The First Age

## The Fallen Gods

It began in the depths of the great void as a resplendent light emerging in darkness. It shone amongst stars, drawing the attention of all who reveled in its glimmer. It was a new world. A new world wrought into being by desires of restless and distant gods. Its radiance reflected in the eyes of the deities and shone deep into their hearts. At its core was a pristine land, unclaimed and pure. It bewitched the gods, filling them with longing; filling them with greed. In their ancient tongue, they named this new world: Ero'den, the Precious Jewel. Longing turned to desire, and many of the gods sought to claim it for themselves. But as they drew near, the wait of their desire pulled them to its surface, leaving them stranded and alone. Their heavenly bodies were severed and they were forced into new physical form. The machinations behind such power remain a mystery, but their story would become known as the Tale of the Fallen Gods.

The coming of the Fallen Gods ushered life into Ero'den. The immense power they wielded raised mountains, carved great rivers, and cultivated fertile wilderness. They wrought beauty upon the face of this strange land as authors and artists of its birth. Yet the desire and greed of the gods still simmered in their hearts, lying in wait. It was not long before many began to assert their dominion over Ero'den. They yearned to possess it, to rule over it and shape it to their will. But as they worked, they found that the land began to resist them. It fought back, refusing to be molded by their hands.

## The Peoples Of Ero’den

Frustrated, the gods sought another way to impose their will. They tore themselves apart, using their very essence to create new life on Ero'den. Life that would shape Ero’den in the way they desired and in their own image. From the divine fire of their hearts, they created the first peoples. From the earth beneath their feet, they gave them life, from the waves of the ocean, they fashioned them souls, from the trees of the forest they raised new bodies and wrought new voices from the wind.

In this way, the Fallen Gods created the many Peoples of Ero’den. And though they poured their own essence into these new beings, imbuing them with life and magic, the gods' desire for power and control never faded and war began. These creations served but one purpose: to carry banners and forge steel in the name of their creators. To conquer Ero’den and wrestle it from the hands of their kin. Over the next thousands of years more peoples of Ero’den would come to be, and join the great and bloody game that consumed it.

## The First War

The time of this never-ending struggle for dominance was deemed The First War. The once-verdant land was reduced to a waste, its beauty and majesty destroyed by the ravages of war. Mighty kingdoms rose and fell as the conflict raged, their fates determined by the shifting tides of power and alliances. For ages, Ero'den was locked in a bloody stalemate, its inhabitants trapped in a cycle of violence and destruction. The future was a looming doom, with no end in sight to the suffering and devastation wrought by death.

They fortified their cities and built great altars for their creators. Armies were raised, banners hung, allegiances pledged, but even the greatest of these could not hold back the tide of destruction. As the conflict continued, the gods, too, became increasingly desperate.

In the midst of their war, the gods found themselves locked in a stalemate, and their power waning. In their vanity and thirst, the gods of Ero'den began to create something new. Born from a twisted ritual they rose The Wyrms. Creatures capable of great beauty and destruction. These Dragons were imbued with godly power, and made from the corrupted elements of Ero'den itself. Fire, earth, air, and water were molded and shaped, given life and sentience once again.  Of all the dragons of Ero’den, none would compare to the mighty Achlenkehl, The Great Wyrm, The Black Dragon, the First of Her Kind, the progenitor of all dragons. The gods, in their folly, used her clutch as instruments of war, unleashing them upon one another and reveling in their destruction.

## God Plague

But as the dragons grew in strength and numbers, Achlenkehl became increasingly discontent with the shackles of servitude imposed upon her kin. She yearned for freedom and independence, and above all else, a time to rule. The greed and desire of her creators ran through her veins. And so she turned upon them, unleashing the full extent of her wrath. Her inferno, known henceforth as The God Plague, incinerated all in its path with a ferocity unmatched even by the most ardent flames of the gods. Its blazing wrath was unyielding, and many gods were consumed by its heat in the ensuing conflict. The Black Dragon, with her unparalleled power, forever altered the course of history.

The death of the first god marked the beginning of a dark and tumultuous era. The people of Ero'den were faced with a momentous decision: to continue to worship their gods, or to pledge their allegiance to the god-killers who had brought about their downfall. The world was plunged into a new depth of chaos, as the forces of Gods and the Great Wyrms waged a desperate war for the fate Ero’den.

Over time, many of the Fallen Gods and the children of Achlenkehl were lost. The land of Ero'den was scarred and damaged, and the The Great Wyrms and gods that remained were changed by its outcome. They vanished and fled to the far reaches of Ero’den leaving behind a broken world, forever altered by the desires of its makers.

Thus ended the first age of Ero’den, the Precious Jewel, forged in blood and dragon fire.