Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Xaer 06-12-07, 07:58 PM	1. The past In a world, not so dissimilar from our own, humanity sighed as it began another day's work. Long ago had mundanity won its great victory, the forces of magic being reduced to parlor tricks and minor rituals partaken by only those blessed with the capability. Yet through chance, or as some would choose to put it, fate, one such human was born with grand talent in the arcane arts. With powers akin to the sorcerors of old, this young boy looked out into the world and sighed. The world, as of yet, knew nothing of Onen Kaiser, but he made a vow that they would. Many decades later, the exact same theatre played out again, with only a small change in technological prowess to mark that anything had happened at all. Space was no longer an opponent for mankind to struggle against, with the melodramatically jubilant humans celebrating the newfound ability to travel between stars without centuries of travel required. At the moment the test ship returned, however, humankind's response changed drastically. The streets were darkened, the machines stopped. The factories ceased their endless churning, as people stumbled in the dark for candles and fire, things long ago put aside for emergencies only. And then, in the minds of all the people of the world, in the languages of the people of the world, Onen Kaiser made true on his vow. He spoke of his revelations over the many decades of his life, and how he had discovered, in his opinion, one of the great problems threatening the human race, and declared that he would now fix it. He said that while such progress brought comforts unlike any the humans had witnessed before, with such monotony and perpetual rythym, mankind had lost it's meaning. They sat eternally before the altar of progress, sacrificing their happiness and sorrows before it, hoping to sustain such a comfort by achieving new comforts that could enter their life. He spoke of how life had become too easy, that hardship was no longer determined by who you were, but by fates hand determining if you were to be killed in an accident. He spoke of a future to the people of the world that was not bright, but was not a solid slab of grey as well. A future where people were free to shape their own lives, and were not guided along by the norm of the world's collective mass of minds. As he spoke, the people became slightly irate. Who was this man, they asked, and whom was he to decide how they should live. Onen, feeling the resentment feed back over his mental message, decided that he would start his great plan, regardless of what these people thought. He would have to save them from themselves. He raised his hands, and began to chant. The great collective tide of resentment turned to fear, as he slowly forced the material aspects of the earth to regress in time. Metropolis' became cities, cities became towns, towns became huts, and huts became nothing. With the fall of the cities, nature began to return as well. The steel and stone skyscape gave way to forests. The deserts receded, and the plains became lush and full again. He looked over the world, staggering from the effort, and saw 10 billion humans without a direction. This was too much, he mused, and decided the collective should return to the world he had prepared. He extended his time miagic to most of the worlds in habitants, and they looked on in horror as many among them began to recede in time as well. Adults gave way to children, which gave way to infants, which gave way to nothing except a soul. Billions of souls rose through the air, leaving only a quarter of the population behind. This still was too many, he thought, and ignoring the strains of his body, began to channel a different spell. 1.5 billion humans felt the magic wash over them, and became lesser inhabitants of the world. The new flood of animals ran free, their minds blissfully erased of their former lives. Onen, drawing on the energy released by the people effected, decided upon his next course of action. He altered the spell a bit, and sent it forth upon the rest of the humans. They twisted and changed, and found themselves facing friends of different races. Friends looked upon each others faces, seeing a menagerie of new ones. Elves, dwarves, halflings, orcs, trolls, goblins, and so many more were brought back into existence. Onen then, with a hand shaking with exhaustion, brought the remainder of the world's magic to bear upon the world itself, expanding it and enlarging it. What was once considered a small planet by astronomers had grown to impossible size, nearly 4 times as large. Land and water rushed to fill this new space, as the populace recovered from the massive quakes that had accompanied the planet's growth. The energy released by the now animal population of the earth had expired, and Onen felt the exhaustion clawing at him, demanding he succumb. Yet with a final motion, he scattered the peoples of the world, forming distinct patterns of racial lands, of unity within the smaller races. With this, he also cleared from their minds the past life that he had forced them to leave behind. Upon the verge of collapse, Onen beckoned to the billions of loose souls, and sent them forth into the world. It was futile, he thought, to create such a magical place without magic to sustain it. And so the energy of the souls scattered, returning the force of magic to all the world's inhabitants. Magical creatures came forth, as Onen watched a dragon take flight for the first time. He stumbled, and as he fell, he sent forth his last spell upon the world, wrapping the world into a series of aligned planes, such that the races of the earth might never seek the stars, having variations of existence much easier to reach within their grasp. He lay upon the grass of a new field, and with a smile, granted his exhaustion it's wish. His body quickly succumbed to the forces of the new world, leaving only a small flower where the body had been.
