Legoman
2006-08-29, 04:33 AM
The following is a text from a holy book found in my new campaign setting. The basic premise of it is that instead of a world where the basic practices and foundations are set, and the PCs are interacting with a massive pre-established system, Nascence is a world that is brand-new, no more than 160 years old. Through the intervention of the ten God-kings, the first of the civilizations have emerged, but the world is still effectively up for grabs. This should offer endless possibilites: any one of the nations can attempt a power grab, and any sufficiently motivated individual can find a way to fight his or her way into rulership, fame, and even diety. With the God-kings being a relatively low Divine Rank 10-15, the world is the oyster of any who dare claim it.
In the beginning, the universe was formless and void, without definition or feature. And Nascence saw that it was dark.
So Nascence willed, ‘let there be minds to create,’ and the first of the gods were born. And the names of the Gods were Brodin the Rage, Garret the Swift Wind, Dalia the pure-blooded, Alain the heart of light, Obadiah the balance and the chaos, Geldon the Wise, Avers the White Hammer, Chaceleo the Teller of Tales, Maladar the Brush, and Lyzolda the Iron-Willed. The Gods were named, and brought into creation. Ten Gods Nascence awoke from the nothingness.
Then Nascence felt that their minds were yet weak and unable grasp the secrets of creation, and so it willed their minds to be full of wisdom. And the Gods were wise.
Then Nascence felt that the Gods must have power to create the world that they now dreamed. And so Nascence willed them power, and they were power.
Then, the Gods, having been birthed, and taught, were sent to create. In the order that they were awakened.
Geldon, the Wisest of the Gods, said “There must be chaos and law, in a balance, so that the world may be good, and behold, there was Chaos and Law, in their Planes.”
Dalia the Pure-Blooded, the oldest of the Gods, said “There must be evil and good, in a balance, so that the world may be good,” and behold, there was Evil and Good, in their Planes.
Obadiah the balance saw the Chaos and the Good, and the Law and the Evil, and said “There must be intersection in these planes, so that they may be seen together with each other,
and behold, the material plane was forged out of nothingness, with Evil and Good, and Chaos and Law sharing the same Plane.
Then Chaceleo said: “There must be a tale to tell of this creation, and there must be those to whom the tale is told.” And so Chaceleo created the Watchers, so that they may hear the tale, and tell of it later.
Then Maladar said: “There is much power in this land, but there is no beauty,” and so Maladar called out to the Planes and the Watchers, and behold, there was beauty in the land, and the Evil and the Law had form with the Chaos and the Good. And the Watchers heard the tale.
Alain, the Light hearted said: “There is now beauty, but who to walk the land and to see its wonders?” And so Alain created the Walkers, in all their kinds.
Garret the swift wind then said, “It is good to walk the earth, and better to see, but seeing is nothing unless lessons are learned from the earth’s teachings.” And behold, the Walkers understood the teachings of the earth, and gathered themselves into cities and towns, into forests and countries, and began to learn.
Brodin the Rage then spoke: “It is good to learn, but it is better to put learning into practice, and the end of all practice is war,” and so the Walkers took up arms against one another, and fought each other in the first war.
Then Lyzolda, the Iron willed spoke: “It is good to war, but there must be a balance for war and a time for peace, and a time for fortress, and a time for siege.” And behold, there were forests and mountains, and seas and rivers, to stop the tide of war.
Then Avers spoke last: “It is good to have peace, but having peace and prosperity is the highest of all good and without it, how will war be as sweet? Behold, let us make ourselves kings over the lands of the Walkers, and teach them to rule as we were taught to create.”
And so, when all the gods had spoken, Nascence felt that the creation was complete, and was ended. And slivers of Nascence fell to the earth, where they were buried or hidden, or protected or kept, and may be found to this very day.
2)
And so, these are the nations that the Gods set to rule over:
Lyzolda: the hardened dwarfs with their mines and mountains to the north-west.
Obadiah: The armored bears in the tundra to the north-east, and the witches in the forests to the east.
Geldon: Over the industrious humans to the far south.
Brodin: to the Orcs and their kin to the islands to the west.
Dalia: to the dragons and their kin to the Rook in the far west seas.
Chaceleo and Maladar: to the artisan elves to the south east.
Garrett: To the Halflings, who set themselves as nobles and thieves throughout the nations.
