World History

Overview

The deep history of the world stretches back thousands of years, marked by the rise and fall of gods, cataclysmic wars, and the transformation of the world itself. The current age is defined by the Pantheon's rule, but this is a relatively recent development in the grand scope of history.

The Age of the Elder Gods

Prior to the ascension of the current Pantheon approximately 8000 years ago, the world was ruled by an older generation of deities known in this day and age as the Elder Gods. These beings were cruel and capricious beyond modern comprehension, ruling with absolute power and shaping reality according to their whims. Their reign was marked by chaos, suffering, and a fundamental instability that made life unpredictable and dangerous for mortals.

The Nature of the Elder Gods

The Elder Gods were fundamentally different from the current Pantheon. Their understanding of both magic and science outstripped even that of the current gods, demonstrating a level of knowledge and power that modern scholars can scarcely comprehend. They used their power without restraint, and their cruelty was not merely a byproduct of their rule—it was a feature of their nature. The Elder Gods used traps and curses practically as décor, both to secure their domains and because, it is believed, the suffering of others amused them.

It is believed that the Elder Gods used the world as a personal playground, treating mortals as nothing more than pieces in a game. They were violently jealous of each other and paranoid beyond reason, viewing every action as a potential threat or challenge. This paranoia and jealousy drove them to raise up entire nations and empires simply to throw them at one another in conflicts that served no purpose beyond their own amusement and competition. Mortal lives meant nothing to them—they were tools to be used, discarded, or destroyed as the Elder Gods saw fit.

The Elder Gods' casual reshaping of reality extended far beyond mere political manipulation. They would create new species of beings simply for amusement, bringing life into existence for no reason other than their own entertainment. They would move continents and reshape the world on whims, treating the very geography of the planet as mutable clay in their hands. The world itself was their canvas, and they painted with the lives and suffering of mortals without thought or care for the consequences.

The World Under Elder God Rule

The world under the Elder Gods was vastly different from the current age. It had a larger repertoire of planes of existence, with the cosmic structure fundamentally different from what exists today. More significantly, magic worked entirely differently. In the age of the Elder Gods, there was no unified system of magic as exists today. Instead, each of the Elder Gods granted their own unique magic, creating a fragmented and unpredictable magical landscape where power was tied directly to the favor—or disfavor—of specific deities.

This system made magic both more powerful and more dangerous. Those who served an Elder God could wield incredible power, but they were also subject to the capricious whims of their patron. The magic of one Elder God might be completely inaccessible to those who served another, creating divisions and dependencies that the Elder Gods exploited to maintain their control.

The Legacy of the Elder Gods

The leavings of the Elder Gods—their artifacts, facilities, and abandoned domains—remain scattered throughout the world. These remnants are best avoided, even the relatively benign ones. The old facilities that do not simply kill whoever looks at them too hard are further protected by many guardians and traps, reflecting the Elder Gods' paranoia and their casual use of lethal magic as security measures.

Those who study the Elder Gods' works do so at great risk. Their understanding of magic and science was so advanced that even their passive systems and abandoned creations can be deadly. The Elder Gods' legacy is one of power, knowledge, and danger—a reminder of an age when gods ruled without restraint and mortals lived at their mercy.

The Pantheon's Rebellion and Ascension

Approximately 8000 years ago, the reign of the Elder Gods came to an end. However, much of what is known about this pivotal event comes from the Pantheon's various cult writings, teachings, and dogma that the gods themselves have handed down. As such, the historical record must be viewed with some caution, as it reflects the perspective of those who emerged victorious.

The Methodical Subterfuge

The end of the Elder Gods came about not through open rebellion, but through methodical subterfuge instigated by a small group of mortals. Each member of what would become the Pantheon was in some way part of this group of Rebels who worked to undermine the Elder Deities. However, the Pantheon has left the events surrounding the fall of the elders and their rise deliberately obscure. The method of apotheosis—how mortals became gods—and how the elders were cast down in particular are lost to myth, with the gods themselves maintaining a veil of secrecy around these crucial details.

The Betrayal of Scylith and Naiya

What is clear from the historical record is that the Rebels were able to convince two of the Elder Gods to turn against the others: Scylith, the Elder Goddess of Light, Beauty, and Cruelty, and Naiya, the Elder Goddess of Nature. While the Elder Gods were distracted dealing with Naiya and Scylith's betrayal, the Rebels were able to infiltrate their temples and in some way usurp their power. The exact mechanism of this power transfer remains unknown, but the result was catastrophic for the Elder Gods.

The Fall of the Elder Gods

In the aftermath of the Rebels' infiltration and the betrayal of Scylith and Naiya, all the Elder Gods except for Scylith and Naiya were destroyed. The Rebels themselves ascended to divinity in the process, becoming the current Pantheon. The transformation from mortal to god remains one of the greatest mysteries of history, with no clear account of how such apotheosis was achieved.

The Birth of Modern Magic

The fall of the Elder Gods had immediate and profound consequences for the world's magical systems. The magics and planes that each of the fallen elders controlled began to fall apart without their patrons to maintain them. Working together, the young Pantheon created the system of Divine magic from the collapsing power of the fallen Elders, establishing a new framework for divine power that would shape the world for millennia to come.

Naiya and Scylith each retreated to their own planes following the conflict, and their personal magics—the Fae and the Infernal—remain in the world as remnants of the Elder God era. These magics operate outside the Pantheon's unified system, reflecting their origins in a different age.

