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The Twilight War
A Brief Cosmology
The Twilight Realm and the Divine Planes
When a mortal dies, their soul travels to a place known as the Twilight Realm. This plane exists as a place in between the Prime and the planes of the gods, and acts as a sort of waystation for souls. It is believed that once a soul is there, it can have three things happen to it:
The Soul can linger in this plane for an indefinite period of time
The Soul can be sent to the the Well of Souls, and its essence used to fuel new divine creation
The Soul can be chosen by one of the gods, and be sent to their home planes. This is the origin for angels, devils, and other divine beings.
The Natural Planes
This term refers to primal planes, such as the Plane of Fire, Air, Water, or Earth. It also applies to any other planes that aren't directly home to one of the gods.
History of the Twilight War
The Eltari Empire
Millenia ago during the Age of Glory, there existed a massive elven civilization known as the Eltari Empire in the lands now known as the Whispering Vale, far to the north. In the center of this region was a massive tree, and the entire valley was in a temperate climate despite its location in the frozen north. Like most of the great empires of this era, the Eltari possessed incredible wealth and magical abilities.
Malakthar, Last King of the Eltari
During the Age of Glory, elves still had incredibly long lifespans, living upwards of a thousand years. But for Malakthar, that was not nearly enough. He was a legendary warrior who famously defeated dozens of villains and monsters. Yet... he was terrified of mortality, and spent immense time and resources finding a way to outwit it. After centuries of research, he and his mages reached a singular conclusion in how to live forever: storm the planes of the Gods themselves and take their power for himself.
Malakthar and the Eltari crafted powerful weapons that were designed to slay the gods themselves. There is little historical record of what form these weapons took, but simply that they were incredibly powerful. They sought out allies from other nations, and in the process these godslayer weapons were spread across the world. This group of nations, led by Malakthar, came to be known as the Mortal Coalition.
Storming The Twilight Plane
The crux of their plan rested on entry to the Twilight Plane, which isn't accessible using the simple Plane Shift magic that would allow access to the Natural Planes, and they knew the Gods could block them from accessing the Divine Planes. Yet centuries of arcane research revealed that a gate could be constructed at just the right location, and with enough arcane power could construct a portal into the Twilight Plane itself.
The Mortal Coalition had hoped to strike fast and end the battle before it could start. Of course, the gods saw such a plan coming and it turned into a brutal battle across both the Twilight Plane and the Prime Material plane. Entire cities in were destroyed, seas boiled, mountains shattered, and millions died. Yet the Mortal Coalition persisted, and it seemed as if they may very well destroy the gods.
The balance was shifted when a group of mortal heroes - mostly humans - sought to end the conflict, and struck down Malakthar and the leaders of the Mortal Coalition. Afterward, the war swiftly came to an end. Yet the destruction had only begun for the Eltari.
The Decimation
The gods retaliated across the Prime Material plane, cutting off access to the most powerful magic for most civilizations, and shattering all of the enchantments protecting the Whispering Valley. The lush greenery gave way to frost, and the Eltari faced an immediate famine.
Yet the most brutal punishment of the Gods was aimed at the hubris of the elves: the lifespan of all races was reduced to that of humans. In an instant, nearly every elf on the planet over the age of 100 died almost instantly, leaving only a dessicated corpse. This led to a population collapse across the globe, making humans by far the most prominent race in the world. This was known as The Decimation.
To this day, the Whispering Vale is known to be a cursed land. More than elsewhere in the world, most in the region hold the gods in extreme reverence. They know the price of betrayal.
Malakthar, The Last King of the Eltari
An Elven City after the Decimation
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