Difference between revisions of "Vernal Wars"

Aeons passed as the mortal races were hunted, slowly and cruelly, to extermination. Civilisations rose and fell to the rhythm of the [[:Category:Soulless Gods|Soulless Gods']] feasts.

Though Gorob was the first [[:Category:Vernal Gods|Vernal God]] to rise, he could not save his precious home city and suffered a defeat by [[Illith]]. After that, Gorob wandered Lusternia, and the mortal people he visited variously fled from his might or flocked to him as their savior. In the ancient tongue, he became known as Gorob d'Varsha, which meant Gorob the Teacher. As the decades passed, the name of Gorob was forgotten, and so came to be [[D'varsha]], first of the Vernal Gods.

Though it is uncertain which Edifices of Power raised Tzaraziko, it is generally thought to be either the [[Great Pyramid of Alin'dor]] or the [[Crystal Spire of Lancenti]], both cities of which were destroyed early in the Vernal Wars. Interestingly enough, [[lucidian|lucidians]] and [[dracnari]] each claim she originated as their own race, and this disagreement fomented racial tensions between these two peoples who earlier had evolved harmoniously in the deserts. The climax of these racial tensions, of course, peaked during the [[Taint Wars]] when the lucidian leadership of the city of [[Hallifax]] persuaded their trill counterparts to go to war with the predominantly dracnari city of [[Gaudiguch]]. The result of that was the closure of two higher planes of existence and both cities being lost in time. Some descendants of the survivors still search for the Hand of Tzaraziko, which many scholars believe lies hidden in the desert sands of the [[Skarch Desert|Skarch]].

[[Klangratch]] was raised as a Vernal God from the dwarven stronghold of [[Grimkeep]], which was destroyed late in the Vernal Wars by Great [[Muud]]. Never forgetting his dwarven heritage, Klangratch appeared as a [[dwarf]] male with platinum hair and full beard, albeit about 5 times larger than an average dwarf. He invested much of his power into a mighty battleaxe that was said to be able to slice through rock as though it were air.

Though many of the Vernal Gods were uneasy of [[Urlach|Urlach's]] unconventional means of using the dead as fighters, Klangratch early saw the strategic advantage of this, and campaigned with Urlach for many battles. Together, they finally overthrew Great Muud, though the battle laid waste to Grimkeep and the surrounding mountains.

Though Klangratch held no qualms of using [[undead]] as shock troops, he never allowed Urlach to touch the dwarves in this manner. Perhaps mistrusting that Urlach would keep to this agreement, Klangratch enchanted a stone that would immediately release the souls of dwarves onto the wheel of rebirth, rendering the bodies not able to be raised as undead. To this day, the dwarves revere this stone as their most holy artifact.

Not only did Kiakoda have the power of a Vernal God, but she also drew considerable power from, and thus empowered, the forests of Lusternia. Though none of the mortal races, or even the other Vernal Gods, seem to have been aware of the [[fae]] or the great spirits of nature at this point in history, scholars have confirmed that she was in constant touch with [[Faethorn|Faethorn Realm]] on the [[ethereal plane]]. Most [[wiccans]] and [[druids]] believe she hid the existence of the fae in order protect them from the Soulless Gods, while her detractors (mostly nihilist scholars) believe she did so in order to hoard the power of the fae for herself.

Perhaps the most curious of the Vernal Gods arose from the edifice of power known as the Bubbling Cauldron in the Ghalphalshi Swamps, a predominantly mugwump community from which Vestera originated. Interestingly, no one is quite certain what sex Vestera originated, but certainly they never manifested such bodily conceits once transformed into a Vernal God.

Indeed, the form of Vestera was extremely ethereal and so insubstantial that mortals for the most part could not see this Vernal God. Unfortunately, this made Vestera all but ineffectual in direct combat with the Soulless God, and they were extremely vulnerable to Kethuru and Zenos, who shared this out-of-phase form. In self-defence, Vestera developed great skills of illusions, able to hide from the Soulless or creating diversions or false images.

Vestera is also credited for the development of the arcane skills of illusions and, most especially, dream crafting, for only in the dream state could mortals truly visit Vestera.

Along with D'varsha and Juliana, Dionamus also came from merian stock, arising from the White Shell in the lost city of Alabellalum. Dionamus was perhaps the first to discover the higher planes, making a connection initially with Celestia, which was later the inspiration for the creation of the Pool of Stars in Celest. Unlike Kiakoda, who kept the existence of the fae secret even from the other Vernal Gods, Dionamus actively sought and received assistance from the Holy Supernals of Celestia. It is unclear why the Soulless never attacked the higher planes, though it is widely believed that the denizens of the outer planes were considered lesser food as their souls were only half-formed as Dynara never finished creating them before she disappeared. Equally likely, the Soulless could simply have forgotten or overlooked their existence during the Elder Wars and later in their pursuit to devour mortal kind.

The name of the Edifice of Power that raised Urlach has been long lost and forgotten, but he definitely originated from orclach stock. While many other orclachs were raised as Vernal Gods, they took the path of their orclach heritage and became enormous warrior gods, expanding their strength and might. They were also the Vernal Gods most likely to perish in their first forays against the Soulless. Urlach, on the other hand, chose instead to channel his powers into expanding his mind and consciousness. In the end, his intellect rivalled that of D'varsha. He often appeared as a dark figure shrouded in shadows.

Urlach used his impressive mind to pioneer a method of fighting the Soulless, which was both unorthodox and greatly despised by many of the other Vernal Gods. He was able to capture the souls of dead and partially restore them into their bodies, creating undead warriors who felt no pain and who tirelessly fought past the point where their bodies could maintain cohesion. Even Urlach's greatest ally, Klangratch, would not allow Urlach to use the dwarves he loved in this manner. Thus, the majority of the Urlach's undead army were orclach themselves, though he was not adverse to raising the dead of other races if he came across them despite protestations from his peers. The orclach themselves considered becoming the undead a great honour, and called themselves Urlach's Death Guard. After the Vernal Wars, undead were not seen again until the Taint entered the world.

The last known network of Urlach's gates was in Shallach, and was controlled by those orclachs who served the Holy Celestine Empire as holy defenders. When Shallach fell to the Taint, it is interesting to note that those orclach who succumbed to the mutations of the Taint degenerated into the pitiful creatures known as orcs, while the orclach who held their forms (and died) transformed into the most powerful of the undead lords, perhaps an indication that Urlach's presence is still manifest amongst the orclach.

There was no choice but to implement Shanth's plan and time was running short. So the last nine Vernal Gods began an elaborate ritual, each giving themselves up to the working. Their bodies became great arcs of power that rose over Mount Shalamar and met in a mighty column of energy. That column of energy solidified and became Avechna the Avenger, a merging of the Vernal Gods whose sum was greater than its parts, and indeed Avechna wielded a power that could challenge Almighty Kethuru.