World History

# Genesis

The world of Terador was not always the place it is today. Eons ago, before it had formed into the world it is today, Terador was a great cosmic entity. It spent eternities traveling through the great void, along with other beings of similar size and power. After many eternities of wandering, Terador decided to abandon its flock of similar entities. Instead of wandering endlessly, it sought at a place within the nothingness that no others had claimed, a space to call its own. Once settled, Terador began to unravel, forming the world of Terador.

First, Terador released its hopes, faith, and dreams, forming the Titan of Light, Luxian. Along with the creation of Luxian, stars began to form in the nothingness around Terador and light shone upon it. As soon as the first beam of light was cast upon Terador, the first shadow was also created, and the Titan of Shadows, Umbris, was formed, crafted from the fears, doubts, and hatred within Terador. For a brief moment, Terador wondered to itself, had it released this darkness willingly? Or was the creation of Umbris merely a natural piece of its process of unraveling. Terador saw the creation of light and shadow and rejoiced, but only for a moment. It looked upon the expanse and begun to feel hollow. Nothing truly existed within the world still. With this realization, Terador began the process of birthing the material world.

Terador then released its stubbornness, creativity, and determination. This formed the great Titan of Earth, Thunn, who began to craft looming mountains and deep chasms across Terador's expanse. After seeing the masterful creations of Thunn, Terador released its serenity, tranquility, and wit, forming the Titan of Water, Aquanas. Aquanas began to fill many of the chasms with water. It filled the sky with pockets of floating water, forming clouds. To Terador's glee, it saw that life had begun to sprout. Various organisms begun to grow in the areas where earth and water met, nourished by the heat of the light and the darkness of the shadow. As only a few attributes remained, Terador's consciousness began to wane.

And yet, Terador continued on. Its peace, loyalty, and motivation were the next to be released, forming the Titan of Air, Agaman. Agaman flew across the expanse of Terador at great speeds, creating air and wind, animating the sky's clouds and currents. Terador's passion, rage, and ambition were released as the Titan of Fire, Ignan, whose every breath wreaked destruction. Where Ignan's feet touched, the land burned, forming great lakes and mountains of lava. However, as Ignan's conquest inevitably reached the oceans of Aquanas, Ignan's attacks upon the sea were futile. Each attempted attack of flame and fire began crafting the various islands and archipelagos of Terador. The ashes from Ignan's plight began to be blown across the world by the wind. As the ashes traveled the world, they kindled the growth of Terador's various plant species. Soon forests covered Terador, along with great plains and the many natural wonders of the world.

With the creation of the Titans complete, very little remained of Terador's consciousness. With the last remaining aspects, Terador released a final breath, bringing its sense of self and purpose upon the world. When its breath lay upon the land, the first animals and peoples were created. With its transformation complete, Terador looked over all of its creation.

Satisfied with all that had been created, its body curled up, forming a round ball of mass for the world to live upon. It would no longer swim through the twisting abyss with its flock of other cosmic entities. It would now sleep for eternities while life began to dwell upon it. The land of Terador was now complete and ready to begin its history.

# The Age of Titans

As Terador slumbered, the world's history began. Lacking direction and purpose, the first mortals of Terador, known as Empyreans, began to worship the Titans. The Empyreans were far different than the mortals of today. These beings were nearly perfect, requiring no food, water, or sleep to survive. With no needs to satisfy, and lacking any real purpose, they split into tribes, each tribe worshipping a specific Titan. The Titans, who were also left without purpose, thought to themselves, "Perhaps this is our purpose. Perhaps this is our duty: remain with the mortals and give them a reason for life and existence". However, the Titans quickly grew ill of each other. Their varying natures made it hard for them to peacefully live among each other, and so they separated. Agaman wished to travel around the newly formed world. Thunn wished to remain in the mountains. Ignan demanded fiery enthusiasm from its followers, leading them on a global conquest. Aquanas demanded calmness and serenity, leading its followers to cultivate the land. Each claimed a section of the world as their kingdom and agreed to respect the boundaries of their kin. Before their separation, however, the six Titans also agreed on one last thing. Should Terador ever need their aid, all six Titans must put their differences aside, travel to the heart of Terador, and work as one to protect it.

Ages passed, and the Empyreans lived among the Titans, continuing to worship them. As time went by, the Titans began to notice various changes in their followers. The Empyreans who had spent long amounts of time with Thunn had become stout, short, and hardy. Eventually these Empyreans would descend into what we know now as the dwarves. Likewise the followers of Aquanas became far more slender and had begun to practice the arcane arts. These Empyreans are the ancestors of the modern elves. Ignan's followers overwhelmed themselves with emotion, spending ages unleashing all of their anger and rage. They began to travel down the path of becoming the war hungry orcs. The followers of Agaman gained the ability to fly and becoming the bird-like rhakii. Followers of Umbris began to grow horns, slowly morphing into the monstrous minotaur. Luxian's followers didn't seem to change at first glance, but without the light radiating from Luxian, the followers began to morph into four-legged beasts, becoming what would eventually be the Lycanthropes.