Avers and Alain, to the holy gnomes, who build their temples south of the Aivar Basin, in the center of the great land, to whom this holy document is written. To them is the privilege of being cross-roads for the nations.
The time of these things is known as the first era. The Second era had its beginning at the end of the first, after the Gods had become kings of the Nations. This printing was transcribed in the 153rd year of the Second era.
The manuscript before you is no more than 4 years old.
In the beginning, the universe was formless and void, without definition or feature. And Nascence saw that it was dark.
So Nascence willed, ‘let there be minds to create,’ and the first of the gods were born. And the names of the Gods were Brodin the Rage, Garret the Swift Wind, Dalia the pure-blooded, Alain the heart of light, Obadiah the balance and the chaos, Geldon the Wise, Avers the White Hammer, Chaceleo the Teller of Tales, Maladar the Brush, and Lyzolda the Iron-Willed. The Gods were named, and brought into creation. Ten Gods Nascence awoke from the nothingness.
Then Nascence felt that their minds were yet weak and unable grasp the secrets of creation, and so it willed their minds to be full of wisdom. And the Gods were wise.
Then Nascence felt that the Gods must have power to create the world that they now dreamed. And so Nascence willed them power, and they were power.
Then, the Gods, having been birthed, and taught, were sent to create. In the order that they were awakened.
Geldon, the Wisest of the Gods, said “There must be chaos and law, in a balance, so that the world may be good, and behold, there was Chaos and Law, in their Planes.”
Dalia the Pure-Blooded, the oldest of the Gods, said “There must be evil and good, in a balance, so that the world may be good,” and behold, there was Evil and Good, in their Planes.
Obadiah the balance saw the Chaos and the Good, and the Law and the Evil, and said “There must be intersection in these planes, so that they may be seen together with each other,
and behold, the material plane was forged out of nothingness, with Evil and Good, and Chaos and Law sharing the same Plane.
Then Chaceleo said: “There must be a tale to tell of this creation, and there must be those to whom the tale is told.” And so Chaceleo created the Watchers, so that they may hear the tale, and tell of it later.
Then Maladar said: “There is much power in this land, but there is no beauty,” and so Maladar called out to the Planes and the Watchers, and behold, there was beauty in the land, and the Evil and the Law had form with the Chaos and the Good. And the Watchers heard the tale.
Alain, the Light hearted said: “There is now beauty, but who to walk the land and to see its wonders?” And so Alain created the Walkers, in all their kinds.
Garret the swift wind then said, “It is good to walk the earth, and better to see, but seeing is nothing unless lessons are learned from the earth’s teachings.” And behold, the Walkers understood the teachings of the earth, and gathered themselves into cities and towns, into forests and countries, and began to learn.
Brodin the Rage then spoke: “It is good to learn, but it is better to put learning into practice, and the end of all practice is war,” and so the Walkers took up arms against one another, and fought each other in the first war.
Then Lyzolda, the Iron willed spoke: “It is good to war, but there must be a balance for war and a time for peace, and a time for fortress, and a time for siege.” And behold, there were forests and mountains, and seas and rivers, to stop the tide of war.
Then Avers spoke last: “It is good to have peace, but having peace and prosperity is the highest of all good and without it, how will war be as sweet? Behold, let us make ourselves kings over the lands of the Walkers, and teach them to rule as we were taught to create.”
And so, when all the gods had spoken, Nascence felt that the creation was complete, and was ended. And slivers of Nascence fell to the earth, where they were buried or hidden, or protected or kept, and may be found to this very day.
2)
And so, these are the nations that the Gods set to rule over:
Lyzolda: the hardened dwarfs with their mines and mountains to the north-west.
Obadiah: The armored bears in the tundra to the north-east, and the witches in the forests to the east.
Geldon: Over the industrious humans to the far south.
Brodin: to the Orcs and their kin to the islands to the west.
Dalia: to the dragons and their kin to the Rook in the far west seas.
Chaceleo and Maladar: to the artisan elves to the south east.
Garrett: To the Halflings, who set themselves as nobles and thieves throughout the nations.
Avers and Alain, to the holy gnomes, who build their temples south of the Aivar Basin, in the center of the great land, to whom this holy document is written. To them is the privilege of being cross-roads for the nations.
The time of these things is known as the first era. The Second era had its beginning at the end of the first, after the Gods had become kings of the Nations. This printing was transcribed in the 153rd year of the Second era.
The manuscript before you is no more than 4 years old.