The Godswar

While peace reigned throughout the realms and each being ruled over their people and planes of existence, not all were content with their lot. Ravenna began to journey throughout the realms, pushing further and further into the depths of her parent’s creation, but what she was looking for even she did not know. It was during one of her journeys, pushing into the depths of the Nether Abyss not seen since the Chaos Wars that she found him. Charon, the Aspect of Death had returned. Yet he did not wake. Thrown out of time by Aeos the Timelord, he was not yet able to take his full form. Ecstatic, she carried him to Orobeus herself. Her siblings were overjoyed at this, and placed Charon in stasis deep beneath Orobeus. Overjoyed at the return of their brother, Vraekar encouraged Ravenna to continue her excursions, to see what else she might find in the depths of creation. If only he had known what was to come.
During another excursion into the depths of the Nether Abyss some time after, it is here recorded that Ravenna met a being known to us only as the Prince of Chaos. Thinking at first that it was her father, Ravenna was seduced by this Prince, who led her out into The Void. It was here that Ravenna was held captive for what seemed like an eternity, her mind corrupted, to the detriment of all creation.

To this day we don’t know how or why, but several centuries later Ravenna was released; changed. As she returned to Orobeus she was markedly different, and her siblings noted this. Darker, more sullen, and angry, she lashed out at them all. But they could not know what was to come. Just a few short weeks after her arrival, Ravenna crept into Vraekar’s room while he lay with Arishanne and stabbed him with a dagger while he slept. As Vraekar thrashed in the throes of death, Ravenna escaped, while Arishanne screamed, unable to help her brother. Thus Vraekar, eldest of the Divines and the Lord of Creation passed into eternity. And so began the Godswar.

Arishanne raged, and declared eternal war upon her sister, and that their followers would be enemies until the end of days. Celestine reacted differently, however. While she was devastated at the loss of her brother, she could not bring herself to slay her sister, and thus fled Orobeus, alone. As Arishanne laid Vraekar to rest in the halls of Orobeus however his body was split in twain, and from his flesh came forth two more Elder Gods, the dragonlings Bahamut and Tishdakalar. Taking this as the blessing of Vraekar, she readied her forces for war.

Arishanne gathered up the forces of Orobeus as well as that of her sons Helmvor and Tisrendel and set out to find her sister and bring her to justice. Ravenna had not been idle however and had fled to Rancor and the arms of her sons Eltax and Belegor. Together they marshalled their forces, and the realms were once again at war.

The war lasted for centuries, the forces of The Light and The Shadow fighting across the all of creation. Beings fell by the thousands, and the conflict threatened to tear the very fabric of existence apart. It was during this time that Ravenna created the Pits of Despair, a breeding ground from which her foul creations would be spawned; and Arishanne created The Heavens, and with it the Citadel of Light, from which her soldiers would usher forth. It was so that the first Demonlords and Archangels were created, fighting alongside their mothers in what would become known as the Eternal Conflict.

What the twins could not know however, is that the creations of their bastions of power set the universe out of balance, and thus Charon awoke. Enraged at the actions of both of his sisters, he was furious that they would risk their parent’s creation for their own petty machinations. It was so that he invited both Arishanne and Ravenna back to Orobeus to speak of peace, and when it became obvious that no accord could be reached, he reaped them both. It was so that both Arishanne and Ravenna ended their mortal existence; but it was not the end for their struggle. The spirit of both beings had become tied to their creations; Ravenna to the Pits of Despair and Arishanne to the Citadel of Light. It was so they lived on, the essence of Light and the essence of Shadow, and while the Godswar had ended, the Eternal Conflict had only just begun.

Devastated at what he had been forced to do to save creation, Charon retreated into the depths of Orobeus and sealed the realm away. Thus, Orobeus faded away from all knowledge, and the last Divine retreated into oblivion.