THE END IS NEAR...
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It has been 36 years since the Second Era ended and the Third began. And in those 36 years, it has been a tumultous time for the nations of the Twin-Continents, as war between the Darion Imperium and the Valaísian Empire has burnt sail and land across their many seas and territories, and their great conflict has caused many other lands and nations to be ensnared in this Twin War. Meanwhile, forgotten, dark cults have dared to surface amongst the chaos, and spur on the unmaking of civilization as they sow discourse under the guise of this great war.
Prophets and doomsayers of many cultures and communities have spoken of the Third Era as being the final one, and it is said that the End Times are upon the world. The many strings and powers that have held the world together for many thousands of years, since the beginning of this world's shaping, are beginning to unravel and falter under their common stress and weight, and the effects become more apparent for every passing year.
Magical storms across the many seas, dark whispers from the delving depths, creeping frost from the north, sweeping fires from the south, dragons returning, great migrations of beasts and monsters, and rifts in reality tearing open; these are all signs of a failing world beginning to visibly crack, and all the while not even the strongest beings of Nym, namely the weakening Gods, can agree upon the best course to avoid or outlast the coming end.
Mortals, occupied with their own, often insignificant problems don't hold many answers either. Instead they are content going on with their lives, as they have for thousands of years, and in more recent times they've been more occupied with taking away such lives in their wars and conflicts.
It has, however, become more evident as the years continue that mortals, too, will have to start acknowledging the bigger picture of their world, or else see it all fall apart before them. Such desperation for answer and solution has given rise to adventurers and wayfarers, who seek their place in the world, be it as gloryseekers, wealthmakers, or as heroes of the realms.
Soul & Aether
And then, there was Aether and Souls born from Everlasting Light.
Ours is a world of many energies, which together we refer as Aether. This Aether gives meaning and life, as it swirls and maintains the balance of all things, even those things considered dark and unwanted. In all things within Nym's Eye there is Aether, and from it life is born and taken away. Nothing can exist without Aether, as it is the combined energies of the greater cosmos, born from the Everlasting Light. Aether by itself can be wild and unpredictable, but given guidance, it can create and give meaning to many things.
Among the flow of Aether are Souls and Spirits, whose existence has ensured that Nym has become a place of living beings of potential. For what true purpose, only philosophers try to surmise, as even the Gods, tight-lipped as they are, won't reveal what they know of Aether's truths, or why a Soul is what it is. The Spirits certainly know, though they themselves are even less likely to reveal anything, as is their mysterious ways.
​As the Worldsoul swirls forever on from within planet Nym's core, Aether sustains all things within Nym's Eye through its Ebb, or with the aid of the systems designed by the Creator Gods. From their machinations, many Numen Souls have been born, whose purposes have been to maintain the structure of the Arcane Threads that hold Nym's Eye together. As a result, these Numen Souls have caused much to happen throughout Nym's existence; not all of them necessarily good, but with the intentions of keeping Nym intact.
​Over the many, many eras since Nym was first born from Soul and Aether, the energies of our world and universe have begun to strain and become unstable, as the Numen Souls continue to take more Aether to maintain themselves. Corrupted Aether inflicts the Threads more frequently, and the structure of Nym's Eye has over time weakened considerably. The Spirits, too, are said to have become lesser due to this, and if they can no longer keep the flow of Aether stable, then there are few others, even Gods, who can.
Of Nym and Worlds
There are many like it within the Eye; reflections of the true Nym.
Since the creation of the Worldsoul and the forming of the Nym planet around it, there have been other worlds around and near. Some of these were created by chance, and others later by pure design. Some worlds maintain others or serve similarly specific purposes, while some other worlds might act as realms of banishment and imprisonment, or to be specific homes to various beings who can't survive outside of them. Together, all the worlds of our Worldsphere are known as Nym's Eye, and it is one of seven known Worldspheres.
While the Nym planet remains the largest and most essential of the Eye's worlds, the other worlds around it are no less interesting, or even vital in their own way. On them are multitudes of differing landscapes and phenomenon, often unique to those worlds. Within these lands live many peoples and civilizations, whose cultures and behaviours might appear as very alien to those from the Nym planet.
