Known History of Orbis

Creation Myth (????)
Existence and reality began as three layers of energy. The top layer, a realm of light and life. The middle layer, a mix mash of elemental power. The bottom layer, a realm of darkness and death. Life began to be born on these three layers of energy. Elysium the top layer gave birth to beings of goodness and nature, the Heavenly Deities of Elysium and the Zodiac. The second layer split into four separate realms as its creations conflicted with one another, the Four Avatars and their lesser spawns. The third layer gave rise to beings known then as the Dark Powers that enjoyed the comfort of the dark.

Over a millennium, these entities grew bored of the realms they inhabited. With a combined effort from all of them, they created a fourth layer in the centre of them all. The material plane, or rather, Orbis. Each contributed in their own way as to how this new world should be constructed. The Four Avatars created the sky, sea, earth and fires of its core. The Heavenly Deities made energies that flowed through the world. They made the Sun and Moons, while the Zodiac made its stars and strings of fate. The Dark Powers and their contributions to the world were repeatedly rejected by the others. And so began hate between the Dark Powers and the rest of creation.

Now that the world was set in place, beings were meant to live in it. Angels and animals were created by the Heavenly Deities, while the Dark Powers plotted among each other as to how best to foil the pleasures of the other Cosmic Powers. But inner strife began to take hold of the Dark Powers. A third was set on the idea of ultimate chaos, another third on the idea of ultimate subjugation and order and the last third set on the idea of corrupting what was already created. And so they split and went their own paths and created their own realms to plot schemes and create in.

The Abyss, created by and now inhabited by Demons wanting nothing but chaos to run free among creation. The Hells, created by and now inhabited by Devils wanting to subjugate all to their law and order. And the remaining entities now known as the Old Gods each took their own path in the cosmos for their realms of influence, while some secretly hide in the world of Orbis.

Age of Ancients (-50,000 D.E to -5,000 D.E)
When the world of Orbis continued to grow and prosper, the angels and animals that inhabited it began to grow lonely as there was too much world for them to explore and not enough to interact with. So they held a forum among their creators and the Heavenly Deities agreed to create more beings to inhabit their world. However, due to amounts of energy and power it already took to create the world and the angels themselves, these beings would be lesser so.

And so over the course of time, mortal beings destined to one day die and give back to the earth began to be born. Many of these mortal races have now died out for various reasons over the course time, but many survived till today such as Elves, Dwarves and Lux. Very little is known about this time, as much of the knowledge and evidence of its existence has seen the wear and tear of time, dust scattered in the wind.

Age of Dragons and Birth of Nephilim (-4,999 D.E to -3,900 D.E)
These creatures began pure and good, but the hiding Old Gods, Demons and Devils slowly sank their claws into the souls of these creatures. Seeding thoughts and emotions of anger, hate, greed, arrogance and many more. And then soon after came the birth of chromatic dragons by the tyrannical and greedy dragon goddess, Tiamat. They subjugated these young mortals to do their bidding and treat them as demi-god like beings. The angels were not yet wise enough to protect the creatures they so desperately wanted to live alongside with in this world, the dragons outnumbered them and commanded slave armies of the mortals.

Then Azazel, an angel, rose up to the responsibility to command his angelic brethren against the scaled tyrants. His leadership, strategy and skill of the fields of battle proved to outmatch his enemies. Even though outnumbered, they struck hard and true in the hearts of the winged beasts, minimizing mortal casualties. The Age of Dragons was coming to its close end, until Tiamat herself emerged from her lair deep in the core of the world and torn the angels asunder.

One of the Zodiacs, Bahamut, saw the events of his dark double transpire and reacted in turn with his own creations. Metallic dragons flew down from the stars to the aid of the angels against their chromatic counterparts. But still, this was not enough to finish off the threat as Tiamat herself still held a presence in Orbis. Azazel was for the first time beginning to feel hopeless. His brilliance on the battlefield and allies from the stars were not enough to drive back this godly enemy and free the enslaved mortals. In his moments of self-doubt, a mysterious entity approached him and said that if he wanted to achieve his goals that she could provide him with a child that would pose unspeakable power and win the losing battle against the Age of Dragons. He was seduced by this creature and conceived the child. This entity, now known as Lilith was the bastard daughter of Graz’zt and Glasya, creating a hybrid of demon and devil, a fiend of desire. But Azazel did not know this and was too blinded by his desperation to defeat his enemy, and he was also seduced by the succubus.

Azazel could feel the immense power and potential in the child and named him Absalom. Azazel allowed his host of commanders to sire children with Lilith, came the first generation of Nephilim that grew up quickly. With the discovery of what Lilith was and what Azazel had allowed to be born into the world, the Heavenly Deities demanded that he destroy all of the Nephilim.

