History of Vayan

World Creation, the Gods, and Myths

The Creation of life and the first Era

When the world was barren, the Mother found it and planted the seeds of all life. Knowing she could not grow these seeds by herself she drew to her numerous Immortals: She negotiated with Pelor, who agreed to shine the light of the sun so it would be perfect for life to exist; not too warm and not too cold. She persuaded Eldath to nourish all life and Lathander to design the cycles of growth. Selune would balance Pelor and shine her light in the night. Talos appointed himself the master of tempest, and Auril claimed the icy domain of winter. Finally, mother recruited Kelemvor to shepherd the souls of the departed to the eternal seas of the Astral plane, and Bahamut to stand as a guardian to outsiders who would prey upon the newly created dwellers of Vayan, Mother’s garden.

Mother
Pelor	Eldath	Lathender	Selune	Talos	Auril	Kelemvor	Bahamut
Light, Sun	Life	Cycle of Seasons	Dark, Moon	Weather	Winter	Death	Justice

During this era the Immortals lived in relative balance - each settling into their own domains and amassing their own followers. In these times life on the material plane was much different from what it is like today. Massive titans shaped the continents and undying dragons warded the world from invasion. Angels would guide the light from Astra, Pelor’s seat, to Vayan so Eldath and Lathandar could use it to nourish the flora and fauna, and to Lunaris - Selune’s seat - to illuminate Vayan when Astra would set. Meanwhile Talos would harden or reward the denizens of Vayan while Auril claimed the strongest in her domains of eternal cold.

Kelemvor and Bahamut took special places in the pantheon. The former guided the souls of those whose corporeal form failed, bringing them to rest in the unending seas of the astral domain. The latter was the bastion of Vayan - protecting it from extra-planner invaders preying on the newly formed world.

Changing of Seasons and the second Era

The disappearance of the mother marked what is now known as the Schism: Talos and Auril collaborated to bring down Kalemvor and weaken him and allow Loviatar, empress of the Nine Hells, to massacre Kelemvor’s followers and imprison him in her personal domain. The new goddess of Death and Pain threw the delicate balance that Kelemvor had created out of order. This disturbance had great effects on the mortal lives of the Voyan natives; eventually triggering wars between the different great societies of the material plane.

Before Eldath could restore the balance, the very forces of Loviatar had decimated her followers and she was forced to flee - exaggerating the damage already done. Now with one ally less on their side Pelor, Selune, Lathendar and Bahamut saw no other option than direct conflict.

Pelor	Eldath	Lathender	Selune	Talos	Auril	Kelemvor	Bahamut
Light, Sun	Life	Cycle of Seasons	Dark, Moon	Weather	Winter	Death	Justice

The resulting conflicts caused lapses of attention and power vacuums. This made room for a number of powerful entities to claim their own domains and grow bases of power on Vayan. Waukeen, the goddess of trade. Tempus, god of War. Talona, Goddess of disease. Mystra, goddess of Magic. Bane, god of Tyranny. Nehzen, Goddess of Souls. Many more found a place either on Vayan itself or in the hearts of its newly created mortal population.

Finally, Saint Arven, light of the Cosmos, was brought into the fold by Pelor and Bahamut to tip the scales in their favour. In this final conflict those aligned with the Astral Seat severely crippled their enemies and their followers before sealing a number of them away, starting the Era of Renewal.

Amongst those who took a seat in the pantheon during the Changing of Seasons are: Umberlee, goddess of the sea. Savras, god of Fate. Oghma, god of Knowledge. Malar, god of the Hunt. Gond, god of Craft. Cyric, god of Lies. Lolth, Goddess of darkness and chaos. Kiaransalee, goddess of Undead.

The Age of Discord and the Third Era

The Pantheon had changed irrevocably during the Schism. Some deities had fled and others sealed away in inescapable prisons. Those that remained were no longer the same, and neither were the seats of power they had held. Lesser known deities rose to prominence and repute in the wake of the Schism, both due to the vacuum left and new forces that shaped the world.

Oghma and Mystra had given the lesser races, access to the tools necessary to study and wield magic, Nehzen - once a devout guardian of the still lost Kelemvor - rose to the occasion to take up the mantle of her former lord, and Lathender added the portfolio of missing Eldath to his responsibilities.

Greater Dieties
Pelor	Lathender	Selune	Oghma	Mystra	Nehzen	Bahamut
Light, Sun	Seasons, Life	Dark, Moon	Knowledge	Magic	Souls	Justice

Lesser Deities
Arven	Savras	Umberlee	Malar	Gond	Cyric	Kiaransalee	Waukeen	Tempus	Talona	Bane	Lolth
Light, Order	Fate	Sea, Ocean	Hunt	Craft	Lies	Undead	Trade	War	Disease	Tyranny	Darkness

Sealed or Missing Deities
Mother (missing)	Eldath (Missing)	Kelemvor (Sealed)	Talos (Sealed)	Auril (Sealed)
Creation	Life	Death	Weather	Winter

The Third Era would also become known as the Age of Discord. The greater Immortals solidified their power bases on Vayan and either allied with lesser immortals of similar allegiance while trying to suppress those that would oppose them. This eventually solidified what came to be known as the Astral Council: An alliance between Pelor, Lathender, Selune, Bahamut, and Arven. This coalition dedicated themselves to upholding Mother’s creation and the life that now existed on Vayan as a result.

Some Immortals like Oghma, Nehzen, Mystra, and Savras did not take part in the alliance but did not oppose it either, preferring neutrality - or mutually beneficial pacts of their own. Others like Kiaransalee, Tempus, Talona, and more saw this as a hostile move to put them out of a position of power and violently opposed this alliance, resulting in a long and violent war erupted between the Astral Council and the Crepuscule Pact.

The attack that started it all was a direct attack on Pelor's Seat on Vayan and the resulting impact created what is known today as the Mirror Shore Archipelago. The war was long, and took massive tolls, from Immortals that went missing altogether like Savras and Lloth, to those who were severely weakened like Oghma and Tempus, and those who ended up sealed like Talona, Cyric, and Waukeen.

The Crepuscular Annihilation left the Material Plane scarred and many immortals wounded if not worse. In a world now full of life so much more fragile than their own, the Astral Council and those immortals neutral in most conflicts decided to retreat and leave Vayan to offer guidance from a distance, rather than risk another great - and possibly more devastating - conflict. However, not trusting those immortals outside of their agreement they took measures to ensure a level playing field a seal was constructed through which no immortal - or any creatures under their command - could pass. The seal was placed around the inner planes of Vayan after departure of the Immortals, in an event known as the Abdication.

The Alchemic Millennium and the Fourth Era

The end of the Crepuscular Annihilation and subsequent retreat of Immortals to their own planes marked the start of the Fourth Era. The conflict effectively eradicated many Immortals from the pantheon, and severely diminished the powers of most others. The resulting weakening of divine intervention led mortals to the development of powerful Arcane magics. Some who immersed themselves did so as compensation for the loss of the divine energies, others out of rebellion against the gods that had abandoned them, and others still felt immense allure in the potential power.

The mortal races were largely left to their own devices and while some of the influence and directives of their deities remained they now had to create their own destiny. Kingdoms, Empires, and Dominions rose from the ashes of the Ancients. Some structured their societies in the image of their Gods and others, having long since lost their faith, made their own moral codes.

This is where we stand now. A world without Gods, where only occasional whispers and dreams still allude to their influence on our Material plane. Some claim their deities still watch over the material plane, steering those who are still loyal to carry out their will. Others believe that the gods have abandoned this world and left us to deal with the mess they left behind.