World History

## **Age of Ancients (AoA)**

### Creation of the Multiverse, Primordials, Gods, the Founding of Nexus

The Age of Ancients refers to the earliest known time period when the First Ones first discovered the world of Nexus. Much of the history of this era has been past down orally for generations, with scribes only beginning to record it towards the end.

**Year 0:** There are many myths and legends regarding the creation of the multiverse, but the widely known story is that it was created by some mythical force. There was only darkness at first in the realms, but they were coveted by powerful beings who arose from the Elemental Chaos, the Gods and the Primordials.

**Year 1,000:** The Primordials formed the planets of the multiverse until they felt the strain of the power and decided to rest within the cradles of their worlds. Eternally sleeping and laying dormant while indirectly providing the planets with elemental life. A simple yet incredibly meaningful existence.

On the other hand, the Gods were much different from the Primordials; they possessed individual personalities, ideals, flaws, and goals. They roamed the lifeless multiverse until they found the planet of Nexus. It is here where they experimented with their first creations, the Elves, then the Dwarves, and then the Humans.

The Gods discover the surrounding "echoes" of Nexus as well, namely the Feywild and the Shadowfell.

**Year 1,100:** Humanity has begun to expand across the continent and forming communities and small villages, and the Gods are worshipped wholeheartedly. Arcana is gifted to the mortal races by Z'rillia, in order to protect their children from the dangers of the world. Meanwhile, Bahamut and Tiamat create the first dragons to protect the mortals from primal threats that may arise.

### The Corruption of the Elden, War of the Ancients

**Year 1,187:** the Gods become contacted by a mysterious interdimensional entity that we now call the "Elden". They infiltrated the Gods minds with infuriating whispers of madness and chaos which continued for centuries. Many of the Old Gods began to retaliate against the newfound enemy by scouring the nearby cosmos for the source of the whispers, and none returned.

**1,412:** Corruption has begun to take hold in some of the Gods minds like a parasite, unbeknownst to those unaffected by the maddening whispers. The Gods hold a summit to discuss the whispers and how they should handle them. Some Gods believe it to be the work of Lolth or Y'saraj which leads into war between the Gods.

**1,450:** Qarn, the Dreamer, and the lord of the Feywild falls first to the corruption of the Elden. His corruption begins to grow and spread throughout the Feywild, resulting in the Nightmare.

**1,500:** the Gods fall further into the madness and strife caused by the Elden, their source still not found. At this point, the mortals have begun to feel the effects of the Elden and chaos quickly spreads across Nexus. The war between the Gods continues, which is now known as the War of the Ancients.

**1,503**: In an act of frustration, Edes thrusts his warhammer into Nexus with all his might, breaking apart the massive landmass and forming the individual continents we know today.

The crater left by Edes reveals a mysterious parasitic entity burrowed deep into the heart of the primordial of Nexus. The Gods were quick to act, and Inra shot an arrow from her quiver that pierced the Elden and its darkness began to recede. However, the maddening whispers had already corrupted many of the Gods, and the seeds the Elden planted had grown roots.

### The Betrayers

**1,510:** The War of the Ancients has ended, and humanity has slowly began to recover from the conflicts. Meanwhile, the Gods who were corrupted begin to plot against their brethren, and the Betrayers are formed.

**1,700:** Nexus is healed, but forever scarred by the War of the Ancients. The primordial heart of the world sustained the blunt of the damage as the Elden dug its roots so deep into its core. From this, the four Kyrai clans are formed to tend to the primal and ensure its healing. To aid them in their quest, Xituna blesses the clans and creates the first druids.

Civilizations have formed and great cities have begun construction, and humanity has reclaimed most of the world.

**1,710:** The Gods create celestial beings called Angels to protect the mortal realms and provided them with divine power. Not long after their creation, one of the angels began to hear whispers.

**1,750:** Asmodeus has a vision of the fallen Elden deep underground and believes him to be alive. He seeks Qarn who resides in the Feywild, to gain insight of his dreams.

Qarn begins his slumber and contacts the dead Elden, which manifests aberrations into the world, notably mindflayers and beholders. Meanwhile, Asmodeus opens a rift to the Abyss and rules the plane as their king. He even convinces other angels to join him in his court, creating the first devils.

**1751:** The Gods learn of Qarn's creations and Asmodeus' betrayal which sparks a new war, dubbed the War of Light.

### War of Light

**1752:** As the War of Light begins, Asmodeus creates the Nine Hells as a base of operations for the fallen angels.

The other Betrayer Gods unite with their twisted creations and declare war on the Old Gods and their children.

The continent of Greymoor acts as a battleground for the War of Light, and the mortals fight from within the great city of Dawngarde. Meanwhile, the Betrayers created their own fortress for their warriors called the Nighthold.

**1758:** Inra hunts down Qarn in the Nightmare and destroys the slumbering king with her great bow in hopes to stop the spread of corruption in the Feywild.

**1762:** After a grueling 10 years of war with no end in sight, the Old Gods believe the devastation caused by the conflict will rupture the world. Hodar begins crafting the Divine Gate, which would prevent any god from physically crossing over into mortal realms.

**1850:** After nearly a century of conflict between the Gods and mortals, the Old Gods mount a massive assault against the Betrayers. Bahamut and Tiamat duel in the skies, Edes launches himself in the form of a thunderbolt onto the battlefield to attack Goreus, and Selune and Shar fight among the stars.

As the Gods are all weakened from the fighting, Hodar binds each of them to a different realm and seals them beyond the Divine Gate, which ends the War of Light and the Age of the Ancients.

## The Refounding

Left to deal with the aftermath of the War of Light, the second epoch of Nexus focused on mankind's plight to restore a broken world.

### **Influence of the gods**

Though unable to physically cross over into Nexus, both the Prime Deities and the Betrayer Gods still grant boons from afar to their mortal followers. Vasselheim remains as the bastion city of the Prime Deities, where divine magic is common but arcane magic tightly regulated for its role in unleashing the Calamity.

### **Vestiges of the Divergence**

The Vestiges of Divergence are powerful relics from the war against the Betrayer Gods that remain scattered throughout the Planes of Existence. Eight of these relics have been gathered together by a group of heroes known as Vox Machina, though more remain lost.