HERALDS CAMPAIGN
The First Gift Cycle
Heraldic artist Zenithorah's controversial painting 'Primordial Witness'; an interpretation of Noth before the beginning of the First Cycle, when the Outsider Gods stripped Noth of all its resources for their foul works. Her depiction of the Outsider Gods as pale, ethereal multi-limbed beings was subject to great conjecture. When pressed for an answer many years later, Zenithorah stated her work was not an interpretation of the past, but as a warning of the future.
There is little collected evidence of life on Noth before the Outsider God's invasion and pillage of the world. Common belief amongst theological and antiquitarian researchers was that Noth was a place of vibrant jungles, teeming with all manner of flora and fauna. Its assumed there the “Anthropean” races roamed in bands as primitive foragers, however no hard evidence has ever been found of Anthropean tribes, despite fossilized remains of older fauna and flora being well documented.
What is well documented is the ruins of the Outsider Gods, and their arrival on Noth millenia ago. Their skeletons long destroyed by time and vengeance, only stories tell of their tall forms, midnight black skin, four arms and featureless faces. No visual record of them exists.
The Outsider Gods were beings of devious intellect and incredible resilience. They shared a form of telepathy, which they used to dominate and control life on Noth, using the Anthropeans as a form of slave labour.
They razed Noth, consuming the bountiful wilds, and turning Noth into a barren wasteland. A land now occupied only by their foul black spires and the skies choked with their Shadows hovering above.
The suffering of Noth did not go unnoticed; deep within the Glittering Darkness, true divinity was watching and fast approaching. On silent sails, the Trinium arrived.
While the Outsider Gods continued unaware of the Trinium above Noth, an incredible change had occurred within their Anthropean slaves. Simultaneously across Noth the previously naïve and unaware minds of the people touched the minds of the Trinium, and were subjected to the First Revelation of Sentience; “Our Minds Comprehend”
The slowly dawning horror of their oppression, and the realization their mental freedom could lead to a physical one, started an Anthropean resistance against the Outsider Gods. One by one, Anthropean champions of the Trinium were selected and bequeathed power; exemplars of self-determination, compassion, justice and vindication. And so, the First Heralds, ten nine beings of incredible power, were commanded to lead the fight against their oppressors. Each wielding a stolen “Instrument” of the Outsider Gods, the First Heralds began liberating slaves in skirmishes and raids. The Outsider God War had begun.
Raids conducted by the Heralds stole the same tools used to decimate their home, and after freeing and rallying thousands of slaves, they fought their masters directly, outnumbering them 1000 to 1.
As their comprehension of themselves grew, so too did their strategies for fighting against the Outsider Gods; with Rhoduhn, the leader of the First, commanding overarching strategy; Gilgahn, Vishineth and Benerah became his generals leading the charge; Ttsoghal and Ttiana made their hideaways; Meuraeave and Phaytir the scouts and ‘acquisitions’ of stolen Outsider God technologies; Sandro and Whyonah for their tactics and supply lines.
The masters pivoted from their projects, using the slaves still under their control as foot soldiers. They leveraged the power of their allies, the Ionic Gennah, into war. Strange Animical beings of vapour, crystal and metal tore through the former slaves, as the Outsider Gods began deploying weapons so incomprehensible not even the Atheists could replicate them thousands of years later.
The victories of the rebels slowed and ebbed into defeats as they were pushed back further towards their only stronghold. Phaytir was kidnapped and died under torture, unwilling to reveal the rebellion’s hidden base. In a cavern, deep below what would later become the foundations of Torrens, the remaining 8 First Heralds began the first prayer to the Trinium. Weeping, they acknowledged the power that was selflessly bestowed upon them was not enough, and that to survive, the Trinium had to intervene directly.
And so, the Trinium cast the people of Noth their First Gift. On the dawn of first day of a new era, ten enormous diamonds of unearthly material fell lazily from the heavens to hang in the sky above Noth; The Litany. With its arrival, the quiet murmur of the Trinium turned into a roar, manifesting strange new powers in the Anthropeans as the first Augurs. The war, which had lasted decades, would be ended in a matter of months, as the Outsider Gods were unable to combat such unorthodox assault.
The Litany tore through the Gennah’s abstract beings, splitting and condensing them into anthropean-like creatures as punishment for their alliance with the Outsider Gods. Despite the number of Outsider God Shadows in the skies, they were no match for the Litany’s light, which cut them down and cleared the skies.
The Outsider God’s retreat to the Glittering Darkness cut off, Rhoduhn commanded a grand force to siege the last Outsider God Bastion. As Vishineth slew the Grand Adamant of the Outsider Gods, Benerah, Rhoduhn and Gilgahn smote the last of their society, forever condemning their ruin to history.
Despite the final victory over the Outsider Gods, the power manifested by the Trinium proved too great. Their voice dimmed and wavered as the once great revolving stones of the Litany seized in place with a great mechanical sigh, to hang statically in the air forever more. Thus ended the Outsider God Wars.
