The Age of Betrayal

Brakkis the Bold was encouraged to see his followers and many others take it upon themselves to hunt down and eliminate the evils of the world. So encouraged, he wanted to do the same. He knew as long as Lyrix was still somewhere on Aondor, the realm would never be safe. He wanted to destroy her once and for all. He knew, however, that even despite his status as a demigod, it would be nearly impossible to destroy Lyrix alone. So he turned to his long time friend Lethodius. The Lionheart was quick to agree, both because he loved his friend and hated evil.

Eventually the former Wardens located and entered the demiplane where Lyrix was imprisoned. Though still weakened from being isolated in an empty prison plane for centuries, and losing followers as a result, Lyrix began her mind games, singing them The Song of The Siren, trying to bargain for her life. She tried to convince them to simply let her go and she would go back to her Shadow Palace on her home plane. When that didn't work she offered them her RELICS and WEAPONS. Finally, she attempted to turn them on each other, offering her power to the one who freed her and imprisoned the other in her place so that no one would ever find out.

The lure of the power, the relics, and the weapons of a true greater diety was too much for Brakkis to shun and he succumbed to The Song of The Siren. Though once the agreement was made and Brakkis betrayed his friend, Lyrix only granted her powers by way of possessing this demigod with a lust for power, and combining her power with his. Now, she thought, she was ready to destroy Aondor for good. Driven by her desire for vegence on AO for thwarting her first attempt, Lyrix, left her prison with Lethodius bound inside, to wreak havoc on Aondor once more.

When Brakkis emerged alone, with Lyrix's RELICS and SWORD, and Lethodius was gone. History would come to know him as Brakkis the Betrayer, but in the years that followed people believed the web of lies he and Lyrix spun about the events that happened in The Deceiver's prison. Brakkis told people that Lethodius fought bravely and gave his life so that Brakkis could bring down smiteful justice on the Princess of Lies, The Deceiver, Lyrix.

All of Aondor mourned the loss of The Lionheart. Shrines were setup across the land and people from many faiths paid tribute to a hero and god that not only protected them during the Blasphemers War but also gave his life to ensure Lyrix lost hers. The holy day, LETHODIUS HOLY DAY, was established in his honor. Every year on the date of his ascension, festivals are had in every city and most towns where the town gathers for food and drink and to display their feats of courage, showing they too are lionhearted in some way.

The people also celebrated Brakkis the Bold for his bravery and determination in destroying Lyrix. Statues were built of both he and Lethodius. His holy days was created and celebrated every year on the day he emerged from Lyrix's pirson having slain the Spider Queen.

Eventually people stopped celebrating Brakkis as he, under the influence of Lyrix, began carrying out her will. The Septarum, who had become liches while they were in hiding, came out of the shadows to join him. All of the evil in Aondor united around Brakkis and made him the most powerful evil the land had ever seen. He quickly became known as Brakkis the Betrayer. He empowered the Septarum achieve something far worse than they did during the Blasphemers War. Together, they shattered The Shroud. In doing so, the chains of the prisons to which the Forsaker Gods had been banished, were broken and these gods were released back into the mortal world.

In their imprisonment, the gods of Hatred and Despair twisted their prison into their own image, spawning unthinkable horrors that lived only to transform peace into suffering, and righteousness into arrogance and greed.

The Hells and the Abyss began to push their way into Creation. The Forsaker Gods and their hateful children, unbanished and allowed re-entry into the Creation that had exiled them, discovered the world unspoiled, save for the petty quarrels of mortals. The Forsaker Gods sought out the remnants of their offspring scattered across the world, and created with them a mighty and terrible new kingdom on the far end of the world  - Malumterra.

In this land of evil, where the twisted power of the lower planes seeped into this world, the lords of darkness tainted the minds of mortals, hungrily welcoming those who had forgotten their way home, and offering great promises and boons to hearts easily swayed. These poisonous seeds found fertile ground in the hearts of mortals obsessed with the unlimited power of the arcane.

The Forsaker Gods, along with Brakkis the Betrayer and a legion of the damned behind them, made their presence known to the world with an assault on Provenance itself.

Though much of the city was reduced to rubble, Provenance weathered the initial assault, saved by the intervention of the gods. The Creator Gods descended to trade blows with their former brethren. The battle between divinity and mortals, heroes and demons raged ceaselessly for more than two tendays until the dark forces, their surprise attack thwarted, were forced to retreat.

Evil was repulsed momentarily, but with the revelation of such a terrible foe, a dangerous arcane arms race began. Trust was shattered indefinitely: If mortals could fall under the sway of the Forsaker Gods, who was an ally? If ruin like this could be unleashed under the watchful eyes of divinity, how were they relevant?

Not trusting any but themselves, the self-interested and singular humans beat their instruments of celebration into instruments of incredible power: artifacts that could be wielded by singular heroes. The dwarves’ fascination with rock and earth turned toward isolation as they burrowed further into the mountains, using their divine gifts to animate legions of autonomous golems to protect their ancestral halls. Some elves used their understanding of creation’s beauty and intricacies to weave spells of unimaginable destructive force, the likes of which Aondor had never seen before. Other elves, took their families and retreated to the Feywild.

For the first time since the Primordials, the focus of magic throughout Aondor was warfare. The gods themselves agreed to join their children on the field of battle, descending from the heavens to take up arms once more for the war now referred to as “The Upheaval”.