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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Knightfall" data-source="post: 279614" data-attributes="member: 2012">The Third Era ends...AftermathThe Divinity War had a huge impact on the mortals of Harqual, as well as their gods.  Thousands of priests all over the continent lost the power to cast spells.  More importantly, the loss of ones god can shake a person’s faith and whole civilisations turned away from them.  Cronn’s faith disappeared south of the Greystone Mountains and the Empire dedicated to the Pantheon of Swords slowly deteriorated without its patron.  This Empire was reduced to a few squabbling city-states on the Ragik Peninsula, as region after region secede from the Empire.Entire tracts of farmland fell into disuse and hundreds of rural towns were ruined, claimed by the wilderness.  It became more and more dangerous to travel from region to region as Imperial provinces became isolated countries and then even more isolated city-states.  Petty dictators and warlords held sway over their isolated regions as few individuals had the power to oppose them.Demihuman races became isolated from their human allies and in less then a hundred years relations between humans and other races deteriorated so much so, that old treaties and alliances were forgotten (mostly by the humans).  Wilderness regions were left to dangerous creatures and the remaining faithful of Larea.  (Many vicious hunters left Larea’s service for Uller (q.v.) when the god came to Harqual).The Interloper GodsThe Aftermath of the Divinity Wars left huge holes in both the Pantheon of the North and the Pantheon of Swords.  Key members were either destroyed or had their power base greatly reduced.  Into this void came the Interloper Gods, a term used to describe all powers that gained influence on Harqual after the Divinity War ended.  This term is still widely used today by priests of both pantheons and is almost always used in a derogatory manner; whether the god being referred to is evil or not.The first god to come to Harqual after the Divinity War was the Olympian, Apollo.  Of all the Interloper Gods, he is the most respected by the priests of the Pantheon of the North.  Those priests never refer to him as an Interloper, even though he never officially joined the Pantheon of the North.  He is looked at as an honored guest like Corellon, Moradin, and the other Greater Gods of the demihumans.NOTE: The demihuman gods are not official members of the Pantheon of the North.  However, they are always welcome in any pantheon god’s realm on the Outer Planes or in Cronn’s Heart of Ice in the far north beyond Harqual’s shores (Kulan’s North Pole).However, the priests of the Pantheon of Swords do refer to Apollo as an Interloper.  And he does fall into that category, as his power on Harqual came after the Divinity War.  And this is true of all the following gods that came to Harqual as an independent power without ties to the to existing pantheons or their traditional pantheons on the Outer Planes: Ahto, Boccob, Calphas, Chaeon, Dionysus, Ehlonna, Erythnul, Gruumsh, Kord, Loviatar, Persana, Ptah, Ran, Uller, & Vaprak.NOTE: Gruumsh and Vaprak have human followers, as well as monstrous followers. These Interlopers are despised by all the gods of the Pantheon of the North and are never allied with no matter what the situation. Gruumsh's faith is extremely influential on Harqual, while Vaprak's followers have been responsible for the start of both Ogre Wars.Beyond Apollo, the gods that are somewhat tolerated by the Pantheon of the North, if not completely respected, are Calphas, Dionysus, Ehlonna, Kord, Ran, Persana, and Ptah. Calphas is a strange deity from another prime material world and is venerated almost exclusively in the lands just north of the Great Expanse.  Dionysus is considered a good friend of the Pantheon of the North and is often found in Damh’s company or trying to cheer up Cronn in the Heart of Ice (he likes the challenge).Persana and Ehlonna tend to avoid conflicts between the Pantheon of the North and the Sword Gods.  However, Ehlonna's close ties with Corellon Larethian and Yondalla have allowed her to become a close friend with Daghdha and Larea.  Kord is a popular god with barbarians north of the Greystones and even has gained Cronn's respect.  Kord's faith isn't as well known south of the Greystones, except for in the Barony of Wolffire and is completely unknown south of the Great Expanse.Ahto and Aegir tend to exist without strife but most of the pantheon would rather not have dealings with the Finnish sea god (because of you know who), regardless of his benevolent nature.  Ran is Aegir’s wife and is grudgingly accepted by the most members of the Pantheon of the North.  Immotion dislikes Boccob for his uncaring nature towards those that worship him.  Erythnul attempts to steal worshippers from other gods, regardless of pantheon or alignment.  This has made the followers of Erythnul enemies of almost everyone else on Harqual.All of the members of the Pantheon of the North hate Loviatar and would love to destroy or banish the Goddess of Pain and Torture.  However, she has never sent her Avatar to Harqual and because of her ties with the world of Toril she is too strong in her own realm.  Loviatar has swayed a lot of Nether’s followers to join her faith, which has made her unpopular with the Sword Gods as well.  Loviatar and Nether oppose each other in every situation, even if it means working with another god they usually oppose.Chaeon, Ptah and Uller are enigmas on Harqual.  Very few mortals worship these gods, yet they refuse to leave.  