History (Cora Supplement)
From D&D Wiki
| World of Cora |
|---|
| Player Info |
| World Reference |
| DM Info |
Overall History[edit]
Formation of the Worlds[edit]
Cora was the original sole god of the cosmos. In the early days she decided to create for herself lesser deities to keep to the tasks that she saw fit. In all she created thirteen gods: six for the keeping of the elements, and seven for the keeping of virtues. The keepers of the elements are: Viyari, goddess of light; Volgan, god of Darkness; Ysarlix, goddess of land; Shiles, god of fire; Tileria, goddess of air; Olu, god of Cold. The keepers of virtue are: Kolec, god of Wisdom; Tigron, god of Strength; Abrazim, god of Knowledge; Jasmira, goddess of Beauty; Meeric, god of illusions; Lask, god of Fate; Hal, god of Humor. Cora was pleased for a long time with her creations, they performed their respective jobs, and even created beautiful things in Cora's name. The cosmos was not without conflict though, Lask sought with his power what the future would bring and he did not like it. He saw a future that continued on unchanged, the same interaction of the gods and Cora. In his mind he did not like the idea of things staying as they were. He was fickle, and loved to see power shift. Soon he began looking for a different fate, a different future for that of the cosmos. It was not long till he realized the simple solution, eliminate Cora.
Lask moved quickly, he knew exactly who he would ask for help. First, Lask went to Meeric who was easily influenced. He had a growing dislike for the way of things and also wanted to see the cosmos change. The god of illusion was desiring more than just the other gods to toy with, and so decided to help Lask in removing Cora from her position of power. Next, Lask courted Jasmira for her support, though she wasn't easy to persuade, eventually Lask was able to show Jasmira that the only way for her to truly be the keeper of all things beautiful Cora would need to no longer be. And so the three moved against Cora. No mortal truly knows how the three gods were able to kill Cora, all that remains is the proof of it.
As Cora died her body exploded releasing her creative powers upon the cosmos. In an instant the inner planes were born, the material, ethereal, shadow, and light. And quickly their areas expanded until a river flowed around the material plane, linking it to a handful of elemental planes. Huge crystals and lines of power formed beneath the fabric of the planes and intertwined themselves with the cosmos. Creatures began to populate each of the planes, and vegetation took over the barren lands. Finally, as Cora gave her last breath the outer planes were formed, along with the lake of the dead, the place where all souls go.
Cora's death left an immense amount of power completely free to be taken, quickly each of the gods took up pieces of Cora's power until each god had taken a full portfolio. Fighting began to break out between the gods, but lies and illusions had been weaved and it was difficult for even Kolec to judge what had happened. The gods retreated to the planes that had been created, those of the elements took planes aligned with the element that they had been set over, and those of virtue went their separate ways. Some found planes they made home, and others began to explore the newly created Cosmos. Thus the first age began with the death of Cora, and the formation of the planes.
The First Era - The Beginning of Empires[edit]
When the worlds began the races were scattered across the world, but quickly they began to build societies, communities, and governments began to emerge. Within one hundred years the Empire had been founded. It was a mixture of races that sought technology, communities, resources and a better way of life for anyone that desired it. And it accomplished this goal quite quickly. A leader emerged out of the ruling peoples, and a large government was established to keep the peace between all the peoples. Soon the main cities began to grow and prosper, to the point that people began to congregate in the cities. The kin were the majority of those that had come together to build the Empire. The races of folk instead chose landmarks that suited them well, underfolk found caverns and carved their cities beneath the mountains, the forestfolk built large tree cities, and the desertfolk learned to brave the hot sands of Cora.
It was soon after the communities sprang up that unusual stones with amazing qualities began to turn up. The people had learned to mine, smelt, and create tools, and soon they were finding these precious gems all across the land. But they were not just pretty to the eye, they also held magical properties that soon began to spur the world into a magical advance. By this time the Empire had advanced into small city-states. Each city controlled a series of mines, though they cared little for the surrounding countrysides. War had never seen the surface, and the people of the Empire lived peacefully trading amongst one another and with the folk. The first war began and the great event marked the end of the First Era. The underfolk and the Empire had territory disputes over who could mine the mountains, the underfolk who lived beneath the surface claimed it was their right, but the Empire who lived above claimed it as theirs.
The Second Era - Rise of the Crystalforged[edit]
The underfolk began working on a technology to overtake the Overworld, and the Empire. They had always been great architects, and engineers. And they soon proved that they could make war just as effeectively. They worked endlessly with the cora stones attempting to create the perfect weapon. Out of their research the Crystalforged were born, a race of constructs infused with souls from the underworld. Souls bound to the will of the Overmind, an underfolk soul attempting to become a deity by enslaving the will of others' souls. The cystalforged marched out of their creator's realm and onto the surface of Cora laying waste to anything that stood in their way. The first cities fell quickly, for the Empire had never known large scale warfare, and these new monstrosities were more than a match for any militiamen that the empire could train. The two factions warred for nearly 20 years, but the underfolk were beginning to overwhelm the empire. With the loss of many of it's mines the Empire could not produce many of the needed weapon of warfare, and new crystalforged were being made at an alarming rate. The underfolk had continued to advance their technology and perfected their original creations. The Empires only choice was to attempt to destroy the Overmind to throw the enemy forces into dissarray. Through luck and even help from the gods themselves the overmind was destroyed, though not without a high cost. Many of the Imperial cities were left in ruins, and many of the Empire's citizens had been killed. But with the death of the overmind all of the Crystalforged at once understood what had happened. The years of war flooded their minds, and they understood what had been going on. Many became bitter of their old controllers, and bitter of their new lives. Others were indifferent, yet still others rejoiced at the new life they were given.
The war had ended, though ultimately the Empire had not won. They called an immediate peace and demanded the immediate retreat of all underfolk from the overworld. The underfolk quickly accepted, for their military had been singly overcome with the death of one individual. Clear lines were marked out, showing which mines the Empire controlled and those that the underfolk would be allowed to mine in. Another era of peace ensued, until strange events began to occur....
Back to Main Page → 3.5e Homebrew → Campaign Settings → Cora
