History of Tëó

Tëó is the largest continent on the planet of Eó, and the origin land for humanity. The culture is heavily influenced by religion and the gods, and the peoples of the land have organized their timeline into various "Eras", each marked by some sort of drastic change.

The Mortal Divide
Little is known about this Era. After the creation of the Old Pact and the gods of Eó, Të withdrew from the world, leaving the humanity to their destiny. It is theorized that it was during this time that various tribes of humans began to follow various gods, and in doing so were gradually transformed into the various races we see today. Geological evidence suggests that this Era lasted for thousands of years in relative stasis, with little advancement occurring within the culture of the mortals.

The Old Ones
At some point, a tribe of humans suddenly began to make startling scientific discoveries, and their civilization quickly exploded. Of the few remaining ruins and relics of this culture, it would appear that they traveled in great airships and possessed weapons that could kill an enemy from large distances. Using their advanced technology, the nation dominated the rest of the continent within the span of a few generations, and some evidence suggests they had begun to form settlements on other landmasses as well.

No records exist on what exactly led to the downfall of the Old Ones. The vast majority of their buildings have been reduced to scant ruins, and very little remains of their culture. According to scholars from the Empire of Qet, the event was cataclysmic, and shook the land to the foundations.

''"There came a bright light upon the sky, a sun where there was none. The wind hurled itself away from the light, and ripped our villages like leaves from the tree. When the sun faded away, the machines of the Old Ones fell silent, and were left to rust in the rain. Then came the Afflicted, who lost fur and scale and fang, Wildkin and man alike, and withered from the cursed light of the false sun." - Gleameye Graymane, Leoneth Seer and Talekeeper''

Following this event, the subjugated tribes of men fled the heartlands of Tëó, taking refuge with the Wildkin clans in the wilderness of the land. All of the peoples of Tëó considered the Old Ones and their technology to be cursed, and they eschewed technology for several centuries, in favor of a simpler, hunter-gatherer lifestyle. The capitol city of the Old Ones became a forbidden land, left to rot in the elements by all peoples.

Rise of Religion
Under the reign of the Old Ones, worship of the gods had become a crime, which had the effect of limiting the influence the gods had on their civilization. With the oppressors gone, worship slowly began to resurface among the mortal races. Many of the original rites and ceremonies had been lost, but enough of the core faith remained for a resurgence to occur.

Most modern nations can trace their origins back to the first substantial temples that were built in the centuries following the fall of the Old Ones. These first temples, often simply constructed, acted as the backbones of faith, eventually forming the various city-states that would evolve into modern kingdoms and empires.

God Cults
Alongside the temples, the God Cults soon began to form around the temples. Due to the efforts of Galleth the Enlightened, the Aspect model of theology was quickly adopted. Under this theology, it was assumed the Të created the gods to stand in his stead as aspects of his own divine soul, and thus, the worship of the gods should be standardized. Of course, some aspects were better received than others, with Tëllazeth, Wyn, and Zôl being the officially accepted pantheon for the Aspect model, and the other gods being considered "Greater Spirits". Nevertheless, many of the lesser gods were adopted into the Aspect model of worship as well, as members of the "Divine Court" of gods and greater spirits.

Under the Aspect model, each temple managed its own followers, but agreed to never wage war on one another, as each simply worshiped a different aspect of the same god, Të. This treaty worked well, though it did little to stop inter-cult espionage and subterfuge, and did not address unrecognized gods, whose followers typically worked from the shadows.

Formation of the Disciples
As the devotion of the mortal races grew, so did the strength of the gods, who had become nearly dormant in the Era of Dreams. Eventually, the gods grew in influence to the point where they were able to bestow gifts upon especially devout members of their following. Such individuals became known as Disciples, and soon they became recognized as the holy chosen of their congregations. Under the Aspect model, Disciples are referred to as the "Children of Të", and are to be given universal respect, regardless of which cult they serve. This became a point of contention, however, when Disciples began to form within the cults of the "greater spirits", and even the gods that were not recognized by the Aspect model, such as Alatax and Krô. This ultimately led to the First War of Disciples.

The Start of the War
The existence of Disciples that served unrecognized gods became a serious affront to the vast majority of the religious city-states, who observes the Aspect model. The Purifiers led the effort to eradicate these growing cults and associated Disciples, deeming them heretical.