Despite the influence of the Trinium now but a whisper in the First’s minds, the Herald’s recognized the great gift bestowed upon them; self-determination, was direction enough to guide them in building their own societies.
Together, Rhoduhn and Sandro created the “Common Thread”, a pact between the eight surviving Heralds:
The First shall never lead their servants into war against each other
The First shall abide by the laws they dictate for their people
The First will unify in protection against external threats
The First shall not encourage or commit action against the Trinium
With Rhoduhn elected to enforce the Common Thread, each of the other seven Heralds travelled across Noth to build something from the ruins of their former masters.
Whyonah retreated alone to the north-east, finding there in old Arath remnants of the world before the Outsider Gods. Together with her gardener servants, they brought life back to Noth, turning the dull grey earth green again.
Meuraeave travelled north to what would become Rhyne with her Antiquitists, finding and taking apart the caches of Outsider God technology to manipulate for the First Herald’s uses.
Vishineth and Gilgahn travelled south to the Eridinea, fighting the remnant of Outsider God servants with their soldiers, liberating still controlled slaves and killing the fleeing Gennah.
Ttiana and Ttsoghal did not travel at all; together they built “Ttrimar” below the Litany, designed to withstand and utilize the rain now flooding the Central Planae. Together with their architects, Ttiana and Ttsoghal would create many cities, giving people a place to congregate and call home.
Sandro travelled through all these societies, imparting lessons on cultivation, medicine, infrastructure, but also stories of bravery, tragedy and love, Sandro and his Orators becoming the first storytellers and teachers on Noth.
The First Herald’s continued legacy in modern life survives in their relics, stories and designs, which continue to define the way people live their lives in honor of the gods. Recounts of their stories include; Ttsoghal and his son exploring Astele and creating the grand city of Dongur Ven'mar; Ttiana creating the Cloud-scourer complexes and becoming the first modular; Vishineth, her cataclysmic battle and death at the hands of her rival and mortal enemy, “The Interloper”; Whyonah and her restoration of the Jungles of Noth; Gilgahn holding back the 'Godtide' and saving millions; and Sandro and his encounter with “The Watcher”. One of these stories has more historical significance in its retelling; that of the Gennish Jihad, the corruption of Meuraeave and the rise of the Amalgamate.
One must first speak of the Gennah, the misbegotten allies of the Outsider Gods. Creatures of swirling vapour and vortexes of energy without distinct form that could fly or burrow beneath the earth, attacking not with weapons but pure energy.
In the aftermath of the Outsider God War, their grand Gas and Crystal Vessels were destroyed, as they themselves became reduced, split into mortal 4 states; gas, liquid, solid and plasma. This change to a form of flesh and blood lead to incredibly short lives, as the Gennah's forms would grow unstable as they aged.
Now divided in both form and appearance, the diminished States of the Gen fell into infighting as the former slaves of the Outsider Gods marched on their cities in the Eridinea. This infighting culminated in the separation of the people; some believing intermingling with these new beings and accepting their new state was the way forward. Some believed that their previous forms could be reattained and sought to find a cure.
So the Hydrite and Ferrite, the Water and Earth Genasi, joined with the new people of Enaeth. Across all of Arath and Enaeth, people with Gen ancestry can be seen, particularly in the Pennant Archae. Some tribes with a blue hue to their skin have even been seen as far as the Astele Isles.
The other two States, Xenon and Ion, the Air and Fire Genasi, forced from the south of Enaeth claimed the south of Arath as their home. To counteract their shortened lifespans, they searched for cures among Outsider God ruins. These group were lead by two brothers; Muldahn and Mulsuun, who harboured the seed of vengeance against the Trinium. Amongst these ruins as well was Meuraeave. Now corrupted by Outsider God technology, she had begun replacing broken parts of her body with scavenged remnants of her former masters, listening to old alien whispers. Her Antiquitist allies abandoned her, but she found new willing allies in the Gen. In a ritual, Meuraeave replaced the last part of her body, her head, with an Outsider God totem, dying and becoming the Amalgamate.
Forging a pact with Mulsuun and Muldahn, the Amalgamate became their prime minister as their cult dissolved Gen leadership into a single Sovereign nation. The Amalgamate began an enormous project below Mt. Etekerekct, while the brothers began a military Jihad; seeking to pacify the new people of Noth, reclaim their misbegotten earth and water genasi brothers and sisters, and make the world in their old image.
Sandro, alert for unseen evil after his encounter with the Watcher, learnt of the project after recovering the remains of Meuraeave. Resurrecting her, he took her to Rhoduhn, where she begged for forgiveness, and told them of the Amalgamate and Gen’s plans.
For the first and only time, the Common Thread was drawn, and the remaining seven First Heralds united to fight a common enemy.
