Author: Orleron » Wed Sep 25, 2002 4:35 pm
In the beginning, there was chaos?? Reigning over that chaos was a boundless Supreme Being with no name and no form. The crystal sphere containing this chaos was called ?Avlis?, and for untold millennia the Supreme Being of Avlis wandered through the chaos without any purpose or aim. At one point, no one knows exactly when, the Supreme of the crystal sphere grew weary of the chaos and decided to restore order in Avlis once again. So, the swirling chaos was gathered up and the stars where formed along with the planets, and the world itself. The Supreme saw that this work was done well, and the decision was made to keep the world in existence.
Having completed that task, the Supreme populated the world with primitive gods. These were all peaceful and orderly gods that had limited control over a certain natural formations, such as ponds or groves. Each of them was perfect in every detail, and the Supreme was happy with the way they would attend to their areas while worshipping him. To honor his perfect creation, the Supreme named the world after the crystal sphere in which it was cradled...Avlis.
The Age of the Gods:
One day, almost by chance, Avlis received a visitor that would shape its history forever to come. The Negari, an evil entity from the depths of the Abyss flew into the crystal sphere on a Spelljamming vessel with nine human prisoners. Now this Negarai was extremely intelligent and twisted, like most specimens of his kind, and oddly enough, this individual had a great love for humanoid (especially human) psychology. His greatest fascination was the study of good, evil, and neutrality in humans. Even though he was a vile creature in every way, he still had interest in the mechanism that made people behave in alignment with a certain philosophy. He felt that if he could study these attitudes more in depth, he would be more apt at controlling large numbers of the creatures to do his bidding.
Time was his greatest asset. So, during his travels, he captured nine human warriors of varying belief patterns from various other spheres he had journeyed through. Intending to run a study on how each of the nine individuals interact with the other eight, he searched for a secluded place where no outside influence could contaminate his experiment and found Avlis.
Most of the experiments he had planned involved bringing two of the warriors together in order to monitor how they interacted. If his experiment were to work, each of the prisoners not in use at the time would have to be kept in isolation. So, just to make sure that no interaction would occur between prisoners who weren't being observed, the Negarai built a separate prison for each human. The nine prisons were scattered all over Avlis. Slave labor was needed for the construction, and he would need guards after the construction was complete. So, the Negarai imported various lesser Tana'ri to do the work. These denizens would watch over the idol humans when he was elsewhere.
Now after the construction was done, the leftover lesser Tana'r,i who were not guarding prisoners, were allowed to roam the planet to do anything they pleased. With hoards of lesser Tana'ri roaming the planet, the order that the Supreme created was put into severe jeopardy. The Dretches were multiplying and gating in larger demons who in turn gated in even larger demons...and so on. Eventually, things got really out of hand on Avlis and the lesser gods of nature were annihilated. So, in order to combat this problem, the Supreme created a Holy Sword made of pure Godmagic and power for each of the warriors. The swords had special powers, which were in accordance with the respective philosophies of the warriors. Late that night, the swords were magically sent down into the cells of the prisoners by the will of the Supreme. When the prisoners awoke, they found their respective swords hovering in the center of their cells.
With the great power given to them by their newfound weapons, the warriors easily escaped from their prisons all having one thing in mind, the destruction of their captor, the Negari (although in truth each had a different reason why he wanted to kill the Negarai). The warrior Gorethar wanted to eliminate this evil for its own sake and impurity, whereas the warrior Maleki wanted nothing but good old-fashioned cold-blooded revenge. So, cutting through demon after demon along the way, each made the perilous journey separately to converge on the master of all the Avlisian demons.
When all nine of the warriors finally arrived at the Negari's stronghold catching him by surprise, they surrounded him. Each of the warriors was intent on destroying this Negarai, and each of them had the means to do it all by himself. All of the Holy Swords had a different invocation power that could cause serious damage, however, there was something that the nine warriors and even the Supreme didn't know about those powerful weapons. They contained so much godly essence that if a subject was hit with all nine invocation powers at the same time it would become instantly deified. So, it was very bewildering to the warriors when they all simultaneously unleashed their powers on the Negarai in order to destroy him, but turned him into a very powerful god instead! Now, with the Negarai thoroughly more powerful than the nine warriors, the only thing they could do was flee together to a place deep beneath the surface of Avlis.
