In the myths of the Archons and their history. There are many varying accounts of these I have gone to many of the temples and learned the myths that are known there and now I bring them to the Kings and Lords of the land.
High scholar of Lumaria
The Rise of the Archons
In the beginning there was the primeval chaos. Myths say that there were nascent entities that formed and faded in the chaos, and some awoke and took power unto themselves. The first to awake were Chaos and Order. Chaos awoke first and as if to balance his existence Order awoke. In the beginning there was strife as the two fought with each other and the primaeval chaos for dominion. So it was that Chaos and Order both distilled part of the power of the Primaeval and subdued it creating their own domains. The Heart of Chaos and the Heart of Order stood as the heart of their Domains. Chaos and Order used their new power and began assembling other spirits empowering them and form the first of the People, The Heralds of Chaos and The Guardians of Order. The strife continued between the two domains.
For a time, the power of both domains mixed in places and new spirits rose and took power. In time some of these powers grew to become new archons. The first of these new great spirts to rise were Space, Void, Creation, and Destruction. These new spirits gravitated towards the realms of Chaos and Order. Where they gain the knowledge to create Hearts, Dominions, and peoples of their own. The last of the spirits to arise and join the ranks of the archons were Time, Eternity, Light, Darkness, Purity, Decay, Life, Death, Knowledge, Oblivion, Dream, and Reality. With each of these new spirits awakening new realms and spirits began to appear.
With each new spirit arising and gathering power. New strife's and conflicts arose until Life and Death arose. Seeing the damage such pointless conflicts create the speak to the other spirits and gathered them together in an uneasy peace. If was in this peace that a new threat arose.
The Abominations
In the peace of the great spirits there arose new threats. In places where the domains intersect new realms arose and new spirits came to dwell. Some spirits began were in nature against those who had come before. As they took power unto themselves, they spent time fighting amongst themselves. The great spirit began to become aware of these new spirits when they would attack their domains. These new spirits were an anathema and became known as he abominations. The chiefs among them The Whisperer, The Crimson King, The Deathless One, The Desolator, The Grey Shadow, The Stagnant Lord, The Nightmare, The Deceiver, and The Devourer. It was when these chiefs came together and coordinated that the great war began with the abominations attacking all any realm they discovered.
For a time, the Great Spirits were on the defensive until they choose to come together in common cause. They renamed themselves as the Archons and they organized their peoples into the host of Archons and took the war to the Abominations. The wars of the time before time was known only to the Archons and their peoples and none have said or are willing to say what occurred during those wars. We know only that after a titanic struggle the abominations were defeated. Many of the chiefs were captured all save the Whisperer and the Deceiver. The Domains and Realms that had been born in that time were broken and beyond saving. So, the Archons saved what little they could and came together. Each Archon gave up their Heart of power and they were combined become a new source of power. The Primordial Heart and with this new power they became a grand new project of creation.
New Domains
With the end of the wars with the Abominations. The Archons salvaged some of the things that they had created. Then the Archons gathered and put forth the powers of the Primordial Heart, and a new Domain was established. A new home was established and anchored by creation and filled by life. At the heart of this new home was built the Temple of the Heart and placed within was the Primordial Heart. The power of the Heart flows from the temple and a wall of power was established to protect this new Domain and the lands within. The new home became a place where many beings that would become the Gods and Spirits dwelt. The Archons and their people created new homes for themselves.
As the new realms settled and the Archons considered how best to govern this new conjoined realm. It was in this time that Life and Death found that taking portions of their own being and combining them that they could create a new being, Phoenix a lesser archon of Rebirth. Following this several of the archons choose to do this and the children of the Archons were born. Libran, Phoenix, Vesta, Shaitan, Fate, Calamity, and Vision. They established their own small realms.
Then they took a spark from the Primordial Heart and used it to create the first of the Gods. The Archons appointed their children as Elder Gods to rule the land as their regents and elevated these new Gods as leaders of the new spirits that came to dwell in the new lands. The Archons then turned their attention to the Abominations that were taken in the war. They had to be contained so they could not escape to again threaten there realm so the Archons cast them into the realm of Oblivion were there was no escape. There the Abominations would be forgotten and it is hoped that they would remain their forever. As their new realms grew complete, new projects were desired. So, the Archons came together, and a grand new plan was conceived.
