|
Author: Harken
Date Added: 1/10/09
Last Modified: 5/28/09
Second Age: Age of the Nine
The Nine Nations / The Golden Age
The withering away of the forgotten Gods left behind divine energy which immediately was met with the energy of the mortal plane and the two great forces inevitably formed demigods. These nine demigods, simply called The Nine, walked the mortal realm, lived extended mortal lives, and possessed mortal greed but also the divine powers of their predecessors, although still far from equaling the power of the forgotten Gods. The demigods took it upon themselves to bring structure to this anarchic world and to command and rule the mortals. They broke apart, spreading to all corners of the realm to build their separate empires. Avandor, the Great settled with the elves of Nâvirfëll; Calill, the Wise with the men of Telgin; Sephria, the Relentless with the men of Nívak; Tólsimir, the Quiet with the elves of Mirodo; Halvak, the Hidden with the dwarves of Angard; Asvel, the Greedy with the goblins of Maelar; Durin, the Hegemon with the men of Bäros; Viscérra, the Plagued with the orcs of Galstrom; and Malkur, the Chaotic with the evil forces of Bavkür and the Northeast Territories.
The people of Aedolyn were in awe of the power of the Forgotten Gods whose existence was unknown to them. This supreme power was new and when the demigods appeared in their individual lands it was easy for them to grab hold of absolute power and rule their new domains. Rallied behind their new powerful leaders, the separate peoples of Aedolyn finally saw an Age of Prosperity and Development. This was the greatest period of Aedolyn history and it is no surprise that the people called it our Golden Age of the Empires of the Gods. Large majestic cities sprung up across the realm, the land was cultivated and worked, domestic reforms were in place and the people of Aedolyn were more educated and rich than ever. Relations between nations and peoples were mended and this paved the way for the formation of the Golden Conclave which was a body with representatives from each nation, including its leader, which promoted the overall wellbeing and prosperity of Aedolyn. The Conclave would meet in a different capital city every time they would meet but its formation took place in the Dwarf capital of Gávalik. This assembly’s main task was to work out trading deals which would spur intermingling among the races to promote a more cohesive realm. To honor the formation of the Golden Conclave, a grand statue was erected in the center of Gávalik which portrayed all nine of the gods, dressed in their traditional garb, standing tall in a circle looking and facing inward. It was a symbol of unity and prosperity for the people of Aedolyn.
The Forgotten Warning
After the formation of the Golden Conclave, Aedolyn saw a boost in growth and development, each nation wanted to be more grand and luxurious than the other so numerous palaces, castles, gardens, cultural buildings, etc were built. This continued peacefully for hundreds of years until the need to be grander transformed into the need to be more powerful. Each nation began to form armies and put their national pride into how large and powerful their armies were, by this time each nation was so rich that their armies were stunning, they could afford the most advanced equipment as well as luxuriously detailed uniforms and armor, they truly were armies of gold. It became an honor to be in the army of your county not only because of the respect you would get but also because it was one of the highest paying jobs available.
Armies continued to grow as well as animosity and rivalries. Each nation boasted its power however none could find a reason to start a war so this vicious cycle of a growing army continued. To the north in the Bavkür Desert, the evil forces of the Bavkür Alliance were being outnumbered and outdone by the luxurious militaries of men, elves, and dwarves. Malkur, their God, was beginning to lose support and control over his many peoples and in a desperate move promised them ultimate power and the ‘Gift of the Gods’. It had been over a thousand years since the formation of the Gates and since then, no one has been able to find any of the five Gates despite countless expeditions and efforts to do so. After Malkur promised his people the ‘gift of the Gods’ he departed on his own to search for one of the five Gates; he had heard rumors of one being in the vicious and dangerous region of Turúva, and so that is where he began.
A year later, after the people of Bavkür had lost all hope, Malkur returned and immediately called for an emergency Meeting of the Golden Conclave in the dark capital of Svaalgor Keep. Here he revealed to the assembly that he had discovered one of the Gates created by the Forgotten Gods and continued to persuade the council of the powers hidden inside. He claimed that Aedolyn had developed so much that they had hit the ceiling and any future development would be impossible without the ‘gift of the gods’. He proposed that they lift an ancient law forbidding the opening of the Gates, which no one remembered why it existed, so that the people of Aedolyn could continue their expansive development. He promised that once he unlocked the Gate, he would share its power equally with all nine nations. Either because they had forgotten the epic warning of the Forgotten Gods, or because mortal greed had overcome them, the Golden Conclave approved Malkur’s proposition, thus paving the way for the destruction and death of their great realm.
|