The Titans began to worry about the physical changes happening to their tribes of Empyreans. The different tribes slowly began to forget and were unable to recognize members of their own race due to the differences in the tribes. Afraid, the Titans set search for any Empyreans who had chosen their own fate, instead of following the will of a Titan. Eventually, they came upon a small tribe of lone Empyreans. To their surprise, they saw that these Empyreans also lost their demigod-like aspects they had been born with. While continuing to be resilient, living in the peaks and mountains of the world, they had succumbed to hunger, thirst, and other mortal desires, just like the Empyreans of the Titan tribes. These Empyreans had become the ancient giants that would survive to modern day. Following their discovery of the giants, the Titans realized that the life Terador had breathed into the world was slowly beginning to fade away. Furthermore, they found that it was the Titans themselves that were causing the world's magic to fade at an even more rapid pace, by living amongst the mortals. In terror, the Titans cast away their tribes of worshipers, leaving them scattered about Terador. The Titans fled to the peaks of the Spinecrest Mountains, as far away as they could be from the rest of the mortal world.

The age of the Titans had ended. Living in fear, they had retreated into the heights of the world, leaving mortal life to fend for itself. Ages passed, and the world began to recover from the loss of the Titans' influence upon it. The slow decay of magic became clearer and clearer, and the mortals began to hunger and grow tired and weary. The many races and tribes began to build small civilizations amongst their own kind, vying for power over land and resources, as they battled for survival.

Meanwhile, the Titans were hard at work, searching for ways to end what they had now called "The Fading", as the world itself seemed to be fading from the greatness originally bestowed upon it. In their search for a cure, they decided to create life of their own, in hopes of countering the death and decay caused by the withering of the world around them.

# The Age of Dragons

The Titans, unlike Terador, were not fully capable and prepared to craft perfect living beings. In their lack of experience, the creation of life was soon realized to be a daunting task. Ignan, undeterred by the impossibilities of task at hand, reached into itself and removed a piece of pure, molten fire. It proclaimed "As Terador was broken to create our world, so too must we sacrifice a piece of ourselves to create new life." Seeing the bravery and selflessness displayed in Ignan's decision, the other Titans followed suit. Their elemental powers, once combined, formed a magnificent blast of pure energy, blinding the entire world for a brief moment. When the light faded, the Titans beheld the fruit of their labor. With scales as strong as the most dense earth, claws as fluid as rushing water, wings as strong as the most powerful gust of wind, and the burning flames of Ignan kindling inside them, the first two dragons were born. They were brilliant creatures, glistening in the glory of their creation. One dragon's scales were the brightest white imaginable. Luxian, realizing the brightness and light within this dragon, named the dragon "Syltas". The other dragon's scales were the darkest black ever to exist. Umbris took kindly to the darkness and shadows of this dragon, naming it "Tamsis". Unbeknownst to the Titans, their creations were incomplete, for the soul of Syltas had been imbued with the light of Luxian, while the soul of Tamsis was imbued from the shadow of Umbris. Because of their solitary origins, each dragon was unable to understand the other dragon's ideologies. The plight of Syltas was entirely good and noble, rendering him unable to understand or even become evil in any way. Inversely, the plight of Tamsis was entirely evil, and he was unable to do or be anything good or moral.

The Titans, in their pride, commanded their new creations to go out into the world and help the mortals of Terador. However, the dragons ignored their creators' commands. Instead, driven by an insatiable urge to follow their creators' example, the dragons decided to create their own living beings. Syltas found a suitable tract of land and breathed his holy fire upon the earth. The soil reshaped, forming life in his image. From him, the wise Slaan were born. Tamsis refused to create beings anywhere near his power or wisdom, and so he created what he deemed to be lesser beings, forming the violent, bloodthirsty Goblins to be his mindless servants.

The Titans were uneasy. Their own creations had openly defied them and sought to reshape the world into an image only consisting of purely good and evil. In an attempt to bring balance back onto the world of Terador, the Titans came together once more and created life. This time, their creation was formed with no spark, no specific magical affinity at all. These creatures were crafted out of hard earth and filled with the barest amount of life. Even with the complete lack of magical power and life, their creation released a burst of power and light, forming into what is now known as the Forged. These metallic, almost robotic creatures saw their creators and claimed to hear a great voice. This "great voice" commanded them, telling them what needed to be done. Surprised to hear that their newest creation claimed to hear a voice that didn't belong to any of them, the Titans began to wonder: "What if our own creation has been deemed worthy in the eyes of Terador itself? What if the Forged, small shells of what we have made before, are in fact being ordered and commanded by none other than Terador itself?". The Titans watched the Forged closely, as the mechanical race began forming armies and militias. Once the Forged had amassed a grand army, they called out for war against Syltas and Tamsis. "The dragons can not see anything but the light of day and the darkness of night!" they claimed. "But this world has more than just light and darkness. Look around! The Dusk and Dawn between Day and Night cannot be ignored. The dragons must be stopped so that the world can see between the light and shadows."

