Want to help? Consider becoming a Patreon.

The World of KneUrth

There is little knowledge as to what happened, over 2,000 years ago. A traumatic event sundered the world, shattering the lands, and changing the entire landscape of the world. History and knowledge, was forgotten as cities crumbled, some vanished, consumed by the land, others washed away by enormous tsunamis, erasing them from the face of the world, as if they never existed. To see some history previous to the Age of Darkness, see the Time Line of the Gods and the War of the Heavens for more details.

Note – Prior to the Age of Darkness, history was rarely recorded, as it was typically passed down from generation to generation in the form of song. However, due to that history not being accurately recorded, when the Age of Darkness came, scholars began to notate in history books and tomes the events of the world. As such, the events prior to the Age of Darkness are “guesstimates” at best, handed down from others.

Estimated 2,000 years before the Age of Darkness…

Age of Creation

Most believe the “first children” of Kne’Urth were the Elves, who were blessed with their longevity and love of nature. It is said that they settled the world first, taking to the woods scattered throughout the land. Next came the dwarves, sparks from the Forge of Life, as Jarisfargen pounded away and forging the world and what was requested of him.

War of the Heavens

The War between Aftgrand (Gods of Light) and Garengrand (Gods of Shade/Shadow) began when Grumthak, the evil God of War, was furious that the Gods of Light had populated the world with only beautiful things. Grumthak cut his palm, and it is said that red rain bled from the skies of Brengrand (where mortals dwell, sometimes called “The Primary Plane”); and those who drank the blood and had evil and corruption in their hearts were physically changed from human to Orc. Those that were changed were bound and swore allegiance to Grumthak.

Nifika, the Goddess of Magic was so furious that Grumthak had used his blood to corrupt the mortals (refusing to believe that the mortals may have already been corrupt to begin with). During one of the Council of Gods, Nifika broke her truce and launched an arrow, in an attempt to kill Grumthak. He moved just in time, so that rather than striking him between the eyes, it pierced his right eye. This would be the final time the gods would ever meet peacefully, and the Council of the Gods, was forever disbanded.

His eye was said to have fallen from the heaven and crashed into the world below, causing untold damage and corrupting everything around it. (The exact location of where his eye fell to the world, has yet to be uncovered). 

This disregard for peace during the council bled into the Orcs below, who began waging wars against the Elves, whom Nifika was a goddess for. (Note – See War of the Heavens for more of this war that would spring forth among the gods).

The Folly Of Mortals

An elf by the name of Porlen Hollowroot made a mortal enemy of an orc by the name of Rak’Grum Bloodseed, who according to the legends of orcs, was blessed by Grumthak himself. The orcs, at first had simply been violent – too disorganized to even band together – as they warred amongst each other – but Rak’Grum had been able to use his sheer strength to band the orcs together – then banded the gnolls, the kobolds, the orcs, and even enslaved  goblins and their dangerous cousins the hobgoblins, under a single banner of conquest – with a single mission in mind – wipe the elves from the face of the world.

Porlen and the Elves were given a blessed home in the woods, known as The Ilyx – a forest that protected itself against all evil that dared tried to penetrate its woods. But Porlen grew fearful and paranoid as large masses of orcs, goblins, and ogres amassed all around the woods – so that when he went to the edge, all he saw surrounding the Home of the Elves, was evil, vile, destruction. Again he called on Nifika to smite the evil that surrounded the home she’d given them; and again, she explained she could not.

Prior to the Age of Darkness, Magic that flowed into the world was unmanaged and Elves were gifted with the ability to channel it easily. Porlen determined that this was a test – and that Nifika was calling on him to act. Porlen became prideful, as he used his magic against the forces of Rak’Grum, who at the time, had no ability to use magic – they were bloodthirsty warriors and magic was foreign to them. Porlen began to believe that Nifika no longer needed to protect the woods – he could do it himself – with the magic of the world in his hands. Porlen began to abuse those magical abilities and grew careless – and that’s when Rak’Grum’s forces were able to break the defenses of the woods. What Porlen had not realized is the magic he was carelessly using for meager things was draining the protective magic of the woods. Realizing his mistake, during his studies, he’d discovered other planes of existence – and tapped into each of them. The end result was disastrous. (Note – See The Broken Lands Lore for more).

