I had already created the pantheon prior to coming up with an official name for my setting, but one of the major issues I had was coming up with a rational explanation for having such a variety of biomes (cold, hot, mountainous, desert, woods) on something that I wanted to be a relatively small world by comparison (no bigger than, say, Australia).
The title of The Forged Province was not something entirely of my own design. Its inspiration came from a random name generator that I've used several times over, and something about it struck me. It makes the world seem fabricated, as if there's some dark secret hiding just under the surface. Then came the question, what about the province was "forged" and how could the existence of a fabricated land coincide with such starkly different biomes?
Thus, the history of Azurain was born.
The Age of
Creation
In the beginning of time, The Father came into existence. He existed among the nothingness for eons, pondering reality itself. After the tenth eon had ended, The Father decided to create the universe; to accomplish this, he created four children out of his own consciousness.
His first creation and only daughter, Inara, created the world of Azurain. Everything from the great continent to the trees and the rivers were crafted by her hand. After this, she set about creating the multitude of races and creatures that populated Azurain. After much deliberation, she created four major races: the agile Elves, the stout Dwarves, the strong Orcs, and the versatile Humans.
After the races had been introduced to the world, The Father decided that there should be more meaning within the cosmos. He created two sons, Baal and Ragnok. For a millennium, Baal set about creating the stars, including the large sun over Azurain. Meanwhile, Ragnok traveled the world among the races as a mortal, experiencing death in its many forms. After the millennium had passed, Baal retired to live with Inara, while Ragnok began his reign over Amortis.
As the races developed culture and spread throughout the world, The Father saw a need for morality and an understanding of right and wrong. His final creation, Melchizek, traveled the world in various guises, rewarding the good and punishing the corrupt. However, he fell in love with an Elven woman and was so blinded by his adoration for her that he forsook his job for twenty years, allowing chaos to flourish. When he finally realized his fault, he swore chastity forevermore, but the damage was done.
The Age of Eternal
War
As corruption spread through the world, minor skirmishes between clans developed into month-long battles. Soon, races had banded into great armies, intent on destroying those they saw as inferior. Adding to this was the discovery of Wild Magic, thought to be a remnant of the gods’ power upon Azurain. Great sorcerers and witches began turning tides of battle in amazing ways.
As the wars continued and strengthened, so too did the Wild Magic. The very landscape of battlefields was forever changed; civilizations began to suffer through eternal winters, forests replaced by burning deserts, and sudden openings in the earth swallowing whole cities. Even the creatures of the forests were affected, and great beasts were born from magic.
The Father hadn’t wanted to intervene, hoping that the races would resolve things themselves, but the war became so great that the whole of existence was threatened. Much to his sorrow, he finally stepped in, banishing magic and ended the bloodshed.
The Age of Rebirth
When the war finally ended, the world was in tatters. Great regions of the world had become nearly uninhabitable by all but the hardiest individuals, and though the war had ended, the great races were still in conflict. The Father instructed Inara and Baal to create four children together, both to help heal the world and to create proxy deities for the races to worship (each of the gods at this point had no distinguishing race; The Father felt that having a god that resembled them would help the races be more compelled to honor them). And so, Inara and Baal had four children: Xydros, a Human; Mara, an Orc; Ignis, a Dwarf; and Talie’sin, an Elf. Each child was given command over one of the four elements and was instructed to use it to create some semblance of peace.
Their task was great; due to the great wars and the spread of Wild Magic, the world had been unnaturally divided into seven different provinces. These included mountainous regions that were never touched by sunlight, deserts of sand and ice that extended for hundreds of miles, hot jungles where goblins ruled and unholy creatures stalked the night, and even great flooded regions where inhabitants had to contend with sea monsters as much as storms.
Realizing that changing the whole landscape would only cause further chaos to those who had grown to survive such conditions, Ignis and Talie’sin worked together to carve out a new province in the center of them all. Within its borders, the world was as close to normal as it could be, and at its very center stood the Othalla Mountain, upon whose nigh-unscalable peak the gods made their home. Though the new province was given the name of Etria, many within and without its borders would come to call it “The Forged Province.” Meanwhile, Xydros and Mara decided that the races were too dangerous to trust. They created great storms in the ocean surrounding Azurain so that, should another great war arise, it would be kept from contaminating the oceans and beyond.
The Age of Illumination
Over the next several centuries, many of the cultures stayed to the outer provinces, but some members of the races entered and settled within The Forged Province. New cities were built, communities made up of the various races working together, which soon grew to kingdoms. Governments and trade routes were established. It was during this time that the minor gods Iliadora, Esme, and Atheon were created, as well as Mar and Yiet, whose creation pioneered advancement in education and the arts.
Near the end of the Age of Illumination, those who sought knowledge began to learn to control the arcane, and a number of individuals were found to perform it instinctively. Prayers to the gods were suddenly answered with real power. Without warning, magic was upon the world of Azurain once more.
The Age of Adventure
As things stand now, Azurain is full of fantastic things beyond imagination. Adventurers from within The Forged Province yearn to explore the dangers of the outer provinces, while others outside of its borders wish to scour it for hidden truths left behind by the past. A multitude of secrets are begging to be uncovered: the fate of early civilizations, buried deep underground, or the long-forgotten rites of Wild Magic. Perhaps even the nature of godhood can be found, if one looks hard enough…
Thanks for taking the time to check this out. This is a work in progress and may change over time. If you have any feedback or suggestions, I'd be happy to hear them!
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