The Ages of Carrion Fields
Below is the cumulative history of Carrion Fields as taken from various sources including the help files, History & Current Events forum, and Lyceum.
First Age
In the Beginning, there was Darkness...
Having fled their dying world, the Lord of Order and the Forsaken One came unto a desolate plane. With no other recourse before them, they began to mold the plane around their own existence. Time changed the two of them, causing the Lord of Order to descend into the Shadows and the Forsaken One to step out of the Shadow into Magic.
Now the Lord of Shadows, the Unseen created his army of followers to inhabit the world. The Violet Spider, as the Forsaken came to be known, gave magic unto the world and created an army of followers. Pleased with their creations, the two Lords sat upon their thrones to watch the puppet show they had created.
Factions among the followers began to form, leading to long and bloody wars. Rather than seek direct confrontation, the armies of the Unseen worked among the shadows cast by the Light. The followers of Magic split into two sides of Chaos and Order. Their magical wars ravaged the world unto at last both sides realized that they could not be assured of victory using magic. Chaos turned to the Shadows for help, knowing full well that they risked a black dagger in their back at a moment of weakness. The Mages of Order decided to weave the five magics into creating an army that would be immune to the magic of the Chaos Mages. Their plan worked perfectly to a fault.
The armies of Order and Chaos met on the field for the battle that would decide the winner for all time. Chaos, armed with the magic of the Shadows, took the field with hosts of demons and Primordial Darkness at their backs. At first it seemed that they would win. The Darkness drove back the Light of Order until it seemed that there was no hope. Arriving at the twelfth hour, the anti-magic army joined the fray. The Chaos Mages had never before had their spells deflected back at them. Their surprise leads to fear, and from fear they quickly succumbed to defeat. The bloodthirsty warriors, seeing that they were immune to the magic, attacked with renewed vigor. As a reward for their victory, the Mages of Order allowed their warriors to sack and loot the cities of Chaos.
Very quickly, they realized that they could no longer control the bloodthirsty slayers. Entire countries were raped and burned by the marauding armies, immune even to the magic that created them. After one particularly vicious assault on a peaceful kingdom, the Mages of Order set a trap for their army. While celebrating their spoils, the army was careless in keeping sentries posted around the city. The Mages of Order, knowing that their spells would not affect the army, turned to the Shadow. Shadow gave them the power to summon and bind demonic creatures to their side. The sleeping, drunken warriors never had a chance. The demons came in the night, slaughtering men, women, and children without mercy. Only a handful of the warriors survived to flee into the mountains where they were lead by their Dwarven Captain. Barely able to banish the demons before they got out of control, the Mages of Order turned in on themselves. They could no longer stand for Order, but instead became obsessed with discipline as a means to gain power. They had seen how rash, wild decisions had lead to such disastrous results and vowed never to make those mistakes again.
The Dwarven Captain, named after a siege weapon he had designed during a bloody campaign, lead his remaining men into the mountains. The secret of the anti-magic protection was preserved, in a weakened form, through the centuries among the descendants of the bloodthirsty warriors that came to be known as the BattleRagers. Forever hating the Mages that betrayed them, they seek to destroy all that practice magic.
Through all of this, the Shadow watched and waited. The last of the Chaos Mages, having barely escaped annihilation, once again sought out the Shadow. The Shadow twisted the Chaos Mages from magic, giving them the power to cause disorder and chaos rather than true magic. For a time, Chaos began to grow strong. Perhaps something of old was remembered by the Unseen. Or perhaps it was the natural way of keeping the balance. Order rose up to balance out the Chaos. Before too long, even Shadow found that it could not exist without Light defining its existence.
Sitting on their thrones, the Two kept a watchful eye on their creation. When their role as overseers had become unnecessary, they turned from this world, perhaps to seek another in which to mold. The world they left in their wake is what you now stand on. The Powers of the world continue to rise and fall like the tides. The future lies as an unwritten book before you. New gods and goddesses sit in the heavens, watching the mortals live and die on their whims. The Shining Lady sits across from the Dark One, the two forever locked in the struggle for ascendancy. Minor powers rise and fall, the Gray One strives for balance, and the mortal realms are the setting for the last game.
