History, Myths, and Legends
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Join date : 2014-06-29
by Last edited by ScreamPaste on Sat Aug 09, 2014 8:45 pm; edited 3 times in total
ScreamPaste- Admin
- Posts : 113
Join date : 2014-06-29
I. Overview
The history of Accord is long, and can be measured in tens of thousands of years. Over that time great changes have been made, and a surprising number of things have stayed the same. The rule of the Church, for example, has been in place for over ten thousand years, and has gone unchallenged for the majority of that time simply because of how unobtrusive it is as a power. People are more likely to take issue with their landlords than the Hierophant or Hieraphain of their time.
Some things are impermanent, nobles lineages rise and fall, freak storms reshape the landscape, cults form their own religions and splinter and evolve, and most die out.
Some things are unchanging. The sun burns on, Helia's watchful eye remains trained on the world. People live and people die, but life itself endures.
Accord's history can be divided into four eras; the era of myth, the ancient era, the unification, and the modern era.
The era of myth is not truly historical. Little is known for certain about this time, but it is said that at the beginning of this era, Helia created the world as it is, and great and powerful beings coalesced from her breath and wandered the Earth. This is the longest era.
The ancient era is the earliest point of history, and overlaps somewhat with the era of myth. This is the time when the peoples of Accord, formerly tribes scattered to the winds, formed small kingdoms, with their own laws and ways of life. Sometimes even their own gods. The Church of the Burning Sky was first founded in this era, toward it's middle in one of the smaller of the minor kingdoms, the site of the original temple is still considered sacred, despite there being little left even of the ruins.
The unification is a period of intermittent war and peace for several centuries. This period put much strain on the early church, whose doctrines hold life most sacred of all, as great numbers of people were dying, and for causes the church saw as meaningless. It is for this reason that the Knights Sol were first formed by Hieraphain Astarae to put an end to the fighting, and the church threw it's lot in, and for first, and only time, went to war.
The modern era is deceptively named, extending from the end of the unification to the present day, a span of approximately 13000 years. In this time the modern cultural landscape took form, and the great cities of Accord built their walls and flourished.
The history of Accord is long, and can be measured in tens of thousands of years. Over that time great changes have been made, and a surprising number of things have stayed the same. The rule of the Church, for example, has been in place for over ten thousand years, and has gone unchallenged for the majority of that time simply because of how unobtrusive it is as a power. People are more likely to take issue with their landlords than the Hierophant or Hieraphain of their time.
Some things are impermanent, nobles lineages rise and fall, freak storms reshape the landscape, cults form their own religions and splinter and evolve, and most die out.
Some things are unchanging. The sun burns on, Helia's watchful eye remains trained on the world. People live and people die, but life itself endures.
Accord's history can be divided into four eras; the era of myth, the ancient era, the unification, and the modern era.
The era of myth is not truly historical. Little is known for certain about this time, but it is said that at the beginning of this era, Helia created the world as it is, and great and powerful beings coalesced from her breath and wandered the Earth. This is the longest era.
The ancient era is the earliest point of history, and overlaps somewhat with the era of myth. This is the time when the peoples of Accord, formerly tribes scattered to the winds, formed small kingdoms, with their own laws and ways of life. Sometimes even their own gods. The Church of the Burning Sky was first founded in this era, toward it's middle in one of the smaller of the minor kingdoms, the site of the original temple is still considered sacred, despite there being little left even of the ruins.
The unification is a period of intermittent war and peace for several centuries. This period put much strain on the early church, whose doctrines hold life most sacred of all, as great numbers of people were dying, and for causes the church saw as meaningless. It is for this reason that the Knights Sol were first formed by Hieraphain Astarae to put an end to the fighting, and the church threw it's lot in, and for first, and only time, went to war.
The modern era is deceptively named, extending from the end of the unification to the present day, a span of approximately 13000 years. In this time the modern cultural landscape took form, and the great cities of Accord built their walls and flourished.
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Join date : 2014-06-29
II. Era of Myth
A collection of legends.
It's said that Helia created the world in it's current form with her breath. When she exhaled onto the world her warmth and life spread over the land and permeated the soil and oceans. All life grows out of what lingers of this breath. Resultingly, the earliest beings are thought to have been the most powerful, as they were infused more strongly with this breath than all who came later. They are called The First. Some posit that this was not the only 'breath of life' that the world has experienced, only the most recent, and that humans are the dwindling remnant of a past era. Most of this theory's supporters are considered radicals or eccentrics.
The First are the primordials, immensely powerful unique beings from before recorded history. Most are thought to have died or left the material plane altogether. All that seems to remain of these are tales, fractured leftovers from ancient oral tradition that only barely made their way into written history later on.
Some consider it possible that before even these primordials there was life, albeit faint and dying. It's thought the humanoid races must've been a leftover from this past era; almost nothing else share's their unique physiology. Warm blooded, with hair and smooth skin; the humanoid races are radically different from most things alive now. Aside from creatures such as rats, none of the life commonly accepted to have grown out of this breath shares such traits.
Further, it is debated commonly whether Helia created the world itself when she gave it life, or whether it already existed in some, probably barren form. It is also debated whether this question has any meaning. Jury's out on the subject.
