World Lore

A great light emerged from darkness, widely known as the Divine Spark. The Divine Spark voyaged across the cosmos, leaving a trail of other beacons of light that would become the stars. Some millennia later, the constellations formed sentient celestial bodies known as the Gods. The first among them was the All-Father, Moradin. Moradin would lead the universe to its first distinct age.

## The First Dawn

The First dawn is widely considered the first age of Vadalion, which started when the Gods were birthed from the stars and began creating life on our planet. They created the first mortals, including the first humanoids and dragons, who began to grow and prosper under the gods' guidance and aid.

### Gods Creations

During this first age, gods created the first mortal races. First, the Arch Heart created the Elves, then Moradin created the Dwarves, and Lathander created humans. Not soon after, the rest of the Gods began to create many other races that they would care for and nurture. But Vadalion was a dangerous place, ravaged by the elemental chaos stirred by the Gods presence on the planet. Many of the Gods children could not fend themselves from the elements and soon died.

Saddened by the loss of so many children, the gods gifted mortals with arcane magic so they might better defend themselves. Metallic Dragons were created to aid in the defense of the Children of Creation. With the dragons' help, civilization began to flourish and mortals first offered worship (and purpose) to their creators.

### The Titans Awaken

As arcana became a prominent practice among the mortals, it began to stir beings that lay dormant long before the Gods arrived to the planet. Deep within the earth, monstrous giants called Titans rose up to defend the planet against the new threat. The carnage caused by the war caught the attention of demons from the Abyss, who came to feast on the remains.

### War of the Ancients

At the later stages of the First Dawn, Vadalion was in complete chaos and turmoil. The Pantheon fought alongside their children against the Titans and Demons in a war called the War of the Ancients.

During this war, some demons possessed the ability to whisper maddening thoughts to the mortal races and even some of the Gods. This resulted in a split between the Pantheon, turning one against each other, all orchestrated by Tharizdun to claim his reign on Vadalion.

The Pantheon, with the help of their mortal champions, ultimately destroyed the Titans and banished the Prime Evils from the Material Plane.

## Age of Heroes

The Age of Heroes is the second age of Vadalion, which focused on rebuilding civilization and recovering from the chaos that was the War of the Ancients. During this time, mortals tested the limits of arcane power and even challenged the Gods themselves. While the Prime Evils, Titans, and Demons were defeated, their presence and influence still lingered.

### Mortal Ambition

Mortals grew ever more powerful, empires and civilizations prospered, and many began to abolish their religions and faith to the Gods that created them.

Driven by a quest for immortality, a mortal man spent his life studying the arcane and the Gods. He quickly became obsessed in mastering the art of magic and wished to know every dark secret there was to know. He traveled the world hunting old tomes and relics in search of answers, and he eventually found a ritual that could grant him not only immortality, but Godhood. This man was named Vecna.

### The Ascension

The ritual to ascend to Godhood was no easy feat. To become a God meant to be worshipped like one or to defeat one and take their place in the Pantheon. No mortal could defeat a God, or so people thought.

Vecna began to spread his influence throughout Vadalion, appearing to some as a healer in their time of need, and to others a rich noble that could change their lives forever. His only price was devout worship, and to renounce any other God that they believed in. Vecna quickly realized that he would never get the devotion he needed in his mortal lifetime, so he turned to necromancy and performed a ritual that turned him into a Lich.

In his undeath, Vecna soon realized he would never become a God without force. He twisted his followers into loyal cultists who would do his bidding without question, they would be known as the Whisperers.

The Whisperers began to spread throughout Vadalion, infiltrating kingdoms and slowly worked towards its destruction. They would perform rituals that could wipe out whole armies and would turn the corpses into mindless followers. As whole civilizations crumbled, it quickly got the attention of the Pantheon who worked to put an end to the Lich's madness.

### The War of Eternal Winter

As Vecna's undead army grew to the hundreds of thousands, mortals began to worry of their own downfall and became paranoid; they quickly turned against each other despite their Gods pleas of reason. With forbidden magic, Vecna summoned a great winter that lasted nearly a century; the harsh storm descended upon the world. Under the cover of darkness, Vecna's armies invaded every corner of Vadalion which was known as the War of Eternal Winter.

While Vecna's armies were strong, the Pantheon and their champions were far stronger. Knowing he was at a disadvantage, Vecna sought to free Asmodeus to enlist the aid of his demons and devils. Asmodeus would accept the offer and the two parties formed a temporary alliance. The Lord of the Nine Hells wasted no time and unleashed swarms of demonic fiends that reinforced Vecna's vanguard.

As Vecna and Asmodeus began to take the upper hand, the Pantheon retreated to the city of Kaayset; the largest city that survived constant pressure from enemy forces. As the mortals defended the high walls of Kaayset, the Pantheon began planning their counter assault aiming to prevent Vecna from freeing any more Prime Evils from captivity.

While the God were distracted, Vecna disappeared into the Shadowfell where he conquered the city of Kor'voss, annihilating the unsuspecting city and raising them as his undead minions. He then constructed the Tower of Black, where he prepared for the Ritual of Ascension.

Ioun, the knowing mistress and Vecna's main enemy, figured out how to track Vecna's exact whereabouts through the shift of arcane flows that were being manipulated by the lich to achieve Godhood. A holy army led by Kanus Braun stormed Kor'voss and the champion of the All-Father climbed the Black Tower to duel Vecna.

Kanus was killed by the lich, but as Vecna sought to raise him as an undead soldier, Kanus picked up Aetherius and cut Vecna in two. With Vecna slain, his army fell and the Gods were able to defeat Asmodeus. Fearing that the Prime Evils may resurface again in the future, the All Father constructed the Divine Gate, which would prevent any god from physically crossing over into mortal realms.

This departure of the gods from Vadalion, and the diminishing of their influence, was an event that has since come to be known as "The Rapture".