As the Age of Myth drew to a close and the time known as the Age of Legends dawned, Olm and Umma saw the evil wrought by the words of Sharroth; their greatest creations had begun to turn on each other as had the elves. Olm showed himself to the humans, delivering unto those gathered a code of laws to follow. They were simple:
- The gods give unto to you that which you deserve. Do not take that which does not belong to you.
- The bond between lovers is sacred. Do not tempt one heart from another.
- Live your lives bathed in the light of truth. Do not practice the dark art of deception.
- That which the gods have brought to life shall not be taken by any but them. Do not rob your neighbors of their lives.
Those of pure heart followed these dictates; those who had already accepted a measure of the void into themselves, however, disregarded them as they saw fit. A few, truly lost individuals accepted these four tenants as a pattern to throw down the Siblings and allow their own master to rise to replace them. The laws did not have the effect that Olm had intended. With no leader to follow, each human chose their course for themselves, allowing those who had accepted Sharroth’s whispers to have an equal effect on mankind as did those with pure hearts.
The Sibling Gods decided that the humans must have a leader, to whom they could pass their wishes and the leader could see them done. Umma found the most perfect of mankind and gave him a measure of her breath of life, and with it a share of her wisdom and power. So was born Jaeth, the First King. Jaeth searched through Taerh for others who shared his righteousness and desire to bring peace from chaos, finding five individuals who met his expectations from all of mankind. He dubbed these his Heralds or Mouhn in Ancient Taerhian. Into these men and women, he passed a portion of the power granted by Umma.
The Mouhn traveled throughout the Cradle, spreading the word of the Siblings and helping their fellow man bring peace to their communities. They brought the people of the Cradle under the gentle rule of the First King. The five were sworn to never rule, but they guided and enlightened those who sought order. Through the strength of Jaeth and the wisdom of the Mouhn, mankind flourished, and their hearts were able to resist the whispers of the Father of Lies. For tens of generations, peace reigned in the Cradle, Jaeth’s descendants ruling from the Ivory City of Aeth and those willing to take the mantle of Mouhn walking the land to bring wisdom and justice to the people.
Magic ran through Jaeth’s people as water runs through a creek bed; few were those who did not have at least a glimmer of the art within them. Magic was used for even the most mundane task, such as lighting the streets at night or produce food for the hungry. Peace and prosperity covered the land.
Through the centuries, Sharroth watched impotently as those who accepted him into their hearts declined until only the most foul continued to do his bidding. His fury was indescribable. From among his few followers, the Master of Beasts chose his most devoted, a wizard calling himself Altair. With Sharroth’s guidance and a measure of his own void soul, the wizard created a weapon of power. He named it Xentus Ingae or Soul Drinker in Ancient Taerhian. The pristine silver blade drew into itself the light that surrounded it, living or otherwise. Its hunger was so great that it could draw the very soul from beings struck down by its gleaming blade.
Suitably armed, Altair began to hunt down the Mouhn one by one, stealing not only their lives but also their souls as Xentus Ingae absorbed their very selves into its silver depths. The people grew afraid as those on whom they depended began to disappear, victims of this ever-growing wave of despair that swept the land. Mankind cried out for help, initially to the First King’s descendent, Brose, and then to the Siblings themselves. Brose sent forces to search for the murderers but the Father of Lies always cloaked his faithful in the shadows from which he was born. Even Olm and Umma failed to discern the source of the attacks, the void forged sword masking its master from even their sight.
Fear makes people grasp at anything that promises safety, so too did mankind reach out for something to calm their minds. As always, Sharroth was there to whisper lies in their ears … into their hearts. He promised that any who did his will would be spared from the fate destined for the First King and his followers. It is said that weak wills make the strongest enemies; it was as true then as it is now. As the years passed and the dark acts continued, more and more of mankind accepted the Master of Beast’s promises and stood behind his faithful. Soon Altair, an army of believers at his back, began his crusade against the First King.
