THE END FORGOTTEN...
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The many Shards and lands of Numenua have long withstood the cosmic chaos of Oblivion, as scattered Reflections and broken glass has moved and reformed countless times over the ages. And in-between the Shards and Reflections lie the many realms and existences of Numenua.
On the shattered landscapes of the Numen Shards, many new peoples, ancient beings, and playful spirits make their home, as they live and survive amongst the ruins of past civilizations; long forgotten, and as slivers and Reflections of unfulfilled pasts.
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It is all an existence governed by the acts of Fate and Turmoil, whose efforts often outwit even the godly Nua themselves. This eternal battle against Turmoil, and the constant dance with Fate has brought about many calamities, but none as devastating as that of the Ashen Curse. In mere moments, entire histories and immortal memories; gone. Worlds remade.
This world has forgotten all about its Shards and Reflections.
However, although the world already ended, there are those among us who can still see the past, and in their memories is Numenua: saved by reflected slivers of remembrance. In this world are the mightiest Nua, their divine children the Numa, and the unpredictable spirits all around us, who all lead and guide those who have forgotten as best they can.
Despite Fractured Souls and misplaced memories, the Gods and Spirits teach mortal Kindred to impart upon them their Knowledge, Skills, and Teachings, and show them again how to survive in these Shards: from tribal communities to rebuilding kingdoms.
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All the while, cosmic forces move beyond the ken of mortals, and the Numa Godswar blazes furiously on in the ethereal realms of the Shifting Lands. In these altering realms the greater spirits roam, alongside the souls of all beings in Numenua who converge in broken, forever-changing memories; awaiting to be reformed in the twisting whorl of Aether and energies known as the Aetherwends.
Unfortunately, absent the greater memories of Numenua, the barriers between Primordial, Ethereal, and Celestial Worlds have become thin and weakened, which has attracted the attention of demons, cosmic beings, and terrifying world-devourers. The great Numen Serpent, our eternal Guardian, is still trapped in her slumber, as her starborn eyes can do little else but watch as her precious Numen is beset by invading outsiders.
Far beyond the knowledge of most mortal lives, there are great wars fought for the survival of the many Shards, as gods clash with outsiders, -and sometimes with each other- on distant Shards and Shroudscapes.
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And for every battle lost, a Shard is yet again forever forgotten: consumed whole by the Oblivion.
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Shattering Glass
​Before Numenua, there was Numen; the shining Egg floating through Oblivion, whose Guardian, the Numen Serpent, cradled it with a mother’s love and warming care. Within this Egg rested an ever-growing yet stable force of Aether, which manifested itself into unwoken souls and Spirits, formed and made real by the dreams of the great Guardian. It was known as the Aethersea.
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Eventually, those we know as the Celestial Nua found their way to Numen, and within its Aethersea they wove with Celestial Thread to create a city of purest glass; shining and resplendent amongst the flowing Aether, of which they named Numenua. In this city of glass they implanted three Godflames, which governed over the powers of Cosmic Creation, Omniscience, and Omnipotence.
A White Flame for Life, a Black Flame for Death, and a Golden Flame for Knowledge.
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It wasn't long after the Godflames were lit that the Nua created children of their own, who were to be known as the Numa. The Numa, envious of the power and knowledge of their parents, stole away the Golden Flame, and from it they took Godsborne Knowledge for themselves.
With this abuse, the Golden Flame strained beyond capacity, and erupted and scattered the other Godflames with it, and fractured all Souls within these realms in the event known as the Shattering Glass. The Glass City cracked; broken into many Shards and Reflections, that embedded themselves and their eld memories into Numenua.
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Over the thousands of years, the many Shards grew and reformed across all of Numenua, until lands took shape, spirits arose, and peoples and creatures evolved from their Aether and memories. Across the Numen Weave, an expansive inner cosmos wove itself from the remains of the Aethersea and the discarded Shards of the Glass City.
At the centre of it all formed the Shifting Lands, stretched across existences and planes between the Aetherwends by the Mother Spirits of Aea and Eae. It was in the Shifting Lands where the Numa claimed and rebuilt the Glass City at the realms' centre, and to this day it remains, but still a shade of its former self.
Shards Reflected
Numenua is home to as many lands, as it is made of many Shards and Reflections. A Shard is a piece of cosmic glass that was once of the Glass City, which embedded itself into Numen after the Shattering, and grew to become a vast continent. A Reflection, on the other hand, is one of many, many planes, realms, and scapes that are found floating around and within Numenua; existing between Primordial, Ethereal, and Celestial realities. The Reflections are the Otherworlds distant and far away, the demonic Netherplanes, and the dimensional fey-realms that half-merge with the fabrics of local lands via the Veils.
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But at the centre of the Shards sits the swirling vortex of the Atherwends; stretched from above and below by the Mother Spirits Aea and Eae, and within it all are the forever-changing regions and realms of the Shifting Lands; home of spirits, gods, and Kindred of many kinds. It is here that the rebuilt Glass City remains; held firmly by the Numa, who once conquered it from their Nua parents.
