Mythology of Shartell
The Creation of Shartell
Before the begining there was only Kinsal, god of all things great and small. He was a god, but the one world was lifeless and barren, and there was nothing. He was bored being the only, so he streached forth his mighty power, and created his sisters among the gods. First was Janess, and she proclaimed that the world was bare, and the flow of the waters would make it grander. Kinsal proclaimed her the goddess of water and sent her off to her task. Palamein was the second, and she suggested that the world would not be so plain if there was life to play on it’s vast lands, and swim in its grand waters. He made her the goddess of life, and she made it so. Kinsal then saw that the animals had possibilities if only there were beings to control them and be their masters. He created many races to rule over the planet. He called these the humans, the elves, the dwarves, the gnomes, and the halflings. He gave them free will and asked only that they worship him and the other gods. They ignored the gods, and went about their own things. The Elves took to the forests and froliced among the trees. The Dwarves discoved ale, and drank away their days. The Gnomes kept to themselves entirely. The Halflings spent their days gathering gold and making friends with the others. Only the humans worshiped the gods, but they were always fighting amongst themselves. Kinsal held them above the others, and he became the god of their wars. In desperantion Kinsal created Sheena to help bring order to his ever more chaotic world. She created justice and was named its god. All the peoples of the world now worshiped the gods and all was well.
The First Son
Kinsal was lonely. There was now four gods but he had no heir. Then one day, Palamein created love to bring new life to the world. Palamein became the godess of love as well as life, and spread love among the gods, though Janess was the first to bare Kinsal a son. He was named Rodain. He was not thought of as normal from the start. He knew to speak in his first week, but his first words were nonsensical. He acted strangly even into adulthood. Soon some of the people of the world acted strangely too. Kinsal proclaimed that Rodain was a god of insanities. He worried that the entire world would go mad if his son was to roam free, but Rodain was far too random to cause such a thing. He was cast out from the heavens to roam the world. Some say that if you listen closely at night you can hear him no matter where he is, but these are only stories... or so they say.
The Coming of Death
Palamein had created life and proginy, but without death the world was being overrun. All manner of life was being spead to the far corners of Shartell. When a creture would be injured, it would live on in its pain and agony. Palamein bore him his second child, Tanor. Kinsal charged Tanor with finding a way to solve these problems. Tanor was wise and knew that only an end to life could bring about what was needed. Tanor created the afterlife, and it was there that he sent all the sick and the aged and the wounded. He left their mortal bodies behind as a reminder that they had lived. Life began to grow less quickly, and the suffering ended for so many. The problems of the world became right again. Kinsal charged Tanor with being the god of Death, and to this day Tanor still comes to us in our time of most need and forever releives us of our pain and suffering and brings us to the afterlife were we can live on forevermore.
The Birth of Teraseen and Torafan
The heavens themselves cried out on the day that Taraseen was born to Sheena and Kinsal. He was to become the god of war when Kinsal became the god of the soldiar and of man. Kinsal was the first of the gods and is their king, but it is too much even for a god to handle ruling the gods and all of war and man, especially heading into this time of wars. Taraseen grew quickly as all gods do, and then he took over for his father. It was hard for him, and he began to grow divided between the art of tactics and planning in war, and the actual battle and death. It was a dire split between order and chaos. Rodain played with Teraseen’s mind until the split in the work became a split in the god. Terseen’s body now held two minds, one for the chaos of battle, and one for the order of war. Kinsal saw this and came to his son. He told him that too minds should have two bodies and with his power he split Terseen into two gods. Terseen would remain the god of chaos and battle, and Torafon, the new god born with the age and wisdom of his brother, became the god of order and war.
The Coming of the Evil One
Our world now had eight gods looking out for us, and everyone was happy. This was not to last however. Pristorious, god of all evil, saw our world and knew he had to do something to disrupt all that the gods worked so hard to create. He created the evils of the world, and he is the one that is responsible for the horrible monsters that plague us.
He reighned on Shartell for a thousand years. These are what were known as the dark times. When the kingdoms of man were either plauged by the constant attacks of the kingdoms of monsters, or were so evil and powerful that monsters would not dare to attack them. Even the most deadly monsters feared the one creature that Pristorious himself had created: The Tarrasque.
A demon beyond all others, it destoryed cities on its own. Even the great city of Artus, built to survive on the back of a giant turtle, named the zaratan, died when the Tarrasque attacked and killed the turtle that it thrived upon. Many times, people have attacked the Tarrasque to protect their lives and villages. Twice, the most powerful among men, killed the Tarrasque, but it was not but a few hours later that it returned, fully healed to kill those that thought so much of themselves to think that they could kill such a force of the god of evil.
For a thousand years Pristorious reighned over Shartell, killing it ever so slowly. Then one day his reighn ended.
The End of the Dark Times
Humanity was on its last legs, only a heartbeat away from being forever slaves and puppets of the dark one. Then, the great warriors of purity came to the aid of what remaind. They came with proficy, and created the Axiom to help them forfill their destiny. The proficy told of four happenings that would alter the world forever:
1. The Tarrasque would fall, and the long awaited wish of its final demise would be granted once and for all. The world brightens for Death is dead.
2. The underdark is cleared of the filth that permiates it. The twisted elements of man are destroyed one by one. The world brightens, for Pestalance is cured.
3. The tower of the dark one is found and toppled. The dark one is fought and defeated by those he would kill. The world brightens, for Famine flees.
4. The remenats of the infestation of the world fight one final battle with those that would defeat them and fail. The world is cleansed for War has fallen.
One at a time the proficies came to pass. Unfortunatly the warriors of purity did not live to enjoy it, falling in the battle with the dark one, but what they set in motion lives to this day, and it is through them that we still live today.