War swept across the Cradle as the forces of the Father of Lies carved their way north, leaving destruction and ruin in their wake. When it became obvious that the crusaders rode under the protection of Sharroth’s void born shadow, Olm left the boughs of the First Tree and took the field to oppose them. This, however, was precisely what the Lord of Beasts had hoped for. With Olm gone, Sharroth changed his shape to that of Olm himself and entered the Sibling’s home. Umma, unable to pierce the illusion, accepted him as her brother. When she was at her most vulnerable, Sharroth struck, impaling her on a weapon made of his own void fueled shadow. Olm heard his sister’s scream and flew to her aid, leaving his faithful to their fate. Once their god abandoned them, the forces of the First King collapsed. Brose himself was forced to flee from the field and into the safety of Aerh’s ivory walls.
As Altair’s army began their siege of the Ivory City, Olm and Sharroth did battle beneath the shade of the First Tree. The Father of Justice found himself weakened by the blow he himself had struck to the faith of those who worshipped him, while Sharroth’s strength swelled at the victories of his own worshippers. If not for the timely intervention of Umma, still weak from her wounds, the Father of Lies would have bested Olm. Together, the Sibling Gods set Sharroth back on his heels; but just as the two believed they had their wayward brother in hand, the Master of Beasts draped a cloak of void over the Tree itself. The power held within its bark was drawn forth by the void as heat is sapped on a frigid day. With all the might he could muster, Olm struck out with his light, burning away the void. The First Tree, so weakened by the essence sapping effects of the nothingness caught alight as well. Within the resulting raging inferno, the three fought on, their anger and passion blinding them to all else.
As the war of the gods raged, Altair broke Aerh’s defenses and his forces cascaded into the Ivory City. Brose’s forces made a defiant stand, but their valiance was no match for the crusader’s numbers. In the throne room shared with thirty generations, Brose made his stand. Assaulted from every direction, the First King fought his way to Altair and struck the wizard down with a single blow. As his enemy fell, the Last King too fell beneath the blades of his men. As he lay dying, one of Altair’s soldier stooped and picked up Soul Drinker. The man plunged the silver blade into the dying king’s chest, feeding the void born weapon once more. The soldier’s name has been lost to time; but all that is known is that when he left the throne room, he took Soul Drinker with him and neither has been seen again.
As the nameless soldier was feeding the void one final time, Olm and Umma were finally able to drive Sharroth to the ground and were prepared to deliver the final blow to their despised brother. A single, powerful voice rang out, cutting across Taerh like a bell, “Stop!” The Sibling Gods turned from their defeated enemy to see Gaelyn standing amid the ruin that was once the Grove of the First Tree. All that remained of the lush groves and verdant hillsides were ash and soot. “Look upon what you have wrought, my children. You have allowed your petty grievances and ignorant pride to scorch the perfection that was your own creation … and mine.”
As the Siblings looked around themselves, they felt the despair of every person who placed their faith in them. The ruin around them mirrored the ruin of those they swore to protect. “This place shall evermore be a scar upon Taerh … a reminder of broken promises and empty covenants.” Gaelyn looked at each of his children in turn before speaking again. “From this day forward, I forbid any of you from taking a personal hand in anything having to do with my creation. Instead you may choose a representative from among the people to act where your hands can not.”
Olm and Umma averted their eyes from Gaelyn feeling their shame; but Sharroth looked his creator in the eye, “I love the people,” he said, “They have always been my most puissant weapon.”
Gaelyn’s glare stole the smile from his face, “Do not believe that I have forgotten about you, my child. For time uncountable, I searched for you and yet you hid from me. That shall never happen again; I have a place in mind that will ensure that I always know where you are.” With a wave of his hand, the ash surrounding the four spun up into a cyclone of dust, hiding them in shadow. “You shall dwell ever more in a prison made of your own hubris.” When the ash settled to the ground, Sharroth was gone, consigned to a cage made of shadow and ash far beneath the surface of Taerh, amid the primal void that make up its center. Without another word, the creator turned on his heel and walked away from his children and out of the Expanse.