History
Since before the arrival of the gods, the herd of Mirroweld lived peaceful lives. They had always existed as a monastic society, focused on building knowledge. For centuries they dedicated their lives to learning more of themselves, the world, the creatures in it, and the magic that held it all together. It was this pursuit of knowledge that led Izmir to first reveal himself.
The god grew curious about the scholarly phae. Izmir felt that they were a people after his own heart. The first contact is said to have taken place at Izmir’s Eye where he appeared before the first Arch Magister. From that moment on, occasional exchanges began to take place. Eventually, Nué followed her beloved and began interacting with the phae of Mirroweld through their dreams.
Overtime, Izmir and Nué flitted in and out of interaction, but the presence of the Mirroweld was familiar and comfortable. Perhaps it was this sense of comfort that lured the gods into complacency.
After many centuries of peace came turmoil like never before.
Another god was biding his time, hiding in the shadows. Silently Vronne built a following by disguising himself as Izmir, borrowing a piece of the other god’s powers. At this time, Mirroweld was ruled by only the Arch Magister, Zirian Rayan. Zirian was ambitious, proactive, and strong. Revered for his intelligence and creative solutions, he quickly rose through the ranks, becoming well known by all in the herd. In his ambition, he forgot his herd and came into the service of Vronne, corrupted by the god’s greed and lust for power.
As Vronne gained more power over Izmir’s divine domain, he lured the other god into a false sense of safety by disguising himself as Izmir’s lover, Nué . As soon as Izmir let down his guard and was close enough for Vronne to touch, he was ensnared, trapped deep within the core of the island. Vronne drew from Izmir’s power, creating a pocket domain shrouded and hidden by his own illusions.
With Izmir safely out of the way, Vronne enacted his plan. Zirian was the only mortal that knew Izmir was imprisoned, but with the manipulative whispers of Vronne promising him great power, the Arch Magister spread claims that Izmir had granted Mirroweld alone divine knowledge of the future through visions. These visions spelled death and destruction for Mirroweld at the tines of the other herds. For, in the eyes of the other isles, Mirroweld was weak.
With the help of Vronne’s power, Zirian swayed the whole of the herd to his side, militarizing the once peaceful people. Their minds were bent to the will of Vronne, becoming drones set on a singular objective: strike them before they strike us.
Thousands of herd members were spread across Elaphaea in mass force, marching slowly towards the capital of each of their neighboring isles. Vronne did not wish to give the other herds a chance to retaliate. His attack would be swift, like the breaking of a dam before a flood.
During this time, Nué was desperately searching for her mate. Izmir remained hidden from view, shrouded in darkness. In her anguish she sought the help of the other gods. Some agreed to help, while others safeguarded their own domains. With the power of many gods drawn together, Nué was able to locate Izmir. The gods waged war against Vronne’s prison dimension, drawing the corrupted deity into battle.
In the land of the mortals, the forces of Mirroweld were staunched by the preparedness of the other herds. Thousands upon thousands lost their lives in the battles, and few were considered to be victorious. Amidst the chaos, some highly skilled agents specialized in assassination under Zirian’s thumb were more successful. Several prominent rulers and dignitaries were murdered as the war dwindled and for many years the power structure of other herds were thrown into imbalance. However, with great diligence, even these agents were able to be captured and eliminated within a few years.
As the gods continued their battle, the ground began to shake beneath the home of the Mirroweld. Phae fled en masse to any other island they could reach before true chaos descended. As Nué and the other gods broke through the barrier holding Izmir back, Vronne released all of the immense power at his disposal, forcing Izmir and Nué to do the same. Earthquakes and eruptions shook the whole of the archipelagoes, and the once whole home of the Mirroweld was shattered along with the magic across Elaphaea.
Overwhelmed by the combined force of the other gods, Vronne fled back to his own domain. It is said that he retreated into the heart of a volcano, where his anger can still be felt when the earth quakes and lava roils.
After the battle, Izmir was left weakened and his people were as fragile and hurt as he was. The other herds aided the initial recovery of Mirroweld, but much of the healing was needed between deity and his mortal followers. Izmir withdrew for two decades to slowly recover his domain. On an island in the middle of Izmir’s Eye, in the place where the veil between the gods’ realm and the mortal world had become thinned by the struggle between gods, grew a single cherry blossom tree. This became known as the Sanctum of Requiem and mortals would often come to cautiously seek to rekindle their relationship with their gods. During this time, Nué became the symbol of hope, as she often bridged the gap between Izmir and his followers by granting visions in the dreams of the most devout.
At first, the connection was timid, for the people did not wish to be led astray again and Izmir was afraid to fail and leave them alone. But, overtime, trust was built up once more. As Izmir’s reach grew once again, devout followers would make pilgrimages to his Sanctum. Some would claim to have fleeting visions of a sorrowful blue hued black stag with an elaborate rack filled with eyes. When he would look at them, they could only see glowing lights where his eyes should have been. As quickly as he was seen, he would vanish. Some would also report sightings of a doe with an iridescent white coat by his side, her ears always listening to those entering.
Ever since the tumultuous events of the war against Vronne and the Shattering of Mirroweld, the followers of Izmir vowed to rebuild their society in such a way to never allow such a tragedy to happen again. From that moment on, they rid themselves of a single ruler system and erased Zirian’s influence from their minds and hearts. The only remnant of Zirian’s leadership was in the reformation of assassins into Inquisitors. Inquisitors were highly respected and the position was coveted, for it was their duty to gather information from the other herds. Their mission remains covert to this day. The true reason they seek knowledge from all herds and isles is to find any new and powerful deities to ensure that none can repeat the horrors of Vronne.
The Dark Age began with a broken world, but Mirroweld swore to become a peaceful and charitable people once more.
Recent History
TBD in game!
Timeline
Year -21 – Zirian Rayan comes to power as the Arch Magister
Year -12 – Vronne traps Izmir in his own illusions and begins impersonating him.
Year -8 – Zirian and Vronne rally Mirroweld and send out armies of phae to attack the other herds.
Year -7 to -1 – War rages between Mirroweld and the other herds. Thousands of phae are killed, but most of the casualties lie on the side of the attackers.
Year -1 – Nué and her allies begin an assault upon the powerful illusions trapping Izmir. As the war dwindles, they succeed, breaking Vronne’s trap and stripping him of his stolen power.
Year 0 of the Dark Age – The Shattering of Mirroweld; Vronne is conquered, and magic has been disturbed across the archipelagoes. Zirian is removed from power and Mirroweld is restructured. The first elections are held for Arch Magister and the Grand Masters.
Year 240 of the Dark Age – Enon is elected for his first term as Arch Magister following the completion of his first term as a Grand Master (Y238-240).
Year 242 of the Dark Age – Grand Masters Donai, Tarvair, Zanteu, and Vatil are elected for their first term as Grand Masters.