Whether it’d been Porlen attempting to hide his shame, or Nifika punishing Porlen’s vanity and pride, no one knows for sure – but the once lush lands of Ilyx vanished under a tidal wave of sand – and the magical energies that were released seeped into the very sand itself. The gods looked down at the world and realized that magic would need to be managed and taught; there was those who could be holy warriors (the paladins), there were those who could be priests (clerics), those who loved nature (druids and rangers), and those who could channel the raw energy of magic (wizards). But it did not take long for others to seek out magic through other means (through demons, such as warlocks) and eventually many were born with magic innately in their system (either through a bloodline exposed to the magic or a magical creature’s magical influence).

The impact of what had happened to Ilyx seemed to be an effect felt around the world, as the planet seemed to eventually begin to recover.

Some say, it was the vanity of the gods that sent the next wave; where the minds of mortals were erased, and the world suffered the first day of darkness, that would go on to last a whole year – a wave rippling through the world… beginning the Age of Darkness.

Age Of Darkness:

0 – The world is thrown into an age of darkness. Cities crumble, the weather dramatically changes, wiping out entire civilizations from the map, sometimes, leaving nothing to indicate that anything was there; sometimes, leaving only a skeleton of a magnificent city that may have once stood proud. All historical records of what the world was before this are seemingly lost to the ages. Those who survived, find that they have no memory of what happened; most of those survivors die a few short years later of disease.

75 – A human priest claims to have a vision from a goddess called Florasena. The priest claimed that Florasena was a goddess and that she, and the others, were pulled away to engage in a war in the heavens. A war, which the priest claims, that Florasena said, was responsible for the destruction that initially impacted KneUrth. In the same year, a high profile Elven priest claimed to have been visited in his dreams, by a goddess calling herself, Nifika, who said she was the mother of all elves; donning the title of Sovereign of the Stars to him. A Dwarven warrior, during a routine scouting mission in the caverns of Stonepass, claimed to have been visited by a god named Jarisfargen, who claimed to be the god that created the mountains. The Dwarf was so enamored by the encounter, he changed his ways, becoming the first (recorded) Paladin.

125 – Churches rise up, among Elves, Dwarves, and Humans, celebrating the “return of the gods” – known collectively as “The Circle.” Religious belief takes a strong foothold in all major towns.

175 – A race known as Halfmen, sometimes called “Halflings” is discovered. The peaceful people appear to be humans, however, they stand only three to four feet in height. Preferring little to no adventure, the Halfmen typically dwelt in green, rolling hills, making their homes within the hills themselves, similar to how Dwarves made their homes beneath the mountains.

200 – The Human population expands, becoming one of the most dominate races in the Western lands of KneUrth. Their homes, weapons, and armor, are at this time, still relatively primitive.

275 – Dwarves begin trading with humans. Dwarves trade weapons and armor to humans, in exchange for various foods, furs, and other such things that Dwarves have little of, beneath the mountains.

280 – Dwarves introduce gold to humans. This becomes the staple for monetary units among the human communities, its rarity providing great value. This begins the economic boom among human communities, where trades are no longer so much for goods, but rather for coin. Greed drives several humans to attempt to raid Dwarven settlements within the mountains, creating tension between Dwarf and Human.

300 – Human settlements continue to expand ever westward, now digging into the forest lands, where Human begin chopping down trees to use for homes and buildings. This gets the ire of many Elves, who see the human expansions and buildings as an affront to nature. This creates an enormous amount of tension between Elves and Humans.