Without Vishineth, fighting the enemy head on proved a pyrrhic task; the Amalgamate used their own strategies against them, attacking in lightning raids. Without the Trinium’s direct support, the Amalgamate had the advantage in all confrontations.
The Gennish populations fought with a suicidal rage, never retreating or surrendering; their shortened lives giving them a fatal motivation against their enemies. Armed with Amalgamate created weapons, they tore through the ranks of the Anthropeans.
Meuraeave and Sandro, sneaking below Mt. Etekerekct, sabotaged the Amalgamate’s project. In a rage it followed, chasing them for hundreds of miles. With the help of Ttsoghal, they were able to lure it into one of his latest inventions; The No-Box, a timeless vault. Within it, they trapped the Amalgamate and defended the besieged No-Box from the Gennah. While the Heralds were victorious, Meuraeave sustained grievous wounds, and on her word, was left to die, her instrument lost among the bodies.
With the Amalgamate gone, the brother’s strategies fell apart, and they began to lose ground. As the Gen population dwindled, Mulsuun fled with a portion of the population as Muldahn led a final suicidal charge against the First Heralds. Buried under a mountain of his dead brothers and sisters, he activated a weapon created by the Amalagate; the Vengeance Cannon. It is unknown if any of the First died in the resulting blast, but a 300km monument to the battle remains; the Resonant Basin, a canyon of blue glass, where battle can still be heard, echoing through its fluted passages.
With the Gennish army destroyed their settlements were annihilated, and their people snuffed out like a low candle. To protect the mountain, a last force of Gennah, the salvors, underwent a similar experimental transformation as Meuraeave to protect Etekerekct. Tearfully saying goodbye to their families, they transformed into abominations. Unable to pierce the caves below the mountains, the First Heralds left the Gen there to rot and fade into stagnation.
Finally attaining peace and seeing new Heralds ascend to respond to the crisis, the First Heralds began to disappear from the world. Whyonah disappeared into the jungles immediately after the war never to be seen again; Ttiana began consumed by a project she would never finish; Ttsoghal hid himself in one of his own No-Boxes to safeguard the future. No stories speak of what happened to Rhoduhn or Sandro, but decades after saving Enaeth from the Godtide, Gilgahn settled down and died surrounded by family at the ripe old age of 186. With the last of the First Herald gone from the world, so ended the Common Thread.
The Common Thread Period is seen by many as the precursor to the golden age of Noth, where hardship and struggles gave way to peace and prosperity, flourishing long after the First's assumed death and deification.
Historians generally agree the advent of 'enhanced' society in the Common Thread Era enabled rapid development of civilizations, and without the Presence of the Trinium and their Heralds, civilizations may have taken thousands of years to develop to a similar point.
Soon after the First Heralds retreated from mundane existence and the Common Thread ended, their significant followers, friends and family took upon themselves the mantle of safeguarding civilization and were blessed as Heralds.
Many stories exist of the Heralds of this time; stories of virtue, love, tragedy and comedy are commonly told in pubs and halls by Orators of this grand age of adventure and wonder, as civilization spread its wings from the cradle of Enaeth into the rest of Noth.
Countless artefacts and reliquaries exist from this time, as religious technology came to its zenith. Faith-Based Devices, also known as 'Thesehts' were a part of everyday life, covering all manner of uses; weather forecasting, heat-making beads, and transport nexuses.
As nations formed, disagreements and disputes over territory became common, but rarely broke into conflict. Society was instead intently focused on increasing devotion to the Trinium, and work to restore the Litany to its previous wonder, as commanded by the divine.
Decades of continued study, theory and work culminated in a moment of societal apotheosis; what would happen when the Litany was restored? Would the people of Noth ascend, or would the gods leave with their grand weapon, to liberate some other society? The unfocused desires of the Trinium shrouded the outcome of one button press.
It is unknown whether this project was sabotaged by some outside force, or whether improper consideration had been made on the divine, alien materials of the Litany. The result was still the same; silently, the tenth stone of the Litany fell to the earth. The resulting impact killed millions as its destruction rolled over the landscape, blanketing the sky in a thick orange cloud that blocked the sun for decades. This 'Fog' would curse the blood and minds of those it touched, leading to the birth of Shapeshifters, Scion-Blooded, and long suspected to be the progenitor of the Augural disease Rampancy.
As crops and flora died, the once self-sufficient mega-cities of Enaeth found themselves without viable sources of food or shelter. Oral stories indicated Astele fled its citizens and began a self-imposed isolation from the drowning cities of Enaeth that never ended.
While stories do not give an exact date of this event, it is well established by heretical Arathern canon that central and northern Enaeth had almost entirely collapsed by 1424 1G.c. This collapse diverged civilization in Arath, as they pivoted from 'Religiously Enhanced' ideologies to 'Technologically Advanced' ones instead. Thus ended the Heraldic Era, and the First Gift Cycle.