Creation Story
The Creation Story is the religious story of how the world and all the beings in the realm came to exist. It also explains the "The Four Eras".
Formation of the plane
At the start of the universe, the plane was empty and without life. The only being was Gax, an omnipresent consciousness which permeated the void. Its mind wandered as it pondered for millennia and millennia. As it grow older and wiser, it began to understand the intricate workings of the universe. The deepest secrets of reality unraveled as the consciousness thought to itself. Gax became omniscient by deriving all of mathematics, philosophy, physics, and magic.
Gax used this knowledge to open up portals to the elemental planes, and through them collected a large mass of earth, water, air, and fire. These elements together and formed Rynoth, the moon, and the stars. These portals remained opened, allowing fire to breath life into the plane, earth to provide it the material to grow, water to smooth and purify its materials, and wind to keep its forces in motion. From these materials Gax built himself a corporeal form to guide the plane. Gax looked upon what it had created, but was not satisfied.
Birth of the Titans
Three titans were forged from Gax's own consciousness to act as advisors: Paeloth, Ket, and Razell. Each embodied a different reason for Gax's discontent. Paeloth was the voice of good and order, and represented the desire to build more, build better, and to see the new world thrive. Razell was the voice of disgust and destruction, and represented the desire to destroy it all and start from scratch. Ket was the voice of drive and action, and represented the desire to keep working, keep the mind entertained, and make sure that the changes made were effective.
Death of Gax
While the titans disagreed between themselves about the correct action for Rynoth, the were collectively impatient with Gax's indecision and lack of action. They pooled their divine power and slew Gax's corporeal form. As the titans enveloped Gax, the consciousness refused to allow them to rule over its creation. With limited time, it used its omnipotence to predict the future and analyze all possible fates of the plane. In its final moments, Gax collapsed the elemental portals. The portal of fire exploded, with some of the fragments forming the stars and the rest collapsing to form Astronis. The portal of earth collapsed into several large rocky masses which became Rynoth, Erion, and the other planets. The portals of water and air burst, pouring out over Rynoth and covering it an the ocean and atmosphere. The titans struggled to reopen the portals, but having only been given Gax's desire for creation and not its omnipotence they were incapable.
When the titan's destroyed Gax's body, Elandra emerged and spoke to the titans, "with this action, the plane has been damned to a slow death. Three eras will pass, each followed by a period of darkness and decay. After the third era, the fire of the world will be extinguished, the soil will grow infertile, the water will become stagnant and toxic, and the wind will cease to blow." Gax's body shattered and fell to Rynoth, scattering across the surface.
Early Rynoth
The titans quickly began to wrestle for control of plane. Razell grabbed rocks from the heavens and threw them at the planet, scouring its surface and forming large craters on its surface. Ket brought forth the winds and rain, smoothing down these craters and forming large rivers from the run off. Paeloth crafted grasses, using their roots to hold together the soil. Each cemented their claim of the world with large monuments. Ket grabbed the continents and pushed them together, sending up snowcapped mountain ranges and cracking the ground with immense fault lines. Razell grabbed fire from Astronis and placed it within the core of Rynoth, causing magma to burst forth from these cracks and form volcanos. Paeloth crafted forests which coated the land in towering columns of wood and bark. Each created animals which would roam the earth and show their leadership of the planet. Paeloth employed numbers, creating fish and insects to form complex organizations and herbivores to inhabit the forests and plains they had created. Ket employed strength and skill, creating great beasts to shake the earth and birds to conquer the skies. Razell employed carnage, creating bacteria, pests, and venomous creatures to spread sickness and predators to kill and maim the creatures the others had made.
Rise of higher life
As the pieces of Gax's body fell upon the ground, the earth consumed them and hardened, forming structures. Gax's consciousness breathed sentience into these structures and creatures burst forth from each, giving birth to the intelligent species of the planet. Some species believe the location of the piece that birthed their race was significant. For instance, dwarves believe their piece fell upon a mountain side. Dragons believe their piece landed inside a smoldering volcano. Other races, like gnomes and humans, have no such mythology.
The Age of the Vassals
Seeing the emergence of intelligent life on Rynoth, the titans ceased their battles over the planet and began to wrestle for control of the minds of these new races. They approached the mortal creatures, offering unimaginable power to these creatures in exchange for their servitude. These mortals became the Twelve Monarchs.