History of Blaedura

Since the gods first came to Blaedura, five distinct ages of the world have gone by: the Founding, the Age of Draconis, the Age of Arcanum, the Calamity, and after the Divergence.

## **The Founding**

**The Founding** was the first age of Blaedura. During this time, the gods brought forth creatures to inhabit Blaedura, before splitting into two factions in the war against the Primordial Titans: the Prime Gods and the Betrayer Gods. The age ended with the defeat of the Primordials, along with the Betrayer Gods, which made the world safe for civilization to flourish.

### **The Protean Creators**

During this first age, gods brought forth the elves, dwarves, and humans, along with as many other races as they had inspiration for. Because the world was still a dangerous place, ruled by elemental chaos, many of their children were killed in the earliest days.

Saddened by the loss of so many children, the gods gifted mortals with arcane magic so they might better defend themselves. The first of the Dragons Metallic were created to aid in the defense of the Children of Creation. With the dragons' help, civilization began to flourish and mortals first offered worship (and purpose) to their creators.

### **The Primordials**

These Elemental Titans had lain beneath the land since before the coming of the gods and now rose up to wreak havoc on the gods' creations. Their carnage invited the attention of demons from the Abyss, who came to feast on the remains.

### **The Prime Gods vs. the Betrayer Gods**

As the Primordials devastated creation, two factions arose between the gods. The Prime Gods wished to stay and conquer the Primordials, leaving the land safe for their children. The Betrayer Gods, frustrated by their losses, gave up; some gave in to madness, and some began twisting their creations and joining forces with the Abyss.

The Prime Gods, with the help of their mortal champions, ultimately destroyed the Primordials and banished the Betrayer Gods from the Prime Material Plane.

### **The Founding of Vasselheim**

With peace finally achieved, the first true civilization was able to take root. It was called Vasselheim, the "Dawn City", and the "Cradle of Creation."

## **The Age of Draconis**

**The Age of Draconis** was the second age of Blaedura. During this age, dragons flourished and were common place in the skies across Blaedura. The mortals found peace and prosperity under the guidance of the Prime Gods.

### **Expansion of Civilization**

The mortals and their rule spread across Ecros. It was quickly discovered that this continent, and most of the continents to the North, was held aloft by strange magics, and could only be reached with the aid of the dragons or powerful spell craft. Regardless, the other strange flying lands were colonized and eventually settled: claimed by civilization.

Stories of terrible monsters and wrathful titans kept most explorers away from the vast oceans far below, but the practice was not unheard of.

### **The Dragons Chromatic**

Magics based in the primordial elements were common during this age. Some dragons, warped by such powerful elements, became the first Dragons Chromatic. Although typically less capable of shifting their own forms, the Dragons Chromatic generally had more sheer elemental power. With these dragons came the practice of imbuing mortal trainees in the powerful hunting and battle tactics of dragons: the dragon champions.

### **The Day of Dragonblood**

Having grown jealous of Bahamut's influence and sway in dragons and their kin, Tiamat had devised a plan with Vlaakith I to unleash a nearly undetectable virus onto the Prime Material Plane. This virus was known as Chromatic Ichor. Slowly but surely, over the course of nearly a century, this virus made its way to infect nearly 70% of all dragons and dragonkin.

Then, on the Day of Dragonblood, Tiamat used the virus as a focus to curse and defile all things it touched. Many of the Dragons Metallic were able to block out this darkness, but most of the Dragons Chromatic were not so fortunate. Those who did succumb to this darkness were cursed to follow the word of the Queen of Chaos forever more.

### **The Sundering**

Upon the massive change in power between the Platinum Dragon and the Scaled Tyrant, the Dragons Chromatic united under one banner and were able to free Tiamat from her binds. For the first time in centuries, a Betrayer God stepped foot on the Prime Material Plane. With this, Bahamut retaliated with the still capable force of dragons and dragonkin that he held sway over.

This war that ensued came to be known as the Sundering; a sub-era of destruction and chaos. The soaring continents of the world were sent crashing into the vast oceans beneath by ancient draconic magics. The mortals, who were ravaged by this terrible conflict, were ununified and confused as to who their enemies were, so in their panic they lashed out. The mortals waged war on all dragons and dragonkin, and with this came a new form of dragon champion: the dragon slayer.

