The World of Strife

Story by SquirrelWizard & Jintek

In the Beginning...

Before the Age of Strife, there was a time of relative peace and calm now known as the Age of Radiance. It was also during this age that a special race of powerful beings were in dominance. The Eledran were a highly intelligent and magical race. They served as diplomats and teachers of the lesser races. They strove for peace between everyone. It was a period of tranquility lasting longer than any other. They spent this time teaching the lesser races about the world around them and magic. Most importantly, they taught them the basis of their Rune System, which would later evolve into the present Runic Magic. There were seven races at the time, and each lived in harmony with each other under the watchful guidance of the Eledran.

The reign of the Mad King Narim

Near the end of the Age of Radiance, the human empire of Thoros split into two factions. This split was due to the death of the emperor Arainus III who had two sons. Narim was the eldest, and by right, the King of Thoros. He was iron fisted, and very strict. His brother, Sameth, who was a younger and more idealistic leader, fought against him for the freedom of the people. Their squabbling degenerated into civil war. The Eledran, though dismayed at humanity's capacity for violence, cast a spell that would keep the war within the borders of the Human empires. King Narim fell ill after visiting the frontlines of a battle. Though he recovered, his mind was permanently scarred. He became increasingly paranoid and violent. Those who stood against him were either slain on the spot or thrown into the dungeons. The people, now under the yoke of a vicious dictator, started to revolt. They joined the side of Sameth. Eventually, the King's most skilled generals became sick with the prospect of upholding the King's vile decrees and also joined with Sameth. Just before the royal castle was captured, and Narim was killed, he had the great necromancer and loyal friend, Gyas, cast an extremely powerful spell called Spiritbinder. Though it had never been cast before, Gyas believed it would conjure powerful Eledran warriors from the afterlife to save the King. Instead, the spell tore a rift in the spatial fabrics which remained open for about fifteen minutes and then closed. The King was furious, but the strain of the spell had already killed Gyas.

Enter Chaos

Something had come through the portal. It was chaos. It was like a disease that infected the world itself. The Orcs became more bestial and barbarous. The Elves separated into two racially distinct factions ready to go at each other's throats. The Trolls became xenophobic and isolated themselves. The Goblins started raiding all the settlements near them. The Dwarves just dug deeper into their mountains and built fiercesome fortresses. Meanwhile the Gnomes started erecting special walls around their lands. A new race emerged, the Gremlins. They were a race completely born of chaos. They appeared everywhere, causing havoc and mayhem everywhere they went. The Eledran saw what was happening. They tried to reason with each of the races, but each was intent on destroying all the others.

The Fall of the Eledran

Much to their dismay, the Eledran discovered that they were slowly losing their magical power. As their power wanned, the chaos was ripping their plane of existence apart. Seeing that they would eventually be wiped out of existence, along with the lesser races, the Eledran made the ultimate sacrifice. They summoned all of their magical energy to change the very makeup of the plane itself. The ceremony started at dawn, and by the same time the next day, the Eledran were no more. Shards of magical crystals appeared all over the world, and they exuded a sphere of force. Within this sphere, chaos could not destroy the land. People also discovered that the crystals could grow, and placing seed crystals outside of their borders they could expand their sphere of influence. The plane itself became morphic. It could easily be shaped by mortal magic and magic itself could be used to create land.

The Mystic Symbols, and the Eledran Ruins

Though the Eledran were wiped out in the spell they cast, their mark on the world was not. The Eledran citadel of Remorth was still intact when the lesser races found it. They found the runic language that the Eledran had taught them long ago. Scholars of the races studied the runes long and hard, but since the runic language had been turned into the language of magic, the symbols were virtually unintelligible. Six symbols were very common. These symbols were also the easiest to decipher...

	Moon, Sun of the Night - guiding light to home during darkness.
	Teacher of Knowledge - the Eledran symbol for mother. Teaches the young to better prepare the future.
	Keeper of Wisdom - the Eledran symbol for Elder. Provides wisdom of millions, for those whom seek it.
	Hall of the Hunters - often marked a building of community gathering and discussion.
	Creator - the symbol of the ancient gods.
	Crossroads - threads that connect people together.