Made this beast in one go after two years of not playing the game. It’s kind of a projectile vomit of information. Enjoy!
" IN THE BEGINNING…
…there was darkness. Nothing more, and nothing less, only the vast infinity of an entropic void. Not a single movement could be seen in this void, nor even the illusion of what we know as thought… initially. Over time, however, activity would begin to stir in the void. Movement could be seen, thoughts could be heard, and in time the void came to be aware of her existence… much to her dismay.
The inherent darkness and emptiness of her being was made painfully apparent, and the void grew restless from the loneliness very quickly. If she was going to stay sane, she would need something other than herself.
Becoming aware of her vast cosmic power, she swiftly began the work of creating a new form. The process was long and excruciating, straining her form to its limits and requiring every fiber of her mind. The strain nearly drove her to giving up, but when she expected it the least, she had indeed brought something new into her form.
A flash, to be precise.
It was blinding at first, and it drove the void away with its blunt contradiction. But as it died down and the void’s sight adjusted, she could finally see her creation for what it is. It was her direct antithesis; just as omnipresent, no less powerful, but of a completely different composition to her.
He was the light, and they fell for each other almost immediately.
Their dances and serenades were seemingly unending, and both wished that their joy would never tire… sadly, of course, it did. In due time, their loneliness was brought back into painful relief. Even when they were two and a pair, there was nothing beyond themselves.
Despair nearly claimed the void yet again, but the light asked a simple question; she was able to make him on her own. Just what could they be able create together?
The void was hesitant of such and act, considering the distress that process put on her, but the horrors of the alternative eventually drove her to agree. And with that, the pair proceeded to pool the energies; the void condensed the vast powers of her form, while the light balled his energy into a single, blinding flash.
And when the both of them could channel no more of their powers, they thrust their energies right into each other. This created a deafening rumble, a blinding flash, and then…
The Pantheon
They were severely diminished and utterly exhausted, but Void and Light survived to see the fruits of their labor. From the center of their power strike, five omnipotent essences took form. The couple watched in awe as these essences rapidly gained power and form, until they found themselves joined by five new gods.
They became aware of their existence even faster than Light or Void, and they were quick to announce their names and cosmic roles. These fives gods were…
Belladonna , the mistress of life. The life giver and life-shaper, with a dominion over nature’s splendor that none would be able to match.
Thargonzo , the champion of thought. The wielder and craftsman of thoughts, ideas and dreams, with a distinct affinity for desire in all of its forms.
Septavius , lord and shepherd of the dead. The being tasked with ensuring a peaceful existence in death, and to ensure that the living are spared the dead’s wrath.
Thessal , mistress of magic. The first true wizard, with phenomenal cosmic powers. Her grasp on the wondrous was the tightest yet of the gods.
And finally Oryx , the world shaper. A naturally gifted architect with control over space, matter and the dimensions.
This quintet would dub themselves The Pantheon , and they began their work before their parent’s very eyes. Oryx laid down the groundwork of their project, creating the land and all of its features. Belladonna and Septavius stepped up next, establishing the rules of life and death. And finally, Thessal and Thargonzo finished the job, establishing the supernatural and brining knowledge to the land.
The Pantheon dubbed their creation The Realm , and it was here that the gods would claim as their new home.
The Golden Age
In its infancy, the Realm was ruled by chaos. The first life to emerge was a cast of primal elementals, who ransacked the land as the clashed, crashed and rampaged. They ended creating prime dirt for plant life to germinate, and this form of life would be the second to be born.
To make a long story short, all life as we know it came into being; demons evolved from elementals, animals evolved alongside plants, and from animals came an especially powerful form of life. These were an especially intelligent, emotional and flexible form of animal that were not unlike the gods in miniature. They would be named the Advanced by said gods, and they would become the pinnacle of the Realm’s potential.
The Advanced did not comprise only of humans; they were the elves, hobbits and dwarves. They were the goblins, orcs and even ogres. Any species that could form with a strong sense of community and intelligence fell under the Advanced, and many of these peoples would develop civilization as we know it.
Nomadic tribes would become villages. Villages would become towns. Towns would become cities, and cities would eventually become the first kingdoms. Many a king, queen and hero who would ascend to legend lived in this formative age, and the Realm was forever transformed from a wild frontier into a wilder “civilized” war. Wars were waged and peace had its days; the Advanced fought monsters almost as much as they fought each other and themselves. Many a story was experienced, told and shared, but there was only one constant amongst all of the madness; fluidity, chaos and change.
And while all of this pandemonium was playing out down below, the Pantheon watched from their massive palace in the sky. A gleaming platinum palisade with many a luxurious chamber, this castle was a prime location for the gods to dote on their subjects.
The Part Where Oryx Becomes Evil
As the centuries flowed by and the “Golden Age” died down, many of the Pantheon would change their tune regarding the Advanced. They would finally recognize these peoples as no less aware and emotional as themselves, and they would treat their mortal kin with a vastly increased respect.
Thessal in particular would become especially fascinated with mortals and their ways, to the point of even falling in love with one of their number. King Alexander was his name, and he maintained an inspired rule over the humans of the shores. Thessal would approach this king under the guise of a human mage, eventually managing to gain his affections.
Oryx, however, did not share the sentiment of his siblings. Mortals were little more than an extension of the land in his eyes, and only good when used as slaves. The bitterness that spawned from this conflict warped the architect’s heart, and eventually germinated into a vicious, roaring anger.
