Forleroth Cosmology

## Cosmology

The ancient writings of the dwarves, preserved on giant stone slabs by the Guild of Stonecutters, have this to say about the cosmology of Forleroth:

In the beginning, there was only a blank slab of white stone. Then there was the great etching, and the architect of the world ordered the white space into ordered lines. The architect then populated the world with The Mountains and the Dwarves. The Forests and the Elves. The dragons of fire Ynos and water Mylinir. The goddesses of light Oluna and dark Qisyn.

Dwarves shaped gnomes from the stone. Elves sang a song about men, and they sprung from the earth. Halflings were born of men. Half elves from men and elves. Dragonborn from the mighty dragons.

In the twilight of the first age the elven wizard Aonok raised his slain family from the dead, becoming the first necromancer. He was cast out for using forbidden magick. He returned to conquer the elven kingdoms with an army of undead elves. He was defeated and banished to the abyss. The offspring of his undead army were born orcs instead of elves. Aonok’s family was slain by the betrayer, Enu, who fought with Aonok against the dwarves, but was jealous of his wife and family. He was influenced by the goddess of darkness, Qisyn.

Enu was banished to the abyss and gave birth to three balors, Enu-Ualah, Betrayal, Enu-Malach, Wrath, and Enu-Loroth, Envy.

In the second age, the elven council of Marestir ruled over man. [There is a crack and a great section of stone is missing here.]

In the third age men left their care, conquered the giants, tamed the mythical beasts, and formed the great kingdoms of men.

In the fourth age Eomnach, the second necromancer came. He was banished by the alliance of elves, the fae, the dwarves, the giants, and men.

## Forleroth and the Planes

*The following is excerpted from The Nature of the Planes and Forleroth, a paper by Emily Webb, a tenured professor of arcane and occult studies at the College of Magicks and Wizardry in Ziramunz.*

The foregoing chapters have, to my satisfaction, shown demonstrably that extra-planar influences can be found in the ancient writings of all intelligent races dating back to at least the third age of record, but no farther back than the second age. These writings consistently make mention of portals or doors, and beings, gods, or forces travelling to and fro--but mention stops abruptly in records prior. Moreover, there is strong evidence that traditional magicks, those categorized into the eight schools, simply did not exist in Forleroth until the second age; and that inter-planar portals are far more common in Forleroth than ever theorized.

Going forward, I hope to convince the reader that the explosion of ancient myths surrounding planar phenomena, and the explosion in magic, are connected--and that both are linked to some cataclysmic event that occurred during the second age. This event, I will argue, inextricably linked Forleroth's materiality in the planes with the philosophical fabric of the planes greater cosmology. Specifically, I will seek to prove that Forleroth is itself linked with the center of the planes--the great City of Doors.

Furthermore, I believe that all traditional magicks are foreign to Forleroth--that all spellcasting, as such, works by a process of filtration of magic into the world from the fabric of the planes. This process of filtration, I will argue, is the source of the so-called magic sickness.