Mythology
How The World Was Formed
Alma hailed from the Far Realms. He took Bela with him to travel through out the Astral. However, another called Kom, who desired Bela for himself, followed Alma at a distance. Eons passed until they bored of traveling and decided to leave the Astral and make a Plane of their own.
Bela clapped her hands together catching part of the Astral in them then ripped it away from the rest of the Astral surrounding it. Holding the jagged piece of Astral in one hand she plunged it into her breast, carving out a piece of her flesh. Thrusting deeper she cut forth passion from her heart. In her other hand she caught the lifeblood that flowed freely from her wound. With a kiss that rippled the Astral she gave these gifts to Alma. He took each gift in turn, setting aside a piece of each for later, and began molding the rest into a paradise to call their own.
First he took her flesh and rolled it between his hands until it took the shape of a sphere. This became the earth of the Plane. Secondly he took the passion of her heart and placed it in the center of the earth to keep it warm. Thirdly he bathed the Plane in her blood, and it became the water that sustains life. Finally he blanketed the Plane with the breath of her kiss to create motion, thus creating the World.
Thrilled as only a Goddess can be, Bela set foot upon her new home. With each step plants and creatures sprung up around her. Soon the whole World was teeming with life. The couple wandered their new home happily.
Meanwhile Kom's jealousy grew ever greater. He watched, seething with anger until he could finally take it no longer and with his hands he pulled the World apart, literally tearing their love asunder. Alma raced to confront the destroyer but Bela stood in shock as the life she nurtured for so long was taken from her. Suddenly the ground fell out from beneath her feet and she began to fall. A small raven dove after her, catching her wrist in it's talons and, flapping desperately, tried to pull her up. Bela could not fathom why this bird would sacrifice it's life to try to save hers. She would not be killed from the fall but it most certainly would be. She shed a tear at the thought and decided death would not be it's fate. Reaching out, Bela grabbed the sundered pieces of her World.
Alma's knee struck Kom with such force that he dropped the halves of the World he held in his hands. With a snarl, Kom kicked out with his cloven hoof, striking Alma in the jaw. Alma flew back from the impact a short distance. Then, standing straight, he called forth a heavy mace. The weapon captured the soft hues of the Astral and reflected it onto Alma like water reflects light. He walked toward Kom with grim purpose.
With surprising ease Bela brought the shattered World back together around her. The devastation had been intense and she wished never again for this to happen. With that thought she melded into the World she loved so much. She could now feel everything on the World, including the small thump of a heartbeat slowly fading. She found, now trapped inside her, the raven that tried so hard to save her. She looked out and saw the battle ensuing between Alma and Kom. Fearing the loss of her love, she used the mist now settling on her surface to retrieve the spirit of the raven. Wrapping the raven's spirit in the mist that retrieved it, she cradled the bird in her arms until it awoke. Bela told the raven it was no longer as it used to be. As a reward for it's selfless act she granted the raven the ability to give life or take it away. Then she named it Mist after that which surrounded it. Releasing her, Bela told Mist to stop the fight between Alma and Kom. The raven flew off quickly towards the battle, mist trailing after it.
There was no visible effort as Alma unerringly brought the mace down on Kom's head. Sparks flew from Kom's giant horns as the mace grated against them, the sound lost in the Astral's vast scape. Reaching up, Kom gathered the sparks in each hand as they flew, and even as he fell, formed them into a chain. With a flick as he stood he sunk the ends of the chain into the Astral. Pulling them out he now held a dire flail in his hands.
A vicious battle ensued, each blow being parried and countered by the other. Then, just as they were about to mutilate each other, the small raven came between them. Alma stopped, looking at the bird but Kom followed through, now aiming at the distraction. In the blink of an eye Mist transformed into a beautiful woman and with her right hand caught Kom's weapon before the blow landed. She then informed them of who she was and what had befallen Bela while they'd been fighting. Upon hearing this, Kom retreated back into the Astral, grieving at his misfortune. Alma and Mist returned to Bela, as the World now was.
Alma hailed from the Far Realms. He took Bela with him to travel through out the Astral. However, another called Kom, who desired Bela for himself, followed Alma at a distance. Eons passed until they bored of traveling and decided to leave the Astral and make a Plane of their own.
