The Sixth Reign

Tenebris and his Army

The Sixth Reign is known as the Era of Destruction, when Garn met with near-calamity at the hands of Tenebris and his army of humans.

## **The Gods of the Sixth Reign**

* Lucien was the elven god of light.
* Weitong was the catfish god of water.
* Snovloba was the rabbit goddess of nature.
* Embragen was the ram god of fire.
* Tenebris was the human god of darkness.

## **History**

### ***The Shadowrender, 6E-380***

Tenebris reigned as the god of darkness, hated by the orcs but beloved by the humans of Nindaril. He saw the diversity of Garn as one of its biggest weakness, and found himself disgusted at the ruling tribes. Tenebris considered humans to be the dominant race due to their creativity and drive, and plotted to segregate the races into their own realms. To accomplish this, he attempted to harness the power of the Runes to rewrite the laws of the gods. He kidnapped the Runepriest from under Embragen's nose, and tortured him into bestowing some of the ancient powers unto him. Tenebris was suddenly gifted with a deep understanding of the Trinity of Life, and created a machine known as the Shadowrender. By consuming vast amounts of energy, the machine could remove the Soul or Shadow from within the Shell of its target.

### ***Morgullnir, 6E-384***

Tenebris needed volunteers for his Shadowrender experiments, and his finest soldier, Morgullnir, volunteered. Without a large enough power source, which was necessary for such a powerful machine, Morgullnir's shell and shadow were fused together, creating a beast of pure chaos. He began to lay waste to Nindaril, but was captured by Tenebris and his warriors before he could topple the city. His prison fortress came to be known as Morgul's Keep, and a sorceror named Kolek Blackmane enchanted a special blade that possessed the power to kill him if necessary.

### ***The Tenebrian War, 6E-403***

Twisting his knowledge of the Trinity of Life, Tenebris created enormous armies of humans, marching all across Garn. Tenebris allowed his power to wholly consume him, becoming a living darkness. He enlisted Malefik to his side through threats and fear, and began to convert the gods of old to his side. Gods like Maldroth, Birzolli, and Swivaska joined him, and led the various branches of Tenebris's human armies. The other gods were powerless to resist his forces.

Tenebris created a seemingly infinite darkness within the deepest chambers of the Black Bastion, his castle in Nindaril. He named this chamber the Eternal Hollow, and here he would store the Shadows of all who oppose him in order to fuel his Shadowrender. Snovloba was the first of the new gods to fall, unable to avoid the forest's shade where Tenebris dwelled. Her small form was easily prey to the Shadowrender, and her shadow was taken to the Eternal Hollow. Her mortal Shell, devoid of godly powers, was left dead.

Weitong attempted to resist his power, so Tenebris stripped him of his shadow, leaving him mortal as well. Embragen abandoned his people in fear and shame, having allowed the Runepriest to be kidnapped. He surrendered his Shadow, leaving the Redfang Chief in sole command. Reldan Reneverine began to call himself a King rather than Chief, renaming his tribe as the Redfang Kingdom and writing the First Passion.

### ***The Fall of Hendrik, 6E-470***

Lucien was the last to fall, lighting the city of Hendrik with thousands of candles to ward away the darkness of Tenebris. After an immense battle, the city finally fell to Tenebris's humans. Lucien submitted to Tenebris's power, offering his armies to help keep Tenebris' control over the realms of Garn. Tenebris stole his Shadow, but allowed him to keep his life. Humans quickly filled the world, and it would be several hundred years before anyone held the power to defeat Tenebris.

### ***The Fall of Tenebris, 6E-777***

After hundreds of years of darkness and strife under Tenebris's rule, a single warrior from the Redfang Tribe appeared before Tenebris wielding the power of the Runes. Tenebris attempted to combat this warrior, but was unable to overcome his seemingly infinite power. This lone warrior from the mountains vanquished the god of darkness with a power far greater than Tenebris' own. Nobody knows what happened to Tenebris after this battle, but neither his Shadow, Soul, or Shell was ever found. His conqueror came to be known as Razzuel, who wandered into the wilderness and was never heard from again.

### ***Rebuilding, 6E-780***

After Tenebris was vanquished, Embragen swore to protect the Runepriest for eternity in recompense for his cowardice. They dove deep into the Blood Peaks, where they were never seen by mortal eyes again. Meanwhile, Reldan Reneverine moved into the now vacant Sil Ferna, and assumed control of the entirety of the Redfang Mountains.

Lucien was the only god left to serve Garn. He used the power of light to cleanse Tenebris's influence from the world. He recovered the gods’ Shadows (including his own) from the Eternal Hollow, but without any Inherited for them to inhabit he was forced to keep them safe until the Sixth Reign was over. He formed the Brotherhood of Trinity to keep watch over these Shadows, while he set out to restore Garn.

### ***The Tenebrian Wastes, 6E-791***

Lucien and his armies sacked Nindaril, pillaging it for recompense for Tenebris' treachery. In the midst of their riots, a soldier accidentally punctured the seal of Morgul's Keep, releasing Morgullnir. The entire city was quickly laid to waste by the chaotic beast, while Lucien and his forces fled the city. Lucien pleaded with the Runes to protect Garn from this unholy beast, and a magical barrier was erected up to keep Morgullnir inside the borders of Nindaril.

### ***An Uneasy Friendship, 6E-794***

Lucien recognized the power of King Reldan and his people, as Reldan recognized Lucien. King Reldan craved the prosperous fields of the Kilteran Plateau, yet they both knew that acting on this desire would bring destruction to both lands. The tension rose, with neither nation lifting a finger to the other. Both armies were too immense, that war would be devastating. They agreed that a heavily-protected border should extend from Firsirin to the end of Ottlio's Crest. This border came to be known as the White-Red Wall. Firsirin was sliced in two, with the northern half being controlled by the Redfang Kingdom, and the southern half being controlled by the Whitewing Tribe.

### ***The Inherited, 6E-995***

Moving into the Seventh Reign, Lucien was the only god capable of choosing a successor. He settled upon his mightiest soldier, an eagle named Zharweige. The rest of the Inherited were supposedly chosen by the Runes themselves, with some claiming that the selection was entirely random. Nobody can be sure for the motives behind their selection, but Sokis became the Inherited of water, Egroth became the Inherited of nature, Rovlan became the Inherited of fire, and Nuare became the Inherited of darkness.