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 Post subject: World History
PostPosted: Sat May 21, 2005 10:14 am 
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So I was looking around, and thought that this would fit either in the Ideas board or here. I picked this forum because editing the history of Alora would have a direct impact on the areas themselves.

Okay...so complaining about the fact that the current storyline has some awkwardness that I can't get over just doesn't mean anything if I don't come up with another idea - so I did. I looked up the theme files, and got inspired a bit to flesh them out.

The original storyline can be found here: http://dark-legacy.com/index.php?sectio ... tory#story

As I said - I started to flesh them out, so here's what I came up with...enjoy! ^_^

Ours is a world of magic. The trees, the rocks, and even the air itself are all infused with some modicum of magic in its most pure forms - order and chaos. This is how it has been since the beginning of recorded history, but legends exist of a time when things were much different. Records of the time before the War of the Brothers are largely written copies of oral legends, but have survived for centuries largely unembellished and are strikingly similar in the lores of all races.

The stories each give different reasons for the existence of the Primal Planes, but they all agree that they were Order and Chaos. These planes existed on top of one another, and are both believed to have been voids. In the plane of Order, nothing could change - thus nothing grew. In Chaos, nothing could exist because it would be destroyed upon inception. Between the Primal Planes was Ether - the substance which magic flows through today. The Ether prevented the two collinear Planes from mixing, but over time began to wear in a location believed to to be the center of the current universe. Each race has a different reason as to why the Ether grew thin, but they all agree that it was this thinning that allowed for the Prime Genesis. In a single moment, the Primal Planes manifested themselves inside of the Ether - creating Mitrill and Balthildis. As an aside, we derive nature's sturdiest ore from the name Mitrill - a testament to the strength of order. "balance" derives from Balthildis, because it reminds us that chaos is present in each person.

Being manifestations of the Primal Planes, Balthildis and Mitrill attempted to make the Ether more in tune with themselves. Balthildis created light and heat, so Mitrill forced the light and heat into perfect spheres. Balthildis in turn gave the light and heat finite amounts of life, so that they would explode or die out after a time. Mitrill began forming Ether into solid objects, so Balthildis caused the objects to fly into each other. Mitrill caused all objects to attract each other in an attempts to form a single large mass, so Balthildis made the spheres of light and heat draw other object more strongly than they drew each other - causing them to incinerate if they got too close. This "one-upping" contest soon grew very intense, and became known as the War of the Brothers. This event would lead to the creation of life itself, though not for a long time yet.

As brothers Mitrill and Balthildis battled back and forth, they drew power from the Primal Planes to fuel their powers. Eventually the Planes were completely drained, and the two brothers began to grow weary. They had created objects with both Order and Chaos inside of them, and this combination had begun to create life. Unable to snuff out these new creatures for fear of losing forever all of their power and blinking from existence, the Brothers began to influence these creatures to little avail. In the natural world, creatures only kill when threatened or hungry. This system lacks any form of law or order, and adapts to any change in environment. Neither Balthildis nor Mitrill could influence these creatures - but their constant meddling formed a new creature entirely. Neither of the Brothers is completely credited with the formation of the first sentient race, as the creatures exhibited signs of both Order and Chaos. Mitrill encouraged these life forms to build cities with laws to help put order into the lands. Balthildis encouraged people to be subversive, giving them desires for power and lust for material goods. These two Brothers became worshipped by the life forms, and began to draw new powers. Soon, concepts of love, hate, peace, war, freedom, oppression, truth and dishonesty became so focal to the Phasians (literally "chosen ones" in the ancient language) that new "gods" were created. With so many focal points and conflicting ideas, the new gods began to revive the war of their parents. This time, the stakes - and losses - would be much higher. The young planet of Alora would not see lasting peace for another thousand years.

Known as the First Age of Misery, the generations-long conflict wiped out nearly all of the Phasian race. Tired of war and no longer able to create the technology of their ancestors, the Phasians began to reject the gods who they blamed for their troubles. Having lost most of their power, the gods settled on an uneasy truce. Gone were the days of direct influence, and in a show of solidarity the gods ascended into the skies - never to walk among the people again.