The Cult of Alatax was the first group to be targeted, in the city-state of Rhaal. The Purifiers marched on the small city and razed its fields and outlying villages before advancing to the main bulk of the small nation. As they camped in the night, however, over a third of their forces were murdered in their sleep, by unseen assassins, thus triggering outright war.

The Cult of Krô quickly sided with the Cult of Alatax, as rumor spread about the unwarranted attack by the Cult of Tëllazeth. Fearing their developing cult would be sacked as well, they formed a counter-force, combining their soldiers along with the cults of Aerineth and Alatax. Together they founded the Rhaalian Covenant, in honor of the city that was razed by the Purifiers.

The Battle of the Godless
In response to the formation of the Rhaalian Covenant, the Disciples of Tëllazeth, Wyn, and Zôl formed their own group, known as the Tribunal Sanctus, which militarized the cults. At this time in history, there was a huge swell in the number of mortals who achieved Disciple status, and the fervor of war only increased this surge. Legions of divine warriors and soldiers fought across the land, culminating in the Battle of the Godless in the 1,646th year of the Era of Waking.

The Battle of the Godless was the bloodiest war ever seen since the fall of the Old Ones, and was named after the few survivors came home, haunted by the memory of the battle. It was said that the scene was so horrific that Të himself turned his vision from the sight of it; records kept by the Magius Eternum in Tëlothi did notate an eclipse occurring on that day, giving weight to this theory.

The combined forces of the Tribunal and the Covenant had assembled at A'Tëó, the site where it was believed Të created Kêt and the gods. There the legions of soldiers annihilated each other, cutting each other down with extreme prejudice. Of the thousands that marched off to battle that day, less than two hundred returned, resulting in all of the main cults losing the vast majority of their Disciples and forcing a temporary end to hostilities.

Aftermath of the Battle
The few Disciples that returned home had lost their taste for bloodshed, and largely refused to continue waging war. An unofficial, fragile truce formed, allowing the cults to recover from the devastating Battle of the Godless. It was around this time when the Dragonknights of Tëlothi-ka first formed as a Tëlothi militia, separate from the Cult of Tëllazeth.

The Great Tëlothian Famine
Fifteen years after the Battle of the Godless, the rumbling of war could be heard once more, as the Cult of Tëllazeth, and its city-state Tëlothi, once more set its sights on quashing what they viewed to be a profane affront to the Aspects of Të. In the years since the First War of Disciples, however, the lesser cults had grown in strength, owing largely to he fact that the larger cults had destroyed themselves fighting. At the first sight of militarization, the cults of Dhurgeth and Rhetheri put an immediate sanction on Tëlothi, leading to the Great Tëlothian Famine of 1661 2E. With none of the money or craft goods that Tëlothi had grown dependent on, the city-state collapsed, ending the threat of open war. Reports from the time describe soldier hacking away at hastily grown crops with their swords, gaunt with starvation.

Once the most demanding head of the Tribunal Sanctus was silenced, the cults of the "greater spirits" pushed to be fully recognized. The dormant Rhaalian Covenant also took advantage of the situation, claiming that the mere existence of their Disciples proved that their deities were just as valid as the other Aspects of Të.

The Aspect Accords
With Tëlothi too busy trying to survive, the cults of Wyn and Zôl met with ambassadors from the other cults, and began to draft the Aspect Accords, main goal of which was to create lasting peace by adding all of the cults into a unified pantheon, though it took many months of debate to settle on the nature of said pantheon. After many months of philosophical debate, the assembled religious leaders settled on a new Aspect model that elevated the greater spirits and unrecognized gods to "minor god" status.

The Cult of Tëllazeth, facing starvation as their supply lines remained cut off, had no choice but to agree to the accords, a move which angered much of the Tëlothian citizens; the Dragonknights of Tëlothi-Ka became especially outraged at the move, which they equated with an immoral advancement of heretical agendas.

Once the Accords were signed by the heads of each cult, a monument was erected at the site in A'Tëó, commemorating the event. The Accords were officially enacted in the 1662 year of the Era of Waking, with the dream of ushering in a new age of peace.

