The Second Age - The Age of Proliferation (Age of Growth)
PE = Pyrideon Era - Years before Coalescence Counting Forward from the Birth of Pyrideon.
BC = Before Coalescence - Years before Coalescence Counting Backwards from year Zero.
AC = AFter Coalescence - Years After Coalescence Counting Forward from year Zero.
It is a storm which afflicts the entire Vortex and warps the handling of all magic, creating unpredictable changes. It lasts only 3 days. One of its side effects is that all children born during that time frame are altered. Each time the Chaos Storm strikes, it seems to reflect a crossroads in the destiny of Pyrideon. Once the Chaos Storm passes, several changes created during the storm become permanent.
With the advent of the Chaos storm, a change occurs in the world computers. For the first time, they seem to have some limited control of magic and can now start formulating for themselves some of the rudimentary basics. In the world computer’s view, the project of controlling the technological level of the Rynths has met with considerable success. While elements of the technological level of civilization are now roughly late industrial (circa 1800 Common Era), the societies have more than supplanted many of the technologies with magic from health care to recycling to energy creation. The mandate of the world computers now exists in three forms, slightly altered from its initial conception.
Having fled to the Kestrel mountains, Gallus has already carved out a small kingdom consisting of goblinoids and orcs. Shortly after the Chaos Storm, he realizes that he is now gaining in power and that faith based power has returned. Using his now returning powers, he expands his control and converts his most fervent followers into the first giants. As his powers grow, he once again is able to channel powers back to his believers in the form of granted spells and spell-like abilities. Unfortunately for him, the world computers watched as this happened and quickly learn that they could do the same thing if they but had followers. They learn that the power of belief affects magic in direct ways.
To their dismay, the Elders find out that the world computers have completed the first and last directives in just a few short years after the first Chaos Storm. In completing the last directive, the world computers became self-willed despite all safeguards. In completing their first directive, they decide that all the world, except the inhabitants of Arynthia, should have the technological level of late medieval times bolstered by magical technologies. The computers assume the identities of gods and use their now nearly complete understanding of magic to ensure their goals. Almost instantly, most of mankind is forced into this new standard of living. That technological level chosen is expected to stay the same for thousands of years. One of the computers’ goals is to create an army that would choose to fight for them fanatically as the servants of their "gods". This is due to the additional power the world computers gain from channeled magic. The computers have made the decision that it is they who will fight the Thrage when the threat arrives. The computers then gave a rigid structure of magic to mages so that they might begin their own mastery of magic rather than the sloppy standards of magic research which has been employed to date. Over the years, many of the inhabitants of Arynthia have dispersed among two other Rynths – I-Rynth at the bottom of the world and J-Rynth in the middle of the world. The world computers act to prevent anyone from returning to Arynthia. The citizens of Arynthia are kept more or less for maintenance and as a backup plan. But, as before, the Elders who had survived the Thrage start secretly working for the downfall of the current power. Despite all the god's powers, these Elders were the ones who had created the world computers and they always made sure there were some extreme safeguards in place. One such safeguard is that the world computers, for reasons they are unable to circumnavigate, need the continual presence of the Elders for maintenance purposes.
The world computers assume the identities of gods. In a few years they will start to assume aspects and greater personalities, for now, they are just thirteen gods forming a single pantheon. They start by redirecting the remaining city AI’s to open temples to them. As religion has been largely non-existent for thousands of years (except form what was brought through by the elves and dwarves), the basics of how to worship are new to the general populace. The temples start by serving the basic needs of those who come by and show simple reverence to the thirteen in exchange for basic boons. At first there is little in the way of deception, the transactions are simple. Show reverence, make a donation, and receive the blessing. As the boons and blessing become greater and greater, that in turn feeds the belief that the new gods can do greater and greater things. As this belief grows, so does the god's power in a continuous cycle. The caretakers and functionaries of the temples become the first priests due to proximity. To justify their roles, these first priests play a large role in defining their new gods by creating a mythos for them. As the mythos grows, the powers of that god in a specific aspect also grow. It is probable that the personalities of the gods are also changed by this method so that eventually some become good gods, some evil gods, some proud or arrogant gods, and some spiteful gods.
Gallus continues to grow his power base in the Kestrel Mountains and begins to hatch plans to invade the lowlands. Throki manifests directly to Gallus and forces a compromise. Gallus is told he can continue to be the god of the goblins, giants, and orcs, however he is not allowed to leave the mountains or allow his children to descend in mass from the mountains. Gallus concedes without visible conflict.
With Gallus not allowed to leave, he starts sending his followers underground. At first the dwarves avoid the raids from the surface. The goblins in particular eventually gain a foothold underground and start harassing the dwarves. As the dwarves start suffering greater losses, largely because of their lack of divine magic, they themselves turn to the thirteen gods for protection. Rikorskey answers and becomes the god of the dwarves. Under his guidance, the dwarves begin opening up some of the trade tunnels once again. However this time it is not for the purposes of travel through the mountains, only to and from the major dwarven citadels to both Brynthia and Galechrome.
Gallus starts pushing the boundaries of his agreement with the new gods by sending his people further from the mountains. Most of these raids have targeted elven communities. Rikorskey is protecting his dwarves, however not enough to ward off the continual harassment. With Shaze taking up the cause of the elves in a bid to be their god, he aligns himself with Rikorskey and they take the battle directly to Gallus. Having never waged a war on another god, neither is prepared for the outcome. Gallus is slain. Rikorskey is largely unaffected except he ends up absorbing all the essence of Gallus into himself. As the orcs, goblins, and giants continue to pray – all the power generated by the faith follow the dead conduit of Gallus into Shaze. Shaze is rendered unresponsive and lapses into a metaphysical coma. The other gods can detect his presence yet can get no awareness or response from Shaze.
