There are twelve gods in the world, which we know as Auren. In the beginning, Auren was nothing. Watching over Auren was Aureon the Great, the Shaper of the First Flame and Creator of All. Out of his mind, he created Grasund and Gramund, the Sun and Moon, bringing light to our lands. He then shaped two brothers and a sister to help him shape our earth, as well as a hall in the sky for them to live in, called Esatros. The first of which was Tharagos, the Groundshaper, Architect of Stone. He rose the mountains and sunk the great valleys. Then, Lady Virella, Seer of Destiny, was born. She filled those great valleys with our lifeblood, water, creating the first plants and animals with water's arrival. Finally, Nyxis was born, the Warden of Shadows and Overseer of Life and Death. He guides the spirits of animals to the afterlife, in the Halls of Esatros. Finally, Aureon created Men, the Walkers of the Earth and the ones gifted with Fire.
However, as time marched on, the four siblings decided they needed to create a lesser court. They each then shaped two children two place in the court. Aureon made his two sons first. Fenral the Warden and Zaleth the Trickster, the gods of Nature and Chaos respectively. Zaleth created much of the evil of this world, like Dragons. They were both gifted with the ability to walk Auren, both inflicting a balance of order and chaos in the world. Tharagos made his two children next, who were named Quoril the Dreamer and Ruun the Iron. These two were gifted with magic and martial knowledge, with the two passing their blessing onto the Children of Aureon as they see fit. Quoril also keeps the history of Auren and Esatros, knowing all that was, is, and will be. Finally, Virella and Nyxis made their children.
Virella birthed Talinor the Lucky and Miris the Pilgrim. They were granted each their own ability. Talinor governs all chance in the world, filling the gaps that Quoril left in his account, as well as seeding the idea of commerce and diplomacy into many minds. Miris brings the Children of Aureon hope and guidance, helping them make new trails and discover the unknown. Nyxis' children are Kaethra the Masked and Eisryn the Solitude. Kaethra is the goddess of all music, plays, and theater, giving this gift to the bards, skalds, and poets of the world. Eisryn governs the change of the season into Winter. It is said that her breath is the falling snow, with the snow being sent from the Moon where she resides.
Once the order of the world was created, Aureon then withdrew to his home inside of Esatros for some time. During this time, many things grew. First, a secret creation awoke. The Children of Ruun, also called the Dwarves, awoke inside the Blackstone Mountains. They numbered fourteen, seven male and seven female. The Children of Ruun were gifted the knowledge of blacksmithing and the secrets of mining, which they used to tunnel deep inside of the Blackstone Mountains (called Rûnmût in the Dwarven tongue) onto the surface.
Discovering this, Fenral made his own creations, called the Ëf and the Götlinge. During the creation of the Götlinge, it is said that Zaleth played a trick on Fenral, making their skin green, their stature short, and their minds tainted with evil. The Ëf christened themselves as the "Elves", worshipping all that Fenral created. They are naturally good and live for long periods, however are withdrawn from the politics of Man. The Götlinge, named by the human settlers that discovered them as "Goblins" (which meant "Green Ones" in the ancient tongue of Man) are the natural balance of the Elves, being evil and mischevious. They often inhabit caverns, though are otherwise nomadic in nature. Goblins come in various shapes in sizes. Orcs, trolls, the standard goblin, and anything else mean and green considered a breed or type of goblin.
Once Aureon awoke to see the chaos and disorder from the new creations of the world, he was furious. With a clap, the Moon and Sun fell away from the sky, ending the Age of Creation. For three days, Grasund and Gramund were gone, however the sky had glistening specks of dust from the clap, which were named "stars" by the Elves. During this time, Aureon went to Ruun, Fenral, and Zaleth each, questioning them on why they chose to do this. Each gave a different answer, however he grew no more furious, and rather understood them. He then went to Quoril and asked of him why he had not told Aureon about his, however Quoril did not answer. At the beginning of the third day, Aureon clapped once again, Grasund returning to the Sky. With it came a floating substance like Sheep's Wool, which the Men called "Clouds". He also proclaimed to the other gods that all beings of creation other than his own, despite their inclination to good or evil, were his children. He also instructed to the other deities that if they distribute their gifts through out all races and creations of the world, not just Men. Thus began our current time, the Age of Aureon.