At the final battle, where Absalom led his host of Nephilim against Tiamat alongside an army of angels, she was sealed away and banished to the hells where she still remains. It was in the moment of victory and celebration that Azazel attempted to turn on Absalom, but failed. Absalom defeated Azazel and the rest of the Nephilim routed the angel army for its betrayal. For Azazel’s failure, he too was banished to the hells along with his consort Zariel. It was here that the Heavenly Deities themselves descend from Mount Celestia in Elysium to destroy the Nephilim themselves. However, even the gods themselves failed to destroy this unholy offspring, and they escaped instead, far beyond the gaze of Orbis.

Crusades of the Nephilim (-3,899 D.E to -1 D.E)
Absalom was furious at this betrayal, that his own father would try and destroy him and his brothers and sister. So with his rage and desire to find a world they could call their own, the Nephilim sired more children, creating a many more of themselves. And they set out into the multitude of multiverses. Conquering and murdering worlds as they saw fit, committing acts of genocide on a global scale and annihilating worlds in the hundreds. They left behind a legacy of true destruction and rage.

They built terrifying weapons, capable of destroying worlds in the blink of an eye, even Absalom used these weapons sparingly and locked them away in a vault until they were needed. Only the first generation of Nephilim knew where and how to open this vault, and they deemed it “The Apocalypse Vault”. After a time, six of the Nephilim grew uneasy with what was transpiring, what their kin was committing. They understood that a balanced needed to be maintained and at the rate they were going, soon there would be no more of creation, at all. At was at this time that the Old Gods came to Absalom and offered to help the Nephilim overthrow the Heavenly Deities and give them Orbis, their birth world. And when Absalom agreed to this and announced the crusade against Orbis, the six knew now was the time to go against him.

The six approached the Heavenly Deities in secret and told them of the coming invasion, and pledged their arms to fight against their brothers and sisters.

The Divinity (0 D.E)
The Heavenly Deities prepared by selecting mortals of Orbis as their vessels or champions to fight in this battle, Watchers they called them. They crafted weapons and armour of divine wrath, worthy of the gods. With the stages set, divine angelic beings, vessels and champions of the gods and six Nephilim stood side by side against the Old Gods, their servants of evil and Absalom with his horde of Nephilim.

Much of the details of the battle have been lost to time, as most that witnessed it perished and many of the tomes documenting the event lost or destroyed. Most of what is known are legends and visions presented by the later generations of Watchers, reincarnated still long after the battle still to this day.

What is known is that many of the Old Gods were slain, their bodies scattered to the astral sea, burned, decimated and petrified. The ones that couldn’t be destroyed were imprisoned in divine chains and seals.

The battle also saw the slaughter of all the Nephilim by the hands of the six defectors. Absalom himself was slain by his younger brother and only survivor of the first generation of Nephilim. It is said that these six were also instrumental in the slaying of the Old Gods that weren’t sealed.

With the battle ended, the Heavenly Deities spent much of their powers to smite down some of the Old Gods and create the weapons and armour used in the battle. They returned to their realm of Mount Celestia in Elysium, many of them wounded, to regain their strength. However, many of their worshipers and followers perished in the conflict, so it would take time for them to regain all the power they lost. Now, many of their followers today do their best to spread their influence, in the hope to gain more believers, translating to more divine energy put into the realm of Elysium by their sheer force of belief.

The six Nephilim were now left alone to their own devices since the Old Gods were either slain or imprisoned and the Heavenly Deities recuperating in their realm. These six were the last remaining of their race. They promised each other to not let the balance of the multiverse tip to one side again like they allowed to happen once. They each went their own way afterwards, each finding a place in the multiverse to call their home. On occasion, they will venture from their realms to put down an overpowering force of the scales.

The Black Frost (1 D.E to 546 D.E)
The Time of the Black Frost came after the Divinity. The magic of Orbis seemed to abandon her for a long time. The survivors of mortal life had to endure more than 500 years of cold snowfall worldwide, with dark clouds and storms blocking out the sun for most of the year. This gave the time its name as it seemed the sun and snow itself was black. Many forms of monsters accustomed to the darkness threatened the mortals struggling to survive the cold, making this time in Orbis’s history one of the scariest and troubling. Many had to learn to fend for themselves and find hope in even the smallest of victories.

The Shadowlight Spire (547 D.E to 585 D.E)
Then one day it seemed that the prayers of the denizens of Orbis were finally answered. A titanic sized vortex of magical energy surged into existence in the very centre of all the realms of Orbis. Over the next 38 years, the snow gradually began to melt and cease to plague the lands. Magic slowly began to pour back into the world and the sun was released from its binds of the dark black clouds that ruled the sky. Till today many are baffled by how and why this ‘Shadowlight Spire’ came into existence, but there have been a few theories.