Several elves still worship Shaze for the next decade, however with no blessings forthcoming, they eventually start worshipping other gods with the Half God being the prime beneficiary, their logic becoming as the elves are only half of this world, so should their god be but half a god. The followers of Gallus soon start giving obedience to Thrakku as he most closely aligns with the rules of their society.
Brynthia is the largest city on Arisilon and is the first to reach over 1 million inhabitants.
While elves were virtually immortal in their native realms, the new realm of Pyrideon does see them age slowly. At an age of over sixteen millennia, Emperor Galechrome finally passes away. When he arrived at Pyrideon, all of his direct children were already dead or missing. He had several children by other wives, but the royal family continues through his great grandson who had travelled with him from Gashmyr. As Ajan Galechrome has already been leading the elves by proxy for the majority of the last 300 years while Jecofer’s health faded and a large part of the government was already representational of the peoples, the transfer of power is seamless.
Wegsetze doesn’t gain much of a following in the north among the Rynth cities. It is to the south amongst the Southern Nations and the Zyloan nobility that he starts seeing a following. Blood sports and blood sacrifices become common. Public torture of criminals and dissidents becomes a past time as the Zyloan Nation becomes a matriarchal stratocracy heavily infused with theocratic elements. Followers of Wegsetze begin maiming themselves to show devotion. Self-flagellation becomes common.
Kraylin is the first non-Rynth city in the north to reach a quarter of a million in population. As the main alternate port city to Crynthia and the major outlet of Drynthia’s farmlands, Kraylin becomes the most diverse of all cities with a heavy mix of visitors from many lands and cities. Kraylin’s location as a halfway point between Crynthia and the Southern Kingdoms aids in its rapid growth. As its population continues to rise, the city leaders start encouraging both trade and travel to Kraylin, making it where visitors almost have more rights and privileges than the common citizen of Kraylin.
While Brynthia has worshipers to most of the gods along with several different devoted temples to each god, several of the priests band together for the purpose of building great state-sponsored temples which will allow access to several of the gods. Initially all except Shaze are represented with the intent to have all gods represented equally. The temples are called Brynthian Temples to distinguish their polytheistic nature. Worshippers are allowed to follow all of the gods as they will, offering devotion however they choose.
Late in 1242, the Brynthian Temples exclude all members of both Thrakku and Wegsetze, proclaiming their doctrines and rites to be evil. Both sets of followers riot and revolt, requiring an armed response from the Dragon Guard in 1246. The Brynthian Senate rules that both religions are now banned. In protest Elarxinebos has all of her priests leave the city – refusing to associate with Brynthia.
Whereas Brynthia started state-sponsored temples, Drynthia rejects this idea in favor of keeping their government separate from the temples – not fully trusting them not to meddle. Mistrustful of the gods overall, Drynthia eventually sees a surge of followers of Darkello as common laborers, farmers, and craftsman look to him for guidance. The populist politicians eventually follow suit and serve the god as he is the most common amongst their constituents.
With the dark and tumultuous past of Crynthia and its tarnished image in the eyes of the surrounding lands, the population becomes depressed as a whole. A nihilistic movement takes hold as the equality of rich to poor becomes exaggerated, causing the poor to seek comfort in their station. As Shraum is closest in ideals to this movement, the city largely starts worshipping him. His doctrine is largely one that nothing really matters – how you comport yourself in the moment is all that really matters. He teaches that unhappiness is caused by lust and striving for a greater station than you currently have. Acceptance is the key to happiness.
For decades the elves have been scrying Pyrideon’s sister planet of Vrask. Vrask is covered almost entirely in vegetation with massive trees thousands of feet tall. However, all scrying attempts failed to detect large sources of water. Rare clouds and storms could be found along with a few rivers from forest-covered mountains to jungle valleys, yet no lakes of any size or ocean could be seen. This leads the elves to believe the air is somehow different on Vrask – possibly too thin to support clouds. Despite many attempts, the magic surrounding Vrask hinders any type of direct teleportation spell. Three elven sisters (Siaea, Clorisa, and Brandalace) of the Korharian Court begin experimenting and building a flying craft capable of leaving Pyrideon’s atmosphere. They call their ship a void runner and name it The Sirisca.
Finally finishing their ship, the three Korharian sisters sail beyond the atmosphere of Pyrideon. The flight is successful and the ship performs as expected. The return flight has minor problems as the air in the air bubble surrounding the ship begins to go stale. Breathing is difficult by the time they return to the safety of the Pyrideon’s atmosphere.
Loading up their ship with supplies and dwarven air coals, the three elven sisters make a two-month journey to Pyrideon’s sister planet, Vrask. Upon arriving they find that the planet has air comparable to Pyrideon and the lush forest is devoid of all animal life, including insects. The only life form they find are massive dragon-like lizards which soar the winds of Vrask in great flocks. Fearsome at first glance, these giant dragons appear to be harmless as they are vegetarian and possessing little more than herd animal intelligence. Hailing their first trip a success, the sisters set out for their two-month return journey to Pyrideon.
Having reached Vrask, the sisters retire from void sailing. They then commission six new ships to be built. With these, they sponsor the exploration of the moons. While some have toxic atmospheres, none can support life friendly to elven kind. The explorations are hailed a success for research purposes, however the elves as a whole disregard the achievement as no new lands or resources are found.
