Stop Here

the peaceful Buomman were sent to the Deepest Dreaming to observe the persistent and most personal of dreams found were the border between the Dreamheart and the Feywild was thinnest. Next they created the centered Zerai to explore those dreams that had originated from beings within the Elemental Chaos and to explore for any pathways that chaotic realm. Lastly the Daemons created the fiercely independent Yanki to explore those dreams that had their origin in the Astral Sea, and to find its hidden paths.
By fate, or happenstance, the Mara would be the first to find a way into these other Worlds around the same time as the eldest and most powerful among the Lamia started becoming something new, something god like. These Lamia, having demanded tribute for years, actually became beings worthy of it, transforming into the first of the Abyzous, demigods with powers akin to some of the lesser beings among the Divinities, Eternals, and Primordials, though some would continue to grow in power over time. It was the Abyzou who decided how best to take advantage of the Maras newfound knowledge. Having studied the other Echoes and their inhabitants for years, the Abyzous started preparing their followers for a secret invasion.

The Mara had found that there were areas where the borders between the Echoes were thin, and they would bleed into one another. It was in such a place, where dreams and shadows mixed to create nightmares, that they made this discovery, and where the first expedition into the Under World would begin. It was also decided that a mixed group of Ogres, Maras, and Beldams would be sent ahead to scout.

The Evolved races joined the War, not as an allied front, but as disjointed bands each with their own motives and goals, often not caring which side ultimately won, just that they fight their war elsewhere. Being too few in numbers, the Evolved races filled the ranks of their armies with those who had not, but as time went on they came to realize that against immortal enemies who did not truly die as they did, this would not be enough.

It was the Aberrants who first learned the secrets of creation, through cruel and bizarre experiments conceived by the their mad and twisted imaginations. Many of the creatures they created were viewed as abominations by the other races and destroyed before their numbers could swell. The Aberrants had decided that only they were fit to rule, not just the World, but the entire cosmos. They created highly adaptive races for this goal. The savage Tareks, created with incredibly fast reproduction rates, some of which were born smaller and unassuming, and were used to spy on the communities of the other races as scouts for their larger brethren, and the cunning Sharakim, a magically attuned race with a pleasing demeanor. So pleased with their creations, they next created the Orcs and Orogs. The Orcs, also with incredibly fast reproduction rates were purposely left in a primitive state, hoping the other races would find them non-threatening and not investigate their origin too deeply, while the Orogs were bred to be elite soldiers for the Tarek and Orc hordes, larger and smarter then the typical Orc, but with a decreased reproductive rate.

The Dragons were the first to discover the Aberrants plans, and approached both the Shades and Fey about stealing the secret of creation from them, trusting neither race fully, the Dragons approached the Giants with the secret on how to gain entry into the Feywild, hoping that they could use the Giants invasion of the Feywild as a tool in negotiations should the Fey try to keep the secret for themselves.

After successfully stealing the secret of creation the Fey first used it to create the nature loving Elfs, it was shortly after this that the Giants launched their invasion. Suffering heavy initial losses, but being very pleased with the battle prowess of the Elfs, they used it again to create the arcanely attuned Eladrin, who they used as magical support, and the sneaky Gnomes, who they used as spies and saboteurs.

The Aberrants, pleased by the chaos and destruction the Giants were creating with their invasion gifted them with the secret of creation to offset the heavy losses they began to take, thus prolonging the chaos. Taking heavy casualties in the Forests of the Feywild, the Giants first created the sturdy Dwarfs to dig tunnels underneath the surface of the Feywild with the intent to attack the Fey cities from below, and the mighty Muls to keep the Feys focus on the battles raging in the Forests. As the Dwarfs tunnels got longer and longer, and the Muls moved ever deeper into the Forests, the Giants created two additional races, the Duergar, bred as little more then slaves bred for laboring in the dark empty tunnels, capable of quickly hauling out the dirt and sometimes poisonous minerals the Dwarfs had dug out, so they could concentrate on their digging. The other race, the perceptive Fensirs, they held in reserve, training them in the tactics and magic of the Fey, so that once the Dwarfs had finished their tunnels, the Fensirs could be sent in to deliver a devastating blow.

The Fey, thanks to their Gnome spies learned of the Giants plot and created the Drow, bred for battle in the dark and cramped caverns underneath the Feywild, they began raids on the Dwarf diggers and Duergar slaves, the latter taking horrendous casualties. Though they had succeeding in halting the Dwarfs digging, they were still losing ground on the surface, so with reluctance they turned to the other races seeking any assistance they could find. The Dragons happily agreed to assist the Fey, but only if they would share the secret of creation, as had been their plan all along. Having few other options the Fey agreed to their terms, fearing that their pleas for assistance to the other races had fallen on deaf ears.

The Dragons, having observed the creations of the Aberrants, Fey, and Giants went quickly to work. First they created the magical, but diminutive Drays, hoping that there small stature would cause the other races to underestimate them. Next they created the rapidly reproducing Kobolds, also small, to act as spies and spread the Dragons influence quickly. Finally they created the Powerful and intimidating Khaasta, as their elite troops, and the repulsive Troglodytes, for the bulk of their army. The nauseating presence of the Troglodytes resulting from the failed attempt to duplicate their own ability to incite fear in lesser creatures. Their creations ready, the Dragons launched into action, honoring their pledge to the Fey, and attacked the Giants with everything they had, forcing the Giants to pull the bulk of their forces out of the Feywild to protect their kingdoms in the World.

