History of Xore

It was said to be the beginning of the universe, upon which Life manifested in many shapes and forms, ever-expanding and collapsing upon itself. Constrained by its own weight, and its own pain - Death, the force that existed before time and life, tended to her as a loyal protector. With this, the universe began to forge its own paths as the cycle of life and death began. From the great outburst of energy, gods arose in the manifestation of the forces of nature, emotions, action and power. With that, came the dichotomy of forces and the conflict of ideological manifestations.

Many dispute the testament of this time - as it dictates that before the arrival of the Divine beings, the worlds in which were let loose upon the birth of the universe were themselves incarnations of life given form. They called these beings the Titans, colossal beings that thrived in the chaos of life and defied the known laws of nature and the universe. The upheaval of this young universe gave rise to the beings who had not defined themselves, and had no ill-will upon the worlds. Though young and impeccable, a race of primordial beings ventured through the chaos upon the whims of a great being known as the World Serpent - that set to bind the known universe together, and to bring order to the unrelenting chaos. These beings were said to be the Demiurges, a force that bound the elements into their prime forces and forged the boundaries of the known universe - light and dark, the stars and the sky, the planets and moons, even the lands of heaven and hell before they became the homes of angels and devils. It was they that devised the paths the worlds travel across the Aether, that fought the Titans and their children, and shaped the universe as we know of it today. Yet, they continued their path across the borders of the universe, forging worlds and giving them life in the inexorable chaos and have disappeared into the dark fringes... crossing the boundary into the Far Realm and never having been seen again. Disturbing beings who even the gods find incomprehensible, and before they left - they locked the boundaries in place before whomever they disturbed in the realm outside of the universe could interfere. In their absence, the Divines followed their steps into the thriving worlds they shaped, and imparted their own image into the known world.

Before the universe was born, there was complete and utter darkness - some say that beings existed within had no comprehension of their own being, but were powerful and sleeping. Upon Life miraculously acqueising, there came light - untold numbers of bright beings coursed through the universe and flew out in the great explosion at the centre of the new universe and burned paths across the endless dark - awakening and scattering those that dwelt in the shadow. Awakening the dark from its eternal and blissful ignorance, burning in the light, sought to survive and live off the energy brought by the stars until their blissful darkness returned. In the shadows of creation, these parasites grew and hungered for more. In the worlds that fell into the darkness, the shadows twisted and corrupted all life and energy that grew upon them to satisfy their endless hunger and desire to return to their original bliss - oblivion. The absolute impossible nothing, where they could not feel the pain of the light, or the endless hunger that plagued them. Thus they surrounded the scattered points of light, dividing them forever more on every front, every border, and patiently waited for them to falter and pounce in an instant to satisfy their desire to return to eternal darkness. This manifested in beings within the Analogomachy, adverse to light and good, the antitheses of life - Demons. In the shadow of creation, there lied their birthplace - the place in which the darkness and beings gathered in the flightless chaos of the universe, conspiring to bring an end to the noisy, bright and dynamic reality, the Abyss. Formed from the manifestation of the dark, that drove itself insane and sired a terrible progeny that came to cannibalise its own creator - from the bones of its own bloody birthing, the demons made their home and spread like a cancer across reality. Yet, in the aftermath of the Demiurges, those whom were said to have founded and shaped reality - from the bright heavens, the brightest star of the universe, there came forth a vibrant melody that sang in harmonious union and brought forth the first angel. The Harbinger, the servant of life and death. From this being, it dictated the whims of Death and arose the first angelic hosts that would champion against the antitheses of life - the Reapers, who would come to wipe out the chaotic offspring of the Abyss to preserve the universe in an endless and eternal war between Darkness and Light.

From outside the boundaries of the known universe, came the first Divinities - amalgamated with the powers of Life, and formed as the representations of the forces of nature and domains of life. Walking from the great beyond, they immortalised themselves into the universe and sought to claim the grounds laid bare by the Demiurges. Yet, each one a supreme being in their own right - such forces were bound to conflict with one another, and conflict with the powers that once were - the Titans. Within the elemental chaos, the boundless worlds that were forged in the inception of the universe were still taking shape - and many powerful beings chose a world to be a part of. Many sought to preserve the balance of life, bringing new beginnings and to bring mortals to the fore... yet, some supreme beings of divinity laughed at such an absurd idea that they should bind themselves to the whims of something so insignificant as tiny fragile mortals, when they could be masters of their own domain - if not the universe itself. Such ambitions and purpose bred conflict among the divinities - it is not known how or when or where, for none can dictate the whims or thoughts of the gods but them.

The time when mortals and gods walked upon the same world - when the gods fought and claimed the lands for themselves, and the mortal races clambered to bring civilisations to the fore. Records from this time were non-existant, as written record and writing were not even in infancy, and word of mouth was the proud passage of tradition and the enemy of truth.   It is said from this era, the new world gathered from the creation of many races under one super continent, Xore. From here the races of Giants and Dragons fought for supremacy for thousands of years, leaving both sides weak and little in number - the Giant God Ysgramor had exiled himself from his own kindred children, ashamed of what had become of them. The Dragon Creator, split from his true form into two halves, the Platinum Dragon of Virtue Lazarus and the Chromatic Dragon of Sin Sincainea. The two halves fought for supremacy over their race, and eventually led to their downfall. In the ashes of these ancient empires, came the rise of the Elves whilst the Dwarves ventured deep into the bowels of the earth and even further beyond into the Elemental Planes. The Elven Empires arose, vying for power against their ancient rival, the Orcs of Lorkhan - fighting for the right to rule as the true inheritors of the world, their battles of magic and might resounded and though it seemed the Elves were at the forefront of every conflict and victory... a betrayal within spelled the end of their many empires, and the abandonment from their progenitor, Arvanos the Archeart. A people without a god, without power... fell into disarray and war, many sides blaming one another for their troubles, and eventually decaying into smaller states of power... So it seemed that in this period came the Age of Man.

Upon the rise of mankind, and the goddess that represented their short lives and struggles of strife and irrevocable hope for a better life - came Promethea, the Lady of Strife. Numerous wars for territory, pride and greed abounded... but civilisation strove forward and great and miraculous discoveries were made in this wonderful and terrible era. Magic, once a fledgling effort to control the elements, became the path that led empires into being and to everlasting prosperity. Many beast races that followed the Old Faith came into the fray, conspiring or allying with humanity - as they eventually unlocked powers beyond their wildest dreams. Castle plucked from the clouds and forged into diamond cities, the ability to forestall aging and eliminate disease, to command the elements and predict fate itself... the means to achieve were boundless. That being said, it was in the background that darker powers patiently waited... spreading from the fringes where even this great age divided and discriminated against others. Those who were once conquered, or those that sought to conquer, fell to the whispers and enticing words of dark power, thought to be offered freely... but holding dire and formidable consequences. The Darkness that once laid in wait, now held a gathering of Adversarial Divinities playing for power - to become the rulers of the world and the universe, launched an attack the likes of which had not been known. The world was set ablaze and thrown into chaos at the hands of the diabolical few that sought to make their mark. The Divinities that sought to preserve life and the livelihood of their mortal children met in cataclysmic battle against their primordial foes - and brought them down, for the division between the Diabolical Ones led to their downfall. For this they were imprisoned afar and outside the reach of mortals in their own realms.