History of the Gods
Firstly, the gods that are known to the mortal races as of now are not eternal beings of unlimited power, and they were conceived between two of the Old Gods. What happened to the them is again, only something I might guess at, but it stands to reason that they were deposed by their children. The gods were originally separated by male and female, the male being known as the Durahee and the female being known as the Annunakai. They refer to themselves in this way when amongst one another, but not in the presence of the lesser races. The two were joined in union long after the birth of the Durahee. The Durahee took the Annunakai as their wives and thus the current pantheon was established. They each have unique characteristics that give them power over parts of Durannun. They were not kings over the land, but governors of what had been entrusted to them by the Old Gods. However when the Old Gods fell, probably by the hands of their children, their was a council between the gods at their place of power.
Beyond the realm of creation lies a castle, Caislean Deithe; it sits at the very center of all things and was once the home of Beakarai and Mazdurah. It was here that the Old Gods watched creation and reigned over it. The Durahee were conceived here, and it is now the seat of the godly council. The many rooms which once housed each of the Durahee are no longer used, and the castle has been left frozen in time, a monument to the Old Gods. The true history of the The Old Gods is unknown to me, and only the gods know of their parents' origins. I shall not waste energy on useless conjecture as to the origin of the The Old Gods and will retain my histories to the current pantheon and their workings.
The Council of Diethe was an assemblage of the Durahee and the Annunakai; it was held shortly after the fall of the Old Gods and was a meeting to decide the fate of the world and to establish power over it. Five of the gods came together, as the elder Durahee, The Black King, was not welcome in their midst. It is said that the other gods feared his power as the eldest of the Durahee and his wife, Basa: goddess of death and decay, for she is the embodiment of death itself. This jealousy led to the other Durahee spurning their elder brother, and this in turn led to hatred on Tuatha: God of Darkness and Shadow's part. He saw creation as his birthright and the assemblage of the gods to decide who would hold power, over what, was an affront to his right. Despite this, the council came together, and even amongst the five their were divisions. The Durahee claimed that the Annunakai had not right to sit on the meeting as they were not conceived by the previous rulers of Durannun. While the goddesses did voice displeasure at this, they did not yet have equal power to the five brothers and could not oppose them. Aergetlam: the god of raging fire was the first to claim kingship over the other, but his other brothers did not take his claim seriously. Lugus: God of the Eternal Blue Sky disputed his claim and asserted his own, as the eldest amongst the 5 assembled. The god of fire challenged his brother to a duel for the position and was defeated by this brother and put in his place. Balum, God of the Sea argued that he was king of the seas and so, since he owned the most territory on the planet that he should be made king. Dagda: God of the Hard Earth argued that there should be no king, seeing as the power only drove the brothers to conflict, but that there should be a first among equals. The youngest, seeking to prove himself to his elder brothers challenged Lugus: God of the Eternal Blue Sky to a duel. The younger god was considered the weakest amongst the Durahee and this suspicion was proven correct after Lugus: God of the Eternal Blue Sky quickly put his younger brother to shame. It was at this point that Aergetlam: the god of raging fire called for a recess in the council and attempted to console Taranis: God of War, as he was the second youngest and closest to the god of war. The two went off to talk and establish a contract between them, and unbeknownst to them Dagda: God of the Hard Earth, Balum, God of the Sea, and Lugus: God of the Eternal Blue Sky did the same. They were the three most powerful of those assembled and the god of the sea and ground vowed to back Lugus: God of the Eternal Blue Sky claim to the throne if they were given preferential treatment amongst all the gods. Lugus was then hailed as king of the gods. There were two councils of this kind, with several centuries taking place between each, and it was at the second that the Black King would conspire to rise against his brother in his definitive vengeance.
The second Council of Deithe was in reaction the the appearance of monsters of unknown origin upon the face of creation. During the several hundred years the gods and their wives had not been idle. Durannun was now populated with sentient races with prolonged life due to the power of the Beochtoril --these races were perfect versions of the high races of this current mortal age--and the gods walked among them and laid with their creations for they saw that they were beautiful. However, these simplistic civilizations were under attack by monsters of unspeakable horror, and the high races called out to their gods for salvation. The gods answered. When the gods assembled they discussed and argued over the origin of these monsters, when Dagda suggested they seek help from their elder brother. The gods agreed, albeit hesitantly, and I was sent to summon him. Upon my return the god Aergetlam tore assunder his divine garments in anger and I was subjected to the unbridled power of a divine in their pure form. It was in this moment that my eye burst into flames and I was gifted sight into the past and future. Tuatha answered the summons form his brother and from a pool of darkness, Tuatha: God of Darkness and Shadow arrived amongst his them in Caislean Deithe. The gods sought his council, not knowing his hand in all that was transpiring.
