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Esteria: Runes of Apeya
In the beginning there was one god, Apeya. He loved all his creations, but a girl named Jejina caught his eye, the most beautiful woman that walked the land of Esteria. It was forbidden for gods to love mortals, however, and he knew that to be with her would mean his death. Eventually his will wavered, and he visited the girl in her dreams. Feeling blessed by Apeya, the girl excitedly told everyone in her tribe, but they shunned her and believed her mad. At length the ridicule and torment lead her to take her own life.
Apeya was overcome with grief, for in trying to follow his heart he had destroyed the one he loved. Unable to live with his mistake, he wept for 100 days and 100 nights, his godly essence fading away. Finally, he let himself go, splitting what remained of his essence into five parts. These parts fell to Esteria as glittering meteors, inspiring awe in the human tribes who witnessed. Five brave souls quested and found the meteor fragments, and taking Apeya's power into themselves became the new gods.
Aralgue - The man who cheated death, becoming himself the lord of the dead.
Phyasty - The most dangerous warrior in all the land, now the god of destruction and warfare.
Eulip - The holy priestess who had the power of ressurrection, the new god of life and healing.
Yasur - The world-renowed scholar, now the god of wisdom and magic.
Arith - The woman known to have the strength of 1000 men, the god of power and valor.
The gods wished to give humanity a gift like that they had been given, so they created five runes of power and gave them to the tribes of man, a fraction of their essence held in each one. Each rune had a unique ability, and those who had been blessed by them rose to lead their tribes. At first the tribes propsered and grew using the gods' power. In time, however, the Runeblessed began to lust for more, and as man too often has done the tribes made war on each other. They fought over land, or resources, or morals, or sometimes merely for the joy of battle and bloodshed.
One rose from amidst the tumult of fighting, and rallied the people. "We should not be fighting each other, squandering the powers we have been given! We could do so much more! We could be the gods ourselves, instead of being at their mercy!" At first he was thought a madman, but he bid his tribe lay down their weapons and he spread his gospel throughout the warring states.
Gradually the tribes came around, and united against the gods for the promise of being on their level. They continued to fight, but it was merely to hold the gods' attention while a massive tower was constructed, made to reach up to Heaven where the gods lay. The Runeblessed led the united tribal armies up the tower and into the Sanctum of the gods, and though they fought for days they were no match for the gods' fearsome strength. The gods repelled the attack, and in their rage at man's arrogance and misuse of their gifts they struck back.
The tower was sundered, the great falling rocks splitting the continents. Towering volcanoes spewed ash and fire, torrential waters rose and laid bare all civilization. Almost every living thing on the planet was wiped out. The gods released terrible beasts to roam the Earth, a continual reminder of the limitations of man. What small gifts they had given they took away, and the shattered remainder of humanity was left on its own.
However, rumor has it that the five runes still lie on Esteria, without human host, the gods' final test of humanity, waiting to be found.
But will they lead to good, or will greed once more corrupt their power? |
09-07-2012, 07:18 PM
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