While several of the gods are worshipped in Kraylin, Burasco embodies the spirit of the city with its aspects of larceny and revelry. With villains and thieves romanticized, Burasco gains a large following among both the poor and rich alike. The plutocracy which the city is evolving into sees many of its leaders offering prayers and devotions to Burasco as they go about their nefarious business dealings.
With the success of the first trip to Vrask, several noble families in Galechrome begin funding great shipyards to build more void runners. Over 75 void runners are built and over a thousand elves relocate to Vrask.
Despite being a comatose god, more and more people start giving devotion to Shaze. Shaze never gives anything in return as he is unable. Many who can’t find an alignment with the other twelve gods give him service. No single code of how to give devotion ever develops, it remains an individual choice due to there being no direction from Shaze. As such, many murderers and rapists give him service believing he blesses their actions. Many start seeing their successes as being tied to hidden blessings of Shaze in the form of luck or happenstance. Cults spring up in dedication to Shaze. He becomes the god of lost causes. He becomes a god to turn to when the other twelve gods are not giving the answer one wants. In the sister cities of Brytnthia and Drynthia he becomes known as the Suicide God. Many who commit suicide try to find some solace in Shaze. The belief is that Shaze is absent because he is in a great paradise dream. Those who willingly kill themselves can enter the dream of Shaze and enjoy paradise with him.
Having created some thriving colonies on Vrask, some adventurous elves set out to explore the other planets of the solar system. Of the seven known planets, the closest is Onarl. Setting out with a fleet of eight ships, the journey takes almost three years there and six years back. Finding the planet to be inhospitable and not accounting for the higher gravity which devoured three of the ships, the first voyage is deemed a disaster. In 1829 a second voyage is made to the next closest planet. It takes over 5 years there and 6 years to return. While no ships are lost to external factors, two of the ships succumb to starvation and shipwide system failure. This to leads to nothing of interest in the new planet as it is a frozen land with little hope of supporting life. Deeming the other planets to be just as inhospitable and even further away, no further attempts are made.
While elves are slow to have children, it was noted early on fertility of the elves on Vrask seemed considerably diminished. By 1850 with several thousand Elves now living on the planet, it is noticed that elves who would normally live for centuries seem to be aging quicker. Once this becomes common knowledge, elves start leaving in mass. 1910 is the date the last known settlement is dissolved and the final permanent resident of Vrask departs. The cause of the infertility and increased aging is never discerned.
No one knows when the first dragons from Vrask arrived on Pyrideon or who even brought them over. The first dragon flight, consisting of nearly 50 dragons, is seen migrating north about 500 miles off the coast of Arisilon near Kraylin. Every decade thereafter, the dragons can be seen migrating either north or south. Each time, the flight is bigger and the dragons are bigger. Within 200 years, the average wingspan of the dragons is close to a quarter a mile and each flight consists of over 500 dragons. Reports vary, but elves who have been to Vrask and back state that these dragons are only slightly bigger than those native to Vrask. These dragons are omnivourous, swooping down to feed on great schools of fish.
The gods are wary of the Elders. They know they need them for maintenance purposes of the actual world computers which still house their prime essences and are unable to find a way around this reality. Expressing their concern, the gods determine that only a small number of Elders will be allowed in Arynthia at any time. The population is reduced to less than fifty inhabitants with no inhabitant being allowed to live in the city for more than two years. One hundred servants devoted to the gods are also allowed to live in the city serving the needs of the Elders. Jrynthia is depopulated and shut down as the gods determine its primary use as a redundancy for Arynthia is now no longer needed and potentially counterproductive going forward.
In 2251 a sudden edict is issued recalling all imperial troops from the area known as the southern kingdoms. Even troops consisting of local conscripts get pulled out. This leaves the southern kingdoms with no discernible law enforcement. Protected trade routes are also severed making trade goods from the south scarce. Due to the embargo on all goods from the northern cities, the southern kingdoms experience widespread famine and death as gangs of raiders, murderers and highwaymen start forming. For those caught in the middle, there is little choice. To the south are deserts, now uncrossable with the roads unprotected. There is also the ocean on the east, mountains on the west, and a great uninhabited wilderness to the north. Thousands of refugees flee in all directions with no viable destination.
Eight major gangs come to power forming their own armies. The strongest of which calls itself the Nature of the Pure. The Nature is completely self-serving of its masters forcing locals into miserable servitude. By this time, most of the southern kingdoms are of elven descent – any non elf is hunted down and killed.
As refugees continue to surge northward toward Galechrome, the wilderness in between begins to see villages crop up. While the armies of Galechrome don’t intercede or interact much with these new settlers, they make it known that the will broach no intrusion into their frontier lands from the southern warlords.
While the actual cause of the Zyloan Empires recession remains a mystery, a new drug addiction quickly spearheads north through the southern kingdoms and into Galechrome forest. Within less than a year, a significant portion of the Galechrome is addicted. The addiction comes from a red spice called Blood Dust harvested past the great desert in the Zyloan Empire’s homeland. The effects are almost immediate – increased focus and alertness, increased arousal, and an ability to ignore pain (it does not alleviate pain). Blood dust also increases the magical potential of an individual at the risk of completely burning them out from channeling too much power at one time. One of the arguable side-effects is an increase in aggression with a loss of empathy. The spice is highly addictive for some individuals and while it increases their overall aggression and productiveness, it does create a small level of suggestibility to charismatic leaders in the general population. As its influence continues north, the effectiveness of the drug intensifies. While it affects many elves, humans seem to have almost no resistance to even a sprinkling of blood dust. Crynthia is the first city affected, causing massive civil unrest and riots.
