The Godswar

<H1> The Godswar </H1>
<P>
Before recorded time was Chaos. Random elements of the Chaos aligned
themeslves, and in so doing, created Law. Law began to organize,
control, and stabilize the Chaos. The first sentient beings were born
of this process.
</P>
<P>
The nature of these beings, the Gods, was such that they were immortal.
They did not die, as the Laws which formed them once simply continued
to do so whenever they were destroyed.
</P>
<P>
The gods, being made of the raw stuff of Chaos, were immensely
powerful. They began shaping the chaos into enduring forms. These
forms, known as Material, coalesced into many different Planes. Material
planes, it was found, gathered together all the power of the Chaos
used to form them. This power then became available to the gods
associated with that Plane.
</P>
<P>
As the gods formed allegiances--the Pantheons--among themselves,
individual skirmishes became colossal wars. This period of titanic
battle across teh Planes is known as the Godswar.
</P>
<P>
Planes were formed and destroyed, whole Pantheons scatterd and realigned
themselves. As the Godswar raged on, some gods sickened of the endless
conflict, the endless need for vigilancd and the endless recreation of
their demesnes. The number of Peacemakers grew, until at last a majority
of the gods wished for the Godswar to end.
</P>
<P>
The views of these gods were not universally shared, however. And
even among themselves, the Peacemakers disagreed on many issues.
Eventually, after long negotiations, the Peacemakers formed the Covenant.
The Covenant was a simple set of rules governing how conflicts between
gods could proceed, and how Material would be created, controlled, and
organized in the future. This was the beginning of the Prime Material
Plane. The Covenant also established a sequence of events by which
judgments could be made. This was the beginning of Time.
</P>
<P>
The Peacemakers, their power enhanced by the immense Prime Material Plane,
cornered and subdued each and every remaining god. They offered a simple
choice: accept the Covenant or be cast out into Chaos. Those who chose
exile became known as the Outer Gods, living forever outside the bounds
of the Planescape. Their influence still creeps in from time to time, but
is always purged when discovered
</P>
<H2> Mortrals and Immortals </H2>
<P>
As has been mentioned, the nature of gods is such that they are immortal.
They cannot be permanently destroyed, as the pattern of things which
formed them once will re-form them again eventually. It is a very
difficult thing to destroy a god in the first place, as they are quite
powerful. Gods with ties to material planes must first be detached from
those planes before they can be destroyed (this typically involves
destroying the material form of that god on that plane; it may also
require the destruction of that god's creations and/or followers).
</P>
<P>
Mortals have only their own power; they cannot draw upon nor transfer the
eternal divine power of the Meterial Planes. They lack sufficient power
to form after destruction, and therefore can be killed relatively easily.
</P>
<H2> The Covenant </H2>
<P>
The terms of the Covenant are as follows:
</P>
# No god shall engage in direct conflict with another.
# No god shall defend, harbor, or protect a violator of the Covenant.
# All gods shall draw power solely from the Prime Material.
# All Planes shall depend oupon the Prime Material for their existence.
# No god shall destroy the Prime Material or any part thereof.
# Any god harmed by the material intervention of another on the Prime Material may claim right of response in kind, or may grant this right to another.
# Mortals are not bound by the Covenant.
# The Covenant governs and protects the entire Planescape. It reaches not into the Chaos Beyond.
# Events in the Planescape shall be ordered in a sequence, that compliance with the Covenant may be fairly judged.
<P>
The Covenant's provisions (particularly the first and seventh) have
had the effect of limiting conflicts between god sto battles among
mortals who support them. And since the Prime Material Plane is the
source of all divine power, these conflicts tend to be for control of
the Prime Material.
</P>
<P>
The result of violating the Covenant is usually destruction, since no
god would harbor, aid or defend a Violator (unless they wished to be a
Violator as well) and the Covenant protects only those gods who follow
it. Sometimes, gods choose to become mortal in order to escape the
restrictions of the Covenant while remaining under its protection.
</P>