The Beginning
"The Story of Mystic Realms of Lore"
"By: Kenneth Parsons"
"Copyright 2008, All Rights Reserved"
*Author Note: It took 15 years but I finally finalized the "In the Beginning" for MRL. The wiki is on it's way.*
So it was that the Divine sat upon the throne and spoke unto the void and that which was good and evil began, and for all eternity the Conflict for reason unknown to all but the Divine.
Thus began the Conflict and there was good and evil in the presence of the Divine. That which was good and that which was evil held no form nor space for good and evil was not here, or there, or when in the presence of the throne of the Divine.
Created in balance the forces that were light and shadow, good and evil, did wage battle yet so balanced they lacked ebb and flow. So the divine did speak again and the forces were broken into 7 forms each and thus the 14 Elders were made. Touched by the hand of the divine they did gain will and though and fell from that which was force to being and again the war began.
The divine watched and created a vast court around the throne and now the elders were bound by the rules the divine has laid out. These rules were the Deep Magic, The High Laws, and bound these mighty Elders to rules unspoken. The divine watch and was pleased.
The Divine spoke and at that moment gave birth to the laws of time and the Elders were now here and there and when, and the war continued as the Divine watched. The Divine smiled thoughtfully and was pleased.
The Divine looked and spoke again and the Elders were blessed to create their own save their numbers never exceed the divine constant and their powers 1/10th their own and thus the Elders gave form to the Ancients. For each of the Elders gave form to 7 of their own and their number totaled 98. The Divine mused and saw ebb and flow in the battle and was pleased.
For a time immeasurable the Divine did watch and was please with the Conflict and saw great victories and defeats yet when measured across the vast expanse balance was maintained. The Divine did speak and the Ancients were given powers to create their own save their number never exceed the divine constant and their powers 1/10th their own and thus the Ancients gave form to the Celestials and their number totaled 686.
So for time unmeasured 399 beings of light and 399 beings of shadow fought and then the Divine rose and spoke and all was quiet.
Born into the Divine's hand was a sphere of light and deep within a seed. There within the seed was all of creation and a infinite realm of being. So the Divine did whisper to the seed and the seed began to beat in time with the Divine's heart and all that is became within the sphere.
The Divine sat the sphere upon the ground and spoke, and the Conflict continued as the divine pondered the sphere.
Time unmeasured passed and within the sphere time passed as well. Life flourished and died and flourished again as the fruits of the seed's design. And a thousand times more the Divine created more of these spheres, each with a seed slightly different then the others and a infinite universe was contained in each with infinite possibilities and the divine watched and laughed with delight. Those laws born from the seed would be called Arcane Laws and they could vary from realm to realm. But all were bound to the Deep Magic for the Laws of the Deep were ever present in these spheres called "Realms".
As the Conflict continued the forces of light and shadow would draw near to the realms and their influence would shade them and touch all that was within. The Divine saw this and spoke and now the battle would rage both in the court of the Divine and within the spheres. The Divine saw this and smiled and spoke unto all thing, "See now that which is good and evil."
By this time the number of realms were uncountable by the Celestials and many had been broken by the Elders in their battles. The souls released from those broken realms danced like fireflies in the court casting light and shadow bringing day and night to the court. Thus was born the celestial nights and celestial days.
The divine spoke and his new seeds did contain a constant that would bind the realms together, there within came man, the great constant. For all seeds old and young would have this. Touched with free will and grace they were the Divine's masterpiece. While shapes and sizes would be a diverse as the realms for that which was man was uniform in though alone.
Thus man gave sounds and symbols to thought and language was born. As the Conflict continued they gave names to all things and those who were born outside of their realm, thus the Elders, Ancients, and Celestials became known as Outsiders.
So the Divine spoke and said, "For all things that journey into the realms, born into the realm you shall be made man until your power restores you to true form." And thus the Outsiders were forced to make careful plans when moving from realm to realm for when they arrived, simple men they would be.
As the Outsiders battled many realms were lost to the shadows and burned a blue hue and those who were held fast by the light glowed a brilliant gold. And as the Divine listened to the voices of man the Divine heard a lone voice from a realm who burned a pure blue. Peering deep within that realm of pure evil he found a lone soul of pure light. There in a dungeon of a realm of evil was a cleaner cleaning the cells of a powerful and evil man. He cried out to an unknown creator, "There must be more than that which I see. There must be something other then pain heaped upon pain, there must be something other than that which I know..." and moments later he was stuck down by a passing jailer for no reason but the jailer's own amusement.
The Divine did pluck his soul from the realm and set in the court amidst the Conflict and granted powers far beyond the Elders. The divine spoke to him and said, "For I am all that is and I have heard your cries. Take these from me, a spool of silver thread, a spool of golden thread, and spool of brass thread, and this needle of frozen light." You shall be my Caretaker and I ask this of you. Go unto all the realms I have made and stitch a golden thread to them all and from them to my robe. The souls of those who are good shall pass through the golden thread unto me and I shall keep them in paradise. Go unto all the realms I have made and stitch a brass thread to them all and from them to my sandals. For all the wicked souls shall pass though it and unto me and I shall keep them underfoot as punishment for their deeds. And as you see fit stitch each realm to one another but to no more than 4 others and no fewer then 2 and I shall decree that from the court all the Outsiders as you call them shall be forced to wage the Conflict within each realm and their powers culled a thousand fold. For there is a purpose to the Conflict but I have chosen man as my most cherished creation.