By the turn of the era, the dragon population had been demolished, the dragonborn hunted to extinction, and mortals left uncertain in divinity.

## **The Age of Arcanum**

**The Age of Arcanum** was the third age of Blaedura. During this time, mortals tested the limits of arcane power, challenged the gods who had created them, and brought about the escape of the once-defeated Betrayer Gods. This era has also been called "the Age of Wanton Necromancy," as there were no laws against it at the time.

### **Arcane Ambition**

Mortal mages grew ever more powerful, building entire castles in a day and even learning to create life-forms of their own. Driven by the quest for immortality, an unnamed mortal woman challenged and defeated the Lord of Crows himself, ascending to take his place in the pantheon.

One man, Archmage Vespin Chloras, sought to harness the power of the Betrayer Gods. He broke open their prison, where they had been spawning hungry creations of their own, and released them back into the Prime Material Plane.

### **Ghor Dranas**

Driven by an urge for domination, the exiled gods came forth from their broken prisons, enthralled the mage who had freed them, and founded a kingdom of their own on the far end of the world. The kingdom was called "Ghor Dranas" (which means "gathering of shadows" in Draconic), and was located in the region which would later become Xhorhas in Phushura. The city of Rosohna was built on the ruins of Ghor Dranas.

### **Assault on Vasselheim**

From Ghor Dranas, the Betrayer Gods spread their influence and eventually made an assault on the bastion of Vasselheim. The battle lasted twenty days and nights but, with the divine aid of the Prime Gods, Vasselheim and its inhabitants stood triumphant, if battered, at the end.

This assault left both mortals and gods alike shaken. Mortals turned their arcane powers to the forging of heroic weapons, and the gods prepared for war.

## **The Calamity**

**The Calamity** was the fourth age of Blaedura. This age encompasses the second war against the Betrayer Gods, which devastated civilization and in some cases rearranged the geography of the world. The age ends with the defeat of the Chained Oblivion and the construction of the Divine Gate.

### **Divine Warfare**

Following the assault on Vasselheim, conflict against the was rejoined. Most cities that had sprung up during the Age of Arcanum were reduced to ash, leaving Vasselheim once again as the sole bastion of civilization. Historians estimate that no more than a third of the world's population survived this war.

To end the war, the Prime Gods sought to banish Tharizdun, the Chained Oblivion. During their battle, the Knowing Mistress, took a fatal blow, from which she is still recovering. However, the Rites of Prime Banishment were successfully enacted for the first time in history, and Tharizdun was vanquished.

### **A Long Recovery**

In the end, the kingdom of Ghor Dranas was defeated and the Betrayer Gods banished once more, but now with the knowledge and fear that they could return again. While the mortal world recovered slowly from the devastation it had endured, the Prime Gods were left to ponder how they might prevent a third divine war.

### **Karsus** **and the Fallen Goddess**

A particularly powerful archmage that followed the Knowing Mistress was able to piece together a spell that allowed him to temporarily assume the form of a god. However his hubris allowed him to overlook the imperfections in the spell, and although it was successful, it consumed a massive amount of magical energy. This crippled the Knowing Mistress mid-battle with the Chained Oblivion, allowing it to perform its fatal blow to the weakened goddess. In her dying moments and as the Chained Oblivion was locked away, she chose a young girl to fill her position: Ioun.

### **The Divergence**

Hoping to seal away the Betrayer Gods for good, the Prime Gods retreated from the Material Plane. Behind themselves and their defeated brethren, they erected a barrier known as the Divine Gate, which would prevent any god from physically crossing over into mortal realms.

The departure of the gods from Blaedura, and the diminishing of their influence, was an event that has since come to be known as "The Divergence."

## **Post Divergence**

The events of Books 1, 2, and 3 take place during the fifth age of Blaedura. This timespan encompasses all of modern history since the Divergence. Monks of the Cobalt Soul and other historians label and number the years in the Calendar of Blaedura as "PD", or "Post Divergence". For example, at the start of Book 2, the year is 728 PD.

### **Influence of the Gods**

Though unable to physically cross over into Blaedura, both the Prime Gods 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. In the absence of these gods, numerous Lesser Idols have established themselves across the world.