History (Endhaven Supplement)
The history of Endhaven, like all places, is complex and multi-directional. Historians break the history of Endhaven into broad eras.
Whence Came the World
Few who live, even the gods, were here in the beginning. Those few who did see the creation do not idly speak to mortals, so their knowledge passes to us through younger gods.
There are many stories of creation. Most traditions tell differing tales of the beginning. There is no mortal way to determine which is correct and which is not. For the historian, the true beginning will always be in doubt.
A few creation stories are worth noting more than others.
According to the storm hags who live in the Endhaven, the world was rescued by the Mother of Storms. They do not know the reason that she rescued the world, but they are certain that the world itself is mortal, and that the Mother of Storms will be the one who destroys it.
According to the dragons, there were once many worlds, but they were destroyed in some unnameable conflagration. The Mother of Storms saved many pieces of those old worlds, knitting them together into this new world. This is why there are so many different peoples and languages, and why there are so many ruins older than old.
Scholars propose that the first planes that sprang into existence were the Elemental planes. All all physical places sprang from that event. After uncountable time, the next planes that came to exist were the Generative planes. From them, life sprang into the world. Scholars call this era "The Wild Age." All known creatures come from this time, from the lowly mouse to the mighty dragon. Finally, the Exemplary planes came into existence, along with the gods, and self-aware peoples came to exist. Scholar freely admit that they do not know the causation of these events.
The Elemental Age and the Elemental Wars
Self-aware creatures first came into existence during the Elemental Age. These creatures were basic and absolute, formed from their own element. Each was pure, yet limited. These creatures were at odds with each other. Their natures conflicted. They fought for no reasons of philosophy or greed. There were no morals or reasons to their fighting. They fought only because it was their nature to conflict. It was an age of perpetual, irresolvable, primal violence. This age existed for countless years, shaping the worlds deeply.
The Wild Age
The second age of the world is called the Wild Age, for this is the age when all mortal creatures came to be, from mice to dragons; from fish to leviathans. These new planes pushed the elemental planes apart, bringing the elemental wars to and end. This new age saw a new completion, as life strove against itself is a primal way. Though life competed with itself, it also formed a web of interdependency. Life was now dynamic, yet void of meaning. This age lasted for countless years.
Age of Gods
The third age of the world saw the arrival of the gods. Whether the gods generated the Exemplary Planes or whether the Exemplary Planes created the gods, historians will never know. They reason that the Exemplary planes pushed apart the Elemental planes, ending the eternal primal conflict. Knowledge of this time comes from the gods themselves, pieced together by historians from the various pantheons.
The gods established their dynasties, destroyed terrible creatures, allied with each other against each other, all the while developing into the pantheons that we know today. Many historians call this era the War of the Gods.
The Age of Heroes
Once the great deed of the gods were done, a new type of life arose from the planes. The processes of the generative planes created a new form of life infused with exemplary influences: self-aware life. The gods took great interest with these creatures, helping them to rise above the primitive world that they arose in. They shaped life into the races that we know today. These new beings tamed the worlds about them in epic deeds told in odes and eddas. This era was named for them, the Age of Heroes.
The Crusade of Light
The Crusade of Light marks the end of Antiquity. This was the last of the Epic Wars, fought with high magic and high ideals. After this war, the gods became more remote in the conflicts of the world, and the conflicts themselves became vaguer and less directed.
Students of Rhakotis deduced that a secret power ruled the world, and they traced this power to the Magi of Glittering Vale. They grew jealous of this power, and so formed a pact called the Black Alliance. They grew in power and prestige as the years progressed, and soon they were prepared. They struck at the Magi, and in turn, began their own conquests.
The Magi lost many elves wizards. The Black Alliances was very efficient are killing the elven wizards using magics both foul and damning. The war raged, and the Magi grew afraid. They sent a delegation to the Mother of Storms to beg for advice. She informed them that they should form an alliance, but that this alliance would destroy their empire. The elves consented, and they summoned all the great races to them. They fought back against the forces of evil, eventually destroying them. In their victory, though, they bankrupted themselves. Their mercenaries seized cities as their payment, and their grant world scheme crumbled down.
The Age of Empires
The Mercenary Empires
When the Crusade of Light concluded, Light stood triumphant. The cost of their victory was high. Unable to pay their armies, their armies rebelled, seizing kingdoms and empires for themselves. These territories fought with each other for decades until Thule united them.
