Old Ones

The Void’s Creation
Long before the dawning of creation, centuries ago, all that existed, and all that would ever exist, was the Void. Like a dark sheet covering a masterpiece, the Void stretched over the entirety of Arkadell, then but a blank canvas. Its eternal nebulousness enwrapped all of pre-creation. Unending and omnipotently powerful, the Void simply was. It needed no creator, no hand to sculpt it. The Void, in and of itself, was a god, and would bring itself into being. So eternal was its existence, so vastly expansive, that the Void, the world spirit from which all originates, grew lonely. And so, after several millennia, the Void bore three children from its blackness. These beings are known to Arkadell as the Old Ones. So beautiful and perfect were they, that the Void wept at their creation. It’s expansive blackness tore apart, revealing large masses of land, empty as they were. These were the foundations of our overworld, Arkadell, the hellish and demonic underworld, the Nether, and many other planes of existence, perhaps the realms of gods or fantastic creatures. The Void, then, became the barrier that separated these realms, and all the stars in the sky, a portal to each one. The Old Ones saw fit to take over the arduous task of creation from the Void, and thus began the formation of Arkadell and all its people.

The Old Ones
These three beings, spectral and genderless, erupted from the Void’s loneliness. Each possessed unique qualities, and each believed that mortality, an idea shared amongst the three, should be governed in differing ways. The Void gave no names to these three, so they named themselves in accordance to their personalities. The first to be borne from the Void was Polemos, the embodiment of rage, war, discipline, and control. Polemos believed that all mortals should be ruled entirely. Made to think a certain way, to follow orders, to revel in the joy of battle or the hunt. Polemos created mortals who would think as it did, who would be honorable yet powerful, and who would shame all others. These mortals became the first orcs, whose homeland was Urmmosh, seated upon a dormant volcano.

Despite the blood thirstiness of her people, Urmmosh is quite lush, filled with large forests and abundant with natural resources. The orcs, however, have made their home quite desolate in the areas in which they first settled. Polemos appeared to them as a spirit of battle, instilling within them the desire to fight. And it was Polemos who rallied these warriors in favor of its system, one in which Polemos had complete control over their actions. Pleased with its creation, Polemos boasted, and sought to prove that this system was superior to any other.

Polemos’s siblings, however, wouldn’t stand for this system. And thus, the third borne and the youngest, known as Thelo, became the embodiment of freedom, desires, beauty, and magic. Thelo believed that mortals should be free to govern themselves, unharmed and uninfluenced by The Old Ones. Thelo is credited with the creation of the elves, a powerful and noble race of individuals, tall and regal, highly intellectual, and innately magical. These mortals took residence on the continent of Elwein, an area filled with dense jungles and harsh mountains. There, the elves could congregate where they saw fit, could learn to deal with the struggles of the terrain, could adapt and evolve, and could develop a powerful mind for problem solving. Thelo, like Polemos, boasted that a system of complete free will was superior to all others, as the scholarly elves became close with the natural world and molded it as they saw fit. But still the Old Ones could not come to an agreement.

Finally, the second borne from the Void, Symvitas, the embodiment of balance, order, and compromise, decided to reconcile with its siblings by creating two new races, humans and dwarves. The humans would be adaptive, like the elves, would gain pieces of their intelligence, and would also take to the hunt and do battle when needed, like the orcs. They found a home on the continent of Galvanor, a vast expanse of land, and quite possibly the largest in all of Arkadell. It was here that the humans developed their culture and skill. But what was different? Humans possessed both scholarly and barbaric qualities, but were neither ruled completely, nor given free reign from Symvitas. Instead, the humans would come to Symvitas in times of need, would pray to the heavens for change and good fortune, and Symvitas would respond to their pleas. Similarly, the dwarves, a proud race, stout, and brimming with strength and ingenuity, made a home in Balgathnar, a living being to its inhabitants. It was here that the dwarves uncovered the ancient arts of mining and crafting, and it was through this that they made their livelihood. Again, they were not free from Symvitas’s watchful eye, for when the dwarven people needed divine counseling, Symvitas was more than happy to oblige. And thus, the humans and the dwarves, lived in a rather peaceful state, aware that the divine would always intervene when needed.

