Age of Apocalypse

Beginning

The Age of Apocalypse is most often said to have begun in 2502 ER at the conclusion of the Battle of Godgrave which saw a reincarnated Louhi rise anew to the surprise of all the denizens of the universe -- including the Empyreal Gods themselves. Over the millenia following Loviatar's defeat in Ragnarok, she had worked her dark plans of revenge as an unfathomably complex web of secrets and conspiracies. The Goddess of Evil instigated uncounted conflicts across the cosmos, learned new and terrible powers, recruited countless minions, took command of bloodthirsty armies, gained the allegiance of dark gods, removed potential opponents and -- most important of all -- kept her part in such events well hidden.   By the end of the 25th century, Loviatar had drawn numerous new planar powers into the Divine Conflict and the might of the Empyreals was stretched thin. Many of the more reclusive Empyreal deities had grown more distant than ever before from Ulthgard. The home of the gods itself had become mired in disagreements -- the result of seeds of discord once planted by Loviatar finally bearing their dark fruit. The threat of numerous invasions loomed over the cosmic realm of the Empyreals, and the attention of the gods was focused away from Amanor. Of course, Loviatar had chosen Amanor to be the stage for her great return.   The final stages of Loviatar's plan were set into motion in 2501 ER, beginning with the inflitration of assassins into Ulthgard itself. Kal-Sebek, the God of Knowledge, was slain and Iona the Sun Goddess was badly injured. As her plans progressed on Amanor, the fires of the Divine Conflict were stoked to unprecedented heights and Ulthgard was besieged.   At the moment of her plan's fruition, it was only a small handful of mortal champions and their allies that stood ready to stop Loviatar's reincarnation and their efforts were, unfortunately, not enough.  

Louhi's labors

Immediately after her reincarnation Louhi set out into the cosmos to accomplish the next steps of her dark plans. She visited many a god in person -- both Empyreal gods and others -- slaying some, making deals with some, and subjugating others. Having sacrificed her closest servants, the Disciples, in her ritual of reincarnation, Louhi gathered to herself a new set of followers and named them her Furies.  

State of the world

In the Age of Apocalypse the world of Amanor is a blasted ruin of its former natural glory, scarred by magical catastrophes and largely inhospitable to life. Louhi has slain both Iona and Etro, the gods of the moon and the sun, leaving their shattered remains to hang from the firmament as a reminder of her might; the broken sun sheds only a pale light that is barely enough to sustain the natural world and its lack of orbit around the spherical world has caused half of Amanor to freeze altogether.   After facing off against a group of Empyreal deities at the top of the world, Louhi used their powers to inflict terrible curses upon the world; plagues of flesh-eating insects, hordes of ravenous beasts, mountain-shattering thunderstorms, deformity-causing plagues of sterility, deluge-causing rains of blood, and other disasters besides have decimated the populations of mortalkind and animals alike. Moreover, entire armies of planar conquerors march across the many continents of Amanor, falling upon beleaguered civilizations with murder and destruction in mind.   As in the breaking of the sun and the moon was not enough, Louhi has erected yet more monuments to her unquestionable supremacy; six monolithic metal totems jut up from the broken crust of the earth to pierce the clouds, placed at regular intervals around the circle of the world. Each totem is hundreds of kilometers high and holding at its tip the faintly beating heart of a slain god -- Seldariel, Anthos, Shan-Ra, Kala-Hera, Morad, and Zehir -- six of the Eleven Empyreal Sovereigns of fallen Ulthgard.  

State of the universe

The might of Ulthgard has been shattered and the leaders of the Empyreals lie dead. Louhi has carefully orchestrated the myriad sides of the Divine Conflict as they compete with each other to fill this power vaccuum, making sure that she comes out on top as the single most powerful ruler in the cosmos. She has eradicated or subjugated all the major powers of universe already -- such as the Heavenly Adherence, the League of Baator and the Five Warlords -- but to achieve total dominance of a vast universe is a slow process. Louhi's domain expands ever towards the edges of the universe as new worlds come to worship her and new armies raise her flags as their standards.