The Thule Empire
General Thule defeated his opponents to create the Thule Empire. After 100 years, he abdicated this throne, handing power to his sons.
See:
The Three Empires
Thule's sons split the empire into the Dragon Empire, the Griffon Empire, and the Phoenix empire. They fought for centuries against each other.
See:
The Wars of Law and Chaos
The Wars of Law and Chaos were the most protracted conflicts that the planes had ever seen. The wars between Law and Chaos waxed and waned for two hundred years. These wars tore apart the Thule Empires, created unlikely alliances, raised the goblins to the power that is the Feral Nation, and ultimately resulted in the patchwork of powers that marks present history.
The war was not a single war, but a series of simultaneous wars which ripped the institutions of the planes apart. The catalyst for this conflict was the Transgressor movement intersecting the Axiomite movement. The idealistic and avant-guarde element of each movement soon fell to the extremists elements, then the militaristic elements in each movement.
The forces of good and evil, matched so keenly, were taken unaware by these wars. These wars were completely unforeseen. Good and Evil lost their places as governing principles as their own faithful turn on each other.
Once the wars got going, ancient alliances the worlds over were overturned and shattered. Good and Evil were forgotten. Morals were forgotten. All that mattered to the world was order and chaos.
The wars raged and peaked, the calmed. When each calm looked hopeful, the wars sparked back up again, leading to a new round of battles and conflicts.
Both the Golden Circle and the Black Alliance disintegrated, losing their place in the public conscious. Both movements converted themselves into secret societies, both the with the aim to ending the war. The Golden Circle became The Teachers, and it aimed for peace. The Black Alliance became the Shadow Empire, who desired to control the planes by subterfuge, rather than overt war.
Eventually, the cycle of wars slowed, leading to today's lull.
Modernity
It is now thirty years since the last active battle of the War of Law and Chaos. The importance of law and chaos wanes as the new generations are born, though there are those who were there to see the wars. A new consciousness of good and evil again touches the actions of the peoples. Populations are again expanding, with people returning to planes long depopulated. New powers have emerged. Remnants of the last war still walk, dangerous and deadly. There's a world with a deep past to explore, and a new future to create.
Whether we are in a new era, or whether were are just in a lull of the Wars of Law and Chaos is uncertain. It has been thirty years since the last round of campaigns, which is longer than any lull before, but few truly believe that this can continue. Most people on power are reasonably concerned that today's political climate can and will disintegrate before a new war.
Timeline
| MoS | Imperial | Event |
| ? | ? | A time before time? Charystos founded? Rhakotis founded? |
| 0 | -7502 | Creation of the World |
| 500 to 2500 | -7000 to -5000 | The Elemental Wars Charystos founded? |
| 2500 to 3700 | -5000 to -3800 | The Wild Age |
| 3700 to 4700 | -3800 to -2800 | The Age of Gods Rhakotis Founded? |
| 4700 to 5543 | -2800 to -1959 | The Age of Heroes |
| 4700 | -2800 | Charystos Founded? Rhakotis Founded? |
| 7413 to 7502 | -15 to 0 | Crusade of Light |
| 7502 | 0 | End of Crusade of Light. Charystos seized by Thule. |
| 7502-8130 | 0-628 | Age of Empires |
| 7580 | 0 to 78 | The Mercenary Kingdoms |
| 7612 | 110 | Thule Abdicates |
| 7612 to 8130 | 110-628 | Thule Empires |
| 8055 | 553 | Axiomatic Diet forms to create Axiomite movement |
| 8102 | 600 | Transgressor philosophy created in Rhakotis |
| 8130 | 628 | End of the Age of Empires |
| 8130 to 8337 | 628 to 835 | Wars of Law and Chaos |
| 8172 | 640 | Feral Nation declared |
| 8190 | 668 | Atlantis destroyed |
| 8316 | 824 | War of the Magi. Battle of Glittering Vale. Nomos killed. Fell pantheon destroyed. Ascendency of Eythytita. |
| 8332-8337 | 830-836 | Psychotic War |
| 8337 | 835 | End of Wars of Law and Chaos |
| 8358 | 856 | Now |
MoS = Mother of Storm's time measure. Imperial = Imperial Measure
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