Rise of the Fallen (1st campaign)

*RISE OF THE FALLEN CAMPAIGN*
A) Historical significance before the fall
In the first age, the Lord created the heavens and the Earthen. He created life when none other existed. With love he gave them freedom of thought; and freedom to walk freely between heaven and Earthen.

Upon earthen were created the first forms of flesh: ethereal. In this form the plants, the animals, and the faerie were created. Within the heavens were created angels, also in ethereal form.

Angels and faerie alike were permitted to interact, but none in the ethereal form could bring harm to another. All the souls of creation dwelled in the glory of the creator, and everything was formed for His pleasure.

Manna was given to all to consume; it was this that sustained all life and subsided all boredom. It gave all who ate it renewed energy and vitality. Those who did not eat of this would not die, but, instead, would experience loneliness, boredom and detachment from existence.

Order was established and the Lord reigned from his mercy seat. There was peace with most of the heavens rejoicing and praising the Lord. Until the moment of pride; the day Daem'Gog desired what was not his to claim.

This being was no ordinary angel, he was a cherub (protector of the mercy seat). Only a handful (out of trillions) of angels were annointed to become one of the cherubim, and Daem'Gog was the most beautiful and adored among them. The blessings and glory received from the Lord, reflected the Lord's approval. Thus, Daem'Gog was set above all others.

For an eon Daem'Gog lead the many in honest praise and worship of the Lord, fiercely defending the seat from any who thought themselves worthy. But his pride and determination that drove him to protect it from the unworthy, unraveled a desire in his heart: to covet that which was not meant to be. Daem'Gog desired to be worshipped as the Lord.

In between his watch of the throne, Daem'Gog began confiding in those angels and faerie of like mind. Also, when he was suppose to be guarding it from others, he spent time admiring it and the possibilities of life if he was in control. His blessings dimmed as his songs of praise became hollow upon the ears of the worshipping angels.

Even those of the faerie races began desiring him, and built small idols and hidden temples to worship him. Amongst the whispers of admiring angels and the blessings of those rebellious faerie, Daem'Gog became resolute to do the impossible: become the new redeemer.

In a moment of brashness, he sat upon the throne; no longer wanting to deny that which he so righteously deserved. The halls of heaven became ravaged by a spiritual wave of anarchy. Among the crowd grew a loud wave of cheers and jeers. There were those that danced and howled at their new master, while others went slack jawed and astonished at what they witnessed. Amongst the these throngs stood the loyal cherubim who prayed.

The multitude of abominable worshippers and astonished onlookers began arguing and assailing each other with curses; this led to the first acts of psionics and magic as they began assaulting one-another. As this wore on, few in heaven stopped to take notice, nor perceive the sudden silence of the world around them, until the foundations of their world was crumbled to dust.

In an instant, the first dimension, a world in which they had known their whole existence, was taken from them. Their souls were banished from the heavens and the earthen; banished to a form of slumber.

In like, all of earthen, including the faerie, suffered. They were immediately transformed from ethereal to true flesh, with the color and brilliance of the plants dulled into the new solid existence. The tranquil days of earthen became broken into four seasonsfirmament. In the drastic north and south snow and sleet fell; in between grew great forests and deserts. The animals of earthen experienced hunger and began to feed.

The lord had made all of the faerie nations barren and mortal so that within an a few millenia they would become extinct among true flesh. They must then await their day of judgement.

Lastly, some of the angels were made flesh; forming all the races and their tribes, to live and multiply. While the remaining angels await their birth into the second age. All angels were forbidden to dwell in the realm of Earthen without being born through the womb. To violate this is punishable by spiritual death.

Daem'Gog was sentenced to death before all to witness, and bound in wait for his final day. All of the others were given the chance to repent. This life became a chance for them to prove their worthiness. Those who live worthy lives will be given eternal life, all others will meet oblivion. There are those who would rather meet oblivion than submit to their maker.

Also, no angel, once born, remembers this spiritual age, though the knowledge is remembered by faerie kind.