This era of Order, Chaos and Shadow became known as the First Age of Theran history.
Second Age Top
The era referred to as the Second Age is one that has long been shrouded in mystery and confusion. Historical records originating from the time following the war between the Order and Chaos mages are sketchy at best.
It is believed that the Second Age was a formulative period of twisted chaos and shadows. The departure of the Lord of Order and the Forsaken One left a void in the pantheon which came to be filled by new deities freshly risen from the ranks of mortal souls. One thing that is consistent in all accounts from this time, is that virtually all mortal life was brought to the edge of extinction as the new gods and goddesses fought for power in the heavens. The bare scraps of mortal life that remained found a newly-forged world before them, with new rules and new environments.
Many of the deities from this storied era have descended in to legend in modern times. Among them numbered the great Dwarven Captain BoltThrower, rumored to be a direct descendant from the ancient god Nordiach himself, who continued to lead his army of anti-magic Ragers from the heavens. The secretive duergar god Jullias watched from the shadows, while Cador, the great god of Honor, worked to forge the Knighthood in his image. All the while, the dark arial Pico worked his chaos across Thera, and magic itself came to be governed by the all-powerful god Twist.
Over countless generations, the rampant chaos and destruction which had continued to emenate in waves from the events of the First Age began to subside. Lesser deities were annihilated, while the ones that remained solidified their hold on their power and their followers. The Masters of Magic, formed from the tattered remnants of the Order and Chaos mages of old, held sway over all things magical from their Tower, where they were often forced to contend with the followers of the Dwarven Captain. The Knighthood stood on one side opposing the forces of the Shadow, even opening the gates to Hell itself in pursuit of evil. As Thera's cities thrived, the Arbiters rose from the ruins of the organization known as Justice to enforce law and order, where they were often forced to contend with the mischief of Pico and his Barons of Chaos.
The denizens of Thera would thrive for another hundred generations or more. Like all things, however, the peace of the later Second Age did not last...
Third Age Top
Prophets and oracles predicted the end of the Second Age, with promises of destruction and chaos. The First Age had ended in an apocalyptic series of wars that brought death to all of civilization - what could the end of the Second Age bring? Predictions of division amongst the churches and a war among the Gods struck fear into the hearts of rulers and commoners alike. If the pillars of Heaven toppled, what effect would the wake have on Thera?
As a prelude to the coming Age, natural disasters shook the world as unrest amongst the Gods grew. The Lords of Chaos ascended in power and fueled the fires between Light and Shadow. Jullias, Lord of the Underworld, gathered together the Gods of Darkness and laid seige to the Realms of Light. As the battle raged in the Heavens, lightning storms wracked the World and the skies turned a deep red. The cults of Darkness and the temples of Light continued to war in the mortal realms but with greater fervor. And the Gods of Chaos laughed.
In the Heavens the battle raged at the Source of Mana, where Twist, Nepenthe and the godlings of Light met Jullias, Vassagon, and the godlings of Shadow. During the melee, Lloth crept unseen into the shadows. Having dominated the mind of the dark angel Dylan, the Demon Queen sent her puppet into the midst of the battle to cleave Jullias from behind. As Dylan raised her axe, Lloth assaulted Jullias' shields with her deadly taint and thus allowed the angel to strike a crippling blow. Roaring in fury, Jullias turned and lashed out at Dylan, turning her to dust. Having cast out Shokai, Raisa, and Nashyr, the devil Scarabaeus arrived at the conflict just as Lloth turned on Jullias and engaged her in a sorcerous battle, stripping her of the power of the Shadows. With the Light weakened and the Shadow divided the Chaos gods Nighthawk, Saher, and Pico (who had merely enjoyed the spectacle until then) descended upon Jullias who still faced Twist's magical wrath. Relentlessly they drove the Dark God back and faced him alone. Calling upon the strength of the Black Earth, Jullias lunged at Saher, encasing the Chromatic God in a tomb of stone and darkness. Twist rose up above the battle, sending arcs of searing lightning down upon Jullias, burning away his left hand. Nighthawk lunged at Jullias with his sword flashing, but fell short as Vassagon drove his blackened spear through his back. Soaring up from the battle, Vassagon cast Nighthawk's lifeless form into the seas where the greedy depths swallowed the dead god's remains. As Pico tore at him with his claws, Twist gathered the last of his strength to send a devastating psionic assault against the Lord of the Underworld. Penetrating his defenses, Twist toppled from the effort just as Jullias staggered and fell dead at Pico's feet. The skies of the world turned dark as the blood of Jullias spilled. Of the gods that gathered around his fallen form, the godling Nashyr stepped forward and beheaded Jullias and opened his chest. Consuming the heart of the Dark God, Nashyr grew mighty among the Gods and, turning to where Lloth battled Scarabaeus he cast them out of the Heavens. Where Nazmorghul feasted on the remains of Ishmael, he too was cast out. Battered and weary the Gods withdrew, regathering strength with a new sense of separation and mistrust.