The Creation of the Mortal Realms
The Archons conceived of a new creation. The came together and began to their work nestled in the void a new sea of space was gathered, and the sea was stirred by currents of time, and new lands were fashioned and anchored in this sea. On the first of these new lands a great Island situated in the heart of this sea. A great tower was fashioned by the Archons and their people. At the heart of this tower a brazier was set, and a spark of the Primordial heart was set, and an Undying Flame was kindled. The flame anchored this new mortal realm, so it needed no Archon or God to sustain its existence. When the lands were formed and anchored in existence.
Then the Archons turned to ordering the mortal realms the laws of Reality were established and hallowed by Order and Chaos. With the laws established some of the gods went out and began to establish regions of their own. The elder gods Vesta and Shaitan were two that established their own domains in this new land. Vesta created an elevated region and filled it with light. Shaitan established a realm in deep crags and filled them with darkness. Other spirits went out and established there own abodes. For a time the land had light only in those places where the spirits abode and crafted light for there homes and the places where light that flowed from the primordial tower touched. The land in those places flourished. With much of the land was barren and filled with twilight.
Seeing this Light began a project to fill the lands with light. Crafting a great orb of Golden Light he cast it into the sky and the Orb flashed out and the land was filled with light. During that time the land flourished in the light but not all were happy with it. Darkness and several spirits that liked the twilight objected and strife occurred. The other Archons intervened and the new laws were established. The was refashioned and given into the charge of a young god. The god was given a route though the sky that traversed the sky and came back around. So that for a time there was light across the land and for a time darkness. Still there were concerns for the dark was always complete and many liked to wander in the twilight. Light and Darkness went came together and created new softer silver lights. The greatest of these light was given to another god. This light was given a path similar to the Golden light and it would wax and wane so that there would be times of greater darkness. The other lights were scattered across the sky. Thus were made the sun moon and stars.
So the land flourished and was green a fruitful to the joy of the spirits and gods that wandered this new world. Soon the world seemed to stagnate with very little change even as the currents of time passed through creation. Then Destruction was called upon to create a means to regulate the growth of new life. Destruction collaboration with the others created many disaster and storms to ravage the land and allow new life to grow. Other ways to regulate and enrich life were also created including weather.
When the lands were complete the Gods and the spirits went into this new moral realm. They built around the Primordial Tower a city for themselves in this realm and they watched the flourishing of the mortal realm. As they watched they considered what new beings might inhabit this realm.
The first beings of creation and the Dawn epoch.
With the land settled and it's law in place. The spirits and gods began to find particular places and things this new land. Many began to create and establish new things and many forms of life began to flourish as Gods and spirts began to experiment. Many of these were the basic animal lifeforms. As time progressed many spirits chose to create a physical form so they better interact with the world. With many spirits and gods now working in the world and many new species of animal being created by them.
Life looking out and seeing all the new life decided to create a higher being. a new being lesser than the spirits but greater than the creatures of the earth. She gathered together her people the children of life and they then began a great endeavor. Forming them in there likeness and giving them a greater degree of intelligence. When Life moved to breath life into them, she also gave to them a spark from the primordial heart. They awoke and grew quickly and the spirits with them was fresh and new.
These new peoples were known only as the people of Dawn. The spread out and establish cities and many spirits began to intermixed with them at that time. As the ages past the people of Dawn began to divide into separate species. Many gods also interacted with them and the people worshiped them.
As time moved forward and the world was filled with peace and beauty the Dawn epoch was at it height when a number of gods dissatisfied with the way the world looked and felt began to gather together several species that were not well loved in the world and began to nurture them in darkness. Setting the seeds for the wars that were to come.
Races and civilizations of the Dawn Epoch
At the height of the Dawn Epoch there are many legends of the races and civilizations that existed. Among the greatest of civilization in that time were the Gods and spirits themselves. They and many of the greater spirits lived in the Eternal City were the Tower of Reality rises out of the heart of the city.
Vesta taking a part of her own power to bind several spirits to her established the order of angels in an elegant white city that she had founded. The angels stood as the embodiment of light, purity, and order. They were young and carefree before the wars that racked the world. The took the form of beings in the shapes of the Dawn people with great wings of white feathers.
Shaitan did the same in creating the horde of Demons. There city was a dark twisted city situated deep in broken crags of the dark lands. The demons everything Dark, Corrupt, and Chaotic. The roved in the darkness of there lands during the dawn age.
The spirits that bound themselves to the world became the fairies. The fairies were a diverse group of beings ranging from the small winged fairies and the tree spirits of nature to the animal spirits that reigned over the great forest, and the elementals.
