The Favoured Eight

 

History

The Divine War and the Eight Realms
The gods, dwelling in their eight divine astral realms, are in constant conflict with each other. Each god sought to dominate the astral, the void, and all races by gaining enough power to match their divine superiors, Vornir, Boriac, Wickeryadi, and Thursar. This urge for power and dominance came from them being born from energised mana links, so it comes naturally to them. Since they agreed with the other divines to create our world, to prevent further gods appearing, they used the world and its inhabitants to energise them in their eternal feud. Since the 1st cataclysm, they are bound by an ancient law that forbids direct interference in our world; thus, they act through mortals. But since their change from mana links to sentinent, movable, and performing entities, each of the realm’s leading greater god, marked a chosen champion to prevent their rivals from gaining an upper hand. Why these were selected, the greater gods have not revealed, but the Favoured Eight walked a thin line, balancing the will of their champion gods against the stability of the world. Some of them grew tremendously with their gift, and often they found themselves pawns in divine schemes, but their actions, whether by fate or free will, shapeed the course of history.

Skjald Yell'a'Beard

 

The First Eight: In the Dawn of Shadows 

In the shadowed centuries before recorded time, the First Eight came together as they discovered the nefarious schemes of some contender gods. As they tried to disrupt the thwarted plan to unleash an eternal night across the void by halting the spin of the astral and ending the astral leaks illumination and mana leaking into our world. The plan would have sealed off the Vornir and Boriac and served the mana feed from the astral to the gods. Luckily, these eight mortals grew with the task; realising what had to be paid, they managed to trick the contenders into a void garden trap. Using their carcasses and minds as focal points, the greater gods sealed off the void garden. The First Eight are thus remembered as emerging victorious, despite their deaths, although some legend tells of them still inside the void garden fighting the contender gods.

Skjald Ulrich

 

The Second Eight – The Aid of Vampires

Still in times before our world, the Second Eight were brought together as they discovered a Thursar plot to create a new race similar to the Vampires. This new race would be born out of T'Aurs and Kobold, undergoing grotesque rituals transforming each pair into one being. This horrible violation of aura integrity was interrupted as the Second Eight charged the Thursars who kept the T’Aurs and Kobolds mentally bound. As the enhancment was broken, all T’Aurs and Kobolds joined the Second Eight. The fight was noticed by their divine sponsors, who warned the Wickeryadi, who sent some vampires to their aid. Had it been mere mortals against a Thursar, they would all have died in vain, but the vampire aid finally sent the exhausted Thursars to their knees, surrending. But as the Second Eight and most T’Aurs and Kobolds had perished. The vampires didn’t accept their bending knees and ripped their hearts, throats, and heads. It’s said that these three vampires, Lärrilyx Né Thryll, Havillalila Njorltaghur, and Japolo Diq Diwaq, consumed the Thursar energies as they do Liches, and we are grateful it was first-generation vampires doing so, as lesser ones might have gone insane by the fill. Thus do vampires hold the memory of the Second Eight very high and are even said to have sheltered some of their descendants.

Skjald Valgrif

 

The Third Eight – Saving the Worlds Seams

After the creation of our world, almost four millennia passed with the whimsical gods becoming more and more frustrated over the lack of fluxing energies and chaotic bursts. Feeling tricked by their divine cousins, Vornir, Boriac, Wickeryadi, and Thursar. Annoyed with the orderly system that had occurred within their own ranks, resulting in a slow influx of steady energies. Prohibited from creating great outbursts, some contenders began to examine if they could dissolve the seams of the world, release the astral, and have the former void gardens once more floating around—just like padurian carpets.

As they began their research and tamperings, the Third Eight slowly became aware of the disasterous plot and each other. Slowly they gathered information and noticed the pattern in the rise of earthquakes, volcano eruptions, and landslide increases. Carefully enquiring about extraordinary beings in the areas led them on the track of the culprits. Realising that as mere mortals against gods, they stood no chance of winning—unless they acted bravely and disregarded the most likely outcome. Some of them being outstanding mentalists, skilled in illusionary magic paths, they managed to become part of the contender gods retinue. And in 3967 they informed the other divines and the greater gods regarding the final ritual, which would consume all channelling mana manipulators. Fed by this massive energy boost, the contenders planned to consume all essence mana manipulators and use their energies to unbind all seams.

