The Age of Clouds
The Old Ones awoke first. From where and whence they came remains a mystery to modern scholars and immortals alike, and even the eldest gods do not remember actually meeting or speaking with them. Recent discoveries by Kyzen Menthora, however, lend much credence to the hypothesis that they do indeed exist. Legend holds that they first unfolded the box of space and then filled the riverbed of time with its ever-flowing waters. Thus, the universe came into being.1 Having established the universe, all but two of the Old Ones retreated to the fringes of their creation, leaving behind Guardians — who mortals call gods — to oversee its unfolding. The two that remained assumed guardianship of the two most essential aspects of the prime material plane, what we now call Tarien. One, known to mortals and immortals alike as the Shar’iish’ta, assumed guardianship of the physical realm. In Eldorian, her name translates into "Mother Nature." The other, known to mortals and immortals alike as Jez'bali'dahn, assumed guardianship of the invisible realm. In Eldorian, his name translates into "Father Force."
The gods, unwilling to watch constantly over the minuscule events in
Looking at the Rheuthengage Mountains from the Lawless Steppes
The myths and legends of ancient Tarien weave a story richer in fiction than history.
Tarien, created other immortals as their servants. Being petty in their desires and interests, the gods and immortals often waged war upon one another. Through these wars, the immortals' home-worlds metamorphosed into their current nine-fold structure. These wars also devastated the landscape of Tarien. After witnessing the tapestry of Tarien torn asunder by the petty nature of its guardians, Shar'iish'ta and Jez'bali'dahn appealed to their fellow old ones, who in stern reprimand, banished the gods and their immortal servants from Tarien. They also created sentient mortals, Kari-Zaro and the Tzecheni'korak and placed them in the warm, fertile Jungles of Thallox. The Old Ones decreed that the power of the gods would remain directly proportionate to the worship of these mortals. The Old Ones then divided the gods into ten realms of possibility, and each had the responsibility for that aspect of Tarien.
Chaos, however, continued to plague Tarien as the Gods and their immortals simply enslaved the helpless Kari-zaro and Tzechni'korack. Again, Shar'iish'ta and Jez'bali'dahn appealed to their brethren who returned from their slumber on the fringes of their creation. This time, he forbid gods and immortals from entering Tarien itself, locking them in their planar homes. The only exception to this rule came from a corollary. A god or immortal may only enter Tarien should they be summoned by a mortal, and then they may enter only at a fraction of their power. The slavery ended, allowing the Kari-zaro and the Tzechni'korack to live and grow on Tarien.
— Professor Xeerix Zenzorax, University of Karradone, from his lectures The Abbreviated History of Tarien , 473 AC