View source for History

For years, the blood of the peoples
of Aarklash has been spilled at the
four corners of the continent. From
the parched lands in the east to
the great forests of the west, small
armies put their rivals to test. But
everyone knows that these skirmishes
are only a meaningless
prelude to the events to come.
For a long time now the warlords
have been preparing for the fi nal
battle. Out of fear or impatience, all
have been readying their weapons
and have pledged their soul to the
gods.
How many false prophets and mistaken
oracles have announced this
day in the past? How many rumors
have spread from sordid alleyways
to the courts of kings and emperors?
So many that some began to
doubt the writs of old… Perhaps
they were to be spared the dark and
ever-so-dreaded hours. Could the
gods have given up on this world?
Could the gods have lost interest in
it? Hope is a cruel and vain feeling.
Unfortunately for the hopeful,
time has really come and no one
can escape the fate that has been
foreseen since the dawn of time.
Th e Rag’narok has just begun!
It is now up to you to write the next
chapter in the land’s history at the
end of an age…

== A World at War ==

It was an age where time did not exist… Th e Age of the Gods.
Th e gods wandered through Creation unchallenged. Th eir
empires knew no limit and extended over entire worlds born
from the magical energies of Creation.
Discord arose and the gods waged war among themselves,
seeking supremacy. Th e crumbling of dying worlds almost
brought about the collapse of Creation and the end of everything.
Creation fought back. Th e gods were brutally thrown of
their thrones and sent into exile to the most remote parts of
the elemental worlds, or Realms.
Time came, imposing its curse upon the vain immortals:
if they dared to reappear on Aarklash, they would suff er its
punishment and would be forever forgotten. Th us, the Age of
the Gods ended.
However, one does not get rid of such terrible forces quite
so easily. After thousands of years in exile, the gods continue
to wage war through their champions – the Incarnates - and
their most faithful allies.
Th e equilibrium is once again under threat. Th e curse of
Time is fading. Darkness seizes the hearts of the brave and the
gods are ready to lead their armies.
The ultimate age has come.

==== A continent lost in the Darkness ====

Not far from the heart of the Creation is a much desired
Kingdom: Aarklash. From there, magical portals, or gates,
can be opened to travel to all of the Realms, including those
where the gods are imprisoned. Th e future of Creation is
linked to the fate of this one singular world.
Th e history of the continent of Aarklash was written by the
victors of the great wars of the past. Th e glory and prestige
of the conquerors of eras past conceal many fratricidal wars
and dreadful lies. Th e nations of Aarklash were built on pain,
blood and treachery. Some nations did not resist the erosion
of Time. From their ashes, larger, stronger and more youthful
empires arose; and yet they were just as eagerly drawn towards
the warlike temptations of power. Th e desire for revenge or
domination thrives in the memory of the sovereigns of this
blood-soaked land.

==== Incarnates at War  ====

<p style="float:right;width:800px">Incarnates are exceptional fighters who have been chosen
by the gods. Th ey can achieve the impossible; they are the
heroes of the Rag’narok. Th ey have many powers. Th rough
the power of their Elixirs, these champions can fend off whole
regiments with daring counter attacks. Th eir master strikes,
fed by divine ire, reap enemies no mortal’s hand could ever
scratch. Th eir heroic actions can rally companions in rout and
help their people win legendary battles.
</p>
http://i.imgur.com/nDde4v1.png?1.png

== Creation ==

Th e planet on which the continent of Aarklash is found orbits
a great yellow sun commonly known as Lahn. Two other
much smaller solar bodies orbit Lahn: Ley, a tiny blue sun, and
Lyth, a blood-red star.
Ley and Lyth don’t appear every year. But when they do, it
often happens that these celestial twins cause various natural
phenomena: magnetic storms, climatic change, disastrous
animal migrations, unwanted magical side eff ects and spontaneous
appearances of gates leading to other worlds are only
the most common events.
One revolution of the world of Aarklash around Lahn takes
four hundred days of twenty-four hours each, counted from
one of Lahn’s rises to the next. Most of the continent’s peoples
know four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter.
According to the calendar used in most parts of Aarklash,
there are ten months to a year. Th e name and duration of each
month varies slightly from one civilization to the next.
Yllia is the name given to the great white moon with a pale
blue gleam that orbits the world of Aarklash in twenty days.
When Ley or Lyth are present, Yllia takes on a colorful hue:
she can take on a deeper blue or a redder shade. Yllia has an infl
uence on the oceans of Aarklash, causing a tidal cycle as she
revolves around the planet. Strangely, Yllia’s orbit also infl uences
certain living beings: their biological or mental rhythms
vary according to the phases of this pale moon.
Of the numerous stars that twinkle in the heavens every
night, four are used by travellers to find their bearings.
These cardinal stars, commonly known as Nerea (to the
north), Sylhea (to the south), Elion (to the east) and Olhim
(to the west), are also part of the constellations used
by astrologists and augurs in their esoteric calculations.
Their relative position to the other stars in the sky, their
alignment and Yllia’s aspects are used to determine just
about everything, including the gods’ moods, favorable or
unfavorable conjunctions, the dates of certain celebrations
or the fate of individuals.
The study of the rest of the universe is left entirely to a
small group of astronomers and enlightened theologians.
Some claim that Lahn revolves around Aarklash and not
the opposite, as is popularly believed. Others think that
magical gates are really thresholds to other planets. Is
the world of Aarklash flat, hollow or spherical? What lies
beyond the oceans?
The most talented and eccentric of these individuals, the
cosmologians, develop various magical or technological
procedures to try to observe the stars a little more closely.
Glass lenses of incredible complexity have been designed
by the Cynwäll and the dwarves of Tir-Nâ-Bor. The cosmologians
who left to explore other worlds using spontaneous
gates have still not returned.