IN THE BEGINING

"There was Pryrmos, Sole ruler of Arkuth"

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Dawn of Arkuth: (As told through Spaordyk legend)

The world is simply a large mass of ice and snow. Nothing was known about Arkuth other then the fact that it was inhabited only by Frost Giants and Winter Wolves. It is said that "Pryrmos the Spawn of Gods" was the most powerful being during this age, achieving Godhood by virtue of the planet being his domain. He rules over Arkuth, seeing that no others exist within the realm and thus cannot be overthrown. Legend does not clearly state if Pryrmos is the creator of the universe, of if he was exiled to Arkuth by much more powerful beings.

The Great Cataclysm:

Centuries pass and Pryrmos creates a massive army of other beings and animals who obey his every command. However it is not long after and his world is threatened by a gigantic fiery meteor that smashes directly into Arkuth. This cataclysm kills Pryrmos along with many other Frost Giants as he attempted to throw it back into the void. However, only two fragments are returned to space, one large and one small. These two pieces become the Sun and it's ever watchful guardian, a much smaller red dwarf star. The eternal night of this icy world now became a world of everlasting daylight.

Jorym		Frostvir
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Two of Pryrmos's sons survive (Jorym and Frosvir) who become leaders of their people and achieve immortality of their own. However, the magic of the meteor transforms about a quarter of all Frost Giants (including Jorym) into Fire Giants. Many Winter Wolves are also turned into Hellhounds and share the same transformation.

Much of the ice which formed the world melts, and the continents of mortal beings now exists. The inner most regions of these continents are still incredibly hot, and become home to the Fire Giants, while the outer areas are cold, the strongholds to the remaining Frost Giants. Arkuth loses much of its ability to magically sustain creatures, yet the meteor has brought new life to the world and the Giants within survive by hunting the newly formed lands and fish the now massive seas encompassing all.

War of the Giants:

Each race of Giants believe they are the most powerful and should rule all of Arkuth. Jorym contends he has the right to rule because he is the eldest of Pryrmos's offspring, Frosvir claims leadership because he is still a "true" (Frost) Giant, and his kind still hold strong as the majority race. War is declared between the two races and continues over the next several centuries. Neither race can withstand the others harsh home terrain and both races of giant kind fail to gain any ground on the other. The Frost Giants are great in number, but their movement is hampered by the eternal presence of the sun above, while the Fire Giants simply lose their powerful abilities within the frozen wastelands of their sworn foes.

The Gods Arise:

During the final century of what seems to be an eternal stalemate, both Jorym and Frosvir slowly create new beings, in which they both hope to gain the upper hand over the other. First the humans were created by Frosvir and then the halflings by Jorym, both new races have many useful qualities, yet are defiant and thus put to work as slaves.

Jorym then has the idea to use his divine powers to transform several halflings, making them stronger and hardier. These beings become the Dwarven race and quickly demonstrate a talent for making and using tools, they are put to work forging weapons and armor for the Fire Giants.

The Frost Giants are caught by surprise, and suffer several defeats before Frosvir transforms several captive humans into beings more able to work magic. These beings take centuries to rise and the Frost Giants slowly lose the upper hand over their once dwindling rivals the Fire Giants. These new beings become the elves and through their powerful magic they once again restore the balance of power between the two giant races.

Creative Notes

Humans are the first mortals created

Halflings are the second mortals created

Dwarves are the third mortals created and get their Lawful trait from the Fire Giants

Elves are the forth mortals created and get their Chaotic trait from the Frost Giants

The Great Rebellion:

Seeing the advantages to their newly created races, both Frosvir and Jorym find the need to again create even more powerful beings. These beings are created using a piece of themselves and are given great cosmic powers. At this time the Gods are created as leaders for their mortal underlings. They are commanded to look over, teach and motivate these beings beneath them. However during this period of divine creation, neither the Dwarves or the Elves are happy about their would-be enslavement and they secretly work to escape their masters.

Frosvir gives rise to the Frost Gods, some of the first being Daenord, Mescalar and Venarei. Jorym gives rise to several Fire Gods, most notably Raehord, Hurroch and Solh. These Gods battle for years on end until realizing their true powers and soon find a common enemy. It is not long after this, that the Great Rebellion was under way and these Gods joined the thoughts of their people and sided against the Giants. Raehord became the leader of all the Gods by virtue of his great wisdom, although there were some who resented his leadership and many of the Giant Gods rejected his rule entirely. These gods became the "Outcast gods" and were exiled from the realm.