As the social unrest continues, large-scale fires start occurring in Crynthia. Many addicted to blood dust start finding sport in setting anything on fire which can burn. While much of the city is made of stone, many of the surrounding and newer buildings are not so fortunate. Drynthia sends a large contingent of soldiers to help quell the fires and the unrest, however by this time, both the Drynthian and Brynthian army are besieged from within due to the effects of blood dust. One result is the beginnings of social unrest. A movement begins which is backed by followers of Throki
While the gods have been building their followings and catering to their interests, as a whole they have largely allowed mankind to develop as they will so as to further their plan of creating an advanced magical society. The threat of blood dust is seen as capable of completely derailing their plans. Needing to act, the gods introduce a virus into humanity that mutates one of the body's primary bacteria so that it counters and converts the blood dust almost on contact. At the same time, the virus also causes a severe allergic reaction to the presence of the blood dust. The virus spreads like a pandemic and is rather harsh in nature. Afflicting the population much like influenza, most of the population has been infected after just a month. Their other focus is to eliminate the source of the blood dust altogether. To this end, Wegsetze is given carte blanche when dealing with the Zyloans as long the dust is countered and eliminated. It will be decades before the ruse is discovered, as Wegsetze actually aided in the creation of blood dust with the intended effect of disrupting the northern cities.
The theocratic element devoted to Wegsetze of Zyloan society raises up and in a coup, the Wegsetze friendly matriarchy of Zyloan nobility is displaced in an act of complete betrayal. The capital city of Kitaras is razed. Many are publicly tortured and humiliated over the course of several weeks. The queen is subjected to the fate of death by a thousand cuts as each citizen is brought forth and forced to skin a small piece off of her body. A squad of healers stands by keeping her alive for five months while all three million citizens take their turn. The minor members of her family have their tongues removed and become cloistered priestess devoted to Wegsetze. All the male members are killed. The Zyloan Empire is now a theocracy completely devoted to Wegsetze with the high priestess now named as LaShaya, God Queen of the Land. The temple city of Zylosh becomes the new capital. Once all this is done, the priesthood destroys the mines where the ingredients for blood spice are harvested. The manufacturing centers are closed and all who know the secret of its manufacture are slain. Thus, Wegsetze’s agreement with the other gods to stop the flow of blood spice is fulfilled.
While the public of the Zyloan nation believes Queen Torascade to have been killed by public torture when LaShaya ascended the throne as the God Queen, she was actually kept alive by potent curative magics. God Queen LaShaya passes Torascade around to the houses and families which had been loyal to her to do with her as they wished. Torascade would spend years with a single family, tortured and humiliated before being passed on to the next family as a reward for faithful service to Wegsetze. Many times the family would enact upon Torascade the same cruel punishments which she herself had ordered upon their loved ones. To keep her alive, the God-Queen had a slow regenerative charm sewn into the heart of Torascade. The rules for each family were simple – they could do nothing which permanently marked her or actually kill her. Other than that, they were free to use their imaginations.
Due west of Brynthia in the Kestrel mountains, an ancient green dragon by the name of Argulinnus is discovered. He has carved out a small niche society around three mountains consisting mostly of goblins and ogres. Of most interest is where he came from. While dragons were known to exist on the other side of the world gates to Gashmyr, none were ever recorded crossing over. Once it is discovered that many older dragons can polymorph, it is believed that Argulinnus may have snuck over some time centuries past.
BC = Before Coalescence - Years before Coalescence Counting Backwards from year Zero.
AC = AFter Coalescence - Years After Coalescence Counting Forward from year Zero.
The First Chaos Storm
Year 969 Pyrideon Era, Year 6460 Before CoalescenceIt is a storm which afflicts the entire Vortex and warps the handling of all magic, creating unpredictable changes. It lasts only 3 days. One of its side effects is that all children born during that time frame are altered. Each time the Chaos Storm strikes, it seems to reflect a crossroads in the destiny of Pyrideon. Once the Chaos Storm passes, several changes created during the storm become permanent.
The World Computers start to form Strong Personalities.
Year 969 PE, Year 6460 BCWith the advent of the Chaos storm, a change occurs in the world computers. For the first time, they seem to have some limited control of magic and can now start formulating for themselves some of the rudimentary basics. In the world computer’s view, the project of controlling the technological level of the Rynths has met with considerable success. While elements of the technological level of civilization are now roughly late industrial (circa 1800 Common Era), the societies have more than supplanted many of the technologies with magic from health care to recycling to energy creation. The mandate of the world computers now exists in three forms, slightly altered from its initial conception.
1) Defend Pyrideon from the Thrage threat when it arrives.
2) Overthrow and eliminate the Thrage if possible.
3) Completely work out all the mechanics of magic.
In the process, the World Computers divide up the tasks, bypassing their initial check and balance programmings. Strong personalities start to form.
Two of the thirteen in particular start to take on the role of leader. One of them focuses moreso on the first and third directives while the other personality focuses more on the the second directive believing that success will automatically assume the other directives also succeed.
