Ba'alim

Last Children of Archeus

The Makers

Elemental Planes

> "*Elements are raw power, unlimited by things like Time, Space or Darkness. Our lords are the Last Children of Archeus, and the Makers of your planet. Every mountain has been shaped by them, every sea, every volcano, every steppe, every plateau. All of your world is theirs.*"
> ― An Elemental about the Ba'alim
>
>

The Ba'alim, otherwise known as the Elemental Embodiments, are four ancient and primordial entities known to be the first overruling beings of Sipherion. Each one of them is the living and sentient manifestation of an element of the planet. They are known to have battled each other for the whole period between Sipherion's birth and the Great Ancients' victory over them. They are also known as the four-faced incarnation of elements, and their creations have sometimes gotten in the way of mortals who tried to tame the surrounding nature. As such, the Elementals have been remembered as antagonists in many legends and myths. Though they are believed to be fundamentally chaotic, the puzzling pattern of alliances they made and wars they waged seems to point out some sense of greater plan or finality might have something to do with their constant hostility to the living, either a goal ingrained by Archeus or the sole will of recovering their planet.

The Ba'alim are also known as the undisputed rulers of the elementals, and lords of the Elemental Planes, where they all built their own kingdoms. They are known to be extremely powerful beings, and essentially immortal since their fate and that of Sipherion are entertwined.

Although they once all had different names in the many cultures which aknowledged their existence, the four Ba'alim are commonly known as Ishum the Scorching Sun, Kiengi the Mistress of Tears, Sharu, the Storm Above the Clouds and Ershetum, the Gem of the Mountains.

## History

The Ba'alim were born out of the elemental chaos that ruled over Sipherion during its prehistory. The Ba'alim were a manifestation of the original elements, born from Archeus' essence. First came Ishum, then, Ershetum then, Sharu and finally Kiengi. Immediately after their birth, the Ba'alim started to oppose each other, competing for the control of the world.

Though it is believed the Ba'alim battled each other in person for a long time, most consider they gave birth to their elemental progeny early on, in order to expand quickly. They shaped them out of their own essence, passing on their will and dreams to every single one of them, thus birthing entire legions of servants loyal to their cause. The creation of the Salamanders, the Gnomes, the Sylphs and the Undynes resulted in a full scale war over the newly born planet. A period, known as prehistory, reshaped the world Archeus had left behind, giving it the aspect it has today. Oceans expanded and dried out, continents sunk and other rose, as Sipherion's landscape came into rough shape. During this time, whatever life was in the surface hid itself to survive the fights between the mighty colossi.

It was during this great conflict that some elementals rose to power, as lieutenants of the Ba'alim, and became prominent figures of prehistory. The Primordial War lasted for millenia, and would still be going on if the Ba'alim had stayed unopposed. Over this long period of time, the elementals built their kingdoms in the airs, oceans, desert and mainlands, hoping one day to topple their despised siblings, and claim the world for their own masters. It is said that, at some point during the war, Sharu was close to break the perpetual stalemate and invade the seas, having won several battle with her revered and feared lieutenant, Ziz, in command. Ishum invaded Sharu's domain just early enough for her to send troops to him, allowing the stalemate to continue. Relatively soon after, Archeus died, and Ayin invaded the planet.

The intrusion of the Voidborn in Nihilia turned the Ba'alim from their conflict to a common opponent, and Ayin had much issue to defeat the elementals, with them never completely being defeated. As the Great Ancients launched, they started to spread and although the Ba'alim fought bravely, they were defeated by the Ancients and forced to serve them. As such, they were defeated by the Archean Empire and each was locked within a part of existence, creating the Elemental Planes, elemental variations of Nihilia.

## Gallery

Ishum (The Scorching Sun/Ba'al of Fire)Kiengi (The Mistress of Tears/Ba'al of Water)Sharu (The Storm Above the Clouds/Ba'al of Air)Ershetum (The Gem of the Mountains/Ba'al of Earth)