Bela clapped her hands together catching part of the Astral in them then ripped it away from the rest of the Astral surrounding it. Holding the jagged piece of Astral in one hand she plunged it into her breast, carving out a piece of her flesh. Thrusting deeper she cut forth passion from her heart. In her other hand she caught the lifeblood that flowed freely from her wound. With a kiss that rippled the Astral she gave these gifts to Alma. He took each gift in turn, setting aside a piece of each for later, and began molding the rest into a paradise to call their own.
First he took her flesh and rolled it between his hands until it took the shape of a sphere. This became the earth of the Plane. Secondly he took the passion of her heart and placed it in the center of the earth to keep it warm. Thirdly he bathed the Plane in her blood, and it became the water that sustains life. Finally he blanketed the Plane with the breath of her kiss to create motion, thus creating the World.
Thrilled as only a Goddess can be, Bela set foot upon her new home. With each step plants and creatures sprung up around her. Soon the whole World was teeming with life. The couple wandered their new home happily.
Meanwhile Kom's jealousy grew ever greater. He watched, seething with anger until he could finally take it no longer and with his hands he pulled the World apart, literally tearing their love asunder. Alma raced to confront the destroyer but Bela stood in shock as the life she nurtured for so long was taken from her. Suddenly the ground fell out from beneath her feet and she began to fall. A small raven dove after her, catching her wrist in it's talons and, flapping desperately, tried to pull her up. Bela could not fathom why this bird would sacrifice it's life to try to save hers. She would not be killed from the fall but it most certainly would be. She shed a tear at the thought and decided death would not be it's fate. Reaching out, Bela grabbed the sundered pieces of her World.
Alma's knee struck Kom with such force that he dropped the halves of the World he held in his hands. With a snarl, Kom kicked out with his cloven hoof, striking Alma in the jaw. Alma flew back from the impact a short distance. Then, standing straight, he called forth a heavy mace. The weapon captured the soft hues of the Astral and reflected it onto Alma like water reflects light. He walked toward Kom with grim purpose.
With surprising ease Bela brought the shattered World back together around her. The devastation had been intense and she wished never again for this to happen. With that thought she melded into the World she loved so much. She could now feel everything on the World, including the small thump of a heartbeat slowly fading. She found, now trapped inside her, the raven that tried so hard to save her. She looked out and saw the battle ensuing between Alma and Kom. Fearing the loss of her love, she used the mist now settling on her surface to retrieve the spirit of the raven. Wrapping the raven's spirit in the mist that retrieved it, she cradled the bird in her arms until it awoke. Bela told the raven it was no longer as it used to be. As a reward for it's selfless act she granted the raven the ability to give life or take it away. Then she named it Mist after that which surrounded it. Releasing her, Bela told Mist to stop the fight between Alma and Kom. The raven flew off quickly towards the battle, mist trailing after it.
There was no visible effort as Alma unerringly brought the mace down on Kom's head. Sparks flew from Kom's giant horns as the mace grated against them, the sound lost in the Astral's vast scape. Reaching up, Kom gathered the sparks in each hand as they flew, and even as he fell, formed them into a chain. With a flick as he stood he sunk the ends of the chain into the Astral. Pulling them out he now held a dire flail in his hands.
A vicious battle ensued, each blow being parried and countered by the other. Then, just as they were about to mutilate each other, the small raven came between them. Alma stopped, looking at the bird but Kom followed through, now aiming at the distraction. In the blink of an eye Mist transformed into a beautiful woman and with her right hand caught Kom's weapon before the blow landed. She then informed them of who she was and what had befallen Bela while they'd been fighting. Upon hearing this, Kom retreated back into the Astral, grieving at his misfortune. Alma and Mist returned to Bela, as the World now was.
The War of Mages
The Priests of Oni became addicted to the arcane magic provided by the Weave and forsook devotion to their Goddess in favor of pushing the boundaries of their knowledge. They became the first Wizards.
The Wizards were draining Bela at a startling rate. The Druids called upon Lore for help who in turn sent the ancient Dragons to lead an army of Sorcerers against the reckless Wizards.
The Druids sought a way to reinvigorate Bela by strengthening her connection with the Elemental Planes which had grown considerably on their own since their creation.