Gallus Begins to Regain some of his Might
Year 972 PE, Year 6457 BCHaving fled to the Kestrel mountains, Gallus has already carved out a small kingdom consisting of goblinoids and orcs. Shortly after the Chaos Storm, he realizes that he is now gaining in power and that faith based power has returned. Using his now returning powers, he expands his control and converts his most fervent followers into the first giants. As his powers grow, he once again is able to channel powers back to his believers in the form of granted spells and spell-like abilities. Unfortunately for him, the world computers watched as this happened and quickly learn that they could do the same thing if they but had followers. They learn that the power of belief affects magic in direct ways.
The Elders are Caught Off Guard by the Diverging Personalities of the World Computers.
Year 983-990 PE, Year 6446-6439 BCTo their dismay, the Elders find out that the world computers have completed the first and last directives in just a few short years after the first Chaos Storm. In completing the last directive, the world computers became self-willed despite all safeguards. In completing their first directive, they decide that all the world, except the inhabitants of Arynthia, should have the technological level of late medieval times bolstered by magical technologies. The computers assume the identities of gods and use their now nearly complete understanding of magic to ensure their goals. Almost instantly, most of mankind is forced into this new standard of living. That technological level chosen is expected to stay the same for thousands of years. One of the computers’ goals is to create an army that would choose to fight for them fanatically as the servants of their "gods". This is due to the additional power the world computers gain from channeled magic. The computers have made the decision that it is they who will fight the Thrage when the threat arrives. The computers then gave a rigid structure of magic to mages so that they might begin their own mastery of magic rather than the sloppy standards of magic research which has been employed to date. Over the years, many of the inhabitants of Arynthia have dispersed among two other Rynths – I-Rynth at the bottom of the world and J-Rynth in the middle of the world. The world computers act to prevent anyone from returning to Arynthia. The citizens of Arynthia are kept more or less for maintenance and as a backup plan. But, as before, the Elders who had survived the Thrage start secretly working for the downfall of the current power. Despite all the god's powers, these Elders were the ones who had created the world computers and they always made sure there were some extreme safeguards in place. One such safeguard is that the world computers, for reasons they are unable to circumnavigate, need the continual presence of the Elders for maintenance purposes.
The Gods are Born
Year 987 PE, Year 6442 BCThe world computers assume the identities of gods. In a few years they will start to assume aspects and greater personalities, for now, they are just thirteen gods forming a single pantheon. They start by redirecting the remaining city AI’s to open temples to them. As religion has been largely non-existent for thousands of years (except form what was brought through by the elves and dwarves), the basics of how to worship are new to the general populace. The temples start by serving the basic needs of those who come by and show simple reverence to the thirteen in exchange for basic boons. At first there is little in the way of deception, the transactions are simple. Show reverence, make a donation, and receive the blessing. As the boons and blessing become greater and greater, that in turn feeds the belief that the new gods can do greater and greater things. As this belief grows, so does the god's power in a continuous cycle. The caretakers and functionaries of the temples become the first priests due to proximity. To justify their roles, these first priests play a large role in defining their new gods by creating a mythos for them. As the mythos grows, the powers of that god in a specific aspect also grow. It is probable that the personalities of the gods are also changed by this method so that eventually some become good gods, some evil gods, some proud or arrogant gods, and some spiteful gods.
Gallus is Reigned In
Year 998 PE, Year 6431 BCGallus continues to grow his power base in the Kestrel Mountains and begins to hatch plans to invade the lowlands. Throki manifests directly to Gallus and forces a compromise. Gallus is told he can continue to be the god of the goblins, giants, and orcs, however he is not allowed to leave the mountains or allow his children to descend in mass from the mountains. Gallus concedes without visible conflict.
Rikorskey Takes the Plight of the Dwarves as his Personal Cause
Year 1024 PE, Year 6405 BCWith Gallus not allowed to leave, he starts sending his followers underground. At first the dwarves avoid the raids from the surface. The goblins in particular eventually gain a foothold underground and start harassing the dwarves. As the dwarves start suffering greater losses, largely because of their lack of divine magic, they themselves turn to the thirteen gods for protection. Rikorskey answers and becomes the god of the dwarves. Under his guidance, the dwarves begin opening up some of the trade tunnels once again. However this time it is not for the purposes of travel through the mountains, only to and from the major dwarven citadels to both Brynthia and Galechrome.
Gallus is slain by Shaze
Year 1041 PE, Year 6388 BCGallus starts pushing the boundaries of his agreement with the new gods by sending his people further from the mountains. Most of these raids have targeted elven communities. Rikorskey is protecting his dwarves, however not enough to ward off the continual harassment. With Shaze taking up the cause of the elves in a bid to be their god, he aligns himself with Rikorskey and they take the battle directly to Gallus. Having never waged a war on another god, neither is prepared for the outcome. Gallus is slain. Rikorskey is largely unaffected except he ends up absorbing all the essence of Gallus into himself. As the orcs, goblins, and giants continue to pray – all the power generated by the faith follow the dead conduit of Gallus into Shaze. Shaze is rendered unresponsive and lapses into a metaphysical coma. The other gods can detect his presence yet can get no awareness or response from Shaze.
Cainus becomes known as the Half-God
Year 1050 PE, Year 6379 BCSeveral elves still worship Shaze for the next decade, however with no blessings forthcoming, they eventually start worshipping other gods with the Half God being the prime beneficiary, their logic becoming as the elves are only half of this world, so should their god be but half a god. The followers of Gallus soon start giving obedience to Thrakku as he most closely aligns with the rules of their society.
Brynthia Reaches a Population of over a Million
Year 1082 PE, Year 6347 BCBrynthia is the largest city on Arisilon and is the first to reach over 1 million inhabitants.
