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As detailed in the Timeline of the Gods, there was a War of the Heavens.

There are three primary planes:

• Aftgrand – The High Plane. This is the Plane, from which most of the good aligned gods dwell, along with hundreds of Immortals. Aftgrand is said to be a Plane, whose beauty, mortal words could never describe.
• Brengrand – The Middle Plane. This is often times called “The Material Plane” as many believe that Brengrand is actually a reference to the world of Kne’Urth itself.
• Garengrand – The Fallen Plane. The Fallen Plane is said to be a place of desolate landscapes , and void of life, as it is also void of hope. It is said to be this way because this is where the “evil” aligned deities & demigods dwell; and their inability to work with one another or trust one another, has waged so much war, that there is nothing left.

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). However, the bleeding from his eye that dropped down into the world had dire consequences, creating malicious creatures, that lacked any form of trust, known as Beholders.

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.

Sarenthar, the evil god of viciousness, took it upon himself, to begin corrupting existing animals in the world, during all of this chaos (creating such creatures as Bugbears from from cave bears, trolls from wolves, etc).

Nifika’s twin sister, Lakrona was caught using Dark Necromatic magic, and despite her protests that it was all in an attempt to undo what Grumthak and Sarenthar had done to the world, she was cast out and banished to Garegrand, with the Gods of Shade. There, she festered, her jealousy of her twin sister boiling over, and changing her forever.

Skortauria, the evil god of poison, venom and disease appeared before Kariayn, goddess of the forests and daughter of Florasena through one of her pools of visions and promised that he could help her create life. Desperate to create her own life, as her mother had done, Kariayn agreed to Skortauria’s help. He explained that he would need several drops of blood from Florasena in order to help her. Kariayn was reluctant to believe Skortaurian truly had wanted to help her, but her desire to create life had gotten the best of her. Using one of Lynzee’s arrowheads, she nicked Florasena’s arm as she slept; drawing several drops of blood. When she returned to Skortaurian with the vials, he tried to take them all, but she had managed to wrestle one away from him.

Through one of the vials of blood, he was able to open a portal that now connected to Aftgard. He then unleashed a poison in the water supply that killed most of the Immortals who dwelt in Aftgard with the gods. Truengard, father to Valingard and husband of Florasena, the goddess of life, was one of the many Immortals who had become infected with the disease that Skortaurian had unleashed upon them.

Desperate, Nifika reached out to her twin sister, Lakrona, who had been banished to Garengrand. She promised her sister that if she could help undo the poison and reverse what Grumthak and the Gods of Shade had done, she would speak with the Gods of Light and see if they could get her entrance back to Aftgard.

Lakrona agreed to try and help; but she was manipulating her sister. She immediately told the Gods of Shade what Nifika asked of her – and sensing that the Gods of Light were weak, Skortaurian explained that he had used a blood drop of Florasena to create a portal that would allow him to freely travel to Aftgard.

The Gods of Shade used the portal and launched an all out assault on Aftgard. Though dying, Truengard led the forces of the Immortals at the Circle against the Circle of Shade. Though he fell in combat, it was Valingard, still young at this time, who picked up his father’s blade and shield and led the fractured forces of the Immortals against the Circle of Shade. It was also Valingard who severed Skortaurian’s right arm in combat, which could not be healed, due to the magical blade, forcing the Circle of Shade to retreat.

The legend states that Skortaurian’s hand fell down upon the world, raining it’s blackness and evil, to be consumed; and one such powerful hyena drank the blood and fed from the flesh and became the demi-god of madness and gnolls, known as Yeegowhen.

The War of the Heavens was so grand that it spilled out into Brengrand, the Prime Material Plane – and some of the Immortals, when the war was over, were stuck upon the world. Those Immortals, severed from their connection to Aftgard, lost their immortality, but still had extremely long lives. Of those Immortals, they became what is known as various Giants in the world.

• • • • Fire Giants: Fire Giants were the Immortals that were once the weapon makers of the gods. With no way to return to Aftgrand, the Fire Giants go deep into the mountains, to get as close to the center of the world, to forge weapons. Over time, the lack of the gods not returning to gather them, the Fire Giants grew angry and bitter.
      • Frost Giants: Frost Giants were the Immortals that were the primary Warriors of the Gods. Having to get away from everyone and everything, they took to the Northlands, and like the very land they called home, they became as cold and as callous as the land.
      • Hill Giants: There were Immortals that were once the gardeners of Aftgrand. Simple minded, over time, they became furious that the gods never came to collect them, and sought to destroy the very thing they were once assigned to do.
      • Stone Giants: These were the Immortals who focused on stone masonry and built the beautiful buildings of Aftgrand. The Stone Giants took to making their homes in the Mountains.
      • Cloud Giants: These were the Immortals who responsible for using their magic to keep the weather beautiful in Aftgrand. As the years passed they became as emotional as the weather they tried to control. They became known for the Cloud Castles as they sought to return to Aftgrand.
      • Storm Giants: Storm Giants were the Immortals much like Cloud Giants, who strived to returned to the heavens. The Immortals who became Storm Giants, however, did not find the rage that the others did; instead, they sought to teach the world about the gods, that much of the world had forgotten. Remembering their place, as once being Immortals, the Storm Giants became the most powerful of all the Giants.
      • Other Giants were born from the Fall of the Immortals, but they are not as widely known throughout the world

The destruction was so widespread and had such a devistating impact, that it reshaped and changed the world. Cities collapsed, mountains rose, oceans flooded lands, nearly wiping out most of humanity. As such, the scant few thousand that survived, tomes of knowledge were lost. So ashamed were they of what happened, the Gods of Light removed the memories from those that survived; as a result, the few surviving archives of books were destroyed, and the world began anew in The Age Of Darkness. (See the History for further information).