Diviners say the Gods have focused their power into what the prophets have called the Spheres, though mortal man may never know what they truly are. Minions of the gods have spoken of their places among the Spheres and through divine wisdom have been directed how to worship in the new Age.
It is said that at the very moment that the battle ended, the Horn of Fate was sounded by the paladin Launfal at the gates of Asgaard. As a servant of the Light, Launfal's clarion call heralded the coming of the Third Age, where the Gods of Light knew victory over Darkness and the Spheres aligned themselves in the Heavens. Had no mortal hand sounded the Horn, all would have perished.
Fourth Age Top
It had been learned that the legendary Horn of Fate might be sounded within the twisted Heart of the Prismatic Veil to calm the Veil and its chaotic effects upon magic and reality throughout Thera.
The only problem: to enter the Heart of the Veil was certain death to all.
Learning that the secretive warrior-monks of the Order of the Macalla had been keeping guard over the Horn, a way to contact them was sought. A group of adventurers, allied with the fire dancer Asmeida, managed to recover the goddess Iunna from the Eternal Flames. A highly favored student of the Macalla, she was able to persuade them of Thera's need for the Horn. A tournament was announced, with the winner to claim the Horn of Fate.
Meanwhile, ways to survive in the Heart of the Veil long enough to sound the Horn were pursued.
The Battleragers believed that if they could achieve the flawless immunity to magic once possessed by the original anti-magic army of the First Age, they could weather the chaotic magic of the Veil long enough to sound the Horn. They learned that a vial of blood sacred to the ancient Battle goddess, Stormace, had been among the items safeguarded in the Vault of Nyastren. If drunk by a Battlerager, this blood would give them the ability to weather the Veil for a few short hours. After much searching and trial, they obtained the vial.
The Nexuns, in turn, believed that a bonded pair could survive the Veil by achieving a form of equilibrium with its rapid changes, harmonizing with the Veil's energies rather than resisting them. Indeed, this was the very reason for their resurrection. Researching the history of the Nexus of the past, they learned of a pair of stylized serpent belts sacred to the goddess Jazur which might fortify the bond for the Veil. They made some headway in discovering the location of these items, but failed to obtain them.
The day of the Tournament of Fate came. Setting honorable terms, a monk of the Macalla set all takers in a race to be the first back with an item from within the oasis of Nonviel. Blood aplenty was spilled on those inhospitable sands as many great heroes struggled against each other. Lauraine, Cardinal of the Golden Sun, returned with the sought-after bracelet and was awarded the Horn of Fate.
Unable to sound the horn themselves, the Fortress debated what to do with the Horn. Ultimately they were persuaded that it should be sounded by the Nexus. Delving into the depths of the Inferno, the Fortress obtained the crimson devouring-serpent belt. Diving beneath the Sirine Island, Lauraine acquired the golden devouring-serpent belt.
Armed with Horn and the paired belts, Fadderth and Shubtar ignited the Bond of the Nexus. Although impeded by a force of the Battleragers led by Azilaph, they had the powerful assistance of the Fortress of Light and made their way into the Heart of the Veil, harmonizing with it and surviving its energies as planned.