What is universally agreed upon, or nearly so, is that this breath must have been unique among the others in that it endowed the world with magic. All magic, divine or arcane that exists in the world is harnessed from the latent remainder of Helia's breath.
A collection of legends.
It's said that Helia created the world in it's current form with her breath. When she exhaled onto the world her warmth and life spread over the land and permeated the soil and oceans. All life grows out of what lingers of this breath. Resultingly, the earliest beings are thought to have been the most powerful, as they were infused more strongly with this breath than all who came later. They are called The First. Some posit that this was not the only 'breath of life' that the world has experienced, only the most recent, and that humans are the dwindling remnant of a past era. Most of this theory's supporters are considered radicals or eccentrics.
The First are the primordials, immensely powerful unique beings from before recorded history. Most are thought to have died or left the material plane altogether. All that seems to remain of these are tales, fractured leftovers from ancient oral tradition that only barely made their way into written history later on.
Some consider it possible that before even these primordials there was life, albeit faint and dying. It's thought the humanoid races must've been a leftover from this past era; almost nothing else share's their unique physiology. Warm blooded, with hair and smooth skin; the humanoid races are radically different from most things alive now. Aside from creatures such as rats, none of the life commonly accepted to have grown out of this breath shares such traits.
Further, it is debated commonly whether Helia created the world itself when she gave it life, or whether it already existed in some, probably barren form. It is also debated whether this question has any meaning. Jury's out on the subject.
What is universally agreed upon, or nearly so, is that this breath must have been unique among the others in that it endowed the world with magic. All magic, divine or arcane that exists in the world is harnessed from the latent remainder of Helia's breath.
ScreamPaste- Admin
- Posts : 113
Join date : 2014-06-29
Reserved
ScreamPaste- Admin
- Posts : 113
Join date : 2014-06-29
Reserved
ScreamPaste- Admin
- Posts : 113
Join date : 2014-06-29
Reserved
ScreamPaste- Admin
- Posts : 113
Join date : 2014-06-29
Modern Day Folklore
The modern era is filled with legends and stories, tales about strange occurrences that cannot be easily explained away. Folk tales like these are often used to scare children, or fill them with awe. There may even be some grain of truth to some of them, but most are considered nothing but stories.
The hooded lady
A nursery rhyme so old that it can be traced to the ancient era. Though the words have changed with time, the meaning has gone unchanged.
"Don't wear a hood, don't hide your eyes.
Don't wear a mask, don't tell any lies.
This set of rules universally applies.
so why does this lady the sun so despise?
She speaks softy, and her words are wise.
Her deeds are gentle, and her wit is a prize.
She travels alone, and she shuns the skies,
but sheds a tear when each one of us dies.
Lady, oh, lady, what have you done?
Why do you hide your face from the sun?
Lady, oh, lady, have you nothing left?
No one so kind should be so bereft.
Lady, oh, lady, why can't you rest?"
The only burial
"Outside Wayton there's a fork in the road, with a tree standing between the diverging paths. No other tree will grow there. The trunk is thick and ancient, but the tree is a short, stubby thing, with only sparse leaves in its twisting branches. It marks the grave of the only woman buried in Accord. At the right time of year you will find a cairn on the spot.
No one remembers her name. She was murdered, and hidden in a hole by the side of the road. By the time she was found, it was too late. She had rotted, and become something else. Each year, on the eve of the Renewal Festival, she wakes and goes to hunt the people of Wayton, burying any she kills to make them like her. Stones are placed over the grave to keep her there."
Fiddlers in the woods
The modern era is filled with legends and stories, tales about strange occurrences that cannot be easily explained away. Folk tales like these are often used to scare children, or fill them with awe. There may even be some grain of truth to some of them, but most are considered nothing but stories.
The hooded lady
A nursery rhyme so old that it can be traced to the ancient era. Though the words have changed with time, the meaning has gone unchanged.
"Don't wear a hood, don't hide your eyes.
Don't wear a mask, don't tell any lies.
This set of rules universally applies.
so why does this lady the sun so despise?
She speaks softy, and her words are wise.
Her deeds are gentle, and her wit is a prize.
She travels alone, and she shuns the skies,
but sheds a tear when each one of us dies.
Lady, oh, lady, what have you done?
Why do you hide your face from the sun?
Lady, oh, lady, have you nothing left?
No one so kind should be so bereft.
Lady, oh, lady, why can't you rest?"
The only burial
"Outside Wayton there's a fork in the road, with a tree standing between the diverging paths. No other tree will grow there. The trunk is thick and ancient, but the tree is a short, stubby thing, with only sparse leaves in its twisting branches. It marks the grave of the only woman buried in Accord. At the right time of year you will find a cairn on the spot.
No one remembers her name. She was murdered, and hidden in a hole by the side of the road. By the time she was found, it was too late. She had rotted, and become something else. Each year, on the eve of the Renewal Festival, she wakes and goes to hunt the people of Wayton, burying any she kills to make them like her. Stones are placed over the grave to keep her there."
Fiddlers in the woods
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