The Sacking of Tëlothi
As the High Priest of Tëlothi did his best to usher in the new Accords based Aspect model, the Dragonknights of Tëlothi-Ka began to drum up resistance to the change, sickened by the acceptance of what they viewed to be blasphemy. In 1673 2E, the Dragonknights severed their alliance to the Cult of Tëllazeth, and declared themselves the true children of Të. This declaration was underscored by the sacking of the Temple of Tëllazeth, and the lynching of High Priest Adar Rhyn.

With the temple in flames, the Dragonknights took control of the city-state of Tëlothi, and immediately banned all worship of all gods aside from Të, who they claimed to be their patron. This had a cascading effect on neighboring city-states, who interpreted the move as a ploy for the Cult of Tëllazeth to back out of the Accords, which especially angered the Cults of Wyn and Zôl, who had done much to advance the Accords.

The other cults once more cut off the city of Tëlothi from the rest of the world, hesitant to engage in another huge battle between armies of Disciples. In an attempt to peaceably bring the wayward city-state into line, the cults of Wyn, Zôl, and Krô set up a blockade around the city, locking it into a bitter siege.

In the winter of 1674 2E, messengers escaped the blockade of Tëlothi, and brought inside knowledge of the sacking with them. Until that point, the other cults had believed that it was the Cult of Tëllazeth that had rebelled, not a militia of the city-state. According to the defectors, the inner city was in shambles, with rampant starvation and illness, in spite of the preparations made by the Dragonknights, and that the Cult of Tëllazeth had been completely killed off inside the walls.

Knowing that there would not be another Battle of the Godless, the cults of Zôl, Wyn, and Krô broke the siege and marched on the city, easily taking it from the Dragonknights, who had been considerably weakened by the siege.

''"Grandmaster Hallen was dragged forth from the ruins of the temple, gaunt and skeletal, his fine tabard frayed and stained with dirt and blood. And there in the square, where once stood a statue of platinum, depicting the Great Tëloth, dragon of light, there now stood a roughly hewn block. Grandmaster Hallen was forced onto the block, and a priestess of Lord Zôl removed the Grandmaster's head from his body." — ''Journal entry of an unknown Tëlothian noble.

Leading up to the War
Following the liberation of Tëlothi, peace largely reigned on the continent of Tëó. Though there were occasional battles between rival city-states, full-blown warfare subsided for well over a century. In 1806 2E, however, things changed, when the Cult of Krô entered into a territorial dispute with the Cult of Rhetheri. Tensions mounted as talks failed between the city states of T'Kar and Lanateth, which were governed by the cults of Krô and Rhetheri, respectively.

The territory in dispute was a canyon that the Dratethi river flowed through. The river had acted as a natural border for centuries, but in 1806 2E, a rich deposit of platinum had been discovered by Rhetheri Disciples on a pilgrimage to their holy city. Naturally, the the High Priest of T'kar, a Disciple of Krô, immediately claimed the deposit fell under his cult's territory, which was just as quickly dismissed by the High Priest of Lanateth.

The Platinum Tragedy
Both cities dispatched their armies to the site, in order to protect what each side believed to be theirs. The Dratethi Canyon was quite wide, though rarely exceeded more than ten yards in depth, where the Dratethi River gently flowed. While not an impassable canyon, it soon proved to be a no-man's land, with neither side willing to risk exposure to enemy bow fire.

After several weeks of this stalemate, the leaders of the Krô army grew frustrated, and decided to rush the canyon at high noon. Rallying their forces, the Disciples led the charge, empowered by their devotion to their god. This was not enough to save them, however, from the withering rain of arrows that slew them in the hundreds. The T'Karian forces were slain to the last man, with some of the returning Lanateth soldiers describing their comrades weeping as they slaughtered the defenseless soldiers.

The battle lasted less than an hour, as rank after rank of soldiers slogged through the canyon and river and met their demise. According to records kept by the Lanatethi general, the river became dammed up from the mountain of corpses that filled the canyon. Legend claims that when engineers finally arrived to begin construction on the mines, they had to dig through several yards of decaying bodies before they could reach the platinum deposits.