New races had evolved during this new age - the Age of Renewal. These new races lived in relative peace, with kingdoms that did not horribly encroach on one another. Pixies and Elves took to the forests, where they cultivated the trees and woodland creatures. Humans lived in the former Phasian seats of power, along with the remnants of Phasian society. Dwarves would take to the mountains, and it would be these rugged creatures to first know of the new problems that faced the world.

When the gods ascended, they left behind a great stone infused with bits of all their powers. This became known as the Stone of the Gods, and it allowed magic to be used by those so inclined. Pixies were among the first to embrace the power of the Stone, soon followed by the Elves, and later the Humans and Phasians. Dwarves were the first to infuse magic into objects, and Dwarven items are renowned even today for their seemingly supernatural abilities. The world was at peace, and advances into the technologies of the ancient Phasians were being made. The Rune Pillars were reactivated, facilitating trade between the major cities of the world This was the Age of Gold, and saw prosperity not known before or since.

When the Stone of the Gods was created, there was only one law to be upheld by all races. The power of the Stone was to only be used for the betterment of the world in general - never for self-gain. Small infractions were common and largely overlooked, but soon a new breed of spellcaster would gain power and signal the end of the Age of Gold. These new spellcasters, called Necromancers, used the power of the stone to defile the dead, bringing them back to life as warriors for an ever-growing army. It was believed that with each soul turned in this way, the Stone of the Gods became more corrupt. The leaders of each great race met, and a council was formed to hunt down and destroy these twisted mages. Armed with great halberds, these Inquisitors began to hunt the mages. The project was a great success, but there was one who evaded execution. The last remaining - he became known as the Necromancer. The final act of the Inquisitors was to seal away the Stone of the Gods with powerful wards to prevent tampering and further corruption. Assuming that their job was finished, the Inquisitors soon disbanded and life resumed as normal. It would be decades before the mistake was realized, and the oversight would nearly cost civilization its very essence.

The Dwarves first noticed them - creatures mutated by the forbidden arts. Some were small and nimble, others large and fiercely brutal. Various names were assigned, based mostly on the haggard warcries of the creatures themselves. The largest varieties proved especially dangerous, as they seemed to have a keen intelligence and knack for brutality. Trolls, fabled for their ability to regenerate severed limbs, began destroying Dwarven villages while the frighteningly intelligent Orcs seemed capable of using offensive spells in combat. Though fearsome, Orcs and Trolls were more of a large nuisance than a true threat to civilization. In a move that would complete the downfall of the Golden Age, the Dwarven King chose not to frighten the other, "less hardy" races of the possibility of being overrun by these new beings. Magic during this time began to grow more unstable and councils were convened to research the problem, but no conclusive response was ever found.

Then it happened... armies of Trolls, Orcs and their inbred children - the ogres - all swarmed out from the wastelands. Cities fell in days, and the slow reactions of the heads of state did little to stem the tides of war. The Second Age of Misery had begun, and this bloody event - known as the Great War - would last several hundred years.

Civilization was beginning to unravel as each race was pushed back, closer and closer to the garrisons and citadels surrounding the Stone of the Gods. In hopes of communicating with the gods themselves for wisdom and aid, the great wizards of the time began to unravel the wards put in place by their ancestors. Upon dispelling the final ward, a blast of dark energy arced out from the Stone, killing dozens in a blood-red show of might. It was discovered that the God of Chaos himself had corrupted the Inquisitors, and that their wards merely hid away his desecration of the Stone. This desecration was responsible for the near-death of magic itself, and it was the Inquisitors themselves who had done it.

News spread quickly, and morale began to falter, and it was decided that the armies of the world would make a final stand at the site of the now-blackened Stone of Gods. If the Necromancer sought the power of his lord Balthildis, he would have to kill off the remainder of the old races.

And so it came to pass that in the winter of the following year, the Necromancer and his armies bore down on the bastions surrounding the Stone of the Gods. Thousands lost their lives that day, and the fighting came down to the chamber of the Stone itself. Many of the most powerful wizards decided that the Stone must be destroyed, because a world with no magic would be better than a world under the rule of Chaos. The Necromancer attempted to drain the souls of the wizards, but he was too late. Mighty cracks began to form along the facets of the Stone, and the resulting explosion of light and shadow sent shards of the stone in all directions. The new stones each held a fragment of power from the Gods themselves, so some were light and some dark. The darker stones began absorbing the souls of all they touched, including the Necromancer himself. The only surviving wizard, Tarinas, said that "I live today only because the crystals numbered one less than we."

