The Legends of Dragon's Exodus
For centuries, the truth was hidden, lost in the mists of time. An ancient secret, the oldest secret of them all, many had wondered exactly how the world began. Every people, every race had its own version, but the truth remained elusive. Some said that the world has always been as it is now. Others that it was born, willed by the wisdom of superior beings that have since departed from our midst; others that that those beings remained. Some say it was born out of the battle of order and chaos, of the eternal conflict of good and evil. Some people say this, and others that.
The oldest legends of the oldest people speak of beings of ancient power... of primordial gods that held the key to life and death. Born of the flames of creation, of the churning of the astral ocean, of the battle of the elements, of the fight between law and chaos, were they willed into existance. These legends of the First Days always spoke of the Old Gods, the beings of infinite wisdom and power, who shaped the world and withdrew, leaving the people to rule it.
From scattered tribes, from the simple shepherds and the peasants were kingdoms forged. People of each race, of each tribe, of each clan worshipped their own gods. False, petty gods rose to take over the responsibility of overseeing the realm, and the memory of the Old Gods slowly faded. Over the centuries, the search for this legendary relic continued and adventurers from all over Icaria, young and eager to prove themselves, would travel far and wide in order claim it's power for themselves.
For a time, many of these lesser gods and goddesses were constantly at odds and in many cases set the mortals against each other to further their own agendas. These wars led to the rise of various clans and temples in service to their Deities. The constant clash of order and chaos, good and evil, slowly eroded the barriers placed by the Old Gods in order to separate the mortal plane of existence.
Beyond the ether, through the astral plane, the various beings of the outer realms began to materialize into Icaria through various astral rifts. Their presence would upset the already precarious balance of the realm and began to cause chaos and destruction wherever they appeared. For a time, the clans and temples banded together in a seemingly endless battle against this threat but one by one they fell and a dark age descended upon Icaria.
Hundreds, perhaps even thousands of years later, no one knows exactly how the astral plane was restored. Ever since that day the ether rages within it, ripping apart any who dare to traverse it. Massive waygates now stand where the rifts first formed, leading to a mysterious place the mortals have dubbed "The Nexus". There are many who claim the gods sealed the rifts, others that they left this realm, seeking the powers of the various elemental planes.
Today, travellers flock to the Nexus utilizing it as a hub for the waygate network. Some pass through in pursuit of glory, knowledge and adventure; some are merchants who come peddling their wares in the massive auction house and others utilize it simply wishing to travel safely within an increasingly dangerous realm. What happened to the deities of Icaria? What mysteries beyond the waygates and will you be the one to uncover them?