"The world of Telain has changed. Over the centuries, the gods have watched the mortals walk the lands of their dominion. They watched the mortal beings below; some protecting them, some looking to bring discord, violence and strife, and yet others were rather indifferent. Even with these different views on the small creatures beneath them, the gods agreed that laws need be made. Since the beginning, one law was paramount amongst the gods. That law was that no mortal shall ever touch magic. Magic was powerful; it was something the gods wielded and it was something woven into the very fabric of the world itself. Mortals were not to even know of its existence. It was this way for a millennium. That all changed one day.
Of the gods, Sylian, god of magic, was a particularly strong figure. Now, what many mortals didn't know is that the gods rest as well. In his sleep, he left the observance, maintainence and oversight of magic to his apprentice, Joraedin. Now, Joraedin was an interesting one. He did his duties diligently and without complaint. The problem was that the gods were used to deference and respect and in that security, they had grown complacent. It was only a matter of time before someone took advantage of this....
Joraedin stepped into the essence chamber. At the center of the chamber, there sat a crystalline decanter filled with what one would assume to be wine. But, if one moved closer and peered inside and looked closely, they would see something truly wondrous. The contents were not solid but nor were they entirely liquid or gas. They swirled even though they were undisturbed. If you watched it, you would notice lightning crackle across the surface, sometimes leaping out of the dark mass into the air. This was magic, in its most raw form. It was the enabler of things great and small. All living things had, at their heart, the most minute piece inside them, a piece that, if looked for would be invisible. This gave them life. But the mortals did not know.
Joraedin had looked down on the mortals in his time above and had seen them. In his mind, the gods existed for the mortals. If the mortals did not exist, the gods would have no reason for being and in his mind, he thought that power should be theirs to touch, if they sought it, not barred to them.
So, with that thought, Joraedin took the decanter and left the the citadel of Sylian and walked out to Sylian's Watch; the end of a stone outcropping that stretched out into the expanse of air over the world below. Joraedin held the decanter in his hands, looked down to the world below and whispered "Now you will know true wonder...."
He tipped the decanter over and the dark form inside, flowed out. It flowed in a crackling, swirling stream of mighty brilliance down, down, down to the world below. Joraedin held the decanter until every last drop, every last bit of the contents had fallen to the world's floor.
Magic hit the world with a noise of thunder multiplied upon itself a hundred fold. The energies spider-webbed across the planet, interlacing through itself, wrapping the world in a wondrous embrace. These lines became known as the threads of power.
Things changed. Some animals were transformed, some people were transformed, some became the other. Trees grew and changed; some even walked. The world became a new, different place.
As Joraedin watched this, enraptured with the same wonder he'd just delivered to the waiting world below, he did not see Sylian approach. The god was not understanding. The god was not pleased. The god was not merciful.
"You have broken the law." said Sylian in a voice that rumbled like a falling mountain. "For this, you will be punished. You will roam the earth amongst those below and you will have no power. You will not perish, but instead, you will exist and see the empires fall. You will see the ruin you have brought on the world and you will know that the gods know best. Joraedin, you have betrayed me. Be gone from my sight."
And with that, Sylian cast Joraedin from where he stood, down to the earth below. Joraedin fell down, down, down and hit the ground with such force that a crater formed miles wide and a half mile deep. It is now known as The Crater of the Fallen.
Joraedin picked himself up and knew that things were different. Aside from him being unable to die, the power he'd been given by Sylian as his apprentice had been stripped from him. He was now as the mortals were. But the wonderful thing about the living beings is that they can always surprise you and in some ways, the gods are sometimes the easiest surprise.
And so it was that Joraedin, the Bringer of Wonder, fell from The Heights and brought magic to this world as a gift to all those in it."
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This is one of the first major events in Telain's history. The rest of the pantheon has yet to be created, but that will be something I'm going to tackle soon.
This is Telain's geographical map. There are mountains, both regular and snowy. There are forests, both regular and snowy. Along the horizontal center of the map is supposed to be very warm, possibly even desert.
This is Telain's boundary map. Civilized boundaries mean that there are people there with some semblance of civilization or organization. Uncivilized boundaries denote that the region, if populated, has nomads, barbarians or some other manner of uncivilized beings in it. Also, it could be devoid of any sentient beings. This is up to the imagination.
Any islands or large bodies that have no boundary lines are considered to be unsettled, at least formally. This map is according to the cartographers of the world as it is and there are places they have not gone, so they may not know what lies inside a certain area. If you think of an idea, such as a race or culture that resides in a certain place, post it and most likely, I'll be able to use it.
Any questions are more than welcome and I very much look forward to seeing what you guys come up with!