Chaeon's worshippers are limited to the desert elves of the Great Expanse and the god never interacts with other deities unless the desert elves are at risk.  It’s thought that Ptah might be after Mussin’s head because he destroyed one of Ptah’s favorite followers.  Why Uller insists on taking a stake in trying to find followers on Harqual is anyone’s guess.  He seems determined to try and sway Larea’s followers whenever he can.  It is whispered that he might be trying to prove himself to her to try and convince her he’d be a suitable consort.  (However, no one is stupid enough to ask one of Uller’s faithful about this, as they’d likely get a crossbow bolt in the forehead.)The Empire of SwordsThe Empire of Swords was a militaristic, despotic kingdom that held ultimate power over all of the lands of Harqual.  (Not including the Great Forest of the elves, the Greystone Mountains of the dwarves, or the Storm Jungle of the tabaxi.)  The Empire, at its height, controlled all the lands from the Ragik Peninsula on the western coast of Northern Harqual, to the Valley of the Spears near the eastern coast of Northern Harqual, to the northern edge of the Great Expanse in Southern Harqual.The Empire paid homage to Hiisi’s dark pantheon.  It is unknown whether the Empire took its name from the pantheon (likely) or if it was the other way around (not so likely).  All that is known is that the Empire of Swords was the largest human empire to ever exist on Harqual.  It ruins can be found all over Northern Harqual, lost to time and the ravages of war.  For over 1,400 years, the Empire of Swords dominated the continent, no one able to break its dark power.At the height of the Empire’s power, King-Priests of Hiisi controlled the Empire of Swords, with each successive King-Priest ruling for their entire lifetime.  The power of the King-Priest was absolute and it was rumoured that each King-Priest was, in fact, a powerful proxy of the Lord of Darkness.  However, this rumor goes against the Dark Ones very nature, as he loathed too give out power to anyone.  The truth may never be known.  What is known is that a King-Priest could destroy entire legions of soldiers with even the simplest spells and granted powers.  They were a terror to face on the battlefield and were protected by incredibly powerful magical enchantments and armor.Most of the names of the King-Priests that ruled the Empire of Swords during its existence have been lost to time.  All that is left of their legacy are the ziggurats lining the Sword River from the Imperial city of Yösydän to the city-state of A’Harn.  These ziggurats are the resting-places of the King-Priests of the Sword Imperium.Hiisi’s banishment to Carceri left the Empire of Swords without their patron and the Imperium suffered as a result.  The King-Priest was powerless against the combined clergy of the remaining Pantheon of Swords gods.  Nether’s clerics of pain took great pleasure in torturing the King-Priest and his followers, while Mussin’s clerics spread disease and destruction throughout the Empire.Mussin cared nothing for Hiisi’s mortal followers or the Empire they built and he took great pleasure in tearing it apart.  Distant protectorates broke away from the Empire one by one and the Sword Imperium collapsed.  The throne of the Empire passed from one petty dictator to another, along the lines of might makes right.  However, ruthless warlords held sway over the remains of the Empire and the Emperors had little real power beyond the walls of Yösydän.These Dead Emperors, as they were often called by the masses, usually didn’t rule long.  Assassins loyal to the dead god Vespin slew Emperor after Emperor, as none of them were 'right for the throne' in the eyes of the followers of the God of Assassins.  The Dead Emperors lived in fear for centuries of the Vespin assassins and most went mad.  Most of their edicts were simply ignored by the populace, as the Emperor that proclaimed them would soon forget all about it.Vespin’s followers weren’t the only ones that opposed the Dead Emperors, as dozens of ex-priests of the Pantheon of Swords banded together to form the society known as the Yosyntya or the Dark Reborn.  Dedicated to raising the fallen gods of the Imperium, this society had little luck regaining worshippers for the dark gods.  They still exist to this day but are hunted by the priests of the remaining gods of Pantheon of Swords, not to mention everyone else.  Of all of the dead dark gods, only Vespin's loyal families of assassins refuse to convert to worship another god.The Imperium Royal House is seen more as a bunch of squabbling fools and has little power over the continent it once ruled.  The Empire, as it now stands, is limited to the Ragik Peninsula.  The Emperor is quite mad and has been known to ride backwards through the city of Yösydän on a donkey laughing ‘I am all powerful, tremble before me!’Unfortunately, an elite unit of mercenaries known as the Empires Blades protects the Emperor.  The leaders of this army are the true power behind the Imperium.  This unit has become more and more aggressive over the last few years and dozens of smaller townships along the fringes of Imperium lands have had to bow to the will of the Blades or be destroyed.Many of the neighbouring city-states feared an invasion from the Blades and quickly signed a treaty that gave up tracts of wilderness to the Imperium in return for a pact of non-aggression.  The Blades commanders readily agreed to the deal but have plans to have the Emperor declare the treaty broken when the opportunity rises annex the surrounding lands.</blockquote>

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