The Coming of Aegis

Before the Gods of A'arde were raised by Aegis, the Great Shield, the world was known as Moeda’arde, and was home to many species of Sapient entities. However, little is known of this time, as the world was almost completely destroyed by the arrival of the Primeval Titans, God-like Elemental creatures that travelled the Cosmologies of the Multiverse seeking Sapient civilisations and bringing them to ruin. It is believed that the Titans sought to return the Multiverse to the Primordial Origin, the place from where all existence came, by travelling from realm to realm, destroying all they came across, allowing the Planes of the Elemental to swallow the burned worlds until, ultimately, they too would collapse.

Moeda’arde was originally a world without magic; it had no direct connection to a Weave, nor did it have any contact with any of its Cosmological Planes, aside from the minor influence of those powerful enough to whisper directly into the minds of its inhabitants. Instead, Moeda’arde was a world that thrived on what the Gods called "science", and their exploration was of the Material realm only. This meant that it was unprepared for the arrival of the incredibly powerful Titans, who brought the first magic to the world and destroyed near everything they came across. The powerless people of Moeda’arde had no chance against these mighty beings. Less than 70 people remained alive when Aegis, the Great Shield and Last God of Ankhvaar, arrived on Moeda’arde in an attempt to stop the Titans once and for all. Seeing that the world was almost dead, Aegis used his Godly power to rip down the Antimagic Curtain that prevented magic from taking root within Moeda’arde and called to him the survivors, raising the 67 that survived Ascension as Gods alongside himself to battle the Titans.

Ripping away the Antimagic Curtain gave Moeda’arde access to its adjoining Cosmological Planes for the first time in its history. However, at the time, only the Lateral Planes developed Pathways connecting the Planes together, due to their natural link with each other. The Navian and Elemental Planes could do nothing but watch the War, while the Planes of the Fey and Shadow assisted against the onslaught of the Titans. The Titans attempted to destroy A’arde by colliding the Material, Fey and Shadow Planes, but two Ancients of Fey and Shadow gave their lives to create the Border-Fey and the Border-Shades, thus separating the three Planes in the same way that the Immaterial, Navian, Empyrean and Elemental Planes were, though they remained closely linked.

Armed with new magic to compliment their already abundant understanding of the powers of science, and the desire for vengeance against the beings that stole their homes, lives and families, the newly raised Gods of A’arde followed Aegis’ carefully laid plans and, with the help of their Fey and Shadow allies, ultimately defeated the Titans, sealing them inside a prison constructed by Aegis’ last friend, who lost his life finishing it. This prison has many names; the Fey call it Ganntair-Mòr; the Elves, Carchar Mawr; and the A’arden Deities themselves call it Ehr Myn Keirrok, The Great Prison.

After The Great Prison was closed, Aegis vowed to keep it closed, wrapping his essence around it and going into a state of deep hibernation, his magic forming a protective shield about the Prison so that none could get in, nor out. Aegis now sleeps eternally, the Sleeping Shield, keeping the Prison secure away from the hands of those who would see the Titans released. Some say that he now lies deep in the core of A’arde itself, while others say he is located on a plane beyond our comprehension. All that is truly known is that Aegis is considered the Great Lord of Gods, above even Haul in status, and that if he should ever awaken from his slumber, cataclysm will follow.

The myth of the Coming of Aegis is rooted in a historical truth; even the Collaborative Pantheons cannot deny it. While proof of Aegis' arrival and continued existence come to Mortals only in the form of assurances from the Gods, the fact that even the Collaborative Pantheons speak of it as truth screams volumes.

Some Ascended have spoken with Mortals about seeing the Great Prison, though none of them have ever actually described it due to fear of awakening Aegis from his slumber.

The Coming of Aegis is a well known myth across the world, given that it is rooted in the truth of the origins of A'arde. The stories that are predominantly told tend to come from the churches of Haul.

While the general concepts of the story remain the same across the world, some variations of it go into details about different areas, depending on how those areas impacted aspects of the traditions or beliefs held. Variations that come from the churches of Haul, for example, speak of the Coming with particular reverence. Some variations omit the initial descriptions of the world of Moeda'arde, seeing them as irrelevant, while others include a more detailed account of the alliance of the Fey and Shadow Fey, as well as attempts by other Planes to forcibly create Pathways to these Lateral Planes to gain access to the Material Plane.

However, the basic details remain the same: Aegis came to the world, ripped down the Antimagic Curtain, lifted the Gods, and now secures the prison that the Primeval Titans are trapped within.

The Coming of Aegis is considered one of the most important parts of the history of the world of A'arde. Without His intervention, the Primeval Titans would have succeeded in bringing doom to the world and caused the collapse of another Cosmology into the Primeval Chaos, and eventually, a return to the Primordial Origin. The Gods would not exist, the Beacons would never have been created, and the world would simply not exist in the manner that it does today.

While there are many religious and theological variations of the story, including essays that break it down and analyse it, it is considered taboo to create commercial adaptations of it outside of religious performances. This is because it is believed that altering or adapting the tale will draw the attention, or even the ire, of Aegis Himself, and potentially unleash catastrophe upon the world.

Paintings of the Coming of Aegis feature heavily in temples dedicated to Haul, though few show any identifiable features in any depictions of the Gods before they Ascended. This is likely due to the Gods admitting that their current forms are "similar yet quite different" from their previous ones, so nobody is truly sure what they looked like. Depictions of Aegis often show Him as a towering figure with silvery-white skin, golden hair and beard, four arms, wings, the clawed feet of a bird, and bearing three circular shields upon his person.