The Battleragers yet had a card to play. Drinking the sacred blood of Stormace, Azilaph and Grimbledorf awakened the secrets of their Villages' ancestors, briefly gaining a total immunity to magic. They rushed into the Heart of the Veil, pursuing the Nexuns! Unfortunately, Azilaph had imbibed the blood too early and its effects were too brief; the Veil still destroyed him. Grimbledorf, however, survived and struck the Nexuns even as they sought to sound the Horn! Though he fought bravely, alone he was unable to match the two. He fell, crushed by the coils of the anaconda near the Vault doors.
At last, Fadderth sounded a note on the Horn of Fate heard across Thera. The fury of the Veil began to calm, and a new Age was born, one in which mortals would determine the fate of magic and their world...
Fifth Age Top
It was night not unlike any other night in the Imperial Palace. The Lich Ahtieli, Dread Lady of the Empire, pored over yet another seemingly useless tome dredged from some dusty library.
The skeletal form's mouth-opening twitched in what might have been a smirk on a human face as "she" remembered her time as Empress. Most saw her fall as something to be ashamed (or at least angered) over. Not her. Everything went as planned, for she needed less distractions from her true endeavors.
If the simpletons who had been named Emperor after her had ever suspected her plan, they might have named her Anathema...or, if they were wise, they'd have demanded to be part of them.
For who, after all, could sit in the Throne of the Emperor and not lust for more power than the Gods themselves wielded?
Making a "tsk" noise, the Dread Lady returned her attention to the dusty tome, re-reading what she had skimmed while lost in reverie. "Nothing here" she mused, and moved to toss the book on the pile of discarded knowledge. As the skeletal fingers began the motion, though, a scrap of paper fell from between two of the pages, fluttering harmlessly toward the floor.
Moving with inhuman speed, the Lich snatched the paper in mid-air, eye-sockets narrowing. Reading quickly, and then more slowly to be sure, she gasped in shock - shock for the first time in remembrance. This was it!
The Dark God Jullias chortled to himself from the shadowy recesses of the Imperial Black Sect Hall. "These Liches are far too easy to dupe into doing my bidding."
The Dread Lady was about to finish her incantations and (she believed) draw the power of the Gods into herself, raising herself up above them all, to truly rule Thera and beyond.
In truth, she was about to draw their energy to Jullias. He grinned in anticipation, rubbing his greasy duergar hands together greedily.
"Aha! I've found you at last, betrayer!" The God of Magic, Twist, coalesced into being directly beside Jullias and struck with all of his mystical might.
Sensing Jullias' plan, The Ebony Warlock Zulghinlour arrived suddenly, swinging his massive unholy axe toward the Lord of Deception.
Similarly, Lord Daevryn, feeling a shift in the Balance, arrived and struck quickly at the Duergar Lord. The combined power was far too much for Jullias to deal with...
Just then, the ritual was being completed.
The Dark God fell, incapacitated and his dark energies dispersed. The energies of the gods was pulled from them at the same time. With no destination, now that Jullias was destroyed, the energies ran rampant.
"No!" Twist cries. "It will not happen again! Noooooo-"
Blink. Devils, capering in the Nine Hells, froze in place and then ceased to exist.
Blink. Two paladins, communing with the Lady Baerinika, flickered and disappeared. Baerinika stared confusedly for a moment as her shrine faded to nothingness, and then she, too, disappeared.
Blink. As a rampaging dwarven berserker brought his mace around to strike the head of a fierce shapeshifting grizzly bear, the bear disappeared. Before the berserker could curse "this new mage trickery", he too disappeared.
The same scene played itself throughout Thera - wizards, warriors, cityguards and street urchins, all fading to nothingness, as if they were a dream all along.
Soon the entire world was gone. And then other planes of existence. Until nothing was left but a vast void. Nothing existed but raw energy.
Of those denizens of Thera, there existed one who had faced this void before. One who had, by luck and sheer force of will, found a way to re-form himself.
First was awareness. "I am."
Second was understanding. "I exist."
Third was recollection. "I was undone. No! We. We were undone. ALL was undone."
Eventually, he who had been banished before was able to re-form himself once more. The awakening was enough for other beings who had been powerful enough to re-form themselves as well. Together, understanding of what had happened dawned upon them all. And they began to create.
Again.