One day, however, Oryx would make an interesting discovery. Just beyond the rim of the Realm, he could now see that there were other planes of existence beyond their own. Some were not unlike the realm; others were gloriously abstract. The initial envy this birthed would soon morph into a mad ambition, as Oryx gained a craving to claim these realms as his own.
Of course, he wasn’t in the best position to act on such ambitions. His powers were limited to carving worlds, not so much conquering them, and he had no muscle who could do it for him. On top of that, the rest of the Pantheon would shoot him down in an instant, with all of that lovey-dovey mortal-hugging stuff they’re getting into.
Fortunately, Oryx had basically become completely bereft of empathy at this point, and he quickly formed a plan to betray his family and steal their powers…
The Part Where Oryx Acts Like A Total Jerk
Septavius would be the first to fall, caught completely off guard by the Mad God’s surprise assault. Oryx would rip his very soul clean out of his corporeal form, and leach the husk left behind dry. With this feast done, Oryx would haphazardly toss the soul into one of the palace’s vacant chambers, where it would find itself in the company of dead that walked the earth.
Oryx would go after Belladonna next, outright decapitating her in the middle of her own garden. Her now headless form would crumple and collapse into a massive thicket, her head becoming a massive flower in the center, but she was no worse than dead as far as Oryx was concerned.
By this point, the Mad God’s horrible plans were well known among the gods, and Thessal was quick to seek justice and revenge. Oryx’s control over life and death had yet to be mastered, and Thessal’s magical prowess was unmatched, so she was actually able to overpower the architect. But before the final could be struck, Oryx would strike directly at the goddess’s one weakness; her King Alexander.
He held the king within the blade of his sword, and threatened to kill him if she attempted to act against him. This pause in Thessal step was the exact distraction Oryx needed, and he swiftly summon his first creations upon her. These creatures would quickly overwhelm her, and Oryx was free to commit his vile deeds. He drained her power, had her legs shattered, and tossed her over the castle’s balcony directly into the oceans below, hoping to drown her. And to add that extra pint of cruelty to this execution attempt, Oryx left if vague on whether Alexander would live.
With the rest of the Pantheon out of the picture, Thargonzo would go on the run, fleeing the palace to seek refuge in the Realm. His vast knowledge managed to keep him ahead of the Mad God for quite some time, as he could always outwit his pursuer in a wide number of ways. Unfortunately, while his intelligence was unfaltering, his stamina was not, and he eventually gave to exhaustion in the mountains. Oryx would catch up to him soon after, thoroughly enraged by his target’s shenanigans.
Simply killing him after draining him wasn’t enough; his punishment had to be more severe. As such, Oryx found the nearest crystal and shoved Thargonzo’s broken form into it, not even checking to see if he was nestled safely inside before retreating back to the palace.
With their handlers and shepherds gone, the forces of the Realm would quickly fall out of whack. The dead now roamed the surface to torment the living, and the living themselves could no longer evolve. Magic had lost most of its potency among mortals, and many a life form would become mindless in Thargonzo’s absence.
Of course, Oryx couldn’t care less about any of these petty issues. It would take some time to grow accustomed to his new powers, but Oryx would eventually hold the rains of omnipotence. Before, he was merely the architect of the world. Now, the universe bended to his will alone.
The Part Where Oryx Goes Crazy In The Sandbox
With the power infinite now firmly in his grasp, Oryx would quickly assert his dominance over the Realm. He converted the Pantheon’s palace into his own private fortress, armed to the teeth with guards, traps and monsters. He would split the Realm as a whole into a set of sub-realms, to keep better management of what’s going on where. And finally, he would amass an army of the Realm’s fiercest beasts and weirdos, including all of the Advanced… except for one.
The power to control the weak-willed he stole from Thargonzo allowed him to pull all of the Advanced under his sway, but for reasons unknown, humans were unaffected. And since they were unaffected, they could tell pretty quickly that something was wrong. With the world itself stacked against them, many a human would band together under a single banner, under which they would lead a rebellion against Oryx’s forces.
It did not go well for them.
Fortunately, as the last bastion of humanity saw doom come up to its door, the wizards of the world were able to save it by taking it to a place the lord of the Realm would never find it; outside the Realm.
This free-floating city would be re-christened The Nexus , and would become humanity’s one safe haven. Food, shelter, clothing, weaponry and commerce would be found in abundance here, and humanity would use these resources to renew their battle to destroy Oryx’s forces.
And Oryx himself would find himself in a pickle most serious; his minions needed sustenance, and he couldn’t commence his plans for conquest while resistance is mounted against him. These factors and more anchored the Mad God to his realm, where he would respond to the rebellion in kind with his ever-expanding monster militia.
It wasn’t like this would take long, anyhow; they’re mere humans! They’d crumple as soon as any pressure’s applied, right?
Right?
The Present
As of now, the Realm wars rage on without any signs of ceasing. Many a monster has been added to Oryx’s forces, and many periods of drama wracked the Nexus, but humanity’s champions would continue slaughtering monsters in droves, developing an entire community around their battles.
What used to be the rest of the Pantheon are mere facsimiles of themselves, lashing out at any humans who stray into their new lairs. And these lairs are only four of many a sub-dimension Oryx would drag into his army, often hoping to bait adventurers to their deaths by putting their portals on his grunts.
And the Mad God of The Realm himself has never spent a day outside of his private chambers, constantly exhausting his vast supply of wine.
And just what were Light and Void doing during all of this? Nobody knows. It probably involves their own wine."