Outbreak of War
When news of the slaughter reached the High Priest in T'Kar, he rallied the bulk of the cult's military might to retaliate against Lanatethi. A military state to begin with, T'karian citizens signed up with the official legions in droves, enraged at the slaughter of their fellow people. Estimates place the number of soldiers at over a hundred thousand, which had never been accomplished by any individual city-state.

Wielding the larges army the world had ever seen, the Cult of Krô swept across the land, razing every Rhetheri settlement they came across. The miners and engineers at the Dratethi Canyon were drawn and quartered, their heads mounted on pikes that the army bore at the head of their formations. So quick were the T'karians in their vengeance, that Lanateth had almost no warning until the army was practically at their gates.

The T'karian forces quickly breached the walls, deposed the High Priest, and razed the Temple of Rhetheri, claiming the city-state as theirs by right of might. Lanatethi citizens meekly submitted to their conquerors, refusing to put up a fight against the seasoned warriors.

By sheer luck, the First Acolyte of the Rhetheri High Priest, Solae Nesdayn, was also first cousins with the T'karian Hordechief, Jaka Nesdayn, and was treated to dinner with the leader of the invading forces. The legends go that after this dinner, Solae, who had gotten staggeringly drunk, had to relieve himself. As the night was cold, his cousin lent him his cloak. Wrapped in the cloak, T'karian soldiers allowed him free access to the camp, believing him to be one of their number. Solae stumbled his way towards a nearby dock and relieved himself, only to tumble into an open barrel. This barrel teetered off of the dock and fell into the water, Solae inside. Banging his head against the barrel, Solae drifted, unconscious, through the military blockade, finally waking up the next day when the barrel washed up in a river bank outside of a Cult of Wyn settlement.

When news finally reached the High Priests of the Tribunal Sanctus, they convened for an emergency meeting to decide how to tackle the issue of the rampaging T'karian forces. For a fortnight, they debated the best course of action, during which time the Krô hordes razed several more settlements. The destruction of these smaller villages caused outrage among the other High Priests, who decided to act, rather than wait for a final decision by the Tribunal.

The Cults of Aerineth and Dhurgeth led the advance against the approaching hordes, using a combination of complex anti-personnel weaponry and destructive elemental magic to cut huge swathes into the T'karian forces. Unfortunately the Cult of Krô's numbers continued to swell, as mercenaries and fortune seekers sought out their cut of plunder. Aided by their Disciple generals, these hordes numbered in the thousands, and devoured everything in their paths.

The forces of the Aerinethi and Dhurgethi cults began to find themselves overrun by the seemingly endless numbers of the T'karian hordes. It was then that the Tribunal Sanctus finally decided to act, sending much needed reinforcement to the front line. The Purifiers of Tëllazeth were particularly useful, as their Disciples were well suited for battle. Combining with the armies of the Aerinithi and Dhurgethi, the Tribunal Santus armies tipped the scales, and began to push back the advancing tide of renegade Krô Disciples.

In the first weeks of 1807 2E, however, the hobbled Dragonknights of Tëlothi-Ka took advantage of the diverted forces, and retook Tëlothi once more, using it as a base of operations for their conquest. Following the T'karian playbook of warfare, they conscripted all able-bodied peoples into their army and spread across the land, enacting a crusade that eclipsed that of their predecessors nearly two centuries prior. During this crusade, they violently struck down temples that were not devoted to Të himself, rejecting the Aspect model, claiming that all other gods were false demons. In particular, they despised Clo'ae, who already had a limited follower base. Due to this hatred, they burned all writings on her, destroyed her temples, and burnt her followers at the stake, erasing the elder goddess from history.

With all of their resources in use keeping back the threat of T'karian domination, the Tribunal Sanctus could do nothing about the reports coming in about countless communities falling to the sword of the Dragonknights. Even the great city-states began to fall to their growing might.

The Coming of Tëloth
It is said that in the winter of year 1807 2E, a Tëllazathi cultist named Clara Jhentehi received a vision from her god.

"Beware, child, for we grow tired of watching blood spilled in our name. We grow tired of bestowing a portion of our divine majesty, only to have it used for base, petty war. In one years time, there shall be a reckoning, and we gods will take back our gifts."

Clara tried to warn the priests of her temple about the dream that Tëllazeth had shared with her, but they all told her that it was simply fears about the war, which had embroiled most of the continent at that point. Frustrated, she went to the city's High Priest, and tried once more to explain her vision, only to have the same response given.

