Teachings of the One Church

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 The Creator called the energies of creation into the Void. Each energy with it's opposite and complimentary counterpart. They called the seminal energies of Life and Death. They called the elemental energies of Air, Earth, Fire, and Water. They called the magical energies of Manaa and Makutu. They created the Fey Realm and invested it with energies of Life, Death, Manaa, and Makuta. The Fey Realm became the source of these energies in the world. They created the Elemental Plane, as the source of all elemental energies. They created the Heavens and the Netherworld, and those creatures that dwell within. They created the Aether and the River of Souls, the Judgement Lands and the Grey Spire. Then they created Therrah and the Shadow World, for their must be balance in all things.

The Creator was not alone in the Void. A creature was there before the Creator arrived; they did not see the creature. The creature, the Nameless One, hid within the Void as the Creator was making Therrah. From the beginning, the Nameless One desired to unmake creation.

The last act of the Creator was to bestow their children upon creation. The children of the Creator are the nine Regents. The Creator left his children to be regents of his creation granting each dominion over a different energy of creation, except Albus. Albus, the youngest, was given the keys to the Heavens and the Netherworld. The Regents were charged with filling creation with beasts and wild things, plants and insects, monsters and wonders. The Regents created sentient races and helped them to civilize Therrah.

He waited until the Creator left to make more worlds before acted. While the Regents worked to nurture and build the world, the Nameless One quietly spread his evil and ruin throughout creation. It is said that in the Age of Regents, before the Nameless One's taint had truly infected the world, men lived for thousands of years and elves were near immortal.

The Nameless One worked slowly and quietly to unmake everything the Creator and the Regents had created. When they finally discovered him, the Regents fought the Nameless One in the Cataclysm, and then sealed him from the world beginning the Banishment, forcing him to act through whispers in the minds of the depraved.

The Banishment was successful, but had dire consequences. The Nameless One was locked into the Black Spire and sent hurtling into a bottomless abyss, deep in the Netherworld. His prison is impenetrable, but came at great cost. When the Nameless One became locked in the Black Spire, the Regents inadvertently trapped themselves in the White Spire in the Heavens. The White Spire was the trigger to the Black Spire's trap; only by combining their strength in the White Spire could they trap the Nameless One. The backlash of the trap sealed the Regents in the White Spire. Unlike the Nameless One, they could still directly monitor and influence Therrah, but could no longer walk the world as they once did. The Banishment also fractured the souls of the Regents. While they retained the core of their powers, the Banishment removed them from much of their power and ability. The remnants of their power were spread all over Therrah.

The Younger Gods are a direct result of these remnants of power spread throughout the world. These lost powers turned mortals into gods. Over the eons many gods rose and fell, due to the lost powers.

Approximately 13,000 years ago, a mortal named Ilgath discovered the lost powers. For over a millennia Ilgath amassed power and set about finding all remaining lost powers in Therrah for his own use. Yarroth, the oldest of the “younger gods”, began organizing against Ilgath. This started the Godswar that lasted 1,000 years.

According to church doctrine, the 13,000-year-old Emperor Ilgath draws his power from the Nameless One. During the Godswar, Ilgath opened a channel to the Nameless One, with the hope of harnessing his power. His lust for power nearly released the Nameless One from his prison. Ilgath was stopped by then mortals Rylos and Xis, with the help of legendary hero Kel. Although they kept the Nameless One within the Black Spire, Ilgath is believed to have connected himself with the power of the Nameless One. He uses this power to rule the theocratic Ilgathan Empire with an iron fist, and is said to have conquered much of the Netherworld. Although Ilgath has always used this power for world domination, rather than world destruction, many scholars believe that the Nameless One intends Ilgath to be instrumental in the Uncreation.

Followers of the One Church believe that the Regents watch from the heavens, guiding the races of men through agents; while the younger gods live around and among men, teaching and testing them every day. The pantheon of younger gods is called the Gods of Mandate. The pantheon and church were codified by the word and will of Yarroth the Godking following the Godswar.