The goddess of monsters and the mother of all terrors that prey upon the high races was, at this point, a bitter and lonely goddess living in the wild, spurned by her mother Quis, goddess of rainfall. Gnaris: goddess of monsters was a wretched thing, cast down from the dominion of Lugus by her mother and was harboring unspeakable hatred towards the gods. Tuatha, hearing of her bitterness and, seeking to use it, went to her. "My dear child, how you have been wronged by the gods on high, you are right to revile them. For they are monsters and a blight upon creation, but what is one with such little power like yourself to do?" Gnaris gnashed her teeth at him, demanding he state his business for invading her cave, for that is where she lived. Tuatha replied, "Dearest niece I come to you as a friend; seeking to share in your anger, and to offer wisdom. Now the high gods would never tell you this, for they fear its power too greatly, but there is a way one such as yourself may ascend to greater power, than even that of the gods." Gnaris, taken aback and greedy for vengeance demanded angrily what this secret was. Tuatha, whom had come not for aid, but to manipulate, said, "oh no child, I would advise against taking such measure, for it carries with it a terrible price." Gnaris begged Tuatha, beseeching him to share he hidden knowledge. Tuatha, recognizing that she had sprung his trap and hiding his glee replied, "The Void is the route to many powers many would consider. . .unnatural; if you surrender yourself to The Void, taking its power into your womb, you shall increase your own power and produce offspring that may terrorize the gods and their pathetic creations." Tuatha used Gnaris a way to distract the gods and when they rode out to meet her spawn and defeat them, the Black King stole the stone of life.
The gods returned from their battle with the spawn of Gnaris to find the divine guardian of the Beochtoril slain, his body torn asunder. Enraged by this the gods set out to find the culprit and the ground itself cried out in pain to Dagda as the unholy creations walked upon it. It begged for his help and he answered with his brothers. Tuatha volunteered to help his brothers in exchange for a seat at their table, for the threat to them was great and he argued that they required his power. The Annunakai were sent out to protect the sentient races with Taranis: God of War and Balum, God of the Sea. The remaining Durahee rode out as one to defeat their unknown foe. They track the spawns of Gnaris to the Dorcha FIssure and do battle with her most powerful beasts. The destroy them and discover that the source of evil is coming from the fissure; they jump into the wound in the ground. They search out the genesis of the evil forces threatening their peoples, at this point they are confronted with a swarm of small beasts and Tuatha: God of Darkness and Shadow holds them off, sealing the passage that the gods were taking. In this moment the Black King went to his lair in the Underdark and crafted the his crown, infused with the power of the Beochtoril. The gods continue down the passage leading through the bottom of the fissue and they come upon the form of Gnaris, Lugus and Dagda then learned of their relation to her and were taken aback at the hatred within her. They tried to reason with her, to no avail. It was in this moment that Dagda, Lugus, and Aergetlam realized how a minor goddess was able to spawn such powerful beasts. She had taken the power of The Void and from its corrupting influence Gnaris grew in power to the level of the Durahee themselves. The three gods engaged in combat with the goddess, and Aergetlam: the god of raging fire was imprisoned within a pocket of The Void by Gnaris. He struggled to get free from The Void, but its power was too great, and its corruption of his soul began. The gods of earth and sky battled Gnaris and through a titanic effort managed to throw her to the ground, nearly defeated. As they loomed over Gnaris, preparing to doll out justice, a pool of pure darkness opened beneath her and the a greatsword, wreathed in green flame, emerged. The greatsword erupted from the ground, piercing the body of Gnaris, and the gods pulled back in confusion. Behind the two gods a being of immense dark power emerged from the tunnel behind them. Tuatha: God of Darkness and Shadow, adorned with the Beochtoril, walked out of the shadow of the tunnel carrying the battered and bloodied bodies of Taranis: God of War and Balum, God of the Sea. Tuatha cast them to the side and summoed Aergetlam: the god of raging fire out of his prison in The Void. He came forth wreathed in the same green fire that surrounded the blade of Tuatha and knelt before him. Tuatha, being the lord of The Void had used it to corrupt and bend Aergetlam's will to his. The two remaining Durahee looked on in horror, knowing they could do nothing, and Tuatha summoned the full power of The Void to imprison his 4 unloyal brothers. Just as all seemed lost Lugus sent out a portion of his power out into the world, hoping that it would forge a connection with one of his children and make him into his champion. However the power of The Void warped it and it was sent tumbling through time, and it would not be many hundreds of years before it would find a young Tiefling.
Tuatha proclaimed himself the Black King and began his war against the Annunakai and the minor gods. The Black King then began to build an army to make war against the children of his brothers and their wives, and he set out to decode the ancient tapestry of prophecy, the Leirscrios Tapestry. For he knew that in it was the key to keeping his reign eternal. Aergetlam became his chief lieutenant and the high races became weaker without the life giving energy of the Beochtoril. Time is growing short of those who stand in opposition to the Black King, and we are becoming desperate. Our only hope is that champions of the Durahee rise up against Tuatha: God of Darkness and Shadow, and turn the tide of the war.
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