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In the Numen Shards themselves, an even greater variety of different cultures, creatures, spirits, gods, and tribes or clans make those continents their homes, and no two Shards are ever the same, as visiting one after another is akin to exploring entirely different, often outlandish worlds.
It is in the Numen Shards where the many Kindred live amidst the crumbling and faded ruins of forgotten civilizations and empires. But most of all, the Numen Shards are the lands of the Primordials; great and ancient behemoths and leviathan creatures, formed from spirits and the discarded scales of the Numen Serpent, who once dwelled more freely in the Shards, when the Nua and Numa gods were too busy in the Shifting Lands to care about the outside.
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In addition to the Shards themselves, other places that connect them via the Numen Weave are also present, such as the Shroudscapes, the Underdwells, the Skyshards above, and the Netherneaths on the underside of the Weave. In each of these places are numerous cultures, creatures, and, not least of all, potential dangers.
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The lands of the Shards are, after all, wild and untamed; absent the touch of true guidance and civilization's determination. Ever since the Ashen Curse, the lands have forgotten their place, and lost all memory of those Shades who now dwell in them.
Kindled by Gods
In the unknown darkness and chaos of Oblivion, there are beings more ancient than time, and as powerful as all Creation. Amongst these are various celestial creatures: from world-devouring monstrosities, to watchful guardians who observe, to godlike divinities. The Nua came from the latter.
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While little is actual known or remembered of the Nua by mortals and Numa, they themselves are known to have retained all their memories of the knowledge lost from the Ashen Curse. However, this doesn't mean that they deign to share that knowledge, or at least not all of it. The fact also remains that there are very few Nua left in the world, as most have lost their Vessels, and let their Shrouds float freely in the Ethereal realms.
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In slight contrast, their direct children, the Numa, freely and openly interact and share what they want with their devout worshippers, and grant them valuable Godsborne Knowledge, and through this act the Kindred peoples' souls are Rekindled. As Kindled Kindred, these mortals gain immediate insights and skills pertaining to the domains of their patron deities; anything from skills at wielding certain weapons, to the understanding of cultivation, or the know-how to brickworking.
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By Rekindling their Kindred worshippers, the Numa gain strength in the Shifting Lands, where the Numa Godswar rages on in the past, in the present, and in the future. Some Kindled Kindred even ascend and are Godsbound, and become heroic legends of epic sagas and tales, who set out on grand quests in service to their gods.
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In the past, when the Godswar was yet young, many Kindred unkindled themselves and joined with the Nua instead, who, instead of Godsborne Knowledge, granted them powerful abilities in the form of Godsbrands. When the first Godgates opened, these Unkindled clans entered and travelled through the tangled threads of Time within the Godsglass, and eventually found themselves in the Numen Shards, where they built grand cities and expansive empires in the name of their Nua masters.
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But, come the Ashen Curse, an Ashen Era swept in, and soon the Unkindled forgot all, and their cities crumbled. The Nua mostly disappeared, and the Numa, despite their loss of memories as well, continue to wage their personal wars in the Shifting Lands.
Shades of Numenua
As the Numa gods wage war and busy themselves with their own ambitions and other godly concerns, the plights of mortals are often forgotten or ignored. Of the Numa's children, the Kindred are those who once came from the creations made by the Numa who first stole the Golden Flame. When the Flame erupted from the Shattering Glass, those Kindred souls fractured.
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From these souls the Vessel of flesh formed to encase a mortal's Shroud, which itself became the keeper of the slivers of souls of which most beings in Numenua must now contend with. Only the Nua's souls appear to remain unaffected, whilst all others must have their broken souls interact and merge with each other through the Aetherwends, where souls are put together from many different slivers. It is through this merging that various Kindred gain new traits; traits that determine their Kindred Ancestry, or their Soul Heritages, such as the power to wield Magia through Aether.
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While Kindred can be seen dominating most lands in both the Shifting Lands and the Numen Shards, they essentially share both Weaves with numerous other beings, be they spirits, gods, Primordials, or any number of other races. The fact that they must share the lands often leads to many conflicts, from racial wars to conquests of slavery or extermination. However, as civilizations have regrown, many have also learned to live mostly peaceably with their fellow mortal souls of the land.
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Ever since the Ashen Era began, the Kindred civilizations throughout all of Numenua disappeared and fell apart, or were completely forgotten, and in their wake were left the ruined cities of once-grand empires. Most Kindred were also greatly affected by the Ashen Curse, and besides their lost memories, they also lost any gifted powers they once possessed.
It is common nowadays to refer to all mortals as 'Shades', because it is well known now that the Kindred of the past were highly advanced and greatly powerful, whilst those who endure to this day have fallen far.
However, one shouldn't underestimate the Kindred peoples, because while they might have fallen far down to the most basic forms of civilization, many of their kind have regained much of what was lost, and continue to remaster ancient techniques and technologies as they move on through these broken Shards.
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In their plight, the Shades of the Shards move to rediscover what once made them the envy of gods.
You found me!