Arcane magic was also born during this event, emerging as the Elder Gods fell and their systems collapsed. However, no details of how arcane magic came to be have ever been uncovered. Unlike Divine magic, which the Pantheon explicitly created from the fallen Elders' power, the origins of arcane magic remain a complete mystery, with no clear explanation for its sudden appearance in the world.

The New Age

The ascension of the Pantheon marked the beginning of a fundamentally new age. The world was transformed not just by new rulers, but by entirely new systems of magic and a new cosmic order. The chaos and caprice of the Elder Gods gave way to the more structured—though still complex—rule of the Pantheon, and mortals found themselves living under gods who, while not always benevolent, at least operated within more predictable frameworks than their predecessors.

The Hell Wars

From 8000 years ago to 5000 years ago, Scylith launched two invasions of the material plane from Hell. In both cases, her deep-drow followers broke through to the surface and opened Hellgates, allowing demons to flood the world. These conflicts were devastating but ultimately repelled.

The First Hell War

[Details to be added]

The Second Hell War

[Details to be added]

The Third Hell War

Around 5000 years ago, the Third Hell War was triggered when Elilial, then a member of the Pantheon, launched a coup against Scylith, the Elder Goddess who had ruled Hell since the fall of the Elder Gods. Elilial sought to take control of Hell and claim Scylith's position as Queen of Demons.

The Third Hell War was fundamentally different from the first two conflicts. Unlike the previous wars, which were invasions launched by Scylith from Hell, this war began as a conflict between two gods—one a member of the Pantheon and one an Elder God—fighting for control of the infernal plane itself.

The Rending of the Veil

During Elilial and Scylith's battle, the veil between the material plane and Hell ripped open, allowing infernal forces to flood into the world. This catastrophic event was not a deliberate invasion but a side effect of the divine conflict, as the power unleashed by two gods fighting for control of Hell tore through the barriers between planes. The infernal forces that poured through were not organized invaders but a chaotic flood of demons and infernal energy, creating devastation on an unprecedented scale.

The Devastation

The Third Hell War was by far the bloodiest of the three Hell Wars and lasted for decades, devastating civilization across the world. The conflict reshaped entire regions and left scars that would take millennia to heal. Unlike the previous wars, which were ultimately repelled through organized resistance, the Third Hell War's nature as an accidental consequence of divine conflict made it far more chaotic and difficult to contain.

The war's devastation extended beyond mere military conflict. The infernal forces that flooded the world brought corruption, chaos, and destruction on a scale that threatened to unravel the very fabric of civilization. Entire nations fell, and the world's population was decimated by the conflict and its aftermath.

The War's End and Scylith's Binding

The details of the war's end are lost to history, shrouded in the same deliberate obscurity that surrounds many of the Pantheon's actions. However, what is known is that the Pantheon intervened in the conflict, assisting Elilial in defeating Scylith. The Pantheon bound Scylith deep in the dark places of the world, ensuring that she could not regularly manifest and that her existence was specially diffused and muddled. Her presence, when concentrated, became easy for other gods to detect, such that her followers have trouble avoiding the attention of Pantheon Gods and servants when Scylith is invoked.

The Pantheon's decision to assist Elilial against Scylith was not made lightly. The Pantheon recognized that despite Scylith's betrayal of the other Elder Gods during their own ascension, Scylith herself represented everything wrong with the Elder Gods—cruelty, capriciousness, and a pathological need to cause suffering. However, in helping Elilial defeat Scylith, the Pantheon also recognized the threat that Elilial herself represented.

With the Pantheon's actions to end the war, Elilial never actually took control of Hell from Scylith. Instead, with Scylith bound and removed from the infernal plane, Hell descended into anarchy. The demons that had served Scylith were left without a master, and the infernal plane became a chaotic realm of warring demonic factions with no central authority.

Elilial's Exile from the Pantheon

Following Scylith's defeat, the Pantheon threw down Elilial for her supposed treason, accusing her of using the conflict as a means to gain power and ultimately turn against the gods themselves. The Pantheon preaches that Elilial's coup against Scylith was a first step to position herself to take down the Pantheon itself.

However, Elilial did not retreat to Hell voluntarily. The rest of the Pantheon sentenced her there as punishment. With Hell having descended into anarchy following Scylith's binding, the Pantheon's decision to send Elilial to the infernal plane served a dual purpose.

First, it was punishment. Elilial would be bound to a realm she did not control, forced to exist in the chaotic anarchy of a Hell without a master. She had sought to claim Hell for herself, but instead found herself trapped in a realm she could not truly rule.

Second, it was practical. The Pantheon forced Elilial to serve as a jailor for the demons that still served Scylith. With Scylith bound and unable to maintain control over Hell, the demons that remained loyal to her needed to be contained and managed. By sentencing Elilial to Hell, the Pantheon ensured that someone would be present to keep these demons in check, preventing them from organizing and potentially breaking through to the material plane once more.

This marked Elilial's violent departure from the Pantheon. She now exists in Hell, bound to a realm she cannot fully control, serving as both prisoner and jailor in a punishment that reflects both the Pantheon's judgment of her actions and their practical need to maintain order in the infernal plane.

The Aftermath

The world after the Third Hell War was fundamentally changed. The Pantheon had secured their rule, but at great cost. The devastation of the Hell Wars left scars that would take millennia to heal, and the relationship between the material plane and Hell would never be the same.

The current age is defined by the Pantheon's rule, but the legacy of the Elder Gods and the Hell Wars continues to shape the world in ways both obvious and subtle.