The explosion set the backdrop for the Great Drive, a time when the dark horde was finally beaten back in an unrelenting drive back towards the outer wastelands.

Just as the First Age of Misery brought rise to new empires, the Second would see the rise of two new peoples. This time however, it was at a price. The Gerp were a result of Dwarves who became altered by the prisms in their mines - eventually possessing their own language and unable to breed with normal Dwarves. Lizardmen came from small island tribes near the tropics. Possibly older than all but the Phasians, their island homes are heavily guarded. For many generations, Alora was plagued by natural disaster as the planet itself was realigning - the result of the destruction of the Stone of the Gods - an event which became known as the Shattering. Many races were decimated during this Second Age of Misery, and as such there are not enough of them to reproduce. Dark Elves, Sea Elves, and Half-Fiends are only a few of these dead races. Written out of the future of Alora, their legacies will die as the last of their members do.

Aloran landmasses today stretch away from the former site of the Stone of the Gods, which now rests on a central island surrounded by a dense magical fog. Strange entities are seen coming out of this fog, but none seem to survive long outside the fog itself until just recently. Now, some of these creatures are leaving this magical Nexus and making headway onto the mainland with ships, rafts - anything that can float. Magical scrying into the Nexus itself reveals a central structure, filled with various catacombs and chambers - along with beasts so powerful that individually they could destroy more than all the wars in Aloran history combined. More frightening than this is the fact that they're multiplying in there, and may soon grow tired of their surroundings.

The threat of this Nexus is very real, and magical barriers exist for miles around to prevent any but the most powerful individuals from entering. Very few willingly enter the Fog, but the stories of their adventures within - as well as the treasures they take out - are legendary. The future of Alora now rests within this Nexus - and whether it will be a bright future or a dark legacy, only time can tell.

[end]

I've looked it over a few times and made some changes to improve clarity, so I hope it's not too hard to understand. I read the current theme a few times to make sure that I wasn't changing *too* much, and that the fundamental points remained. I took out large portions of the story related to the Nexus, as they didn't seem to fit with the rest of the story as a whole. I tried to take into account the "dead races" that I've asked about, to help keep the storyline up to date as much as I know how to.

Comments? Questions? Bitter, sarcastic flamings?

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sun May 22, 2005 6:12 pm 
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Location: The Garrison at Hammerford, Hammerford Alora
BRAVO!!!

I love that story. :cry: *sniff* was so beautiful. :lol:

So the in end it comes down to everyone now fending off the Epic creatures from the Nexus right? No problem, we've been doing that since it all started. OH YEAH!! EVERYONE GEAR UP!!! BRING ON THE PAIN!!!!!! :twisted:

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And the angels sang in immaculate chorus, and down from the heavens decended Chuck Norris!


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sun May 22, 2005 6:38 pm 
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Haven't been doing that since it all started... Learn Alorian history!

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon May 23, 2005 11:24 am 
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Many thanks for the warm reception of my alternative history. Gives me something to think about ^_^

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Just my thoughts ^_^

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue May 24, 2005 7:42 am 
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I like it a lot. :) Great job. Would you mind if I put it online?


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue May 24, 2005 8:37 am 
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Go for it ^_^

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu May 26, 2005 4:46 pm 
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Would like to hear more about the Gnomes, and Halflings. A quick skimming and reading didn't show them.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu May 26, 2005 7:16 pm 
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Location: The Garrison at Hammerford, Hammerford Alora
Ever notice how there arent many active Halflings playing? I have an alt that i let my little brother play from time to time, Falco, and he's taken the name of Lone Halfling upon himself. That and maybe one other halfling is all i know about. I know they arent the best race for much, but it is fun to be able to ride almost any pet, like Falco's pet eagle. (my brother wanted a chicken but we couldn't find one :lol: )

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And the angels sang in immaculate chorus, and down from the heavens decended Chuck Norris!


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