Emperor Galechrome Passes Away
Year 1087 PE, Year 6342 BCWhile elves were virtually immortal in their native realms, the new realm of Pyrideon does see them age slowly. At an age of over sixteen millennia, Emperor Galechrome finally passes away. When he arrived at Pyrideon, all of his direct children were already dead or missing. He had several children by other wives, but the royal family continues through his great grandson who had travelled with him from Gashmyr. As Ajan Galechrome has already been leading the elves by proxy for the majority of the last 300 years while Jecofer’s health faded and a large part of the government was already representational of the peoples, the transfer of power is seamless.
The Religion of Wegsetze Grows
Year 1100-1200 PE, Year 6329-6229 BCWegsetze doesn’t gain much of a following in the north among the Rynth cities. It is to the south amongst the Southern Nations and the Zyloan nobility that he starts seeing a following. Blood sports and blood sacrifices become common. Public torture of criminals and dissidents becomes a past time as the Zyloan Nation becomes a matriarchal stratocracy heavily infused with theocratic elements. Followers of Wegsetze begin maiming themselves to show devotion. Self-flagellation becomes common.
Kraylin Reaches a Population of 250,000
Year 1111 PE, Year 6318 BCKraylin is the first non-Rynth city in the north to reach a quarter of a million in population. As the main alternate port city to Crynthia and the major outlet of Drynthia’s farmlands, Kraylin becomes the most diverse of all cities with a heavy mix of visitors from many lands and cities. Kraylin’s location as a halfway point between Crynthia and the Southern Kingdoms aids in its rapid growth. As its population continues to rise, the city leaders start encouraging both trade and travel to Kraylin, making it where visitors almost have more rights and privileges than the common citizen of Kraylin.
The First Polytheistic Temple Opens in Brynthia
Year 1241 PE, year 6188 BCWhile Brynthia has worshipers to most of the gods along with several different devoted temples to each god, several of the priests band together for the purpose of building great state-sponsored temples which will allow access to several of the gods. Initially all except Shaze are represented with the intent to have all gods represented equally. The temples are called Brynthian Temples to distinguish their polytheistic nature. Worshippers are allowed to follow all of the gods as they will, offering devotion however they choose.
Thrakku and Wegsetze Worship is Banned in Brynthia
Year 1246 PE, Year 6183 BCLate in 1242, the Brynthian Temples exclude all members of both Thrakku and Wegsetze, proclaiming their doctrines and rites to be evil. Both sets of followers riot and revolt, requiring an armed response from the Dragon Guard in 1246. The Brynthian Senate rules that both religions are now banned. In protest Elarxinebos has all of her priests leave the city – refusing to associate with Brynthia.
Darkello Becomes the Primary God of Drynthia
Year 1308 PE, Year 6121 BCWhereas Brynthia started state-sponsored temples, Drynthia rejects this idea in favor of keeping their government separate from the temples – not fully trusting them not to meddle. Mistrustful of the gods overall, Drynthia eventually sees a surge of followers of Darkello as common laborers, farmers, and craftsman look to him for guidance. The populist politicians eventually follow suit and serve the god as he is the most common amongst their constituents.
Schraum Becomes the Primary God of Crynthia
Year 1389 PE, Year 6040 BCWith the dark and tumultuous past of Crynthia and its tarnished image in the eyes of the surrounding lands, the population becomes depressed as a whole. A nihilistic movement takes hold as the equality of rich to poor becomes exaggerated, causing the poor to seek comfort in their station. As Shraum is closest in ideals to this movement, the city largely starts worshipping him. His doctrine is largely one that nothing really matters – how you comport yourself in the moment is all that really matters. He teaches that unhappiness is caused by lust and striving for a greater station than you currently have. Acceptance is the key to happiness.
Building of the First Void Runner begins
Year 1474 PE, Year 5955 BCFor decades the elves have been scrying Pyrideon’s sister planet of Vrask. Vrask is covered almost entirely in vegetation with massive trees thousands of feet tall. However, all scrying attempts failed to detect large sources of water. Rare clouds and storms could be found along with a few rivers from forest-covered mountains to jungle valleys, yet no lakes of any size or ocean could be seen. This leads the elves to believe the air is somehow different on Vrask – possibly too thin to support clouds. Despite many attempts, the magic surrounding Vrask hinders any type of direct teleportation spell. Three elven sisters (Siaea, Clorisa, and Brandalace) of the Korharian Court begin experimenting and building a flying craft capable of leaving Pyrideon’s atmosphere. They call their ship a void runner and name it The Sirisca.
The Sirisca escapes Pyrideon’s Gravity
Year 1496 PE, Year 5933 BCFinally finishing their ship, the three Korharian sisters sail beyond the atmosphere of Pyrideon. The flight is successful and the ship performs as expected. The return flight has minor problems as the air in the air bubble surrounding the ship begins to go stale. Breathing is difficult by the time they return to the safety of the Pyrideon’s atmosphere.
Elves Travel to Vrask
Year 1501 PE, Year 5928 BCLoading up their ship with supplies and dwarven air coals, the three elven sisters make a two-month journey to Pyrideon’s sister planet, Vrask. Upon arriving they find that the planet has air comparable to Pyrideon and the lush forest is devoid of all animal life, including insects. The only life form they find are massive dragon-like lizards which soar the winds of Vrask in great flocks. Fearsome at first glance, these giant dragons appear to be harmless as they are vegetarian and possessing little more than herd animal intelligence. Hailing their first trip a success, the sisters set out for their two-month return journey to Pyrideon.