325 – The Sovereign of the Stars among the Elves of Skytree Forest begin building a home in the center of Skytree Forest. In the coming years, Quan’rath (meaning Emerald Haven) is built, and the Elves (now calling themselves High Elves, believing they’re the closest things to purity) lock themselves within the magnificent walls. Several Elves disagree with the Sovereign of the Stars and turn their backs on the city of Quan’rath, deciding to live among the woods of Skytree Forest, rather than “prisoners” within a wall (despite the magnificent beauty found within Quan’rath), thus being dubbed “Wild Elves” by the Sovereign of the Stars. Some of the Wild Elves go on to live among the humans, and learn from humans; adopting the name Grey Elves (given to them, again by the High Elves, who mean it in a derogatory way; indicating that their colors of seeing things “black and white” are muddied, and thus “grey”).

375 – Humans eventually cease pulling wood from Skytree Forest (not only because of the resistance met by the Wild Elves; but because Skytree Forest is full of ancient Elven ruins, whose meanings have long been forgotten; even by the Elves of Skytree. Numerous Fay creatures, such as treants and the like also begin defending the forest, adding to the complications).

400 – Thyamat selects a few mortals to bind with her dragons – (Red, Blue, Black, Green, and White) – and bestows the knowledge to some of her most faithful clerics on the creation of Crown of Dragons – which would allow her chosen warriors who don this crown to be able to communicate great distances with the dragon they were bonded with. Rumors of a massive dragon army to the east of Tawaim begins to spread.

425 – Seeking to expand their human empire and resources, several kings come to form an alliance and send several scouting parties further east (beyond the Stonepass Mountains, which had been the furthest any humans had traveled previously).

435 – Sightings of Dragons begin to surface – Several explorers and adventures who go into the east returned with stories of “dragons” – mythological creatures, appearing to look like large reptiles with massive wing spans. There are reports of various kinds and colors of dragons: black, blue, green, red and black, all of which were in different locations (deserts, swamps, mountains). Others claimed to discover another kind of dragon – claiming they resembled “steel and metal” – calling them brass, bronze, copper, gold, and silver. These dragons, unlike the colored ones, according to reports, assisted the explorers, rather than seeking out to destroy them.

440 – Dragon riders. On the backs of Chromatic Dragons (Red, Blue, Black, Green and White) – Dragon Riders begin attacking Elven homes. The reasons for the attack are never disclosed or uncovered.

445 – With the stories spread far and wide about these “dragons” expeditions to hunt them down (and at least verify some truth by killing one or two and bringing them back for the rest of the world to see) begin. Some expeditions never returned, those that did return, claimed to never have found any evidence that these “dragons” existed beyond the eastern wall. The idea that “dragons” are real, once again, returns to “fairy tale” status.

450 – For the next hundred years, human settlements and towns expand. Humans, ever adaptable, form hamlets, towns, villages, and even kingdoms in the plains, the coasts, the deserts, at the base of mountains, and even in marshlands.

525 – Several settlements in the north (The Sinking Sands and The Death Marshes) report that “large men in long, wooden boats” make land fall and attack them. Dubbing these ruthless attackers as barbarians, it is soon discovered that the men are coming from Northern and Southern frozen wastelands respectively). Communications open, and eventually a trade negotiation and route is formed.

600 – Tensions mount as Humans find themselves constantly fighting, both the Wild Elves (for encroaching on their lands too frequently for resources), as well as the Dwarves (who have grown tired of the human’s greed for gaining more gold). The fighting between these races rages on for nearly 100 years, off and on, with racial tensions still extremely high when “peace” is finally called.

775 – New enemies emerge from the Eastern lands. Creatures called Orcs, Goblins, Gnolls, and Kobolds, come enforce, attacking, pillaging and destroying human settlements. The humans turn to the Elves and Dwarves for assistance. Though racial tensions are high, the Elves and Dwarves know, that for the most part – humans are not evil (if only sometimes overly greedy and arrogant) – but these new enemies embodied the idea of slaughter and destruction. Some of these foul creatures, called the Orge Magi, are even capable of mysterious powers such as magic.

