The Age of Deception

The history books would eventually label Lyrix as The Deceiver, and not without good reason. Though she kept her word and made Illyrio the most powerful mortal to ever walk the land of Aondor, this power did not come without a devastating price. Illyrio became archmage he wished to be but also became Lyrix's thrall in the process. He was a servant of chaos and evil bent on defiling the world that had given him everything most people could ever dream of. Lyrix, through Illyrio, set to work on bringing the Kingdom of Argosia under her control.

Illyrio quickly worked his way to ear of King Howland. Once as benevolent as the sun is bright, the king fell to the greed and deception incited by The Song of The Siren through the words of Illyrio. Not long after, Lyrix decided King Howland was of little use to her and that it was time to reward Illyrio. Lyrix spun a web of lies throughout the kingdom, falsely accusing King Howland of working to rend open the prisons of the Forsaker Gods. The people called for his head, but instead Illyrio disintegrated him at the gates of the castle for all to see and assumed power himself. The Illyrian Empire grew at an exponential rate. As it grew, so did Illyrio's power and influence throughout Aondor, as did the influence of Lyrix.

But even as the gods wanted to protect their creation from themselves, they resisted their urges to intervene. The people of Aondor had craved and requested freedom, the onus was on them to fight for it and to use it for good. Instead, they grew arrogant. Slowly at first but with increasing speed as time went, people started to turn from the guidance of the their gods and look more to themselves. The Great Deception - that people were better off on their own, that they didn't need the gods to achieve incredible power, that they could protect themselves, and many other lies spun like a web from Lyrix's lips - was well underway.

Many began to see the use of arcane gifts as proof the gods held no sway over their fate. Some began to believe that, with enough understanding, they could become as powerful as the gods. Rumor of immortality through perfected arcanum began to drive the greatest mages wild with a lust for power unending. One mortal mage, her name either lost or struck from history, crafted now-forbidden rites to challenge the God of Death, felling him and taking his place among the pantheon, making her the first mortal to ascend to godhood. As such, many began to shun faith for their own pursuits. Though this hurt and surprised the Creator Gods, they understood the free will of their creation and endured out of love and hope for redemption.

Wars erupted all over the lands. Wars over magic. Wars over religion. Wars over nothing but greed and the desire for wealth and resources. In taverns, friends came to blows over what purpose magic should serve and how much of it is too much. Lands were plundered and lives were destroyed.

Illyrio's work had ruined this once peaceful land, however, he was not done yet. Still consumed by his lust for power and his goddess, he formed The Septarum - a secret group of seven mage-kings that sought ways to combine their powers and achieve impossible magics. To achieve immortality, rule Aondor forever, create other planes and bend them to their desires were just a scant few things they worked toward together.

As the avarice of men hastened the decline of civilization, so it was with The Shroud. As the people Aondor turned from their gods, their lack of faith weakened the protection The Shroud provided. And when the time was right and Aondor was at its most vulnerable, The Septarum displayed their power by creating seven titans and attacking AO, the overgod, directly. The armies they had amassed, along with other followers of Lyrix joined the titans in what is known as The Blasphemers War.

The miscalculation by Lyrix and the Septarum was believing the people of Aondor would remain fractured, distracted by their own wars and misery to care, let alone unite against them. However, the people set aside their petty squabbles and reasons for war, to unite against The Deceiver and The Septarum. The people of Aondor rallied behind The Wardens. The leaders of the Wardens, Lethodius Nikolas and Brakkis Rex, rode Sentential Dragons into battle. Not since the War of Creation had Aondor seen as much bloodshed and destruction. Many cities lay in ruins, many lives lost, but one by one the titans fell to the might of AO - their remains lay scattered across Aondor to this day.

In their flagrant display of unbridled power, the Septarum exposed themselves and the people called out to the gods for retribution. The gods heard their cries and the Septarum faced judgement from Tyr himself. Public execution by a god would be the end of the story for all eternity for most mortals, but the Septarum would not meet their demise so easily. In their experimental, combined practice of magic they had discovered how to create a magical duplicate of themselves. When Tyr brought justice upon them, their clones awoke and the Septarum reformed in secret.

Lethious and Brakkis, using gifts given to the Wardens by the gods themselves, managed to shackle Lyrix, who was then judged by the gods. Stripped of her portfolio, she was banished into her own, empty demiplane prison somewhere in the depths of Aondor where none could hear The Song of The Siren.

For their efforts and their leadership of the Wardens and protection of Aondor as a whole, Lethious and Brakkis were made demigods and eternal guardians of Aondor - only the 2nd and 3rd mortals to reach godhood.

The threat of someone trying to repeat the work of the Septarum, as well as the protection the gods offered in their time of need, spurred a retreat of the people of Aondor into the arms of their gods once more. And thus, the Age of Reflection began.