Giving up on the temple, she took to the streets, telling everyone she could about her vision, which garnered mixed results. Most viewed her with pity and concern, believing her to be addled, though some began to flock to her, calling her the Prophet of Tëllazeth.

Several weeks after her vision, when the number of her followers had exceeded one hundred, the temple finally had enough. Branding her a blasphemer and false prophet, they had her imprisoned in the temple and her congregation disbanded. For another six months, she was held in a dark cell, fed only scraps and trickles of brackish water. Each day, temple inquisitors would ask her to renounce her prophecy, and each day she refused.

Finally, one year after she had received her vision, the High Priest brought her to the temple steps, thrusting her into the sunlight, which she hadn't seen in months. The High Priest had assembled the worshiper to view the false prophet's execution, on the day in which her prophecy would be proven false. Clara was hung from the neck as the members of her former temple cheered.

As she frantically thrashed at the end of the rope, the skies grew dark and cloudy, with angry, red bolts of lightning arcing across the sky. When her limbs finally grew still and her struggles ceased, a bolt came down and struck the High Priest, disintegrating him on the spot. "MORTALS. I HAVE SENT THIS CHILD TO YOU AS A WARNING, AND YET YOU CHEER AS YOU KILLED HER. WE GODS GROW WEARY OF YOUR WARS, OF YOUR BLASPHEMY, WHICH YOU COMMIT IN OUR NAME. SO NOW WE HAVE COME TO BRING THIS MADNESS TO AN END. WEEP, FOR I COME, TËLOTH THE PLATINUM, AND I WILL REAP THOSE WHO HAVE BOUND THEMSELVES WITH OATH AND OIL AND YET BROKE THEIR COVENANT."As these words echoed across the entire continent, Tëllazethi cultists began to fall over, dead, their souls judged by their god and deemed unworthy. The exact numbers of false worshipers isn't known, but estimates place a percentage of nearly sixty percent of followers were slain in an instant. This reaping of souls is believed to be the force that enabled Tëllazeth to manifest as his avatar, Tëloth the Bright.

The Platinum Dragon descended from the heavens, bearing a rider adorned in armor of starlight and wielding a sword made of white flame. As they flew over the land, the souls of the unworthy sped skyward to fuel their rush across the continent.

By this time, the Dragonknights had conquered much of the continent, capitalizing on the main forces of cult armies, which continued to battle against each other. Tëloth flew to each city, bathing it in platinum fire, which incinerated those who were unworthy, and left in place those who were devout souls.

Many soldiers, Dragonknight and Disciple alike, fell to their knees in prayer upon hearing the message of the god, but Tëloth's flames did not spare them. Eventually he reached the main battlefield, where The cult armies and the Dragonknights had all come together in a great battle. It was here that the god's flames burned the brightest, turning everything, down to the last iron rivet, into ash, ending both the Second Disciple War, and the Era of Waking.

The Aftermath of the Second Disciple War
Following the cleansing flame of Tëloth, the gods withdrew their power from all of their Disciples, largely pulling away from their followers. The Dragonknights had been completely eradicated during the ordeal, while the Tëllazethi cult bore the vast majority of cult losses, though virtually all of the god cults lost significant numbers in what would eventually become known as the Culling.

With the hierarchy of the cults in shambles, the city-states in ruins after months of battle, and the powers of the Disciples taken away, the golden era of the Aspect cults came to an end, and in their place came the first kingdoms and nations that would largely shape the current political landscape.

The Founding of the Kingdom of Eronocles
In the 67th year of the Era of O'Të, Dhanneth Eronocles led rebel forces against the surviving T'karian military, which had been one of the most resilient city-states of the Culling. With no Tribunal Sanctus to hamper them, the large military force had begun to claim surrounding territory at sword point. It was due to this military expansion that a young Eronocles was conscripted and pressed into military service as a child soldier. Eventually, as a full grown man, he defected, and raised a counter force that managed take the city of T'kar. With the T'karian nobility deposed, a new kingdom was founded, with Dhanneth being crowned as its monarch.

