In The Beginning (Teregia Supplement)

This poem was written by the great scholar, Fyrbus Hubertson the Almost-sane. While lacking in imagination and decorum, he was eminently dutiful, and recorded wast tomes of knowledge from the age of the titans, and beyond. While some dispute it's accuracy as a historical source, it remains a popular bardic poem in many a tavern throughout the world.

IN THE BEGINNING

Once the world was nameless
Inhabited by savage beasts
And tormented by ancient horrors

The rulers were the titans
Ancient giants of vast power
They ruled all with fell tyranny

Aboleth and titan worked together
Creating the the races of old
Broken to serve as slaves

This the gods would not suffer
But they could not act themselves
For the titans worshiped none

The greatest mortals were summoned
Blessed by the gods with holy power
And told to fight for their freedom

The twelve champions of old
Gathered their people for battle
And brought war to the titans

The titans were beyond mighty
But the champions fought with purpose
And one by one the titans fell

The fledgeling races rejoiced
For though many had fallen
They were finally free

The gods withdrew from the world
And the mortals settled it in their name
The called it TEREGIA

A More In Depth Telling

In the beginning, that there was nothing. At least that much we presume, for there was no reliable source around back then, but at least so says the holy scriptures of Io. From this nothingness, energy from the elemental planes seeped in and formed the Material Plane (Teregia-to-be if you will), and power seeping in from positive energy plane brought life to the world. Unfortunately power also seeped in from the negative energy plane, and made sure things could die. Around this time, the gods found the place and noticed something odd, time moved seemingly at random in this place. In fact many things were quite odd, mountains walked around by themselves, rivers moved around like snakes, and abstract concepts made flesh were sitting around and discussing poetry with the skies. For some inexplicable reason, the newly formed world had birthed a curious anomaly, the beings we know as titans.

The gods were initially quite amused by these titans, for they were so different and contrary to everything they already knew in the multiverse. So the gods let them be, and do whatever they wanted without any repercussions. If you can see some way this could possibly turn out badly, then congratulations, you are smarter than the gods were back then. Okay, maybe a little unfair, since they had never encountered anything like this before, but regardless, things started to go south pretty quickly. The Aboleths, some lesser bizarre fish people who spawned alongside the titans, decided it would be beneficial to work alongside the titans. They shaped up some of the various animals of the world, and made them into intelligent humanoids (so named because of human bias in academics the first known scholars being human). The titans were pleased with creatures, and proceeded to treat them just like a malicious kid who just received his first magnifying glass would. Which is to say, killing and torturing them for fun, and forcing them to slave for them, making them build grand structures, only to knock them down when they were bored.

As this was going on, the gods grew discontent with what they saw. The gods were disgusted with how the titans treated their newly sapient servants (or jealous that it wasn't THEM who got to do it, depending on who we are talking about). The gods, for reasons beyond mortal comprehension, cannot use their powers outside their home planes, and so could not act against the titans directly. But the gods were cunning (mostly), and none more so than Galfang. He was the first to contact the humanoid races, and bargain with them, and the other gods soon followed. The gods decided that, for all their differences, they should work together to bring down the titans. With their combined powers, they managed to transport the 12 greatest of the mortals to neutral ground in the Astral Sea. Here they bestowed the power of the gods themselves onto them, and thus made them into champions of the gods.

The 12 champions where:

• Melwynaic the Sorcerer; an elf of considerable power, and possibly the greatest of the champions, he became the champion of Galfang.
• Ketilríthr the Ranger; a human known for his honor as well as his bravery, he became the champion of Edda.
• Erding the Bard; a songwriter and lorekeeper, he became the champion of Lysander.
• Tamara the Druid; a kind and gentle elven maiden, she wished only to end the suffering of all, and became a fitting champion of Helos.
• Alrun the Holy; the most fervently devout of all the champions, he became a proud champion of Torlan.
• Withnoth the Saint; the greatest halfling to have ever lived, according to some anyway, he was chosen to be the champion of Tarkus.
• Archibald Rumblebottom; this gnome had no interest in serving anyone, but reluctantly accepted becoming the champion of Io, so the gods would get of his back.
• Lena the Whip; a ruthless and cunning fighter, her prowess and peerless skill, made her a natural champion of Aatark.
• Atifeh the Rogue; most considered her the most underhanded of them all, but her surprising compassion, and good humor, made her the ideal champion of Eros.
• Khoukr the Brute; a strong and powerful, if rather dim-witted, orc chieftain, whose desire to smash, made him the champion of Mysani.
• Ahmayel the Enigma; an odd lizardman, who had long claimed to have heard the whispers of the gods, and a bit questionably became the champion of Ceas.
• Yondai the Calm; a human monk of great learning and self-discipline, he became the champion of Phyx.

The Elven gods Lord Elador, and is wife Lady Afrael, were to entertained by the thought of the upcoming spectacle, and didn't bother naming a champion. Jens on the other hand refused on an ideological level, believing it important not to interfere with with the world so directly.

The champions were then sent back, to unite their people. Being avatars of their gods, made this pretty easy, as it would be for any who received godlike powers. They took the fight to the titans in a war, cataclysmic in scale. Everything capable of fighting, was fighting in the war, mortal against titan. There could be written entire books about the battles of this war, and indeed there has been (and even if most are of questionable accuracy, they are quite entertaining). The warped reality of time that affected the world at this time, didn't make things much easier to understand. Suffice it to say, the titans lost in the end, when the greatest of the titans Chronos, was captured and chained, to stabilize time. Realising that Chronos was the only thing that made change possible, the gods cast him alive into an unknown place, to remain there for all eternity. The few remaining titans were destroyed, their corpses forming much of the broken landscapes of the world, blending in so well, that most everyone can't even tell whether something is a natural formation, or the long dead remains of a titan. The titans' allies, like the Aboleths, were mostly destroyed in the war, but some say that a few still survive in hidden corners around the world.

With the titans gone, the gods were content that they had done enough for the world directly. They took back the power from their champions, and bid them and their people to worship the gods with utmost devotion, for perhaps then, they might receive some of their power, like the champions once had; in return they were also free to settle the world in the gods name. In memory of their victory over the titans, and based on how the earth were now shaped by these once great titans, they fittingly named it, Teregia.

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