In one world there might be nothing but stormy ocean, where underwater civilizations thrive through advanced bio-technology. In another world there is no core, as its lands float independently from each other in space, tethered only through powerful magics. There are even places where there are no one 'living', as undeath has become the existence of those who remain there, or a world formed purely from the dreams of a goddess.
But even with all these unique and strange worlds, only the Nym planet is as diverse and large, with many great continents of varying climates and stunning landscapes; shaped and refined by the dragons themselves during an age mostly forgotten.
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The Creator Gods themselves maintain most of Nym's Eye and its worlds within Arkath's Divide, but it is from their own divine realm, known as Solitude, that they truly live their mysterious and godly lives. Each God tends to maintain their own minor worlds, and some are patrons and guardians of larger worlds. It is the charge of Gods, and especially the Creators, to ensure that the worlds within Nym's Eye remain intact, for each world is integral to the structure of the Divide, and to the flow of Aether throughout.
Weakening Gods
They who are above us struggle under the weight of their Creations.
The Creator Gods have since their arrival to Nym's Eye worked tirelessly and dutifully to ensure that our worlds continue to go on. The Overgod Tariel once bound all Creators' souls to the Worldsoul, and ensured that none of their kind could abandon Nym's Eye because of it. It is from this Soulbind that the Creators have over the eras continued to be our guardians, as they toiled and planned to fight against all threats, even those yet known to them.
Ever since their arrival in Nym, Gods of all kinds have clashed with each other, and also faced cataclysmic threats that endangered both mortals and Gods. Now, come the Third Era, the power of Gods has considerably drained, as we enter an era of deistic decline.
From many disagreements between the Gods and Spirits, and the hardships of their charge, much has happened in Nym at their hand, and much is still yet to occur from their design. But even so, it is said the Creator Gods are now at their end, as their powers apparently weaken, and their presence throughout Nym has become more seldom.
Dissent rises throughout the streets and Halls of Solitude, and the endless battles of the Eternal Strife grow larger from increasingly heated rivalries and distrust of the ruling Soul Aspects. Some say, with mindful fear, that a second War of Eternity might soon potentially be at hand.
There are rumours of dark whispers rising, of hidden, dark Gods creeping up from where they have slumbered and hid, and of ancient Titans reborn and slowly breaking apart their binding shackles. Tyrant Dragon Gods, otherworldly eldritch devourers, and even undeath personified; the Creators are few, and their allies fewer against the rising threats before them.
Now in the Third Era, the Creators might finally be grasping at their last remaining threads.
Kith of Nym
From the gift of the Mortal Soul, were born Kith and Kin.
And it is these Kith and Kin who endure, against many odds. Throughout history, ever since the first Kith were elevated by the Mortal Soul, those races and species of evolved sentience have been integral parts of Nym, and they have over thousands of years learned to survive and take advantage of the Aether and aspects of the energies and lands around them.
While most mortal lives take on a very small part in the greater cosmic machinery, together, as Kith and Kin, they have actively ensured that life on Nym and its surrounding worlds continue to thrive. If not from their idle perpetuation of the Worldsoul, Aether, and Spirits, then from their diverse cultures and distinct peoples across the many lands of Nym's Eye.
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Across the worlds, many societies of Kith have risen and fallen; from grand empires to smaller yet mighty kingdoms. Ancient civilizations are strewn across the many lands, many forgotten, and many rooted deeply in the current, reborn cultures. The greatest nations of today find their home on the Twin-Continents, where the most diverse amount of empires, kingdoms, and city-states are found. Within these nations are the multitudes of different Kith who inhabit them; like the adaptive Kin of Mankind, the enduring Songborn elves, the noble half-giants, and much more.
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At the guidance of the Gods above them, mortals have been taught, herded, and actively safekept by their deities, but as the power of Gods continue to fade, the aspects that kept mortals safe from the universe and worlds are slowly unravelling. It isn't long now until it is up to Kith to take care of themselves now, instead of having to rely purely on their Gods all the time.
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Now in the Third Era, mortals still endure in the faltering lands of Nym. Wars, cultural and racial conflicts, famines, plagues, and any number of other disasters continue to ravage the lands of mortals. Yet despite it all, they go on, with or without the aid of Gods, because what else can they do, when stood against the edge of oblivion?