After a long and treacherous journey to the center of the planet with the Negari hot on their trail, they came across the Eternal Spark, which was one of the artifacts that the Supreme created and used to form the world. The magic of the Eternal Spark is beyond all magic ever seen in an artifact, for it has the power to create crystal spheres, and transform mortals into gods. Coming to this treasured secret artifact, the nine warriors began to squabble over it. The warrior Gorethar thought that the Spark should not be used by anyone because its power would most likely corrupt anyone who used it. However his friend, the warrior O'ma, thought that the stone should be used only by the warriors who believed in justice and balance, and that the balance between good and evil could be helped by creating a force of good Gods through its use. Dru-el saw the merit in O?ma?s thinking, however he believed that the stone should only be used by whoever was Good and deserved to be made a god, whether they cared about balance or not. As for the others, the warrior Toran believed that anyone who would practice lawful principles of any kind in order to help balance the universe could use it, but Mikon disagreed and argued that anyone who would try to live in total balance between law and chaos, good and evil could use the Spark. By this point, the squabbling was becoming a little more heated, and this disturbed the warrior Forian who stopped the conversation with a wave of his hand and announced that perhaps they should all think of a number and that everyone who thought of an even number should use it. But no one took him seriously, for they learned on the journey down to the center of the planet that Forian was a bit odd. Valok, who was usually quiet and scheming, spoke up and said that everyone?s ideas were well and decent, but he believed that only he should use it so he could conquer Avlis for himself and set up his own kingdom after he defeated the Negarai. Aarilax had a similar idea as well. Atlhough he didn?t believe Valok had any claim. He thought that he should use it because he was the only one who could get the job done. Finally, Maleki, also wanted the Spark all for himself so he could kill the miserable Negarai and then finish off the rest of the warriors. But, before any decision could be made, the Negarai god himself burst forth out of the rock ready to slay them all. So, in a quick reaction, all nine warriors grabbed the Eternal Spark at nearly the same time.
A grand fight ensued. The continents of Avlis were torn apart. Fire filled the skies and explosions rocked the planet's axis. But throughout all the grand battles and vicious attempts to slay the Negarai, no one could kill him or be killed by him. Eventually, the nine gods figured out that a greater god could not kill another greater god on Avlis. This troubled them very much because it was taking a great toll on the planet. However, in the nick of time the Negarai was mysteriously slain, and it was not slain by any of the nine warrior gods. Apparently, while the battle was raging on, a lowly Ta?Nari uncovered the counterpart artifact to the Eternal Spark, known as The Black Dagger. Upon grabbing the Black Dagger, the Ta?Nari became noncorporeal and struck a fatal blow at the Negarai. Immediately after, the Supreme recovered the Black Dagger from the Ta?Nari and hid it? a little more carefully this time.
Time of the Dawning:
Soon after attaining godhood, the warriors got to work clearing out the infestation of Tana?ri on the planet. With peace settling across the land, and all the Tana?ri banished, the gods all found new homes on the plane that suited them best. Only Mikon stayed on the Prime Material Plane. The Supreme charged him with the responsibility of keeping the other gods where they belonged, unless they were needed on the Prime Material Plane to restore balance.
This gave the gods a lot of time to think about creating races for themselves. Each god wanted to be the patron to its own race of beings that would spread about the planet as an extension of their own selves. The gods of good wanted to establish a unified world of peace where all the different races would work together in their goals. This sentiment was not shared by the evil gods, however. These gods each wanted their race to be dominant and enslave the other races, be it blatantly or in concept only. The six gods were squabbling over this point when the neutral gods stepped in and stated that every race should have the free will to establish what it wants. Mikon went on to suggest that they, being very new to godhood, should consult with some more experienced deities in order to find out how they dealt with this problem. Thinking this to be a sensible idea, each of the gods sought to find an older god that had similar ideals.
Gorethar enlisted the aid of Clangeddin the Dwarven god. Clangeddin told him that he should never fall prey to the imperfect ideals of others, and that he should create a race that will spread goodness and work hard, regardless of what the other gods and races would do. Taking this point further, Clangeddin went on to state that dwarves suited Gorethar's character the best, since they were so hardworking. He insured Gorethar that Dwarves would work hard to spread goodness throughout the planet in an effort to make it a better place. So, taking Clangeddin's advice, Gorethar created dwarves in the same way he suggested. To show his gratitude and satisfaction with his new race, Gorethar allowed Clangeddin to teach the dwarven people craftsmanship, and to have a few priests of his own on Avlis. So, being the first race to walk Avlis, the dwarves quickly got started on improving their living conditions and philosophy before anyone else. They also spread out over a pretty sizable chunk of land.
Toran journeyed around his plane to find a strange god that he remembered hearing about once when he was traveling around in his mortal days. Eventually, he found Toblin, who received him in a serious manner when Toran posed his question to him. Toblin told Toran that he would need a numerous, yet organized race that could lend aid to keeping order in the land so that the chaotic designs of some of the other gods would never come through. Toblin added that his own race, the Dracon, were well suited for this task because they performed well under pressure. So, Toran created the Dracon with the aid of his newfound friend, Toblin. And so, because of Toran's gratitude towards Toblin, he was allowed to hold priests on Avlis. The Dracon, took well to their new land, and in a very orderly fashion, they set about creating a lifestyle for themselves.
