Lalindiel the Wise unifies the realms into a single great empire. All realms are either full members or protectorates, save for a couple of demon-realms ruled by terrible dark gods. A recurring foe is the demonic army referred to as the K'al T'al.
He creates the Lendehar to be his chroniclers and historians.
Lalindiel gradually goes mad. His empire falls apart.
The War of Subjugation begins as Lalindiel emerges from his home realm of Choronos with a huge army and attempts to restore his empire. His irrational tactical choices cripple his forces, however, and they eventually retreat back into Choronos and fortify it.
Centuries of civil war ensue as the various forces fight for control of the crumbling empire. The K'al T'al are finally hunted to extinction by Xualia's forces as she pacifies a large chunk of the realms.
Without a foe to fight, Xualia seems to go mad herself as she starts forcing other deities to serve her or be devoured.
The pacifistic deity Benefor surrenders to Xualia, but his people suffer terribly under her rule.
Those deities not under Xualia's rule either unify into the pantheon known as the Lords of Light or seal off their realms.
Benefor abandons his pacifistic ways and becomes Xualia's lieutenant. He takes command of her war against the Lords of Light.
The Lords fight a defensive battle for half of a century, slowly losing ground.
Benefor slays a minor deity and seizes control of a stark but habitable realm that takes his fancy. He declares his independence from Xualia and renames the realm to Myros. Those members of his forces still loyal to Xualia are slain.
The Lords of Light get a breather as Xualia launches into an all-out war against her former ally. The two sides struggle endlessly, but are too evenly matched. The Lords of Light themselves encourage the fight to continue, secretly aiding whichever side seems to be losing and sabotaging any attempts at reconciliation.
Xualia and Benefor's struggle slowly saps the strength of their armies while the Lords of Light build up their forces. It soon becomes obvious that the Lords are just waiting for the right moment to destroy them both. Both deities reluctantly pull back to a defensive posture.
An era of relative peace passes as the Lords of Light become complacent, then corrupt. More and more of the sealed realms reopen their portals and engage in regular commerce again.
Xualia and Benefor's forces both become active again, forcing the Lords into a warlike posture once more. A three-way war breaks out but the major losers are the independent realms that don't want to join any of the sides.
Some of the Lords show signs of going mad themselves and are purged by their brethren. They either flee to a realm of their own or are slain by their fellows. Several small civil wars ensue and many Lords decide to simply leave the alliance and protect their own realms.
The minor realm of Hybris is first noted during this period when a handful of refugees discover one of its random portals. The only inhabitant is Evander, the Gray Man, who reluctantly allows them to stay.
The Lords of Light eventually get around to sending a battalion of troops to take Hybris, but the only stable portal that they can find is destroyed by the Gray Man before they can do so.
More random portals to Hybris are found, although most only last long enough for a handful of people to travel through. The Lords send the occasional agent through (usually disguised as a harmless refugee) to keep an eye on things.
The god Arthalkus, a Lord of Light in poor repute, flees to Hybris before his fellows can purge him and takes over the realm. The Gray Man surrenders all authority to Arthalkus and his angels. Arthalkus arranges for most of his followers to be brought from their home realm to Hybris.
Arthalkus sets up his palace/temple in one of the largest and grandest of the ancient buildings of Hybris. Worship of Arthalkus becomes mandatory along with military service in his army. Some of the refugees flee for other realms, but the unstable nature of Hybris's portals make it hard for them to evacuate without magical aid.
The mana level in Hybris suddenly plunges and strange lights fill the sky. Something apparently eats Arthalkus and everyone else in his palace. The majority of his angels rush to their lord's temple and are lost along with everyone else there. Only 3 refused to go.
The Gray Man immediately raises a militia which subjugates the remaining followers of Arthalkus and restores Hybris to his control. This happens so quickly that the Thalk Angel named Kabri is convinced that the Gray Man knew that it would happen all along.
Kabri takes the surviving followers of Arthalkus under his protection. He and Evander reach a peace agreement which allows the "thalks" to continue living in Hybris. The major deities of the realms are more worried about what killed Arthalkus.
The mana level in Hybris slowly builds back up to its normal level.
Hybris starts to attract more potent refugees, such as rogue avatara and powerful wizards who don't want to be conscripted into the war effort. Evander allows anyone to stay in Hybris provided that they don't make trouble and contribute to the city's defenses. Spies who are found out are thrown into one of the vortex portals that deliver them to a random realm.
The mind mages Olam and Parall offer to use their magics to help root out spies in return for the right to set up a college of magic in Hybris. Evander agrees.
Olam and Parall's college is short-lived as the two grow to hate each other. They separate and each found a rival school instead, one oriented around magic of Thought and one of Emotion. The original building was cursed during their struggle and still does strange things to the minds of anyone foolish enough to enter.
Posted by Kiz at February 22, 2005 02:50 PM