Meanwhile a great war broke out between the mages. The sudden assault by the Sorcerers took the Wizards by surprise and forced them to acts of desperation. Lured by Impa, they reached deep into Bela's being and pulled forth strands of her Far Realm power, unwittingly unleashing a torrent of abominations and other horrors on the world. With this power they opened Gates to Outer Planes and led a multitude of outsiders to the world to fight for them. Kors himself manifested and reveled in the glory of the battles, creating new and terrible undead as he strode across the lands.
With a near infinite supply of soldiers at their beckon, the Wizards reversed the tide of the war and slaughtered thousands of their enemies. In a cataclysmic event known later as 'The Shattering', a fanatic cabal of Wizards on Pejoria performed an evocation ceremony that drained arcane energy directly from the Weave, and unknowingly everyone in the area, into an artifact. No one knows the intent or target of their weapon. It became overcharged with the excessive energy and exploded, laying waste to Pejoria, cracking the continent, and creating the Great Maelstrom to its south.
By this time the Druids had managed to bind Bela and the Elemental Planes but too much damage had been done. The Shattering tore the Weave asunder and it receded deep into the world. As it did, magic vanished, simply ceasing to exist where it once did. Beings and creatures of magic quickly began to die. Outsiders fled to their Planes or were trapped and perished. Overwhelmed by the loss of life, Mist enshrouded the world in a heavy fog and poured her own life energy into it creating the Ethereal Plane. She gathered up all of the remaining magical beings and locked them away in the Ethereal before lifting the fog. Before she did, Kors took the opportunity to escape into it, abandoning the colossal form of his avatar buried deep in the Tallari Mountains. Mist then brought her captors closer to the essence of Bela and set them free in another dimension of pure creation, where the magical beings could manifest their own small lands to live in. This became known as the Fey Realm (Spirit Plane) and Shadow Plane, opposite sides of the same Plane and reflections of the real world.
So began the hopelessly mundane 'Age of Man'. Many millennia would pass before 'The Awakening' and the return of magic to the world of Bela.
The Priests of Oni became addicted to the arcane magic provided by the Weave and forsook devotion to their Goddess in favor of pushing the boundaries of their knowledge. They became the first Wizards.
The Wizards were draining Bela at a startling rate. The Druids called upon Lore for help who in turn sent the ancient Dragons to lead an army of Sorcerers against the reckless Wizards.
The Druids sought a way to reinvigorate Bela by strengthening her connection with the Elemental Planes which had grown considerably on their own since their creation.
Meanwhile a great war broke out between the mages. The sudden assault by the Sorcerers took the Wizards by surprise and forced them to acts of desperation. Lured by Impa, they reached deep into Bela's being and pulled forth strands of her Far Realm power, unwittingly unleashing a torrent of abominations and other horrors on the world. With this power they opened Gates to Outer Planes and led a multitude of outsiders to the world to fight for them. Kors himself manifested and reveled in the glory of the battles, creating new and terrible undead as he strode across the lands.
With a near infinite supply of soldiers at their beckon, the Wizards reversed the tide of the war and slaughtered thousands of their enemies. In a cataclysmic event known later as 'The Shattering', a fanatic cabal of Wizards on Pejoria performed an evocation ceremony that drained arcane energy directly from the Weave, and unknowingly everyone in the area, into an artifact. No one knows the intent or target of their weapon. It became overcharged with the excessive energy and exploded, laying waste to Pejoria, cracking the continent, and creating the Great Maelstrom to its south.
By this time the Druids had managed to bind Bela and the Elemental Planes but too much damage had been done. The Shattering tore the Weave asunder and it receded deep into the world. As it did, magic vanished, simply ceasing to exist where it once did. Beings and creatures of magic quickly began to die. Outsiders fled to their Planes or were trapped and perished. Overwhelmed by the loss of life, Mist enshrouded the world in a heavy fog and poured her own life energy into it creating the Ethereal Plane. She gathered up all of the remaining magical beings and locked them away in the Ethereal before lifting the fog. Before she did, Kors took the opportunity to escape into it, abandoning the colossal form of his avatar buried deep in the Tallari Mountains. Mist then brought her captors closer to the essence of Bela and set them free in another dimension of pure creation, where the magical beings could manifest their own small lands to live in. This became known as the Fey Realm (Spirit Plane) and Shadow Plane, opposite sides of the same Plane and reflections of the real world.
So began the hopelessly mundane 'Age of Man'. Many millennia would pass before 'The Awakening' and the return of magic to the world of Bela.