The Empire of Qet
The Wildkin of Tëó, during the Era of Waking, lived largely as they had during the Era of Dreams; in tribal societies that traded and lived independently of one another, each with their own culture and customs. A downside of this structure, however, is that they tended to be vulnerable to subjugation by the more organized humans that shared the land with them.

Following the Culling, the tribes of the Wildkin convened, an unprecedented event. For a month, they argued, fought, and drank, and after this time, they came to an agreement; all lands to the south of the great inland sea would be claimed for all Wildkin, and each tribe would send warriors to form an independent tribe that would defend this border against all intrusion from the forces of humanity.

Aerineth
Named after the god of magic herself, Aerineth has no set geographical location, but nevertheless comprises a powerful force that is recognized as a world power by other nations of humanity. Aerineth can trace its origins to the Aerinethi cult, which suffered the least from the sundering of the Disciples from their power. With the voice of their goddess cut off from them, the former members created a new organization, naming it fondly after their beloved goddess. Aerineth was founded in the year 10 3E, by Aaseph Caladrieleth, a former acolyte of the cult.

Using a powerful ritual that is not understood by today's scholars, the founding Council of Mages created a "counterspace" for their "nation", which takes the form of an endless library, which can only be accessed by members of the mage country.

Nezzarine Triumvirate
Though most people lost their faith in the gods following the Culling, the most devout held onto their old traditions, only to be victim to persecution by the growing sentiment of secular rule. Eventually they were pushed towards the shores of the inland sea, where they fled in ships towards the inner isle, where they finally found a measure of peace. During this time, most people viewed the gods as betrayers, who could not be trusted, and by extension, their followers were to be loathed and hated.

Over time, on the Isle of Nez, worship of the gods resumed freely, and eventually the Tribunal Sanctus was reborn as the Nezzarine Triumvirate, a tribune of three High Priests, who were voted in upon the death of an acting tribune.

The Arrival of the Elves
In the 78th year of the Era of O'Të, humans living in the coastal city of Rhuul observed great, elegant ships sailing in from the horizon of the western sea, which had been considered the end of the world. To their astonishment, the ships contained a strange people, who were like beautiful angels, slender and bright, who spoke a language that was utterly foreign, but rang like music. The people were all dressed similarly, and the first humans who saw them mistakenly believed them to all be women.

The elves so enchanted the village of fishermen, that the humans thought they were celestial spirits, and gave them gifts and held a great feast in their honor. To the present, this day is celebrated as a holiday called Spirit's Fall in the region.

The elves remained in the city for decades, learning the language and history of the local humans who lived there, while revealing that they did not seem to age like the humans, instead remaining just as youthful and beautiful, even fifty years later.

The elves revealed they were explorers of their homeland, the children of the First Ones, who had been birthed in the Well of Life nearly fifteen hundred years prior. The humans were stunned to learn that the oldest of the Elves was nearly a thousand years old, and had memories of the first elves.

The Discovery of the Dwarves
In the year 116 3E, miners working in the Resden mountain range broke through into an ornately carved tunnel, illuminated by carefully cultivated, bio luminescent fungi. Exploring the tunnel, they soon came across a bizzare, alien looking humanoid, who spoke a completely unknown dialect. The strange creature quickly fled, returning with a force of soldiers, who detained the humans.

This nearly caused a war with the newly discovered race, if the prisoners weren't treated to the finest accommodations the humans had ever experienced. As prisoners of the dwarves, they lived like princes among humans, and they almost refused to leave.

Over several years, humans and dwarves learned enough of each other's language to communicate, and soon developed a prosperous trade network, with humans bringing wood, pelts, ivory and fine wines, and the dwarves providing the finest metals, jewelry, weapons, and spirits. In spite of this good will, however, the dwarves continue to maintain a secret sanctum of their territory that is closed to all outsiders, a boundary which has been respected by humans to the present.

First Elven War
In 279 3E, war broke out for the first time between elves and humans. Over a century prior, elves created their first Tëóan settlement, Taur'Mythaendr, deep within the forest of Dreamwood. The elves had come to the neighboring human city of Dresnol, and drafted a territory agreement, granting them the largely unexplored, nearby forestland. As the decades passed, however, the town grew increasingly destitute, having exhausted much of their own supplies. In the winter of 278 3E, humans from Dresnol began