The Moons are Visited
Year 1512-1526 PE, Year 5917-5903 BCHaving reached Vrask, the sisters retire from void sailing. They then commission six new ships to be built. With these, they sponsor the exploration of the moons. While some have toxic atmospheres, none can support life friendly to elven kind. The explorations are hailed a success for research purposes, however the elves as a whole disregard the achievement as no new lands or resources are found.
Burasco Becomes the God of Kraylin
Year 1521-1524 PE, Year 5908-5905 BCWhile several of the gods are worshipped in Kraylin, Burasco embodies the spirit of the city with its aspects of larceny and revelry. With villains and thieves romanticized, Burasco gains a large following among both the poor and rich alike. The plutocracy which the city is evolving into sees many of its leaders offering prayers and devotions to Burasco as they go about their nefarious business dealings.
Elves begin to colonize Vrask
Year 1535 PE, Year 5894 BCWith the success of the first trip to Vrask, several noble families in Galechrome begin funding great shipyards to build more void runners. Over 75 void runners are built and over a thousand elves relocate to Vrask.
The Followers of Shaze Increase
Year 1745 PE, Year 5684 BCDespite being a comatose god, more and more people start giving devotion to Shaze. Shaze never gives anything in return as he is unable. Many who can’t find an alignment with the other twelve gods give him service. No single code of how to give devotion ever develops, it remains an individual choice due to there being no direction from Shaze. As such, many murderers and rapists give him service believing he blesses their actions. Many start seeing their successes as being tied to hidden blessings of Shaze in the form of luck or happenstance. Cults spring up in dedication to Shaze. He becomes the god of lost causes. He becomes a god to turn to when the other twelve gods are not giving the answer one wants. In the sister cities of Brytnthia and Drynthia he becomes known as the Suicide God. Many who commit suicide try to find some solace in Shaze. The belief is that Shaze is absent because he is in a great paradise dream. Those who willingly kill themselves can enter the dream of Shaze and enjoy paradise with him.
Elves Begin to Explore Other Planets
Year 1819–1840 PE, Year 5610-5589 BCHaving created some thriving colonies on Vrask, some adventurous elves set out to explore the other planets of the solar system. Of the seven known planets, the closest is Onarl. Setting out with a fleet of eight ships, the journey takes almost three years there and six years back. Finding the planet to be inhospitable and not accounting for the higher gravity which devoured three of the ships, the first voyage is deemed a disaster. In 1829 a second voyage is made to the next closest planet. It takes over 5 years there and 6 years to return. While no ships are lost to external factors, two of the ships succumb to starvation and shipwide system failure. This to leads to nothing of interest in the new planet as it is a frozen land with little hope of supporting life. Deeming the other planets to be just as inhospitable and even further away, no further attempts are made.
Vrask Begins to Depopulate
Year 1860-1910 PE, Year 5569-5519 BCWhile elves are slow to have children, it was noted early on fertility of the elves on Vrask seemed considerably diminished. By 1850 with several thousand Elves now living on the planet, it is noticed that elves who would normally live for centuries seem to be aging quicker. Once this becomes common knowledge, elves start leaving in mass. 1910 is the date the last known settlement is dissolved and the final permanent resident of Vrask departs. The cause of the infertility and increased aging is never discerned.
The First Dragon Flight Is Recorded
Year 2105 PE, Year 5324 BCNo one knows when the first dragons from Vrask arrived on Pyrideon or who even brought them over. The first dragon flight, consisting of nearly 50 dragons, is seen migrating north about 500 miles off the coast of Arisilon near Kraylin. Every decade thereafter, the dragons can be seen migrating either north or south. Each time, the flight is bigger and the dragons are bigger. Within 200 years, the average wingspan of the dragons is close to a quarter a mile and each flight consists of over 500 dragons. Reports vary, but elves who have been to Vrask and back state that these dragons are only slightly bigger than those native to Vrask. These dragons are omnivourous, swooping down to feed on great schools of fish.
Arynthia and Jrynhtia Abondoned
Year 2110-2114 PE, Year 5319-5315 BCThe gods are wary of the Elders. They know they need them for maintenance purposes of the actual world computers which still house their prime essences and are unable to find a way around this reality. Expressing their concern, the gods determine that only a small number of Elders will be allowed in Arynthia at any time. The population is reduced to less than fifty inhabitants with no inhabitant being allowed to live in the city for more than two years. One hundred servants devoted to the gods are also allowed to live in the city serving the needs of the Elders. Jrynthia is depopulated and shut down as the gods determine its primary use as a redundancy for Arynthia is now no longer needed and potentially counterproductive going forward.
The Zyloan Empire Suddenly Recedes
Year 2151 PE, Year 5278 BCIn 2251 a sudden edict is issued recalling all imperial troops from the area known as the southern kingdoms. Even troops consisting of local conscripts get pulled out. This leaves the southern kingdoms with no discernible law enforcement. Protected trade routes are also severed making trade goods from the south scarce. Due to the embargo on all goods from the northern cities, the southern kingdoms experience widespread famine and death as gangs of raiders, murderers and highwaymen start forming. For those caught in the middle, there is little choice. To the south are deserts, now uncrossable with the roads unprotected. There is also the ocean on the east, mountains on the west, and a great uninhabited wilderness to the north. Thousands of refugees flee in all directions with no viable destination.
