Unofficial History -- Part I

serleran · Post by **serleran** » Mon Jul 24, 2006 2:56 am

Before everything, there was Darkness. The Darkness was everywhere, and it was alone.

A voice echoed, forever changing the Darkness. The All-Father had spoken the Language, that tongue that brings forth all Creation. Darkness listened, waited, learned. Darkness heard, and was changed. Jealous of the Power of Creation, Darkness sought it. Knowing it no longer needed to be alone, Darkness schemed.

When the All-Father tired and weary from Creation slept, Darkness entered His mind. It became a dream, a nightmare. It warped the Language, whispering its visions through the lips of the All-Father.

It forced the Words, and Hell was born. From this, Darkness birthed the Demons. Then, it slept.

At this time, the World of Erde and that of Hell were separate, distinct. The first born were Nephilim, the remnants of Darkness primordial instincts. They crossed the gaps, watching the Children. They were not bound to Hell, or to Erde. They were free, and they enjoyed it.

Total freedom corrupts.

Possessing the jealousy of their Father, the Nephilim envied the creations of the All-Father. They watched, and hatred grew.

A plan formed: infect the Children, pervert them, and steal them.

The Nephilim scattered across Erde, spreading a diabolical plague, twisting everything touched.

The first step: remove the foundations of faith, to sever the ties between Erde and the All-Father. Yeqon, Perversion Incarnate, set out to corrupt the mind, to tempt and betray. It taught the races of Erde what it meant to lie, steal, and murder. Hell swelled with pride.

Asbel the Defiler lay with the races of the world, giving their wants carnality. It broke the bodies, twisted the flesh, and formed a nation of devoted Childrenthe first not borne of the All-Fathers desire. Abominations in flesh and power swarmed across the skin of the world, and the wicked of Hell rejoiced.

Kasadya, the Bastard, crept his scaled body, glistening with the greed of Hell. Wherever he roamed, those who lived saw pleasure, want, and knew nothing but ecstasy. He fed them a diet of unforgivable sin, and they grew fat with it, strengthening Hell.

Next, came Gaderel, Warmonger Supreme, whose sword brought malice, conviction, and broke first the skin of Erde with climatic war, forever damning peace. Through him, entire nations crumbled, and seeds of theological dissent were sown. Hell was pleased.

Pineme, last, condemned Erde. He broke the Children, instructing them in self-sufficiency, removing the All-Fathers grace from their mind by introducing choice. Hell flourished, and Pineme was infused with its power, becoming the first of the Seitan.

Seitan stretched out his hand, and claimed his throne, devouring what he could of the All-Father, tasting the Words. Spewing them in tantrums, unable to completely destroy the All-Father, Seitan sought more, some way to rid himself of his rival. He hatched the second step: to provide alternate foundations, and to give those of Erde a savior, who would damn them to Hell.

Here, Seitan formed the first plot, etching the Umbra Path. He gathered his weakest-willed, imbuing them with fragments of his power. These became the Gods of Erde, forging religions, twisting reality to serve diabolic needs. As the Children gave worship to the False Pantheon, Seitan strengthened, but so did his servants. Darkness, however, quiet in the eclipse of Seitans plan, watched, and schemed.

Countless ages passed, and Darkness was forgotten a fading memory. But, Darkness did not forget. It plotted. It waited, silent in the recesses of Seitans mind. The World of Inzae formed, and still Darkness stayed silent.

A powerful spellcaster, Nulak-Kiz-Din, The Troll Lord, rediscovered the Darkness on his quest to walk the Umbra Path. Offered knowledge, The Troll Lord, hungry for power, accepted. He had been deceived. So had Seitan.

When Nulak-Kiz-Din summoned forth the Horned God, sealing forever his glory, the bindings of the World of Erde, the dreams of Darkness, that place religions call Hell, and the Umbra weakened. A cosmic crack formed, and tore a hole through time.

Darkness awoke. There is war in Hell. Erde is its battleground.

[I realize some of you have read this before, and in that case, you do not need respond if you wish. However, some newer people have not been exposed to this, and I would like any feedback I can get, so I can make this better. It is my hope that parts (themes and concepts mostly) will make it into Gods and Demons. Thanks.]

Treebore · Post by **Treebore** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 1:18 am

My problem with how you present this is that it makes Erde sound like a new Greyhawk Wars with demons and devils running around slaughtering people. If you could clarify that aspect I would like this a lot.

serleran · Post by **serleran** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 1:36 am

Seeing as I've never read Greyhawk Wars, I can't say it is anything at all like it. However, demons are not slaughtering anyone; they have been sowing the seeds of corruption, in all manners of ways, from carnality to physical violence (epitomized by wars in the traditional sense) to providing eldritch knowledges that sane people would call blasphemy. Simultaneously, Darkness, the father of all demonkind, has awakened and is both pleased by his children's success, but hungry for its own power, long held in check by the abuse of the Language. In some ways, it is a sort of diabolic Gods vs the Titans, but it is far more spiritual than it is physical.

Treebore · Post by **Treebore** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 6:56 am

I know that. I'm just telling you how it comes across. Inaccurately. A very wrong impression from how the world actually is. Someone who doesn't know how Erde really is will think there are demons and devils running around slaughtering everyone.

My son was reading over my shoulder and essentially asked me that very question.

serleran · Post by **serleran** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 1:46 pm

No, its not a wrong impression. I want that reaction. I want people to know the world is in turmoil. The fact that people think the demons are rampaging the countrysides and killing people is good. It is later, when they discover the truth (see this is a part I), that the "lie" has more impact.

Treebore · Post by **Treebore** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 4:59 pm

As long as this isn't going to be used in advertisements to sell the product.

serleran · Post by **serleran** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 5:23 pm

That would be impossible, in fact, so the concern is without merit. There is a reason its called "Unofficial History Part I" and its got nothing to do with TLGs production of anything, other than being based on the World of Erde (not Airdhe, by the way.) The only reason I mentioned "gods and demons" is there are some names of demons that "might" end up in that book, but I haven't decided if I will write them or not (that would be the "themes and concepts thing I mentioned in the original post in brackets, as the last part of the post.)

Otherwise, thanks for the feedback.

Bahamut · Post by **Bahamut** » Thu Aug 03, 2006 6:48 pm

Okay...my two bits? I liked it, Serl....it very much has the "In the beginning...." feel to it. And I think it also evokes a certain sense of emotion to a degree regarding the dark and gritty atmosphere of the setting.

Feel free to develop further