And so the Caretaker did as instructed and divine spoke and said, "Dear friend take the realms and place them as you see fit within the Court as the silver thread shall be as wire to you." and the Caretaker did as asked. The Outsiders were cast to the realms and were made to travel from Realm to Realm to wage the Conflict. Bound by the Deep Magic and bound by the Arcane Laws the Outsiders quickly learned that there were many things within the realms just as powerful, and many time more powerful then they. To those that were realm-born the Outsiders brought trouble and sought ways to destroy the Outsiders for the Outsiders knew only of good and evil as absolutes, not shades of grey. The souls and voice of man cried out against the Outsiders.
The divine did speak and an echo rang out and man grew wise and clever and found ways to learn and tap into the arcane laws. Math, physics, magic all became accessible. The war was forever changed. Now there were 3 sides to the battle with man as the wild card. The Divine saw this and was pleased and spoke, "To all who hear my voice for destiny has been set before you, choose wisely."
The Outsiders quickly learned that man could hurt them and while death could not claim them the destruction of their presence in the realm banished them to the court for a day and night in the eyes of the Divine. Here the Caretaker and the Divine and those banished would discuss and visit until the days were done, for the Conflict was prohibited in the court since the decree of the Divine. For a day in the eyes of the Divine could be in a realm an eon and a day.
By now the Outsiders had been named and numbered by those within the realms and over time the 399 of each side had been named and many beings often allied with Outsiders in exchange for power and position within a realm. The Outsiders learned of discretion, deceit, and the fine art of politics for realms in which they waged open war they found themselves against the formidable forces of man and often a realm was forever lost to the Outsiders as a result of open war.
As the Conflict raged two great champions of the light and shadow emerged among the celestials, "Chael" the great warrior of the light and "Mal" the corrupter wage a mighty battle. Chael defeated Mal but the people of the realm suffered greatly as they were caught in the middle of the fight. The Divine grieved and saw that the Light was as cruel as the Shadows.
The Divine spoke and two realms were created one without a seed and one with a seed. He spoke to the Caretaker, "Take the realms and stitch no gold nor brass thread to them. Stitch but a single silver thread between the two and stitch the one with a seed to a realm as far from the throne as possible and no others. Into the empty sphere Mal was imprisoned and locked behind a door and the seed was given no life but sat silent, waiting for some unknown event.
So pleased with the Conflict that the divine granted a luxury to the Outsiders. For at any time 1/3rd of the 399 could take rest from the conflict for a year and slumber so long as they had not slumbered the year before. And so with the setting of the celestial night the armies of light and shadow sent 1/3rd of their forces to the Tower of Light and Tower of Shadows to sleep. another 1/3rd stood guard outside of the tower while the remaining 3rd fought in the conflict.
With 1/3rd of the outsiders taken out of the battle many great and powerful realm-born beings grew strong and a few began to walk between the realms also. Armies and alliances were formed and the Conflict grew from just 3 factions to thousands. The armies of shadow were scattered and fragmented without Mal to rally them. The various battles raging through the realms even render an entire realm into a fog drifting among the other realms. Chael and his 1/3rd went out searching for Mal's second lieutenant Gazzgoff when one of his scouts Akjuai accidentally stumbled upon Mal's prison. Not realizing where he was he open the gate and saw Mal sleeping within. Quickly realizing what he did he shut and locked the door telling no one of his mistep.
Akjuai returned to the Tower of Light for his rest and 1/3rd of the army of light went to rest. Akjuai slept unaware that Mal had placed a portion of himself under Akjuai's toe nail. As Akjuai slept, Mal twisted his thought and dreams. Throughout the night Akjuai was warped and twisted and awoke, changed, and tainted. In the middle of the night he slaughtered his brethren bringing to them the taint of Mal. Immediately they were reborn and laid waste to the Tower of Light. It's ruins now called the Fortress Pandamonium. There they launched an attack at the armies outside plunging the tower into an endless seige. A message was dispatched to Chael's forces and Akjuai snuck out of Pandamonium intent on releasing Mal. Chael intercepted him in the realm outside of Mal's prison. There Akjuai and Chael battled fiercely, Akjuai was Chael's equal, energized by Mal's corruption. They both looked upon the seed, called the Shudru, and set upon it both grasping it at the same time. Both the Divine and the Caretaker looked in aprehension as both Chael and Akjuai tore it in two along with a tiny 3rd fragment. Thinking it worthless they discared the halves and resumed their battle. Akjuai quickly gained the upper hand and flung wide the door standing before it welcoming his master to come out. He fired a single shot destined to destroy Chael. At that moment Chael had but two choices, fire a blast of his own that would knock Akjuai into Mals prison, sealing the door in the process or dodge the blast.