Quoril is not a god of flashy miracles, but of hidden truths and layered thoughts. To him, magic is knowledge awakened: a secret remembered before it was ever learned. Magic from Quoril is not given like a gift; it is unlocked from within, whispered back into the minds of those ready to receive it.
At the heart of Quoril’s divine realm lies the Deep Vault, built by Ruun. It is an infinite library buried in the memory of the world. Every idea, every spell, every emotion ever felt is cataloged in this ever-expanding labyrinth of crystal shelves and silver-inked tomes. When a mortal shows curiosity beyond common thought, when they seek knowledge for its own sake, they draw Quoril’s attention. He may then allow them access to a single fragment of the Vault.
During Ruun's construction of the Deep Vault, he asked of his brother Quoril a favor. He deemed his gift upon the world weak, and he sought ways to strengthen it. Without further questioning, he gifted Ruun a page of the Great Book. With this, he learned of Enchanting, which he gifted to his strongest blacksmiths or most devoted clerics. However, as time marched on, he gave this knowledge to fewer and fewer figures, with less strength being attached to it. Many of the most powerful enchanted artifacts lie in the deep crevices of the world, forgotten even by the greatest historians among the living.
Those chosen by Quoril do not feel his touch in fire or light, they hear it in whispers, often during dreams, meditation, or moments of silence. This is called the Whispered Spark, a memory not their own, but one that fits perfectly in their mind. Magicians often write down these spells and catalogue them for others not given the gift of the Whispered Spark to learn. However, not everyone is born with the gift of magic. Some are inept, not being able to learn it. Others are extremely proficient, becoming masterful mages at an early age. Most have the potential to learn, but lack the funds or social status to learn.
Quoril does not limit his gift to wizards and sorcerers however. He also gives his gift to bards and clerics, even of deities other than himself. He also uses his knowledge to advance the history written in the Great Book. An example of this is giving the knowledge of Steel to the Dwarves.
Legend says that on occasion, Zaleth breaks into these vaults, gifting the evil of the world these fragments, even though Quoril gifts them these powers equally. He harbors his own library of evil spells that Quoril had locked away, for those practicioners of evil to use and be granted, many spells that cause harm and chaos onto the world. It is said that only those with true evil intentions can be gifted these spells and incantaions, memories which are called the Shattered Spark. Those touched with the Shattered Spark are called Necromancers, practicioners of evil and destroyers of order. When Quoril found out of the first few gifted with the Shattered Spark, he informed Aureon, who reprimanded Zaleth, cursing most of the underground Goblin population to grow scales and long tails. These creatures, called "Kobolds" by the Goblins, were outcasted and sent into the earth to never be seen again on the surface Aureon has many children. Men (also called Humans) come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Men tend to inherit a mix of their father's and their mother's traits, making Men look very different from another. There are also other races and folk of Auren, the most plentiful and civilized of those being the Dwarves, who have begun to work their way back into Krian society, as lower-class citizens of Krian society. Dwarves are short, with tan and brown skin, with curly hair the hue of Oak Wood. There are also Elves, often merchants or bastard merchant's sons, that take up residence in Krian society. They have odd green hair and are extremely pale.
Half-Elves and Half-Dwarves (called Hobbits) also exist. Half-Elves are taller, slimmer Men that retain the improved hearing and vision of their Elven fathers and mothers, however not much else other than their appearance. An odd feature of Half-Elves is that they seem to have a natural knack for Leadership. Hobbits are much different in this regard. Small, quiet, and natural farmers, the few Hobbits that exist tend to own their own farms. They love a good meal and tend to stay out of trouble. Due to being rather silent and equipped with their small, nimble fingers, they make good thieves and burglars, and are often present in Adventuring parties.
In Auren there are many languages and dialects. The nations and people of Men speak languages descending from the same roots, as all languages of Man evolved from the same root language (called Adani) gifted to them by Quoril. There are two main languages of Man: Krian and Harmarth, with tribal nations speaking various languages. These tribes simply do not have the resources to teach Krian scholars these languages. The elves speak many languages, however the most prominent and universal is called Erith, however no Man knows more than a few words of Erith. The Dwarves speak Kûna, which is adjacent to their ancient tongue of Rûna, although it uses the alphabet and symbols of Man. Many dwarven historians and some historians of Man know Rûna. There is also Quoa, the Arcane language, which is used by wizards and sorcerers, and Di, the Divine language, which is used by clerics and priests. Spell scrolls are written in one of these two languages, depending on the source of your scrolls.
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