Among the wild races were the Dragons. They were a powerful race that lived in the wild places. The Thunderbirds a race of powerful birds that rode the great storms and brought lightening and thunder in there wake. There were many other but the greatest was the Phoenix. The great birds that were wreathed in fire and were reborn from the ashes.
The people of the Dawn as time progressed diverged and many new species were born from them. The Elves were among the most numerous of these groups with many tribes of Elves coming into being. The mightiest were the Fey. The Fey were closest to the Fairies and held great power from them. There were also the Dwarves the dwellers in the earth and the Mermen the lived in the deep waters.
There were many hybrid species that were changed by the will of the spirits or the gods. Centaurs, Minotaur's, satyrs, and others were counted among them.
Among the good and beautiful there were the dark creatures too. The Orc began as feral beings and taken up and enhanced by dark spirits. Trolls and other dark fairies lived wandered the barren lands. The dark creatures did not build they simply existed wandering the lands until dark spirits and gods began to gather them together.
In the dawn age there is no mention of mankind. It is believed that they had not been created yet, but it is far more likely that they had not appeared from wherever they had begun.
The Seeds of war
The Dawn wars heralded the end of the Epoch. There is not a lot of agreement as to the cause of the Dawn War. The sequence of events as they have been passed down begins with the stirring of dark creatures. Many dark spirts and Gods flocked to the region in which Shaitan had built his dark city. They came to him asking for a place for the darkness to grow. In response, Shaitan sent forth vast clouds of smoke and covered the land in darkness, and his demons and other creatures thrived in the darkness.
Still the Shaitan and the others were not pleased the day were long, blissful, and full of light, and the nights were quick and fleeting. This limited their power outside of the darkness of Shaitans' realm. It was during this time that they began to plot.
The first incident of the war to come was when several dark gods began to go out and drew other being into joining their cause. Through promises of power and glory they drew several beings into the dark lands and changed them. This led to the birth of many dark fey, and the rise of the dark and blood elf tribes. The greatest of these was the corruption of a powerful dragon. The dragon had scales of midnight black and became known as the black dragon of calamity.
Then came the greatest insult. Shaitan entered the realm of Vesta in disguise and found among her angels several that would heed his words. Seven of the angels left with Shaitan and took service with him, their wings becoming black. The Demons before had been twisted parodies of the creatures of the earth. With these new dark angels, the demons became even more powerful. With a new species of Demon being born at that time.
Vesta was enraged that Shaitan corrupted her angels, and strife arose from it for a time. Hosts of angels invaded the dark lands with the purpose of seeking retribution and were repulsed. Libran put forward his power, and the strife ended for a time, but the seeds of the dark war had been laid and Shaitan began plotting a great war that would herald the beginning of the Dark age.
The Dawn Wars
The Dawn Wars began in a time of festival for the world. Across the world being of all kinds were feasting and celebrating. Then dark clouds billowed out and began to cover many lands. Waves of demons and other dark creatures began to move in the darkness and began to attack. Many beings fled before the hordes of Demons and the other creatures of darkness. They fled and many gathered near Vesta realm. Vesta saw the dark clouds moving and as they approached her lands. She gathered her power and sent forth a shining holy light that shot through the darkness. The Demons that were advancing in the dark scattered before that light and the counterattack began. Hosts of Angels led armies of Elves and Fey and other creatures in fierce battle against the demons and their allies.
The war was devastating to the land with many cities being thrown down and destroyed. Forests were burned and mountains were smashed as devastating waves of energy were exchanged. There are legends of many of the battles that were fought during the dawn wars. The battle of the gilded gates, the defiling of the silver springs, and the disaster on the plains of perdition. The war was fought across the face the world and for a 100-years endless battles were fought and countless beings died and their spirits were left wandering the battlefields.
It was at a midpoint of the war that a dark god thought to harness the formless sprites left wandering and fields of carrion left after the fighting moved on. The dark god discovered how to harness the bodies of the dead and the formless spirits. At the time Shaitan and his forces were in retreat, and the host of light were moving in on his strong holds it was on the fields of perdition when forces of darkness were breaking. The dark god unleashed an army of the dead against the host of light and sent them fleeing back to their strongholds and the fighting resumed. The balance of power was restored in the fight.
