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The Dark Powers Return
Thousands of years passed, the people of Andar, particularly the Templars of Wahkarn, came to regard themselves as beloved of the Sept. In truth, all mortals held the favor of the Sept in those days, but the Andarans became filled with pride and overzealous righteousness.
It is said that a small faction within the Templars began to question exactly what they were guarding. They could feel great power beneath their feet and began to ask if the gods had not hidden something from them. Nobody knows for sure, but it is thought that perhaps Darkness had found a way to bleed a small measure of its power beyond the barrier. Whether the cause was dark magic or simple faithlessness, the results were the same.
This rogue faction of Templars seeking to sate their curiosity ultimately destroyed the portal and released the dark powers into the world once more. In a rage at having been contained for so long Darkness lashed out at those who freed the Three. The people there were transformed in an instant into monsters. Each one a different horror, progenitors of species that still exist to present day.
Once outside the Three laid waste to the prison and the surrounding city. They then left to survey what the world looked like now and to plan their revenge. When last the Three were loose upon the world there were no mortals, only the gods. But now there was a continent full of mortals. It was clear that the Sept cared for them dearly. A new battle would be fought, this time the Three would not be caught unaware and they desired forces of their own.
As they traveled, Darkness transformed the humans they found into the first orcs. As the humans were driven by desire so would these brutish warriors be driven by their desire for bloodshed. Those they killed Nox raised as undead. And though the undead could not bear the light of the sun they were with Darkness who shielded them. It is said that wherever the Dark Three went it was always night. This was not enough though. The orcs pleased Grak in their ferocity and desire for battle, no one would lead them, each would seek glory on their own. Grak was excited for the coming battles, but he craved more warriors for their conflict.
The Sept saw the corruption the Three spread in their wake and they knew the ruin the coming battles would cause. Rather than confront the Three directly the Sept went to the nations of Vargainen and attempted to prepare them for the coming conflict. They wanted to preserve as much as they could, certain that casualties in the fighting would be severe.
A full battalion of earthkin heard what the Sept had to say and took it upon themselves to vanquish the Dark Three. They would sacrifice themselves to save the lives of many others. Darkness laughed heartily that day, they never stood a chance. So amused was Darkness by their sacrifice it transformed this battalion into the first trolls so that they could live to fight again and again, too stupid to understand their own failure. Grak was still not satisfied by these troops however. The Orcs and Trolls were fierce but they lacked intelligence. It was Grak who wanted soldiers who could think for themselves, Grak sought warriors who would betray their own. Darkness approved of such behavior.
They would make these soldiers in the small elven nation of Xiãnrén. Here were people favored by the Elemental, Darkness relished the idea of corrupting them. One night they went to bed unaware of what doom awaited them. By the next morning the entire nation had been transformed, these were the first goblins. As they slept Darkness had entered their hearts and found their worst fears. Each one was mutated in different ways, their skin and hair turned bright white. They now had all the bloodlust and anger of the orcs but unlike the others they had full command over their own minds. These would be the soldiers Grak desired.
Though they had free will, the goblins of Xiãnrén lost everything. The Elemental grew angry at the fate of her favored people and stopped making contact with them. At last the Dark Three were in a stationary location, the Sept made a direct assault. The Three withdrew leaving the goblins to fend for themselves, the goblins tried to surrender to explain what had happened. They were met by people who assumed they were just like the orcs, who expected them to be monsters and treated them as such. The goblins had no choice but to defend themselves and when they saw how they were to be treated many of those that survived turned willingly to the Three for protection. Terrible gifts were bestowed upon them to wreak havoc in the name of the Three.
These goblins taught the Three much about how the world had changed in their absence and together they formed battle plans to attack all who opposed them. There however was one last group that Darkness wanted to corrupt before they began that conquest. With help from the goblins Darkness summoned forth the Light Fae and twisted them as well, transforming them into the Nightmare inspired Dark Fae.
At last the Three were fully prepared to do battle with the Sept who in turn were also ready for the worst. Each side knew what the other was capable of and each side had mortal armies to call upon. The battles were vicious and terrible. Once more the world was nearly torn asunder but this time the damage was far worse.
Even Draconus took part in the war this time, fighting with the Sept. It is said that Grak wounded him and he fled. Some believe that he created the moon as his sanctuary after that battle. Others claim he IS the moon. Another popular theory is that the moon is an egg created by Draconus, one last progeny as he departed. After the wound, what can be said for sure is that Draconus NEVER returned.
It is uncertain how long the war raged or even how many times the two sides clashed directly versus sending their armies to battle. No one had time to take notes and even if they did the world itself shuddered and what was true in one moment didn’t always stay that way.
So many lives were lost and so much damage was done all present knew that it could not be sustained. A temporary truce was struck as neither side wanted to see the complete destruction of all that was, each wanted something to win. It was done just in time, perhaps the imminent destruction forced the ceasefire.
Vargainen was no longer livable, it was actively crumbling around everyone. It was decided that the continent the gods had moved to in the preceding millenia would become the new home of all mortals regardless of which side they fought on. The Sept had to give in to this condition for the truce to succeed. All ten gods acting in concert for possibly the only time ever, Draconus still missing, transported every mortal they could find from Vargainen to this new land, which was dubbed Novitas.
There was little time to act, they took whoever they could and deposited them anywhere they could find. In the end they managed to save most of the mortals of Vargainen but not all. Vargainen sunk into the sea, in an event known as the Sundering, leaving only a terrible tempest that lasted for 1600 years behind. At least that’s how it appeared from the outside.
The gods made an agreement, they would continue their war, but only through proxies. Mortals could fight other mortals, but no more would the gods walk the land. It was the only way to ensure they did not destroy everything once again. Neither side was wholly confident they could win an all out war, let alone win without further mass destruction. To ensure the Dark Three kept their word, great magics were worked to keep the gods from ever returning in person.
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