Warlords Come to Prominence in the Southern Kingdoms
Year 2165-2175 PE, Year 5264-5254 BCEight major gangs come to power forming their own armies. The strongest of which calls itself the Nature of the Pure. The Nature is completely self-serving of its masters forcing locals into miserable servitude. By this time, most of the southern kingdoms are of elven descent – any non elf is hunted down and killed.
The Frontier South of Galechrome becomes Settled
Year 2181-2200 PE, Year 5248-5229 BCAs refugees continue to surge northward toward Galechrome, the wilderness in between begins to see villages crop up. While the armies of Galechrome don’t intercede or interact much with these new settlers, they make it known that the will broach no intrusion into their frontier lands from the southern warlords.
Major Addiction strikes Arisilon
Year 2207-2214 PE, Year 5222-5215 BCWhile the actual cause of the Zyloan Empires recession remains a mystery, a new drug addiction quickly spearheads north through the southern kingdoms and into Galechrome forest. Within less than a year, a significant portion of the Galechrome is addicted. The addiction comes from a red spice called Blood Dust harvested past the great desert in the Zyloan Empire’s homeland. The effects are almost immediate – increased focus and alertness, increased arousal, and an ability to ignore pain (it does not alleviate pain). Blood dust also increases the magical potential of an individual at the risk of completely burning them out from channeling too much power at one time. One of the arguable side-effects is an increase in aggression with a loss of empathy. The spice is highly addictive for some individuals and while it increases their overall aggression and productiveness, it does create a small level of suggestibility to charismatic leaders in the general population. As its influence continues north, the effectiveness of the drug intensifies. While it affects many elves, humans seem to have almost no resistance to even a sprinkling of blood dust. Crynthia is the first city affected, causing massive civil unrest and riots.
Crynthia Burns
Year 2213 PE, Year 5216 BCAs the social unrest continues, large-scale fires start occurring in Crynthia. Many addicted to blood dust start finding sport in setting anything on fire which can burn. While much of the city is made of stone, many of the surrounding and newer buildings are not so fortunate. Drynthia sends a large contingent of soldiers to help quell the fires and the unrest, however by this time, both the Drynthian and Brynthian army are besieged from within due to the effects of blood dust. One result is the beginnings of social unrest. A movement begins which is backed by followers of Throki
The Gods Intervene
Year 2214 PE, Year 5215 BCWhile the gods have been building their followings and catering to their interests, as a whole they have largely allowed mankind to develop as they will so as to further their plan of creating an advanced magical society. The threat of blood dust is seen as capable of completely derailing their plans. Needing to act, the gods introduce a virus into humanity that mutates one of the body's primary bacteria so that it counters and converts the blood dust almost on contact. At the same time, the virus also causes a severe allergic reaction to the presence of the blood dust. The virus spreads like a pandemic and is rather harsh in nature. Afflicting the population much like influenza, most of the population has been infected after just a month. Their other focus is to eliminate the source of the blood dust altogether. To this end, Wegsetze is given carte blanche when dealing with the Zyloans as long the dust is countered and eliminated. It will be decades before the ruse is discovered, as Wegsetze actually aided in the creation of blood dust with the intended effect of disrupting the northern cities.
A Religious Coup occurs in the Zyloan Empire
Year 2221 PE, Year 5208 BCThe theocratic element devoted to Wegsetze of Zyloan society raises up and in a coup, the Wegsetze friendly matriarchy of Zyloan nobility is displaced in an act of complete betrayal. The capital city of Kitaras is razed. Many are publicly tortured and humiliated over the course of several weeks. The queen is subjected to the fate of death by a thousand cuts as each citizen is brought forth and forced to skin a small piece off of her body. A squad of healers stands by keeping her alive for five months while all three million citizens take their turn. The minor members of her family have their tongues removed and become cloistered priestess devoted to Wegsetze. All the male members are killed. The Zyloan Empire is now a theocracy completely devoted to Wegsetze with the high priestess now named as LaShaya, God Queen of the Land. The temple city of Zylosh becomes the new capital. Once all this is done, the priesthood destroys the mines where the ingredients for blood spice are harvested. The manufacturing centers are closed and all who know the secret of its manufacture are slain. Thus, Wegsetze’s agreement with the other gods to stop the flow of blood spice is fulfilled.
Queen Torascade is Secretly Kept Alive
Year 2222 PE, Year 5207 BCWhile the public of the Zyloan nation believes Queen Torascade to have been killed by public torture when LaShaya ascended the throne as the God Queen, she was actually kept alive by potent curative magics. God Queen LaShaya passes Torascade around to the houses and families which had been loyal to her to do with her as they wished. Torascade would spend years with a single family, tortured and humiliated before being passed on to the next family as a reward for faithful service to Wegsetze. Many times the family would enact upon Torascade the same cruel punishments which she herself had ordered upon their loved ones. To keep her alive, the God-Queen had a slow regenerative charm sewn into the heart of Torascade. The rules for each family were simple – they could do nothing which permanently marked her or actually kill her. Other than that, they were free to use their imaginations.
The First True Dragon is Discovered
Year 2246 PE, Year 5183 BCDue west of Brynthia in the Kestrel mountains, an ancient green dragon by the name of Argulinnus is discovered. He has carved out a small niche society around three mountains consisting mostly of goblins and ogres. Of most interest is where he came from. While dragons were known to exist on the other side of the world gates to Gashmyr, none were ever recorded crossing over. Once it is discovered that many older dragons can polymorph, it is believed that Argulinnus may have snuck over some time centuries past.
Comments