Terragenesis

In the Beginning, there was Harmony

Nine gods in eight Harmonic Spheres adrift in the Astral Sea, content with their peaceful existence. The Monarch, in Their lofty realm of Sol; the Archivist, weaving deeds of the gods into legend in the great library of Apocrypha; the Muse, adrift in the Regalia, whose halls were filled with all songs sung before song was known to Mortal ear; the Tribunal, three who are one to codify the natural laws of the world; the Wanderer, dwelling in the infinite green spaces of Sylva from which the Feywild spills forth; the Devil, scheming from the wastes of Hell; the Rider in Their three forms of apocalypse thundered across the desolation of the Ruin; the Bedlamite, in their endlessly shifting realm of Bedlam; and the Stranger, walking between planes yet lacking one of Their own.

The Peace is Broken

A desolate, forgotten realm rose from the Primordial Chaos, floating to the top of the Astral Sea; a remnant of the Fracture. Many of the divinity were content to ignore the bare crust of land as it made its rise to the surface, but the Bedlamite, discontented with the unending peace of the gods that seemed to spurn Their very nature, turned to lay claim to it. The Bedlamite gave birth to Mortals, breathing life into the Mortal Plane. For this, the Bedlamite is recognized as a god of creation, life, and love. However, the motives of the Bedlamite were unpure; They desired to draw the attention of Their divine brethren to create something new, for They had grown bored with the Harmony of the Spheres, for the Bedlamite is a god of change and enemy of stagnation. With their shifting raiment, They set about creating the many varied Mortal forms. It first created the long-lived elves, who They knew would so come to love the gifts of the Wanderer and had within them capacity for great works. Then it breathed life into the mountains, populating them with the noble form of the dwarves whose stout hearts were slow to love or hate, creating them as loyal friends or vicious foes. They finished Their first breath of creation by populating the lands between forest and mountain with humans, Their most beloved creation. But, They so too doomed mankind to a short life. While elves live until they are slain and dwarves boast the longevity of the mountains, humans are confined to but a fraction of that time. But in their brief time to walk the surface of Andali, humans burn the fiercest and brightest of all the Mortal races. For within the hearts of man the Bedlamite placed the closest semblence to Their divine essence, weaving great potential for creation and destruction within their form.

And by this time, the other divine hosts had begun to take interest in the work of the Bedlamite. For the Wanderer so loved the Bedlamite's creation, They gave unto Mortals a green world, filled with the flora and fauna so they might sustain themselves. Others filled the Mortal Sphere with works of their own; through unions of devil, dragon, and deva, tieflings, dragonborn, and aasimar arose. And so the Bedlamite rejoiced, for the other gods had accepted Their gift and felt in this moment a kindred with Their brethren They had not felt since the Harmonic Spheres fell silent.

Gifts of the Gods

To build a culture upon the land that the Bedlamite had breathed life into and the Wanderer had filled with the bounty of the natural world, the other gods gave their gifts in kind.

While others were slow to act, the Monarch sent the Oathbringers, three great dragons of gold, silvery, and green scale to teach Mortals the strength of binding pacts, the value held in their word, and treachery of seeing that word undermined or broken. They lived in the Mortal Realm for eons, bestowing their wisdom on any who would seek it, and some even say they still dwell amongst Mortals to this day, embedded in the communities they helped raise under Mortal guise.

As time went on and the feats of Mortals grew in number as they built their communities around shared values and agreements, the Muse lifted their voices up in story and song, so in this age of heroes, they would know who built their cities and raised their walls, and no one would lose sight of their heritage. Through melodies, murals, and memorized lines, these communities grew their legacy.

And the Archivist gave them the means to immortality in stone, guiding their hand in creation of the written word so that their light may never die. The discoveries of the past would inform the future. Ideals of scientific nature took shape, and the Archivist took it upon Themself to keep a Great Library of all Mortalkind had ever created. In these halls of record, Librarians keep accounts of every Mortal to ever live as cities grew to states.

Mortal life grew and flourished, and laws set guidelines for how the new rising nations would treat their citizens and each other. But the Devil planted a seed of deceit. The flexible moral duplicity one needed to rise, to create something great and longstanding built upon the broken backs of others. They struck bargains with Mortals, charging high mortal prices for power.

In this rise of twisted words and severed ties, the Rider ignited a spark of audacity within Mortals, fueling fires of pride and untempered ambition. Empires bound disarticulate nations and cultures together to expand their influence at any cost. Each sought to be the dominant voice in the legacy of Andali, and would burn out any other that would try to sing louder in their song.

Until the Tribunal established the rule of law. A set of orienting guidelines aside from the loose moral compass that Mortals used to navigate. Set in the words of Mortals, treaties and envoys established the binding agreements to protect those who would otherwise remain at the mercy of those with more influence. The fires, while they still raged, burned within controlled braziers in the soul of Mortals. And so a new peace was forged.

But of the Stranger, the Mortal Realm received no gifts or boons. No wisdom was shared from Their silent lips, as they seemed content to watch. To wait. To remember. Some say They yet wait to bestow Their gift upon the Mortal Realm, and when They do it will change the world forever.