Sixth Age Top
The birth of the sixth was as shrouded in chaos as what came after it.
As the Tailed Star crossed the sky, strange champions rose up and stood between Therans and the future. Rumors spread of the Horn of Fate, a relic so powerful that a single note blown from it could change the world itself and push fate in another direction. Such power enticed individuals from every corner of Thera: some who hoped to abuse its power, others who hopes to prevent its use, and some who thought to use it in the pursuit of good. While the chaos of history is difficult to sort through, the most agreed upon version of events is what follows here.
The Tailed Star flickered in the night sky as five fiery stones crashed into Thera. As people went to investigate, they found empty craters with strange tracks leading away from them.
And so Therans set off, searching for the pieces of the puzzle that would lead them to the Horn. That is when the strange champions arose: A tiger-headed rakshasa, the whispering woman, a tremendous redwood ent, a lumbering slaad, and the Colossus of Cydathria. Five guardians born from five stones, to test who would be worthy to sound the Horn.
The tiger-headed rakshasa unleashed its wrath on the populace, calling upon armies of wyverns and raising the dead to fight on its behalf... But it was defeated by a dwarven paladin named Domond, the first to collect a strange relic that acted as a piece to the Horn's puzzle.
Next rose the whispering woman, her demure appearance concealing her gorgon nature. The shadows themselves rose to protect her as countless challengers were left populating the barren sands of the Wastes of Nonviel as statues. But despite the many losses, the whispering woman was felled by the yet-mortal Daphedee, with the second relic recovered.
The tremendous redwood ent was the next to awaken, crushing its opposition into pulpy meat as it made its way across Thera. As durable as it was enormous, it shook the ground with each step as it repelled attacker after attacker. Yet it could only withstand the onslaught of Therans for so long, and the Tailed Star blazed with vibrant color as the ent was destroyed. The third relic then entered mortal hands.
A strange frog-beast awoke next, becoming known as the lumbering slaad. Scaled and plated, its hooked hands tore Dark-Elves asunder as it crawled its way through Theran water-ways. Happening upon the bodies of drowned sailors, it used its dark chaos magic to inhabit the bodies with demons. And yet even in the face of the strange and demonic, a young Theran transmuter by the name of Jacopo managed to kill the guardian, leading the fourth relic to Thera.
The fifth guardian came from the ocean, its enormous figure making the oceans themselves churn as it moved. The mighty Colossus of Cydathria climbed crystal cliffs and bellowed out a challenge to any who would seek the Horn of Fate. This challenge was met by Ebrithyl, Aric, and Mokee, who sent the remains of the stone colossus tumbling into the ocean below the cliffs. Their achievement bringing the last of the artifacts out of the guardian's clutches.
The relics were as equally obscured as their guardians: the Cube of Sardif, the Ring of Infinite Corrosion, the Cloak of the Otherworld, the Incense of Kharnoba, and the iron figurine of a warrior.
All that was left to finding the Horn of Fate was to solve the strange omen brought about by the collection of all five relics. The collection of the puzzle pieces only brought another, more difficult puzzle. Strange twisted words confused the masses, leaving scholar and sage alike laboring in vain to solve this peculiar revelation of fate.
Combined resources eventually lead to the completion of the puzzle, and a Scarabite bard named Venara held the Horn of Fate within her hands. Raising it to her mouth, she let loose a thunderous blast that shattered the firmament and made Thera tremble. The stars themselves went out, the heavens turned dark, unseen wheels slowed to a halt, the loom of the Fates grew slack... And for an eerie moment there was only blackness and silence... Then the stars began populating the sky as the world moved once more, a new age was born.
A surge of mana washed over the lands, leading to rampant demons screaming for wizards of chaos to join for war. From the Abyss came the Knight of Swords and the Queen of Swords, esoteric figures of chaos who corrupted the ancient magic tower of the Masters and turned it into the new home of the rebirthed Barons of Chaos, Entropy. From then other chaotic shifts took place in the world, from the closure of the Cult of the Scarab, to the regathering of the Scions of Eternal Night.
What then came from the efforts of mortal hands? Chaos, unbridled and brilliant.
So began the Sixth Age.