777 – The Order of the Magi is born among the Elves. Blessed by their goddess, the Elves are shown how to channel magic. All who are bestowed magic, were loyal priests of Nifika – now granted with extra ordinary abilities of wielding magic, to fight these new evil threats.

780 – Despite the protests of the High Elves of Quan’rath, the Wild Elves begin teaching humans means of controlling magic, to battle the “evil” that has come in the form of orcs, ogres, and the like. For most humans, it is relentless nights spent learning and scribing spells, in hopes of mastering their complex patterns (the Wizards of the World); the Wild Elves are surprised to find some humans more natural at casting (dubbed Sorcerers). Tensions between the Wild Elves and the High Elves rises; since the High Elves believe magic is a gift bestowed upon them alone, by their goddess; not to be shared by beings who are not meant to wield magic.

785 – Trouble for the Dwarves would come, during their expedition beneath the mountain, when they knocked out a piece of a wall – that opened up into a world that was beyond words. A world in which mushroom grew as tall as everglade trees; various plants glowed vibrantly, giving off incredible light. But things dwelr down here – evil, vile things – such as the “Mind Rippers” as the Dwarves called them. Tall, seemingly human-like creatures, whose heads resembled that of a squid. Only, each tentacle was barbed, and made for piercing the skull and devouring the brains of their victims.

787 – Trouble with the Mind Rippers escalates, as Dwarves find their loved ones being abducted and brought into the land below, simply called “The Shadow Stones.” Attempts to rescue their loved one results in most cases – no one returning. Those that do return, are raving mad, their skin tone now as black as coal. The Dwaves call them “The Duergar” – which translates, in Dwarven to “The Lost Minds.”

800 – The Dwarves shut down most of the passages that lead down to “The Shadow Stones” – but pockets open up, allowing the vile evils from below to rise again and once again torment the Dwarves.

850 – An entire community of what are called “Gnomes” is discovered in mountains to the East. The Expedition team believes them to be distantly related to Dwarves, though Dwarves strongly protest this idea. Gnomes bear a striking resemblance to Dwarves, in both height, and general appearance, but do not appear to be as stocky as Dwarves. Also Gnomes do not seem to be interested in jewelry and gold, such as Dwarves; but rather creating new things, to see if they can make something new. (For example, one Gnome had shown a member of the Expedition team, how he had created a device that could take the place of horses one day; if he could just find a fuel source for it!)

900 – It’s unsure how it began; whether it was a Human Mage trying to avoid his own aging death, or if they were trying to return someone who had passed away and grant them life again – regardless, somewhere in the Human community, Necromantic Magic was unleashed. Unknowingly, the Mage, in an attempt to manipulate life and escape death, touched into extremely dark magics. As a result, zombies and ghouls rose up. It began with one small town, and the zombies and ghouls roamed aimlessly, slaughtering everything they encountered – whether Human, Dwarf, Halfmen, Elf, or even animal.

910 – Necromancy is outlawed, and all practicing the art of Necromancy are killed, without any form of a trial.

950 – The Black Arts of Necromancy spread across the lands, practiced mostly by humans, who have turned to evil, all of them calling upon Urnevar, the God of Necromancy, for wisdom to help them develop their skills. Paranoia against all Magi in general escalates. Towers, in which normal Magi practiced their magics were burned down; innocent Magi were hunted down, hung or killed on sight.

1,000 – The Tower of Magi is constructed. (Read more about the Tower of Magi here).

1,110 – An Elf simply known as The Ashen Elf suddenly surfaces. He begins gathering Ancient Relic Items, dating to before the Age of Darkness. The Ashen Elf possesses magical abilities beyond anything any have ever seen. The Mages seek to question him, but capturing the Ashen Elf proves to be an impossible task. He frequently appears to several cities of power and explains he is building an army to rid the world of his most hated enemy – the Orcs.