While the fighting was going on the other elder gods were not quiet. Calamity and Pheonix went forth to try and stop fighting and save what they could from the fires of war. Libran put forth his power to no avail against the warring factions, and Fate and Vision looked on and knew that only an intervention would stop the fighting now.
Intervention
It was in the height of despair as the land was rent by war, and many beings had perished with their bodies being forced to rise and fight again. The Elder gods who had gathering those they could save in the city of the gods around the primordial tower despaired that the fighting would not end and their siblings would continue the war into eternity. Already the gods that served them were breeding new creatures to fight in their war. The land was burned and scarred where the fight took place and already beautiful cities, and enchanted forests and groves had been destroyed. Rivers were defiled and even the great seas were threatened by the fighting.
Libran went to the tower to seek answers and stare into the multicolored flames; the answers came to him. The Archons had watched what was occurring, and their wrath was kindled. From the tower shot a brilliant coruscating light and across the world warriors hesitated as they saw the light shone out. Then the sky split and a portal opened in the sky. The portal hung open, and the legions of the archons poured forth onto the world. They brought with them the full wrath of the Archons. At the Vanguard of the Legion rode the Guardians of Order and the Heralds of Chaos, following them came the other peoples of the Archons. They encircled the city of the Gods and then rode forth. They broke upon the battling armies like a storm and shattered them. The various beings fled before the Legion. They drove them before the host. The Death Guard armored in darkness and wielding weapons of shadows they took a grim delight in destroying any undead that they encountered with ruthless brutality. The lands were overturned and devastated in the riding of the legion. The survivors fled before the Legion as they were driven back to the city of the gods.
The survivors of the war and the riding of the Legion huddled in the light of the tower as the Archons descended and began to pass Judgement.
Archon’s Judgement and the end of the Dawn Epoch
Following the end of the war and amongst the devastation the Archons descended to pass judgement. They looked at the devastation that had been brought about in the great war and put forth their powers. Across the world a stirring occurred as Life sent out the children, and they gathered fragments from across the world. Then they returned to Life and presented her with seeds from across the world. These were seeds not of any single living thing but of the seeded memories of the world that had been. Life gathered these seeds and laid them aside. Then Creation and Destruction put forward their powers, and the land was shaken to its foundations, and its pillars were shattered. The lands foundered under the water as vast waves broke over them. The great seas swallowed them Utterly, and the stains of the war were cleansed.
The city of the gods stood a single island in the vast unending sea as the Archons turned their attention to the beings and spirits amassed before them. First to be addressed were the spirits that had suffered physical death. There had been little for Death to do in the creation of the world. Those who were subject to physical death would simply have their spirits moved into new forms. With the war many things had changed so new laws were made. The spirits would travel to the realm of Death. Death created a vast city around his home and called it the Necropolis. The Spirits would come and be judged then go to live in the city, but it was argued that the spirits should not be trapped there, so they would be permitted to seek rebirth and allowed to return to the Mortal world.
Then the spirits and gods were brought to be judged many were absolved but others were judge for the part they played in the war. The judgement the Archons handed down were that the gods and the spirits were to leave the mortal realms returning to the realms of the gods. They were barred from returning in the fullness of their powers, and none would return until the judgement of the mortal realm was complete. Some of the gods were given further punishments to go and serve in the Necropolis tending to the souls of the Dead.
The living beings of those spirits bound to the earth, and the beings born of the earth were Judged too. The various beings and species were separated, and Creation made for each of them an Island where they were sent. The Archons then placed an enshrouding fog and confusion around the islands. No living thing could sail far beyond the island. They would always become lost in the fogs and end up returning to their island. The Archon decreed that the fog would last until the realm was renewed.
With this the Archons set about raising new lands from the waters. The land had been cleansed by the water but remained bare. Life took the seeds that had been gathered and placed the seeds in the heart of the primordial fire at the center of the tower. The seeds were given some of the power of the Primordial Heart, and the seeds were then spread across the mortal realms. The seeds began to take root and quickened by the primordial fire and having the memory of the Dawn epoch the realms began its renewal.
The Archons then left the mortal realms again but remained very vigilant now. The city of the gods stood silent and empty with the spirits and gods gone. The people who had come in dawn epoch now rebuilt their civilizations on their islands. The lands outside their islands grew and renewed, and new life began to appear. Creatures that had never been created or manipulated by spirits or gods appeared. Many Ages pasted on the mortal realms as all waited for the day the fog would dissipate, and the judgements would pass.
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