Polemos and Thelo were appalled with Symvitas’s creation, believing that only one system could exist, and that this unholy perversion of the other two systems would surely fail. But try as they did, Polemos and Thelo could not argue that Symvitas’s system worked well. They grew jealous, hateful, and spiteful. Polemos and Thelo refused to be bested by Symvitas, and destroyed it. But The Old Ones could not simply fade back into the Void. And so, Polemos and Thelo, with their combined power, cast Symvitas from the heavens down unto the overworld. Having been stripped of many of its divine powers, Symvitas took a dreaded form, one with great power that could strike fear into any mortal, the dragon. And thus, from Symvitas’s rage, dragons populated the overworld. These large winged beasts were a great force to be reckoned with, containing small fragments of divine knowledge, imparted on them by Symvitas.

For decades, Polemos and Thelo struggled for power, each arguing for their system. Polemos sent terrible monsters into the world to spite Thelo’s creations, undead beings that burned in the light of the sun. Thelo, enraged by Polemos’s actions, created powerful natural disasters to plague all of Polemos’s creations. Great tidal waves, tornados, and annual floods and eruptions were put into motion. All of Arkadell felt this chaos, were forced to sit dormantly and watch as their divine creators battled.

The Four Leaders
Seeing the world fall to chaos, the Void, ever present and vigilant, devised a plan to end the war between Polemos and Thelo. It looked into the hearts of mortals, finding those whom it deemed worthy to take the place of The Old Ones. From each race, the Void chose one leader. The orc chosen by the Void was Kraag, a powerful orc whose axe could best any unlucky enough to stand before it. Kraag was struck with lightning, a powerful sign to the orcs. Indeed, he did ascend to the heavens, and became the divine leader of the orcs, and their patron god. The Void did so for the other three races. From the humans, the Void chose Zethos, who was given dominion of Arkadell’s natural forces and the celestial bodies, and became the divine leader of the humans. From the elves, the Void chose Iljika, whose hunting prowess was matched only by his intellect. He was given dominion over all of nature, and became the divine leader of the elves. Finally, the Void chose Drsilict, whom the ancient dwarves believed created Balgathnar. He was given dominion of the very overworld itself, filling its crust and deep recesses with precious minerals and harboring a sense of greed. These four ascended to godhood, entrusted to overthrow the Old Ones.

With their new divine status, the four leaders cast Polemos and Thelo from the heavens. Polemos was sentenced to the Nether, where its rage grew, giving way to powerful demonic creatures. This rage eventually seeped into the overworld, where its vengeful wrath created powerful and toxic diseases that mortals would contract from then on. Thelo, however, was sentenced to the overworld, its magic blessing the surrounding areas and giving way to powerful forces and sites/objects of great power.

The four leaders, Zethos, Kraag, Iljika, and Drsilict, became the gods of their respective races, and favored Symvitas’s system of mortality, free will coupled with divine intervention. And thus, the gods agreed, and their pantheons were created. The humans looked to Zethos and all his holy might, the orcs bowed to Kraag’s axe, the elves marvelled at Iljika’s intellect, and the dwarves absorbed Drsilict’s cunning and greed. Eventually, these pantheons expanded, involving more than just the four leaders. The humans came to know gods of evil and the sea, the orcs recognized their ascendents, the elves continued to respect the natural world and all of her many forms, and the dwarves came to reject the old ways of Balgathnar in favor of new patrons. These races, and others (dravar, drow, etc.), found their way to Arkadell’s youngest continent, Asmalur, settling in their respective areas, and bringing their rich culture to the many corners of Asmalur.