Nordfar

## **Nordfar: Land of Gods, Heroes and Tales**

### **Names**

Nordfar, **The Land of Gods, Heroes and Tales,** is the derived name from a colloquialism often murmured by haggard merchants and far-travelers when asked of the land beyond the Nine Realms Mountains: often, "North, Far" or "Far North" was the only thing that could be pried from their frozen lips. Thus, Nordfar became the unofficial, but most commonly referred to, name of the country. It has also been referred to as **The Land Time Forgot**, **Yggdra's Realm,** and most recently, **The Country of Life.**

### **The Before Time**

There was a time where Nordfar was an open country: no mountains to exclude the world, no gates to bar the way, no fear, no willing isolation. Instead, it was a land where Gods and Spirits would intermingle and dream the World into existence. This all changed when the Nihili arrived: entropy condensed into ravenous beasts and slithering corruption, these creatures were the primal force of Darkness made manifest. Spreading from the cosmos, these creatures forced the Gods to separate the Prime into the Endless Existences: a multiverse of millions of planes, each as varied and diverse as the stars in the sky. The Nihili, tempted of the limitless banquet provided them, slithered into the Space Between Stars, and began the War of the Endless.

Beleaguered by this effort, the Gods and Spirits separated: the Gods remained in the Divine, but observed their Creation from atop Jorm, the Sky Spear. The Spirits, content with less lofty, more intimate goals, hid themselves in the Wilds and the Material, waiting to be approached by those who knew where to look. After the War of the Endless, the Gods noticed that, somehow, creatures were emerging from the Planes, and called for help and guidance. Moved by a myriad of emotions, the Gods devoted themselves to the cultivation of these creatures, and the small Souls they nestled inside their bodies. A part of the Gods recognized a weapon to be turned against the Nihili, should they ever return, while others basked in the warmth and purpose granted by the devotion of these creatures: Naming them "Mortals", the Gods once again began to create. This time, however, they created something more powerful and more present than the Planes, the Material, and the Universe: they created stories, and myth, and tales.

These stories led to the Age of Heroes, where Mortals, inspired and devoted, rose up to defeat the Nihili that had remained on the world in the form of Monsters. Epic battles against these monsters reverberated through the Planes, as the War of the Endless began in earnest. Championed by the Gods, Mortals fought, died and returned endlessly, and in doing so, began to diverge and evolve. Some Mortals took to the forests, others to the mountains, many to the ocean; some even headed to the Cosmos and the Planes, emboldened and strengthened by the peculiar magics and auras that resonated within. It is unknown why the Age of Heroes came to an end, and some even claim that, even now, the Age of Heroes is continuing, and truly never ended. What is known,however, is that, by the end of a devastating battle, Mortals forgot their potential. Whether robbed by a cruel Monster, stolen by a greedy God, or simply rejected en masse, Mortals became weak, timid and fearful.

The Gods, some disgusted, some humbled, many concerned, receded from the world into the Divine Realms. These Realms bifurcated, branching off endlessly, drawn to Planes of like mind and temperament and aesthetic, and isolated themselves. Some Gods, unable to pick a place, simply wandered Creation, in search of purpose. Mortals, however, began to do something they'd never done before: Die. And die they did. Monsters razed and purged, devouring and rending wherever they went. With the threat of death, Mortals spread further, running from the Land of the Gods into the Unknown: better to risk for life than to remain and die at the hands of a rampaging beast. After the Grand Exile, those who remained in the Land of the Gods, surrounded on all sides by remnants of their creation, began to forget. They busied themselves with petty pursuits: who should lead, who should leave, who should lay down and die. The Nordfarian Gods, led by Yggdra the All-Mother, watched in horror as their Mortals began to fight each other, rather than the Monsters. And so, the Creation of the Nine began.

**The Creation of the Nine**

The Nine Realms were created in seven years, seven months, seven days and seven hours: each Realm is a mountain that is linked to each other by a series of peaks and cliffs, forming a massive ring of stone and metal. The Nine were used to separate the Mortals, giving them their own realms, their own places to rule. Still, Yggdra, in her wisdom and compassion, created two things to preserve hope: The Yggdrassil and Niebellungen. Yggdra's Tree, the Yggdrassil, where in its branches lays the Castle of the Gods, Jorm the Sky-Spear, was and is a massive, eternal tree that radiates life, light and strength. Those who view the Tree know that the Gods are there, toiling away to create and preserve, and that life is still there. The city of Niebellungen is accorded neutral territory, a place for the Nine Realms to join and discuss, and hopefully, reunite and become One once more. This was believed to only be myth, until the Heroes of Nordfar, through destruction and sacrifice, ended the Separation and brought unity.

## Notable Settlements

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