One of the new Gods (Solh) had a chariot created by the dwarves and used it to capture the sun. He began moving it around the world, creating the cycle of day and night. This finally brings the power of the Fire and Frost Giants into near perfect balance. While most of the Gods grew to fight against their creators, a few exceptions consorted with them, most notably Vayne (son of Forstvir). Vayne embodies the ambiguous and darkening relationship between the Gods and the Giants. However it is not long and his treacherous nature betrays him and he is banished to the heavens by Raehord to spend all eternity watching Arkuth from afar (Vayne, the red star of Arkuth).

Creative Notes

The Outcast gods are told throughout time that they are false gods who created the other religions of Arkuth.

When Raehord becomes leader of the Gods, the Frost-Fire War is over.

Vayne is now the Red Dwarf star that orbits the sun every 120 days (See Arkuthian Astrology).

Over the passing decades a few do manage to break their bonds with the help of the Gods and teach their secrets to the other races (their Human and Halfling counterparts). Elven magic proves particularly useful in aiding escapes and even killing the less powerful of Giants (who up until this time have proved to be practically undefeatable). After the next several centuries, the Elves organize a collective breakout of both the Elven and Dwarven races. For their part, the Dwarves assist by creating numerous tunnels which were far too small for the Giants to enter. It is here, deep beneath Arkuth's surface that some of the world's oldest and greatest civilizations began and could thrive free from tyranny and war.

Revenge of the Giants:

Enraged at losing so many of their servants, the Giants (both Fire and Frost) set about creating many more races from those they still have captured, they even transform members of their own race. Their goal was to punish and preferably destroy the races which escaped their dominion. During this time, the Rock, Hill and Mountain Giants are created, along with Half-Giants and Ogres. Minotaurs and Bugbears are created to terrorize the Humans and Elves, while Orcs and Goblins were created to attack the Dwarves and Halflings. There were also many less successful racial experiments (in the eyes of the Giants), of which Gnomes were the most notable. Keeping the past in mind about the disaster that elven magic turned out to be, the Giants were careful not to enhance the magical powers of these new races. Instead unique qualities were given, some of raw strength, others the ability to procreate rapidly.

Over the next millennia civilization grows rapidly. Weapons and armors are manufactured in mass, entire cities sprout forth, yet the wars never cease. More new races and thousands of unique creatures scour the lands and eventually the Giants are pushed back and brought to near extinction. Mortals lead by the Gods prevail and the Giants are exiled to the outer lands of Arkuth where they can no longer cause any kind of uprise, most declare the continent of "Ur" to be this area.

The Sundering of Lands:

Raehord confers with the other Gods and decides to separate the different races into the various continents and islands of the world. The more vile and war-like races being banished to the outer regions of Arkuth, while the more intelligent and peaceful races being aloud to stay within the largest continent now known as Ehriidore. Raehord specifically called upon his son Magnus for his great strength and leadership and then Daenord for his control of the seas. Together they divided Arkuth's inhabitants into the world as we know it today, each God making their contribution. For his part, Raehord made sure that the troublesome Frost and Fire Giants were kept on separate lands far from the newly formed civilizations the Gods created.

After such concerns were taken care of, the Gods made a pact to not directly interfere with mankind or show their presence amongst the Prime Material plane ever again. The heavens, the outer and inner planes were all created beyond the mortal realm and the Gods ascended to their domains for all eternity. Here the Gods keep a constant watch over Arkuth and all who dwell within it. The planet grows freely and the tides of change are ever evolving while the Gods tend to the realm from afar. The control, prosperity and well being of Arkuth are left up to mortals.

From this point on, history is documented and the "Age of Mortals" begins!

Creative Notes

The length of time between Pryrmos's claim to Arkuth and the Age of Mortals is approximately; 50,000 years

As noted above this specific explanation of the rise of mortals is credited to Spaordyk lore. However their are many who do not believe these origins such as the people of Yuatepuca, or the Ekothians etc. These cultures may have similar beliefs, but do not give credit to any of the Spaordyk divine or Pryrmos and his sons.

The majority of worshipers on the planet are that of Spaordyk background, including most demi-human races and their gods who all were created by either Jorym or Frosvir.