Betrayal

An eon ago, mankind had become complacent and lazy. They reclined in magnificent towers that scraped the sky, even as their society became more atomized and decadent. Through the advancement of material matters, the esoteric slipped away, eventually forgotten. In the magnificent halls of stone, deep beneath the earth, the Grand Ones argued amongst themselves. Some believed they must interfere. Others wished to leave human matters to the humans, either out of apathy or respect for mankind's self-determination. One of the strongest of the great spirits, Mal, the embodiment of thorns and the deep places of the world, had long held bitterness in his heart towards mankind. Even as lesser beings, they possessed free will, in defiance of Mal, a long and storied burr in the dark spirit's coat.
So Mal devised a wicked plan, to right the wrongs that he saw in the world and to reassert the natural order of things. With the help of the Eight Princes, foul imitations of the Grand Ones and servants of Mal, the dark spirit delved into the darkest reaches of the earth. In these enigmatic depths, he hunted for the World Staff, a fragment of the needle of the Loom that Weaves the Tapestry of Reality. Mal searched far and wide. Eventually, through trials unknown, he returned, the World Staff in hand.
Successful in his mission, the dark spirit called for the remaining Grand Ones to meet, to put the debate to rest. He appealed to their fears, stating to them that there were far too many humans, and their vast numbers and far-too-long leash had led them to degeneration. Soon, the irrelevancy of the Grand Ones would be upon them, should they not act. A great culling, he said, would allow the world to heal and would allow the Grand Ones to guide the development of the humans and their home, to the benefit of all. The Grand Ones were horrified by his words and attempted to confront Mal. To their dismay, with the World Staff enhancing his sorcery, Mal was unstoppable, and the Grand Ones were trapped in a bramblevine prison, where they were frozen in time.
With his brethren indisposed, Mal took to the center of the world, where powerful pacts sealed the Loom away from any that would seek to change the course of history. For a sorcerer as talented as Mal and possessed of the World Staff as he was, these pacts proved a pitiful challenge, and the thorn-crowned spirit took to the Loom. In Mal's bitterness, he devised to do away entirely with humanity and the world they inhabited, to start anew. With wicked sorceries, Mal began to twist the threads of the tapestry, but there was one thing that he failed to foresee. Mal's sister, Nym, the embodiment of summer and warmth, a powerful sorcerer in her own right, had anticipated her brother's treachery and had weaved her own enchantments, which broke her free from Mal's prison. Fearing for the world, the daughter of summer followed Mal to the Loom. It was there that she confronted Mal and there that Mal struck her down. Yet, with the last breath in her lungs and her blood spilling onto the needle of the loom, Nym cursed Mal to never see the fulfillment of his plans. With a hollow scream that can yet be heard in the howling winds of bitter cold, Mal was excised to the deepest reaches of eternity.
At great cost, the full extent of Mal's plan, the annihilation of the world and humanity, failed, but to humanity, the difference was insubstantial, as the very surface of the earth split open and spewed forth an angry cloud, a dark haze, that settled into the air and choked the earth. The beginnings of the new world that Mal was seeking to weave mixed with the death of the present age, and new creatures, both animal and more than such, came to inhabit the new age. In one last unconscious stroke of cruelty, as the haze spread even to the heavens, The One Who Brings Light, Kisosol, was poisoned, and the Long Dark began. Now, mankind scrabbles through the ice and snow for survival, in a harsh and unsuitable world, threatened always by extinction, should their vigilance slip for even a moment.