1,123 – Tensions against Magi are still extremely high. While they are not outwardly hunted and killed anymore; there is a massive distrust towards any Magi in the world (though Necromancy is still punishable by death!) Tensions exist between High Elves (and everyone, but especially Wild Elves and Humans). There are still some tensions between humans and dwarves, though emissaries on both sides are trying to make amends to change that.

1,124 – The Great Star is repaired by a group of heroes (Tenjii, Ariana, Argo, Omen, Luna and Bodrag), and the Ashen Elf, who had mustered together, ancient texts and ancient magic from an age long forgotten, believing the entire world was against him, used the ancient magic to raise an army of the undead; tapping into the magic portal he had discovered where the gods had banished the Dragons; no one could stop him.

However, the heroes had recovered all four Life Stones (Air, Fire, Water and Stone) and with the help of what they believed to be an insane, liberated slave; were transported to the Life Forge (the Forge of the Dwarven God!), and the liberated slave revealed that he was in essence, a part of the Great Star that had been broken off (on accident!) by the Gnome God, seeking to imitate the Dwarven God eons ago (see the History of the world for more). Each of them had a duty to restore the Life Forge.

Scribes and scholars, who have supposedly spoken to the heroes write down: Standing before Jarisfargen’s Forge, Free explained, “Bodrag, you will need to fix the Great Forge. Luna, I will need you to use your connection to nature itself, to cleanse the four stones from the black magics of the Dark Elves,” Free cast a side glance at Omen, “No offense meant,” he amended, then continued, “For you, Omen, must be the one to use your magics to restore the Forge’s magical abilities. Argo, as a human, you are the most diverse people in all the land. I need that balance, and desire of Mankind, to be imbued into the stones, to restore their balance, once Luna has cleansed them. Ariana, I will need you to bless the Great Forge. And you, little Tenjii, will take me – once whole – to the Great Star.”

They helped Free return home; and through his magic, he was able to open the portal to the Dragon imprisonment, which released the Dragons back into the world – but also severed the Ashen Elf’s magic. The Dragons, furious to have had their magic drained from them by the Ashen Elf, united this one time, to destroy his army and to destroy the Ashen Elf himself. Rumor has it that the Ashen Elf’s soul is now imprisoned with Thyamat, the Goddess of Doom, who had hoped that the Ashen Elf who she had helped gain such wisdom, would help bring about Day of Terrarack – the end of the world – so that she could finally fight and kill her most hated enemy, Valingard. If such a rumor is to be believed; then even those who saw the horrors that the Ashen Elf brought upon the world, feel a tinge of sympathy, for there can be no words to describe the endless torture his soul must be enduring. It is revealed that the Ashen Elf is one of the first Elves created that still had Immortality; driven insane by the magic and corruption.

1,125 – The heroes realize that, their exposure to the Life Forge, has also enchanted their own lives; expanding it for years well beyond the norm. Argo returned the woods; becoming a respected member among all Elves, despite his human heritage. Luna returned home, celebrated a hero. She was said to stay there for a few years, before she felt suffocated, and decided to return to wandering the world with her one true companion, River, the bird. Tenjii returned home to Gnome Mountain, plagued by questions of how she had traveled to another dimension (what had she invented to do so?) and how she had managed to answer the final calling of their god; and repair the Great Star. She too, eventually left home, to wander the world. Omen returned to Guardstone, and stayed there, before returning to the Wizard’s Tower to share what he had learned of the ancient magics. Still interested in learning more, he too, would eventually leave the Wizard’s Tower. Bodrag returned home a celebrated hero, pardoned of the crime of helping “criminals” escape; and his comrades were also pardoned. Enormous statues were erected of each of them and placed in the mountain; celebrating their great victory. (Dwarven history, would eventually rewrite them not as criminals, but heroes; and they were not imprisoned, but remained of their own free will to celebrate to plan to kill the Fire Giant below their home). After several years, tiring of the constant celebrations every time he entered a room, Bodrag too, left home. Ariana, with the voices in her head, learned that the voices sought to tell their families of their fate; so Ariana took it upon herself to begin traveling the world, speaking for the spirits of the dead in her mind, to their families to explain what had happened. She learned, as she did so, the spirits would quiet; eventually even leaving her mind. She was seen traveling with Argo, Luna, Tenjii, Omen, and Bodrag, on her quest to speak for the dead in her mind.