Valok sought the aid of Gruumsh the Orc god. Valok wanted a race that would be good in a war of treachery, and at first he doubted the wisdom of Gruumsh's suggestion that he create Orcs to do his bidding. However, Gruumsh pointed out that if Valok were to imbue them with some intelligence, they would have the ability to form strategies and make large cities. This would enable them to corrupt and take over, just like Valok wanted. So, thinking this to be a commendable idea, Valok made Orcs with surprising amounts of intelligence and ambition. The newborn race settled itself on the east coast of the main continent on Avlis. It was not long before they figured out how to make raiding parties to destroy wandering beings, and how to control their own lands with a cruel justice system that suited their own purposes. This pleased Valok, and he thanked Gruumsh just as the two gods before him, by letting Gruumsh hold a few priests on Avlis.
Mikon found the aid of Ptah when he wanted to create a race. Ptah suggested that Mikon stick with humans because no other race had proved more balancing and wide-ranging as them. Ptah also pointed out that the humans would be more than willing to make the choice between good, evil, or neutrality. This would be a good example to the other gods on how their races should live. Seeing the wisdom in this, Mikon populated the world with humans in order to make a balance. The human race, being the most versatile yet, spread out over the entire planet. Many of them adopted the ways of the already existing races, while others invented their own new cultures.
Aarilax, asked Blipdoolpoolp how he should handle the problem that the gods of good and neutrality had with his goals. Blipdoolpoolp suggested that Aarilax make a race that could adapt to the present conditions of the society around them. This would enable them to avoid the wrath of the neutral gods because they could choose to employ either law or chaos in their mission to corrupt the world, and accumulate power for themselves. At the same time though, the good gods would not be terribly enraged because his race would on occasion work with others to accomplish a goal. Lizard men would be a wise choice for his race because they had the ability to further the goals of evil using either law or chaos on their own or with help. The lizard men started a society of their own as soon as they were born. They also set out on foot to intermingle a little with the other races in order to gain some notoriety among their own people.
Corelon Larethian was sought out by Dru?El so that he could ask the god what he should do. Corelon said that Dru?El should father a race of beings that were proud enough to stand up for themselves when they were concerned, and yet were kind-hearted enough to try to achieve a peaceful goal in the end. The god suggested that elves suited Dru?El best because they were not afraid to use force in order to preserve their goodness and their society, but at the same time they never sought out a fight. So, eager to try out his new abilities, Dru?El created two varieties of elves, the stunningly beautiful yet tremendously delicate ghost elves, and the tough, rustic, yet elegant Dru?Elian high elves. These proved to be two very successful creations. The two related races worked together and built beautiful cities in the forests. At the same time, they efficiently kept out any unwanted evil races. To show his thanks to Corelon Larethian, Dru?El offered some influence over the planet in return. The older Elven god gladly accepted some minor Elven followers among the elves of Avlis.
The evil god, Maleki, was approached by Grolantor the god of the giant-kin. Grolantor told Maleki that all the other evil species combined were not as capable of brutally defying the other gods as any one giant-kin was. Liking this, Maleki made ogres, ettins, and hill giants in order to spread chaos indiscriminately around the globe. This angered all the other gods, but it was not enough for Maleki. He then betrayed Grolantor by not letting him have any power in the sphere.
One of the other gods, Forian, always wanted a highly versatile and unpredictable race. He did not want them to have the unpleasant disadvantage of having only one form all their life. He also did not like the idea of depending on another god's advice when that would just take away from his individuality and originality. So, feeling especially nutty one day, Forian went out alone and created the changelings, a race of beings that can change form. These beings immediately spread much confusion about Avlis. The confusion that they spread was not good, nor was it evil. It was just...well it was confusing.
O'ma sought the aid of Titania the fairy goddess when he wanted to create a race. Titania said that no other race was as effective at working with others towards goodness and uncomplicated at the same time as the fairy races. O'ma liked this idea, but he did not like the fact that a lot of fairy races needed humanoids of other races to reproduce. He didn't want any of his races to be dependent on any other, so he imbued all of the fairy races with the ability to reproduce amongst themselves by making both males and females in every subspecies. Soon after, the planet was populated with nymphs, both male and female, as well as sylphs and dryads of both sexes, among others. Titania was outraged by this act because she thought that O'ma was criticizing her creations and upsetting a delicate balance in the reproduction of the other eight races. So, in order to set the balance right again, or at least sway it, Titania created some fairy races on a demiplane of her home that could not reproduce by themselves because they were only female, and some fairy races that were just like her old fairy creations, i.e. sprites, nixies, etc. She then gave the fairies the means to travel to Avlis magically by themselves, since she couldn't use her own magic to put them there by herself. Titania did this without permission, or the knowledge of O'ma. Not knowing what was going on, O'ma later granted Titania direct access to Avlis in order to ease her anger. The two fairy races existed in different places for a short while, each without the other's knowledge. O'ma's fairies fit well into the scheme of common goals of goodness that the three gods of good favored.