With a massive burst of energy Chael fired his shot knocking Akjuai into Mals prison and the door slamming shut once again sealing both of them in. But Chael had little to celebrate. Akjuai's blast struck him, destroying all but a lone feather. All was silent.
Some time after, the two torn halves of the Shudru began to beat while the 3rd tiny fragment remained silent. In a flash the two halves seem to come alive and assailed one another as if there former wielders had imparted the Conflict into them. All of creation was born from their assaults, the aftermath of their attacks. But as these forces battled they grew weaker, growing ever more bound to the universe they were creating. They battled so long that they became titans on a planet and in a massive clash knocked each other out. Once they came to they could no longer sense the other's presence and trapped on a planet as giants no larger then 1000 feet in height. They became acutely aware of their situation for now fear had crept into their being.
Fearing losing any more power of their own they drew upon their instincts and began seeding the planet with life in an effort to find their counterpart. The light created the plants and animals of the waters, the shadows created the beast that roamed the land and the birds in the sky. They sought to destroy the other's creations as they found them transforming their battle into an arms race of life. As they created though they lost power and realized that they needed to reclaim that power. So all things would eat and absorb the energy around them and the circle of life was completed. Animals ate the plants, the plants grew from the sun, and all life was tied together. But their instincts proved difficult to ignore.
By the time these titans, called Primes, became aware of one another's location they grew too weak to directly assault one another so the two Primes created armies of intelligence creatures to do battle. Thus born were all the elder beings that this world would know.
Quietly over 100 years as the Primes waged war, the small 3rd piece of the Shudru has turned into a burning egg of sorts as wide as the largest star. Deep within a creature of incredible power was being birthed, the Amegeddon beast. From the yolk of the egg the Arcane Magics would come to be and as the burning star-like egg flared it birth 2 creatures into the world, the Elves and the Dragon.
To the planet they fell as a shadow, unseen and unnoticed by the Primes and there creations. As if ingrained with a mission they set out to trap and destroy the Primes, echoes of the Armageddon beast's instinct. From the shadows they infiltrated and conspired. Teaching the ways of magic and working to their goals.
Then a great battle erupted and the final battle began between the Primes. This would be known as the first Polar War. Two sides clashed and amidst the war the elves, dragons, and those that had secretly allied themselves with these intruders captured and imprisoned the Prime of Light in a great Tower and shattered the Prime of Shadows into 7 red stars high in the heavens. The war ended and the armies faded.
About 500 years later man would become manifest and came unto the world. Keeping to themselves though the race of man would have no roll for quite some time. Living as nomads in small tribes they kept to themselves until the days of the second polar war.
5 thousands years would pass and a great sorcerer named Aggashar under the influence of several Outsiders set out to harness the power of the Prime of Shadows. Raising armies on an island called Agann he set out to claim the world. Once again the planet seem split between two sides and the Second Polar war began. The war would last 500 years and the elves fearing loss taught the humans the secret of life craft. 7 mages were selected, history would call them the War Mages and many great and magical beasts would be created by the hands of man. The war ended with the entire island of Agann being sunk into the mantle of the planet. The survivors realizing how dangerous the knowledge of the Primes were, and set out to purge the world of every scrap of knowledge about the Primes. Fake gods were established. Powerful spells were cast purging the memories of all creatures, anything involving the Primes was erased. The Council of Seven, tasked to this, last act was wiping there own memories.
Thus the story of Mystic Realms of Lore begins on a planet named Cienna.
Key Events that would Follow:
The Grand Masqurade - Outsiders begin posing as the Council of Seven's Gods
The Portal Wars - The 7 War Mages lose control of their creations and are hunted down
The Rise of the Emberdane Emperors - The humans from out of nowhere establish the Old Kingdoms(MMO Period)
The Rise of the Lich Lord - A human mage after his wife is assinated goes to war with the elves pursuing their imortallity with dire results.
The Dead Fall - The Dark Elves flee the jungles into the dwarven kingdom as the undead savage the world for 100 years.
The Awakening - Overnight the undead vanish, people venture out to reclaim their world.
The Rise of the Hajurria Empire - The Gnolls, Kobolds, Goblins, Bugbears, Orcs, and Ogre's join forces
The Arcanum Wars - The Arcanum and Coven go to war
The Elven Purge - The Elves maddness drive them to war and extinction.
The Long Sickness - With the magic fading many of the magical beasts begin dying off
The Age of Man - Man is all that remains of the old races.
The Age of Shadows The Rebirth of the Coven - The Coven begins their illuminati era, the Outsiders fading into the shadows (Victoria Era)
The Age of Steam - The industrial revolution and the last purge of the Coven (Steampunk)
The Golden Age of Man - Science fourishes (1920-1980s)
The Age of Heroes - The shockwave from Armegeddon's hatching reaches Cienna, the age of the super heroes begin (aka 'Hypers'). (Sci-Fi)
The Rise of the Galactic Emperor - Man enters into war with the survivors of the Portal Wars. A single Human empire emerges.
The War of Arrmageddon - Man does battle with the Armegeddon Beast
The Rebirth - The Lone Feather Brings Light