Unknown to the other races, the Feys cries for help had not fallen on deaf ears, merely ones with their own agendas, for the Shades too had successfully stolen the secret of creation, and had already created several races. The Goblins small and sneaky, acting as scouts had already infiltrated the Feywild. Having witnessed the struggles of the Giants and there Muls, the Shades next created the Bugbears, hulking brutes bred as vicious wilderness warriors. As the Giants began their retreat, the Goblins and Bugbears of the Shades rushed in to fill the void before the Fey could recover. Meanwhile they sent yet more Goblins and their Hobgoblins, bred as consummate soldiers, to conquer as much of the World as possible while the Dragons and Giants fought one another leaving large swaths of their kingdoms unprotected. The last race created by the Shades, the Bogglen, a shy and docile race were created solely for the cruel amusement of the Shades themselves, slaves who often felt the harsh sting and cold bite of their sadistic Masters.

The Giants, facing utter defeat on all fronts, founds themselves approached by the cunning Daemons. For the secret of creation, the Daemons offered to show the Giants how to harness the raw elemental power of their ancient ancestors, knowledge the Daemons had bartered from the Rilmani who had stumbled upon it during their explorations. In exchange the Daemons would share the secret of life gained from the Giants.

The Rilmani, too created scouts, but to better explore the varied realms and times connected to their own, more so then the Echowatch itself, wishing to keep its secrets for their own. To watch over and explore those realms which were closest, the Rilmani created the secretive Vistani, tasked with wandering the Shadowfell, Feywild, and Dreamheart, and as a consequence became the most frequent users of the portals found within the Echowatch. To the the Astal Sea and Elemental Chaos were dispatched the wild Aperusa. The inquisitive Maskari were tasked with guarding those halls that led to the past, to glean what knowledge they could from there dusty mirrors, but not to interfere with the scenes seen within them. Lastly, the Rilmani created the observant Grigori and tasked them with watching over The World, the greatest of prizes.

With all of the other races, except the Aberrants and the Shedim involved, one way or another, with the Giants invasion of the Feywild, it was the perfect opportunity for the Aberrants to act. They unleashed their hordes of Tareks and Orogs upon the World with devastating effects, the primitive Orcs settling in their wake, part of the Aberrants future plans. While the Tareks and Orogs were viewed as a menacing threat that needed dealing with, the Orcs were largely ignored, being seen as little better then animals. Their high reproductive rates and savage instincts lead to them quickly seizing any territory as their own, and in a matter of a few decades they were everywhere, distracting the other races leaving the Aberrants to their true goals. For above all the Aberrants were mad and wished for nothing more then the complete destruction of everything, and a return to the nothingness that had existed before.

The Shedim cared not about the petty squables of the others, but was curious about the chaos unfolding all around them. They alone saw a pattern to the chaos, and it angered them, they wished to restore some order to the world to upset the pattern and restore true chaos, because without order, chaos becomes order. However, the Shedim did not know the secret of creation, and none of the other races would trust them with it due to their nature as creatures born of chaos. And so the Shedim divided into four tribes each seeking it on their own. It was during these journeys that the kindly Hin, the cruel Vasharen, the honorable Goliath, and the unpredictable Human were born, one race for each tribe, though no tribe could remember how.

Tribes of these new races quickly spread across the world, especially the Humans. Each of the human tribes forming it’s own culture and customs worshiping a myriad of Gods, increasing their power with each new worshipper, leading to a dizzying number of differences when dealing with them. True chaos spread throughout the world, confusing the other Races as they attempted to understand these strange and seemingly fickle Humans.

It was during these times that the Aberrant began worshiping the Nothing, giving it power, and it in turn imbued the most powerful of them with power rivaling that of the Gods and Primordials themselves. Soon cults to these Elders, as they came to be known, began appearing in most Human settlements, giving them even more power. The Dragons having been distracted by their war with the Giants, and not having imagined the speed to which the Aberrants plans would progress called for a treaty with the other races to deal with the Elder threat.

The Primordials, seeing the Humans as a threat created my their ancient nemesis the Gods sent their armies to the World to deal with this new threat by exterminating the Humans. With the bulk of their armies on the World, the Elemental Chaos was vulnerable to the true threat of the Elders, who used the raw elements of the Elemental Chaos, the birthplace of their ancient ancestors to create a writhing horde of nightmarish immortal abominations. In short time the Elemental Chaos had fallen, and the horde began its march towards the Astral Sea.

Unforeseen by the Elders was the cries for help the Gods received from their human worshipers. The Gods, learning of the Primordials assault on the World, gathered their armies and advanced on the Elemental Chaos intending to lure the Primordials home. Instead they found the Elders horde. A mighty battle erupted as the two massive armies clashed amongst the swirling chaos.

The Gods sent word to their human followers to pray to the Primordials and warn them of what was happening in the Elemental Chaos. The Primordials confused at first sent a few scouts back to see if the humans prayers were true, finding they were, their armies retreated back to the Elemental Chaos, to join the struggle. Even the combined might of both the Gods and Primordials was not enough to drive back the Elders Horde, and several of their numbers fell to the corrupting madness of the Elders, and all appeared lost

The Creator, feeling the plight of its children appeared as a blinding light at the heart of the swirling chaos and madness vaporizing much of the Elders horde. As the light faded the remnants of the horde and the Elders themselves were pulled towards the center of the Elemental Chaos, a black vortex now lay where the blinding light had once been moments earlier. As the last of the Elders was dragged down into its depths, the vortex deepened and narrowed at its end narrowing to no bigger than a pin prick, the Elemental Chaos swirling high above.

The battle done, the Gods and Primordials alike stood in awe at what they had witnessed, all feeling that something fundamental had changed, but neither side knowing what it was that had changed.

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 License.