The Elder Age

The Second Age (2700 - 2999)

After secretly depositing his own proto creatures, Brell Serilis gathered other gods and showed them the world of Norrath and what Veeshan had already wrought. Tunare the Goddess of Nature, Prexus the Oceanlord, and Rallos Zek the God of War were all there and all agreed save Rallos. The planet would be divided up between these beings of power for the purpose of keeping the Dragon Wurmqueen in check. Each would create a race of beings to watch over Norrath and keep a vigilant eye on the schemes of Dragonkind. Brell claimed the bowels of the planet and created the Dwarves, stout and strong, deep beneath the mountains of Norrath. In the abysmal depths of the oceans Prexus left his children, the Kedge, hearty aquatic beings of great mental power and stamina. And on the surface of Norrath did Tunare create the Elves, creatures of limitless grace and beauty, and Rallos Zek the Giants, fierce and formidable beings, intent upon the defense of their lands. These became known as the Elder Races and thus began the Elder Age.
Many of Veeshan's vainglorious brood perceived that they might rule over these lesser beings and left Velious. This splinter group became known as the Ring of Scale. These separatists moved to Kunark to establish control before the lesser beings could, but there would be minimal conflict until the Age of Monuments. Those dragons that remained on Velious became known as the Claws of Veeshan. They had little interest in temporal power and were content to pass the millennia in homage to their goddess. In quiet contemplation, they continued the study of magics.
It was in this time of creation that the goddess Anashti Sul, ruler of the Plane of Health and enemy of Xul’Varien, the God of disease, in her wisdom decided to cure the ailments of death forever and granted the gift of eternal unlife to the creatures of Norrath. She created the Ewer of Sul'Dae a magical device that could grant this gift. Her creation would have disastrous results, and for the first time undead roamed the world of Norrath. Despite her good intentions, the other gods seized Anashti Sul and banished her to the Void for her crimes.
By this time, the Elves had quickly built a glorious empire spanning the landmass to legendary places such as High Elf city of Fayspire and the Wood Elf city of Telethin. They named the land Tunaria in her honor. From their seat of power in Takish-Hiz in the Elddar forest, the Elves enjoyed good relations with most other races and their strength in battle and power over magic, both arcane and divine, was legendary. Their knowledge and culture flourished; they created the Elder Calendar, which is still used by all intelligent races. It was not until the Elves would discover the lost shrine of Anashti Sul, the ancient Fountain of Life, would the first real threat to the Elves come about. Some had abandoned Tunare and began to follow this ancient god of health and created a grand city they named Ahket Aken where the worshipers lived in hopes Anashti Sul would grant them eternal immortality.
Deep in the shadows, the dark lord Innoruuk, God of Hate, watched over this splintered race of Elves. In his seething hatred for Tunare's creation, he used the power of the Ewer of Sul'Dae to create his own race of evil he named the Y'Dal, or Vampires as they later became known. He took them to the Plate of Hate, where they lived for an age until a fatal flaw in his creations was made evident; though his creatures were immortal, they were cursed by their lust for blood, a side effect of the mixing of Innoruuk's blood with the Ewer of Sul'Dae. The first of these Vampires was known as Mayong Mistmoore.
Over in the Kingdoms of the Xulous, in the center of Darrow's Hollow a great black obelisk structure appeared as if from nowhere, it spindled higher into the sky than any of the surrounding buildings. King Adan summoned all of the wise men of magical learning. They came from far and near but not one of these could explain what it was or how it came to be. Frightening creatures would lurk near the stalls at night. Being described as creatures straight out of nightmares, the good King feared for his people and began sending adventurers to do combat with these horrors. This would continue until the day that Ultor Szanvon would appear before the court, proclaiming he knew the secrets of the obelisk. Chancellor Ultor advised King Adan that his forefathers, kings of times gone by, would know about the truth of the obelisk. Knowing the answers were close at hand, the King ordered his squires to bring him the oaken box from within his sleeping chambers. Inside held the key to the burial crypts of the noble line of the Adan Kings – King's Rest. Preparing for a long journey to the mausoleum of the ancient kings, the Chancellor advised that it should be only the King and himself who went. Claiming that the spirits of the fallen regents would be offended at being disturbed by anyone other than nobility. Ultor and King Adan were the only ones to enter the Crypts of King's Rest. There, Ultor slayed King Adan and performed a dark ritual to the gods. The gods accepted this sacrifice, and out of the remains of the ten generations of Xulous kings that lay before him, Bertoxxulous was born. He conquered the Xulous and spread his armies across Norrath. In his satisfaction for his new creations he transcended the Ruins of Lxanvon to the Plane of Disease, where it would forever be known as the Crypt of Decay. With his immense power gifted by the other gods, Bertoxxulous consumed Xul’Varien and became the new god of disease and pestilence and the ruler of Plane of Disease.