Just as the contenders, in front of their loyal legions, began their ritual. Thursar, Wickeryadi, Vornir, Boriac, greater and lesser gods, Archaic, Drakk Alfar, Ljost Alfar, T’Aurs, and Vampires surged forth. In the ensuing battle, some of the contenders attempted to rush the ritual. But the Third Eight, buffed by absurd amounts of combat herbs and loaded with insane amounts of magic ingredients, Disrupted the ritual, and their ingredient loads created a chaotic blast of such proportions that they, the contender gods, and much of both armies were consumed in a cacophonic swirl—of such proportions that the world tilted. Thus, the 1st Cataclysm could have been much worse, and the Third Eight are legend.

Skjald Vinotis

 

The Fourth Eight – Besting a God

As our world, dented, cracked, and tilted, slowly recovered and settled, mortals went about their business blisfully unaware of how close they had been to spilling into the astral or void. The greater gods tightened their grip on their own, and things went their slow turns. Then came an odd one, suddenly surging across the Rim, hunting vampires.

To a chosen few, this was a clear sign of contenders at play once more, and they began to research and track its movements. Not at all difficult, as it wrecked havok everywhere, and targeting vampires who still favoured the descendants of the Second Eight, they had some advantages. Legend goes that they were all embraced by the vampires Lärrilyx Né Thryll, Havillalila Njorltaghur, and Japolo Diq Diwaq, who all had Thursar energies. This vampiric boost of all eight, as well as Wickeryadi combat herbs and Thursar potions, braved them enough to confront it.

Facing each other, the bullheaded god, clueless about the actual powers of the Fourth Eight, charged them. Those in the small retinues of both were flung aside; most died, but a few survived and told the story of the great battle. The bullheaded god had consumed and stored energies from slain vampires, so it matched the Fourth Eight in power. But as their numbers were higher, they could deliver damage faster, and as each one was felled by mighty blows, bursts, and leechings, the bullheaded god was increasimgly wounded. Finally, as there was but Yumari Cere and the bullheaded god standing, Yumari chose to interrupt a bullheaded god spell, by directing all her energies into a giant net that enclosed her foe. As it shrank, the energies of both built up, and when it had the size of a berry, it exploded.

The blast is believed to have cost both their lives. Yumaris demise was certain, as her body lay broken on the stones but the bullheaded god had vanished with a shriek. Free of their masters will, the bullheaded gods surviving followers and the retinue of the Fourth Eight burnt the corpses of their dead leaders.

Skjald Sigurd

 

The Fifth Eight –  The Eruption of Mt. Vula

The memories of the bullheaded god had become vague memories as several centuries passed. No real threats to worldwide peace were building, but there was a growing tension between the Vular and the other inhabitants, especially with those on Ljostari. As it ended with contender gods participating, we think they were the minds behind, and then the Vulars knowledge urge makes more sense. Unknowingly, they were collecting clues about who could be the current Favoured Eight, so the contender gods could track them down and destroy the Favoured Eight.

Seemingly the contenders had figured their greater gods were on the watch, so they widened the plot. Involving pawns on a broader scale, far more subtle than ever before, their desire to merge astral, void, and world once more walked hand in hand with their desire to reveal the Favoured Eight. Eventually their pawns succumbed to mortal pride and their own aloftness. Rushing things, they triggered the most devastating event of the Third Age, the Vular War. In this mayhem, the Favoured Eight had managed to travel unnoticed to Mt. Ljostia, where they had informed the Dwarven kin of the first house and the Ljost Alfar of Ljostalia of the plot. Fully aware of the risk to not only their domains but also the world, the mortal Alfar and Dwarves succumbed to the hate that had built, and most surged to anhilate the Vular army at their gates. As the Favoured Eight was planning their next move, cries rang through the halls: “Intruders at the forges, intruders at the forges…“.

Rushing along to the forges, the world’s strongest node, said to be the main knot of the world grid, then a tamed volcano being used as an engine for the crafting forges. They were faced with some gods, carrying out a renaming ritual on the very mountain. The power of the Favoured Fifth, some just fed by their greater gods, others even stronger as they had the Thursar and Vampire gifts, was further energised by the earthnode. Almost matching the contender gods, they slew the retinue, protecting those contender gods carrying out the ritual, but as they knew themselves inferior to the gods, they instead chose a braving act. Four of them rushed behind a spell weaving contender god, grabbed the contenders shoulders, and their four comrades standing inbetween, each grabbed their comrades shoulders. A full circle formed; they spoke their true names, and their greater gods used them as nodes for an energetic unleash towards the contender gods. The almost completed ritual was disrupted, just as Mt. Ljostia dissolved, resulting in a disasterous explosion.