With their creed declared, the Forged began the war against Syltas and Tamsis. On the battlefield, Syltas arrived alone, unwilling to allow his precious creations to be harmed. Tamsis, however, brought a massive force of goblins, ready for bloodshed. Secretly, Tamsis hid over half of his population of Goblins is his dwelling, in case of the need to retreat. The Forged besieged the goblin forces, fighting day and night. Meanwhile, Syltas and Tamsis began to quarrel. Their contrasting ideals made it impossible for them to fight alongside each other, and so Syltas defected, hoping to talk with the Forged, in an attempt to bring peace. Once alone, Syltas was ambushed by a small force of Forged, wounding him and allowing him to be taken hostage. The Forged used the capture of Syltas to try and bargain with Tamsis. They claimed they would not harm Syltas (and would let the Goblins continue on), if Tamsis would also come and join Syltas in captivity.

But Tamsis cared nothing for Syltas anymore, so the battle raged on. The power of the Goblin hordes became apparent, and they began to defeat the great Forged army. Moments before their defeat, however, the Titans interfered. Convinced that the Forged were following the will of Terador itself, the Titans struck down Syltas and Tamsis with their unbridled power. The bodies of Syltas and Tamsis burst into a massive cloud of dust, creating a glorious flurry of dust.

# The Age of Mortals

From the storm cloud, thousands of dragons, good, evil, and all sorts in between, were born. They quickly began to rebuild their ancestors' empires. The good dragons became sagely advisors for the Giants, and various tribes of Slaan. The evil dragons crafted and bred vast hordes of Goblins to follow their bidding. Even still, other dragons who did not affiliate with a specific calling of good or evil sought out their own destinies, becoming kings of other mortals, masters of thousands of slaves, or just living happily alone in nature.

The Titans were infuriated. Instead of destroying their flawed creations, their power had created even more life. Even worse, their folly had birthed a race that could dominate all of the other mortal races. In their rage and torment, the Titans called for the extermination of all dragon kind. They came back down from the peaks of the world. Realizing their power could possibly worsen the situation, they decided to lead mortal armies to the kingdoms of dragons, both good and bad, slaying as many as they could.

The backlash was immediate. Even the kind sagely dragons of the Slaan realized that these mortal armies were not simply picking fights, but were hell-bent on extermination. Peace and reason were not going to work if the dragons were to survive. Unfortunately, while the dragons were fairly united, they were still separated into various small groups around the world. One of the larger groups, led by the black dragon Avschi, began a resistance. Their manifesto stated that all mortals, and even the Titans themselves, must be entirely wiped out for peace to ever exist again. Another group, led by the white dragon Salkir, believed that only ever-vigilant Forged should be eradicated. Salkir's forces believed that peace could be made with the Titans, if only the Titans could be subdued.

The war between mortals and dragons devastated the land for centuries. Slowly, the strongest and wisest of the dragons were eradicated from Terador. As the twilight of dragon-kind approached, Salkir, whose army was the greatest chance for the salvation of the dragons, betrayed her own. In secret, she confronted the Titans with a deal. She agreed to sell out her remaining kin, as well as herself, on one condition. The Slaan, Goblins, and remaining dragons' eggs would be left alone. The Titans came together and made a decision. They accepted the deal, believing that ending the Draconic Wars was worth allowing the Slaan, Goblins, and dragon eggs to remain.

And so one of the greatest cataclysmic events to ever occur on Terador began. Known as "The Dragon's Fall", the Titans swiftly and mercilessly destroyed the few remaining dragons. Not even the great Avschi stood a chance. With the eradication of the remaining dragons, Salkir was brought to the meeting place of the Titans, where she would be executed. As she stood before the Titans, they revealed to her a shattering confession. The Titans had gone back on their word, destroying every egg they could find in the great hatcheries within the remaining dragon dens. As she realized the folly of her decision, she was then promptly executed, knowing that she alone had helped bring the extinction of her species.

The Titans were not foolish. They knew that dragon eggs remained on Terador. They also new that the dragons would never be able to grow to the power that they had before. The age of dragons was over. The Titans released the Forged of their duties, allowing them to build their own civilizations and follow their own desires and needs. The Forged set forth into the deserts of the north and began to craft their home. Feeling that they had finally brought balance back to the world, the Titans returned to the peaks of the world, leaving the mortals to continue in their affairs.