B) First of Birth
The first 450 years is marked by tribal warfare and the establishment of tribal leadership. Humans, elves, and dwarves are vying for places to live, hunt, mine, and cultivate.

The Earthen's population learned to survive on the basic knowledge given by the angels of the Lord. Even though they live in relative solitude and distrust of each other, there was still some trade done amongst one another. Which led to fighting amongst those who had wealth, and those who wanted to take.

Battles in these times are sporadic and are never for a great loss of life. For half of this age there is no standing armies to send forth and fight. So alot of the fighting was feuds and vandettas. Justice was carried out by those with enough courage to stand up and defend themselves.

During the last half of this age, small, unorganized, groups of men became loosely organized and formed the first army. There was little, or no, loyalty amongst these creatons. just honest to goodness greed.

Major diseases are nonexistent, but some viruses do affect their well-being. Sicknesses like colds, flus and fevers are the most prevalent.

Some of the most wicked angels discovered ways to assert their will upon the lands. They speak to people's minds in dreams and when awake; planting their desires within the innocent, disrupting the lives of many people. It is during these years that the wicked begin developing the power of possession, and they used it freely on those with weak minds.See psionics (free text- earthen)

Only debtor's slavery is quite prevalent within this age. People that owe money and fail to pay must become a slave for the lender. Falling into debt is easy; getting out of it is the hard part. The masters of slavery are the first rich of the land.

As the years progressed, rituals became very prevalent within all societies. Eating, waking up and even before fighting, a ritual must be performed. These rituals were formed to create a semblance of normality and comfort. There is incense burning before one goes to sleep; bathing in holy water in the morning; spitting on the ground when one gets married; burping loudly when satisified after a good meal; and holding a ceremonial orgy before combat and hunting. These rituals are numerous and believed to give one favor among the Lord.

In the north, most tribes are nomadic and either follow the migration of animals, or hunt what they can before the winter months.

The further south one goes, the more civilized they are (relatively speaking). They live in huts of mud and wood.

Age notes:
1. proficiencies should be limited
2. Wrestling is the most common form of combat.
3. Psionics is available, but weak in power and available spells.

: Warrior, thief, alchemist, minor psionics, symbolist.

Stone dagger, sling, stone head spear, stone axe, club, blow gun, dart.

Bartering of furs, jewelry, and food is the only form.

C) First Defiance
Some time later Earthen's first dynasty ascended to power: King Escer was the second king. During the night of his not-so-formal coronation, the young king declared that a great city must be built; he named this city, Ishtar. This would be so that all of the people of the world could come and take part in this newfound system of life. So his new subjects took to the task and built a grand city right into the side of a mountain. This was not finished until his death sixty years later; his son Escerbendin quickly took the throne.

In an act of defiance to The Lord, King Escerbendin shot an arrow into the heavens to try and hit Him. As the arrow flew into the air, a lightening bolt blasted through it and struck the king dead. Then, a great earthquake struck the city causing much of it to collapse down a hole that opened in the midst of the southern side of the city. By the time the arrow fell back to the ground, the city was no more.

In anger, The Lord transformed some of the inhabitants of the city into two new non-human races of Earthen. These were the races of badoon, and olk. These races were given it's own language to further the confusion that was thrust upon them; humans were also separated by regional dialects. Some fights broke out amongst the new races, though, mostly, they left the city and traversed to find another place to live.

All of the land around the city became spotted with canyons and salt lakes as the ocean flowed into some of these crevices. An earthquake also struck deep beneath a near-by ocean. A large tsunami flooded the once fertile plains with salt water; tainting the land. This hot area became known as the burning wastes.

Age notes

These are developing throughout and so is the crime that follows.

The traders of the world develop a standard of writing weights and measures to better communicate with each other and agree on price.

Short bow, short sword, bronze and wood armor, .

Simple coins of gold and silver are now in use within Ishtar and the surrounding lands.

D) the great migration
With the great city Ishtar in ruin and the lands surrounding laid waste, all of the races had no choice but to find new habitations. Many followed the same route causing many fights and murders: hatred was born through these bloody trails.