But the sacrifice of the Fifth Eight somehow contained the worlds unbinding, reducing it to become an open portal from the astral to the void. But unlike ever before, mana did not leak from the astral to the void but was sucked from the void into the astral. Thus the fight culminated with the catastrophic change of Mount Ljostia into Mt. Vula, the sinking of the rest of the island of Ljostari, the tainted Deep Blue Tsunami, and the creation of the Lava Imps. It is the Lava Imps that have told us about the forgefight, as they were Dwarven kin working there before their transformation.

Skjald El Mary

 

The Sixt Eight – The Archaic Lich Overlord

In year 6, the gods began to notice a dwindling influx of energies at West Fjella, as if their worshippers simply vanished. At first the greater gods thought this a contender scheme, guiding realm energies to strengthen an upcoming ursurper. But prying through agents and assmebling information through prayers, the gods found out it was but a mere mortal, now a selfmade Lich turning mortals into a sort of arisen. So they discarded it, and as populations grew, they overlooked the growing problem. Naragth Brond's might grew as he consumed and stored all the energies of those he turned or rose.

Around the year 800, the words of the Archaic Lich Overlord were a tale told across our realm. Thus the Sixt Eight turned their attention towards this, travelled to Claun, and began enquiring about Naragth. Becoming aware of their Favoured Eights agenda, the greater gods learnt of the might of not only Naragth but of the Lich Conclave. Soon able to unfold their three-step masterplan: sweep the world of vampires, consume all mortals, and topple the gods. It suddenly became an existential threat to all gods, but they could not interviene directly. As that most likely would enrage the other divines, and another cataclysm would unfold. So the Sixt Eight was informed that they had free hands and didn’t need to worry about contender gods this time. Luckily, the Sixt Eight distrusted the whimsical gods and kept their information share to an absolute minimum.

So, in 808, as Naragth and the Lich Conclave were performing their manalinking all vampires ritual. At the very moment hundreds of links shot out from their octagram, the Sixt Eight astravelled into their midst. Throwing their life energies into a misdirectioning spell, all links bent and gathered into eight massive, vibrant pulses, surging far away and destroying the philactres of the Liches. As their endpoints exploded, the energetic backlash formed a ninth multicoloured umbrella-like blast, consuming all the ritual performers from the Lich Conclave and all of the Sixt Eight.

Skjald Ulrich

 

The Seventh Eight – The Great Invasion

Admitted, as the most recent appearance of those believed to be of the Eights. Tied to the Great Invasion, generally survived, we are in doubt. As their survival breaks all previous outcomes of the eight spoiling contender god plots. The Great Invasion was undoubtably spawned by contender gods to wreck havoc and cause confusion enough so they could unfold their plot.

We are though clueless about exactly what was the plan, as we have been busy defending our lives and homes, meanwhile saving our records and driving off the invaders. But maybe we are mistaken about who the Seventh Eight were. As it in 1283 felt as if something occurred in the Outlands, or down below the equatorial Rim. As both the local Kinoblin and Sproblins, the Anurai, Kinoblin, Mammutan, Pigryn, Romasai, and Sproblins of the Outlands, as well as the Aquerian and Ye'Til from the south, suddenly halted the continued reinforcement of the invasion—an assumption we take as their supplies and refreshments suddenly stopped.

If our guess holds, we assume time will tell, the Seventh Eight fought to prevent the end of our world and maybe the ascending of a successful contender god. This is with some uncertainty though, as they would then be the first gathering of the Favoured Eights, who had surviving members. We believe them to have been Black Oak, Da'Vey, Den Godan, Deepminded, F.F. Jaeger, The Pilgrim, Wrekazi, and Yell'a'Beard.

Skjald El Mary

 

Future of the Eight – A Scorched Dawn

As we stand on the brink of a new age, three questions remain—have we counted right? Was those of the Great Invasion the Seventh Eight? Will the Eight Eight be us witnessing the final turning of the wheel? If the scorched dawn of the Seventh Eight marked a near-cataclysm, many fear that the Eighth Eight may herald the end of all things.

Skjald Sejrik

 

Cartography

The origins of the Favoured Eight spanned the entire void, and since our world creation, from across all lands. Some even comes from the other side of our world, in various parts of the Outlands. It is said that the equatorial rim, once thought impassable, was crossed by at least one of the Favoured in ages past.

Skjald Valgrif

 

Organisation

Despite the divine selection, there is little evidence to suggest that the Favoured Eight operate as a coordinated group. Rather, they are brought together by fate or divine guidance when the need arises. Their paths often intertwine, but they rarely know the full extent of their shared destiny until the end.

Skjald Ulrich

 

Special

As the 7th group was involwed in The Great Invasion, heralding us into the scorched dawn, we have begun discussing if the next one would be our final cataclysmic event, or the wheel will spin anew.

Skjald Yell’a’Beard