Many of the common folk believe it is indeed a gift from the gods, their saving grace to burn away the Black Frost and allow their creations to thrive once more as they did before the Age of Dragons and the Divinity. However, many learned scholars and practitioners of the arcane arts believe otherwise. It is true that there is divine energy within the spire, but they contribute that to it perhaps leading to Elysium itself, which is unsurprising as it leads to many other planes when stepped through. They believe that due to the sudden disappearance of magic during the Black Frost, that an excessive amount of magic poured into the other planes and they couldn’t handle it and one day, essentially blew up and created a connecting passage through all other planes.

Those two are the most popular theories, but alas, no evidence, hint or clue has come up to reveal the true nature of the spire’s creation. And perhaps it shall never be discovered.

Age of Renewal (586 D.E to 1,228 D.E)
And so with the end of the Black Frost and appearance of the Shadowlight Spire, Orbis began to rebuild itself and its people. Cities and civilizations began to rise from the melted snows and the practising of magic was basic but present. A time that could only be compared to spring, everything began to grow and colour and life came back into the world.

The Lich King (1,229 D.E to 1,590 D.E)
However, nothing ever stays peaceful for very long. Since magic came back into the world, all forms of it came back, including the dark arts that should have remained hidden and buried away. A mortal whose original name has been wiped from the history books uncovered a form of magic since before the Age of Dragons. Ancient and dark magic is dangerous to anyone and it corrupts all who try to bend it to their will.

This mortal during an expedition into ancient ruins uncovered the secrets to life and death, and how to cheat it. He began experimenting with this new found knowledge and saw the potential and power it could provide him with. So after many years of gathering ingredients and perfecting his skills in the arcane arts, he performed a ritual that would allow him to never fear death again. The now Lich, an undying being of dark magical arts sought to use his new found power for unspeakable gains. He raised an army of undead that bent to his will without question. Vecna, the Lich King went on a campaign through Orbis conquering whoever he wished. The people of Orbis stood little chance to push back the undead horde.

His most trusted lieutenant, Kas, which he had turned into a Vampire through the secrets he knew, betrayed Vecna at the Battle of Umbra Hill. The two of them destroyed each other, with only the Sword of Kas and the Hand and Eye of Vecna remaining after their duel.

The aftermath of the Lich King’s conquest still shows signs of its remains today and has permanently scarred parts of the world. The now dubbed Morgoth, the Broken Land is the most notable of these areas. A large expanse of ashen lands plagued by the wandering undead and bands of orcs and goblinoid creatures. The corruption of Vecna’s dark arts gave rise to these creatures and now they have spread like rats to all corners of the world.

Age of Prospects (1,591 D.E to 2,440 D.E)
The Age of Prospects was a time where nations and races found their place and built civilization up to its heights. Magic for this time took big steps into its progression such as teleporting and the discovery of the Ethereal Plane and its wonders and dangers. Religion on a large scale was established across Orbis once again with the large population believing in the Heavenly Deities and the Zodiac. This has also lead to the uprising of diabolical cults of the darker side of the Cosmic Powers, with a few entire realms and nations siding with devils, demons and the like.

Age of Strife (2,441 D.E to 3,085 D.E)
And with the first major war on the rise, began the Age of Strife. A series of wars and bloodshed over resources, land, influence and differences in belief, now that these nations understood what they needed to survive and thrive. Many grudges and forms of bad blood still bare today caused by this time. Many nations preferred to steer clear of politics and warfare, and so they built defences instead of armaments. Battles between good and evil were fought, blood was spilt between devil and demon worshipers and kin killed kin in the night for political gain.

Coming of the Gith (3,086 D.E to 3,120 D.E)
The Age of Strife began to die down as the world’s superpowers planted their flags and claimed what they needed. But soon after, came the Githyanki. A fleet of their astral ships had flown through the Shadowlight Spire on accident. While on the hunt for their life long enemy, the Ilithid, they had flown through the wrong portal and discovered Orbis and its people. Moments after them came the Githzerai, in a few small scout ships, apparently tailing their chaotic twins. A small skirmish was quickly put down by the Shadowlight Vanguard, a legion of griffon and roc riders that protect the Shadowlight Spire, and a momentary truce was struck between the Gith.

Over the course of 34 years after that event, in exchange for information, equipment and other details through pacts and pledges, the Gith shared the technology of their flying ships to an extent with Orbis. This knowledge has also lead to many other technologies being developed such as Arcane and Steam railways for trains, stationary engines suspending chunks of earth called Motes many more.

Age of Innovation (3,121 D.E to 3,356 D.E)
This brings us to the current age of Orbis, the Age of Innovation. A time where basic technology is prominent in some places, but many parts of the world falling behind or simply refusing to evolve. A time of relative peace, but conflicts still show themselves.