1,130 – Giant stones from the heavens land near large Gnome communities; said to be fallen pieces of a star, a gift from Bargledar, god of the gnomes, as a way to thank his people for restoring his place among the gods.

1,136 – Wood Elves flee The Ferndale Forest, when Emereth, an ancient Green Dragon, whose ferocious and vileness become legendary. Many of the Elves lose their homes to Emereth and flee to The Ebonwild, a near by community run by humans. The Wood Elves, desperate for a new home, agree to work for the humans – and essentially become slaves to the humans. (The Governor of The Ebonwild has spread a lie that Dragons have settled all over the world, over taking cities and kingdoms; but that he has a powerful weapon that keeps the dragons at bay).

1,145 – Rumors of The Cult of the Five, which is a Cult of fanatics loyal to the return of Tyhamat has been gaining popularity, with the dragons once again returned to the World.

1,152 – Chromatic Dragon attacks become more popular, and the theory is related to the rising power of the Cult of the Five.

Age Of Dragons:

1,175 – In the year 1,124 when the Dragons entered the world; the very fabric of Magic itself changed drastically. Dragons have also made their homes throughout the land. Some of the reported Dragons have clearly aligned with evil: Black, Blue, Green, Red, and White, while Good Dragons appear to be: Brass, Bronze, Copper, Gold, and Silver. The most typically feared (evil) Dragon is the Red Dragon; while the Silver Dragon seems to be the most respected among the good. Black Dragons tend to favor swamps, for their home; Blue Dragons prefer the desert; Green Dragons prefer the woods; Red Dragons prefer mountains; and White Dragons prefer the frozen regions; while for good Dragons, the Brass Dragons prefer the desert; Bronze dragons prefer mountains near bodies of water; Copper Dragons prefer the plains; Gold Dragons prefer any climate; and Silver Dragons prefer high mountain peaks.

1,176 – The lands West of the the Kingdom of Guardstone are being sought out to be explored further, since so little of it is mapped or known. Many adventurers have now begun – and in some cases, ended – their careers there.

1,185 – The small town of Spire’s Edge is attacked by vicious Kobolds, and a Blue Dragon. A few months later, the Dryad of the Jade Forest is murdered, the Unicorn of the Jade Forest lured out in an attempt to save her; and is also killed. The demon trapped in the Ancient Tree of the Jade Forest is released, and discovered to be a Fallen Angel. It is unknown if these two major events are related.

1,186 – A Green Hag is slain in the forest where the Dryad was slain – news begins to spread about a Coven of Hags seeking revenge. More mysterious items continue to emerge from the Broken Lands.

1,187 – Drow activity has spiked.

1,188 – The Dwarves of Blue Ridge Mountains of the Thoridun Kingdom see increased activity and form an alliance with the Drow who claim it’s the Illithid who have them concerned – and form an alliance with the Dwarves against the Illithid. However, it’s revealed by several adventurers that the Drow are manipulating the King and were driving a wedge between the Dwarves causing a Civil War among them. During this time, the Drow Priestess, Krill’ith Grix’thall managed to raise an elder goddess (L’orak’ana, the Spider Queen) who entered Aftgrand – and for each of her legs – she killed eight deities before being banished to Garengrand. The deities she killed were: Airana, Akanda, Drakenfiel, Elenar, Krauzden, Lauhzar, Tavara and Teakak. Through this, Lakrona was reborn. 

1,190 – “The White Light” event. For most commoners, they’re unaware what caused a blinding white light all across the world. However, for those who practiced magic and were adventurers, their mind was full of new found arcane magic. This was due to an ancient sphere which had contained magical energies was finally shattered, releasing the magic back into the world.