zebuxoruk handed to Kotiz, a fabled necromancer of the
Iksar, the Unholy Writ of War – a book of godly power filled with strategies to defeat enemies and dark forgotten magic which, sadly for Kotiz, a young
Iksar named
Venril Sathir would kill him and use it to claim dominance for his Kunzar clan and annihilate the other 4 tribes.
Venril was crowned emperor over this new kingdom and he quickly enslaved the
Giants and
Frogloks of
Kunark, whom he used to construct the grand capital of
Sebilis. There he ruled over the
Sebilisian Empire. A golden age began for the
Iksar and new orders began such as the Swiftail Caste, the legendary
Iksar monks.
Venril Sathir's empire expanded rapidly and as he grew older and fearful of his own death, he made a pact with
Innoruuk for immortality. All went well until
Venril's beloved, Drusella Sathir died suddenly. Soon after,
Venril locked her and her servants in Charassis to perform a dark ritual. However, his son,
Rile Sathir, would foil the ritual and trap him in an evil amulet.
Rile Sathir was fit to take the throne his father,
Venril, had built. He became emperor over the
Sebilisian Empire and was served by legendary figures such as Chosooth the
Vampire and Warlords Kurn Machta and Karatukus, who he quickly dispersed to spread terror to the creatures and people of
Kunark. He soon formed an elite army, the Crusaders of the
Greenmist, and all would go well until nearly all of
Kunark belonged to
Sebilis save for a few pockets of cursed
Giants and
Dragons.
As the
Iksar empire rapidly expanded, the
Ring of Scale began to monitor this increasing threat.
Trakanon, the large blue dragon advocated swift intervention against all the
Iksar. However the Ring voted him down and agreed to not intervene directly. But despite this,
Trakanon and an army of younger
Dragons decided to intervene anyway and descended upon the fleet of
Rile Sathir was he was at sea. This triggered a spectacular war among the
Dragons that lasted for almost a century. It was
Atrebe Sathir who would take the throne of the
Sebilisian Empire and continue on with the war started by
Trakanon. In his time as ruler he would create the Sarnak, a mixture of
Iksar and dragon as well as Sokokar from the merging of dragon and
Froglok which the
Iksar used to take their fight to the
Dragons in the sky. For the next half a century the dragonkind would struggle against the airborne
Iksar army,
Atrebe was succeeded by his son,
Ganak Sathir and the war would meet it's final conclusion over the Field of Bone with an aerial duel that would see the end of both
Ganak and
Jaled-Dar, the leader of the
Ring of Scale. Both were incinerated by magic and fire and the
Dragons retreated but not before destroying the imperial palace and all of
Ganak's hatchlings in a daring final blaze of revenge. Following the destruction of the
Iksar empire, the remaining few began to reform old tribes under a council they named the
Emerald Circle. Despite their efforts the
Iksar were never able to return to the grandeur of the
Sebilisian Empire and once again took to war amongst each other.
The Rallosian Empire
It is during this time that the children of
Rallos Zek, the
Ogres, led by Warlord
Murdunk and his close aid the Sphinx Zayenaekk, began to build an army to conquer all of Norrath. A massive army of
Giants,
Minotaurs,
Goblins,
Ogres, and
Orcs spread across
Tunaria and destroy all they cross. This became known as the
Rallosian Empire. With the success of the campaign,
Murdunk set his sights on the planes of the gods themselves. All across Norrath, his armies translocated deep into the
Plane of Earth, but despite his best efforts his armies were defeated.
Murdunk escaped, barely surviving to Norrath. Proud of what his creations had achieved,
Rallos Zek, God of War, came down to Norrath and led a second invasion himself with his demigod children
Tallon Zek and
Vallon Zek. Their army successfully stormed the
Plane of Earth, which forever angered the gods. His campaign was successful in that they even and brought back the gods of garth,
The Rathe Council, and successfully slay one of them on the site that would become the
Rathe Mountains.
The Rathe cried for their fallen brother, and their tears became
Lake Rathetear. But after this long war continued,
Rallos Zek's armies were eventually defeated and pushed back to the mortal realm of Norrath. Angry at what had been done, the Elemental Gods constructed the Great Barrier, denying entry to elemental planes by the lesser gods and mortals.
