Prologue

Prologue

The birth of the world and the spawning of the Wretched-

The obelisk of Taris

In the beginning, it was only the gods.

There was no earth, no soil, no water, and no air. Just the gods, standing alone in the void, voiceless and mute and five in number.

They were not born, did not grow, did not bleed, and would not die, Such were the gods. They were gods of nothing and no one, no symbols, no features, and no identity.

They were as much of the void as it was of them.

A fragile state of existance that could be shattered with a thought.

And so it was.

One god, still unnamed, still featureless, changed

They saw the dark around them and wished for light.

And so light existed.

Another saw the light and wished for something to stand upon.

And so came the earth

One wished for something to drink

And so the oceans filled

And another wished for someone to talk to

And so came life

These four gods shaped the earth, what was below, what was above, and what lived. They birthed species and flora. They crafted islands and forged the sky. These four became the creators, the craftsmen, and the bulders of the world

Edes, The Bringer of Light and Sky in the form of Stars and Woman

Lotar, The Earth forger in the form of Rock and Man

Utia, The Ocean Maiden in the form of Wave and Child

Gorus, The First Father in the form of Root and Elder

These four gods created and created until no more could be made, they forged a paradise for themselves, skys they could watch, mountains they could climb and oceans they could bathe in

But what of the Fifth god?

He watched, he watched his brothers and sisters create masterpieces upon masterpieces, fearing to touch or break what was built

So instead he chose to learn

He watched the creations, learned the secrets, and followed the path set by his family

He became Ravis the Knowledge Keeper in the form of night and wings

The one who knew all there was to know and more

But soon, as creators do, the gods grew tired and bored of watching their inventions and sitting upon the fruits of their labors so instead they chose to create one final masterpiece, or to be more accurate FIVE final masterpieces. A Race created by each and every god, Ravis included. Each taking a piece of themselves they made a people, a race.

Edes created a loom from which she spun her hair into the Eaglites, wings sprouting from their backs, golden as the hair they were spun from. Giving them the blessing of flight.

Lotar carved a stone from his own body, creating the orcs, who loved the earth and mountains as much as their creator, hard as the rock they were carved from, and just as strong. Giving them the blessing of the forge.

Utia molded the foam of the sea, making the Sea Folk, each as diverse as the creatures under the waves, all beautiful and given the blessing of the sea itself

Gorus grew his creations from his bark, birthing the elves, a people who could care for the forests and trees as much as he, he gave them the gift of long life

And Finally Ravis, He made his race, humanity. He formed them from his own abyssal self giving them a form he himself wished for, and to them, he gifted nothing but his knowledge, not to all, but enough to protect them from all

This was the final creation

From there the gods led the races into life, sharing secrets of the earth and the stars, ensuring peace and fairness. For one thousand years, all was well. The orcs practiced their craft, the Eaglites sored the sky, the sea folk swam the depths, the elves tended their home forests and even Humanity, the first creation of Ravis seemed perfect

But it was not to be

Knowledge is power and the knowledge of the gods is even more so. Humanity could not bear it forever and one day, a thousand years after their creation, blood was spilled… Divine blood. None no who nor how but blades were forged and blades were used

The Heretic armory was forged. Weapons that even the masterful orcs could not forge, weapons made through blood, suffering, and lies, blades that could harm the gods themselves. On the anniversary of the god's creation of the five races, homage was paid and gifts were given. And man cut the flesh of a god that day.

Edes, the Bringer of Light and Sky lost her eyes that day and all paid for it.

Humanity was struck of its god and gifts, Ravis was cut into six pieces with the very blades humanity had crafted, crafted with the knowledge he had given them and all who shared the gift of knowledge faced the same Fate of Edes and more. They were blinded and turned to the forms of animals to be eaten, torn, and mauled by nature and those that remained were left without the grace nor friendship of the races

And finally, the gods left, never to be seen, only heard by the chosen few and shown through the blesses shared amongst their people

But to humanity, they may as well have not existed at all.

And it was not until the birth of the wretched 1000 years later that Ravis's gift would appear once more. Given to the lowest of the low, born from an abandoned womb, from a dead mother and a lost people