Xaer 06-12-07, 07:59 PM	2. The Present Onen's sudden revision of the world, while dramatic, failed to entirely live up to his plans. A few scattered humans remembered their past lives, and began to gather into techonological societies. The sudden influx of magic caused many a society to rush over itself in pursuit of magical goods and spells. Many great magicians and magical beasts used their powers to elevate themselves to the level of gods, ruling over people they deemed as inherently lesser. Yet the ideals of the world remained in place, and none of these new gods were keen to undo Onen's massive work that had brought them to such power, ensuring it's survival for the meantime. The races of the world were in far too much competition and were far too small in number to hope to rise to such a level as was previously possible. Over time, the technologists began to reach out to the other races, and magic and technology began to meet. While the infrastructure was lacking for vast production of either technological or magical goods, the parties involved saw an interesting new idea, of which they simply dubbed "technomancy". By substituting in magical spells in place of scarce required materials, it became possible to create technology that defied the normal laws of nature, or that could be made cheaply despite the circumstances. Technomancy began to spread over the world, but while it offered unique opportunities, it still required a grand amount of effort to produce such future technologies, and so its uses were limited. By this time, the gods had become entrenched in the societies of the world, and were accepted as having always been there, as divine creators and manifestations of the world's glory. The gods enjoyed this praise, and cared not that much of it was untrue. Despite their myriad of different views, they began to come together, and work with each other to ensure the world woulqd not get out of hand. None of the gods ended up being happy with the way the world was going, however, and often their machinations would come at odds with another god. Yet they all knew the fear of how suddenly the world had come into being, and therefore how suddenly it could end. Such fear kept the gods in check, and prevented anything too rash from happening. It is now over 1500 years past Onen's death. The world has grown, and expanded, but still much remains unexplored. The vast expanses of the world remained a mystery to all but the oldest travelers, and yet there were still yet more things to be experienced. New stories were being shaped every second, and destinies were grasped by those entwined by them. While not a utopia, Onen's vision had come to pass, as the world continued on by the forces of those whom were willing to attempt to change the world.
Xaer 06-12-07, 07:59 PM	3. The Future Technomancy: While an expensive and complicated art, technomancy allows technologies from times long forgotten to rise back to the fore. Trains move across the world, though powered by arcane energies, not the coal and wood of previous incarnations. Guns fire bullets of pure mana, and magical armor rises up to take the blasts. A few countries have their capitals afloatin the sky, fortifying it against grounds attacks(as well as providing a killer view). It is important to note, however, that technomancy is generally centered around sources of power, and in smaller country towns, may never be seen at all. Also, such services such as an airship or underwater travel are very rare, and also very expensive. The infrastructure required to produce such marvels is simply too vast to make feasible to the general public. Smaller items, such as magical rifles and guns, however, could be found anywhere, simply due to the mass production of such items. Nevynter(The World): Nevynter was designed to be a world full of wonder, and many places of it defy the usual standard of a prime material plane. Fields of crystals dot the far Eterian peninsula, while the caverns of Kordias pay no homage to the law of gravity. Some areas of the world have served to collect the energies of Onen's epic spells, and may invoke powerful magics upon those whom tread there. Also, the direct link between the planes and Nevynter can be seen in places around the world, with such spectacles as a passageway to the plane of Ice near the poles of the world. The world itself, however, is very open to change. Spells that would create demiplanes do not create them among the stars, but merely alter Nevynter itself. Everytime such an occurance would happen, the world would simply expand, making room for the demiplane without disrupting it's natural state. If the demiplane were to collapse or disappear, the world would create a new terrain in it's stead, and thus the world continues to expand. This will make more sense and have more detail when I finish the world map, I swear.
Xaer 06-12-07, 08:00 PM	4. World Map -Reserved-
Xaer 06-12-07, 08:00 PM	5. World Mechanics -Reserved-
Xaer 06-12-07, 08:01 PM	6. Places of Note -Reserved-
Xaer 06-12-07, 08:01 PM	7. Charts and Notes -Reserved-
Xaer 06-12-07, 08:02 PM	8. Classes and Prestige Classes -Reserved- This is the last reserved spot. Thoughts on the campaign setting?
ewancummins 06-12-07, 08:33 PM	I like your creation myth. Interested to see more of the world.