Rallos Zek's punishment did not end there, for all of his creatures became cursed, including
Mithaniel Marr's
Minotaurs who had been taken under the wing of
Rallos. Thousands of
Ogres were slain and their empire collapsed around them. The
Giants were spread from one end of the earth to the other, forced to flee their homes as the gods brought snow and ice to their previously lush lands. The
Goblins were also cursed but no writing remains of their punishment as they no longer keep records of their history which some argue could be some indication to the severity of their curse. Attempting to escape the effects of the curse some
Giants escape far to the south and cross the frigid barrier to
Velious where they settled deep in the mountains of the
Dragon lands.
These Kromzek
Giants went to war with the
Dragons, and they would see a constant struggle until one day a blasphemous event occurred – two
Dragons of different color would mate and give birth to a prismatic offspring named Kerafyrm. This mating was against the laws of
Veeshan and Kildrukaun, Arch Priest of Veeshan, ordered the parents be put to death and appointed himself custodian of the powerful prismatic dragon. A splinter group of
Dragons in this time sought to oversee and control these new races being deposited by the other gods and they formed the
Ring of Scale and left for the other lands. Kildrukaun, furious over the division, insisted it was the Eternal Mother's will for the dragon factions to reunite. He prophesied that Kerafyrm would lead the
Claws of Veeshan in a great civil war against the
Ring of Scale, forcing the reunification, and thus fulfilling
Veeshan's will. Thus Kerafyrm sharpened his teeth, along with his tactical mind, upon the frozen battlefields of
Velious. He ascended quickly within the
Claws of Veeshan, obtaining the rank of general, and proving he was as shrewd as he was merciless. But no battle satiated this monstrous creature's unrivaled lust for destruction and chaos. Eventually, the Council of Elders was forced to order Kerafyrm's imprisonment.
Back on
Tunaria, Following his failure creating a race of
Vampires,
Innoruuk began a second attempt at creating a new race of
Elves. This time instead of working in the shadows he decided on a full scale assault on the Elven city of
Takish-Hiz and he plucked the King and Queen directly from their throne and brought them to the
Plate of Hate. There he tortured them for centuries twisting their light goodly form into that of a new creature he named the Teir'Dal, or
Dark Elf as it is known today. Despite the
Elves of
Takish-Hiz's attempts to recover their beloved King and Queen, all attempts had failed. They were lost forever. It seems
Innoruuk had been success in his plan and began his next stages by depositing the
Dark Elves deep underground in the lands of
Tunaria. It was in this time that some speak of violent clashes between the
Elves and
Dark Elves but it would not be this that would end the fall of the
Elves of
Takish-Hiz.
From the land of
Faydwer, the
Dwarves, a hearty band of short but strong folk would emerge from their city of
Kaladim and venture out in the world. As they spread across
Tunaria and beyond, a dwarven party was sent to scout for resources, led by Colin Dain. Initially they had intended to setup a Quartz mine on the lands far west of
Tunaria, known as
Odus, but were caught in a storm whilst sailing which ended up leaving them on
Velious among the recently arrived curse-free Kromzek
Giants and
Dragons of the
Claws of Veeshan. Soon after this Colin Dain's child, Dain Frostreaver, was born and created the outpost of Froststone. But they are soon found and attacked by the Kromzek. Colin Dain ordered his people to evacuate to the Great Wastes on
Velious, sacrificing himself to protect his people. From this point onwards the
Velious Dwarves would refer to themselves as the Coldain and their leaders as Dain in his honor. Soon after the Crystal Caverns, a subterranean crystal filled cavern far below the wastes, became home to the
Dwarves for some time until they were once again attacked by the Kromzek. The Coldain are pushed even further back into the Great Divide led by Dain Frostreaver the II. It is here they found New Froststone, that they would later name Thurgadin. It was not the
Dwarves that suffered alone however, the Kromzek also marches on the dragon kind and the
Claws of Veeshan struck back with force as well.
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