by In the world of Ither, one might look at it's lush and beautiful landscapes... it's thriving cities and pleasant towns, it's marvelous culture and it's overall peace and think... "Was it always so?"
The answer to this question is no. In a by gone age of Ither... before it's children ever began to call this world Ither, there was a more sinister and more horrid world than the world we see today. An age in which hatred boiled in every man's heart, an age where peace had no place, an age where the magics now deemed heretical were allowed to flourish and prosper, where death was simply a day to day occurrence, an age where daemons roamed freely in our realm, an age in which the blood of Ither's people was split as though it were Water.
This was the Age of Blood.
The answer to this question is no. In a by gone age of Ither... before it's children ever began to call this world Ither, there was a more sinister and more horrid world than the world we see today. An age in which hatred boiled in every man's heart, an age where peace had no place, an age where the magics now deemed heretical were allowed to flourish and prosper, where death was simply a day to day occurrence, an age where daemons roamed freely in our realm, an age in which the blood of Ither's people was split as though it were Water.
This was the Age of Blood.
Few tomes, text, scrolls or any form of information remain from this age. What has been recovered in the way of history from this age is vague and unclear, many empty gaps and unanswered questions. For example, no one truly knows how this age began. However, what we do know are the terrible details of what occurred within this bloody age. There were no kingdoms or countries in this age, but rather two viscous empires known only by the names Ira and Odi. Both founded out of the shadows in an age even before the age of blood, leaving their true origins a mystery, but what was not a mystery was their mutual disgust and hatred for the other. And so the two empires went to war...
Odi, the sheer hatred and vigor of their empire was boundless.
Odi, the sheer hatred and vigor of their empire was boundless.
Ira, the rage and passion of their empire knew no end.
In this age, all that mattered was war, all anyone cared about was death, all there was to hope for was destruction. Caring little for pleasantries, nature, minor factions and anyone who wasn't them, Odi and Ira dragged Ither and it's people into an era of combat. Of all the records known to us now, there is little else to see other than records and tales of the countless battles waged all across Ither, each ending roughly the same way... with the total destruction of both armies, neither Odi nor Ira being able to claim true victory over the other. And another feature is noted in all the battles... in the after math, it is said that the field of battle is turned to slushy mud from the stomping of Soldier's feet, and the endless flow of wet red blood into the soil.
But, for as grizzly and horrifying as this age was, it succeeded in securing peace for the future generations of Ither. Reason being... by the end of the Age of Blood, Odi and Ira had destroyed one another, their eternal hatred dragging them both into mutual ruin and ultimately death. And once it had all ended, when the last Odi and Ira warriors had been slain, when the last battle had faded, when the last ember of rage had burnt out, and when the last drop of blood had been spilt... there was nothing. Those who survived the bloody age were so backwards and isolated that they knew nothing of Odi or Ira, they only knew that the world had been set ablaze by their great anger and the folly of mortals... and so, they began anew.
With any hint of Odi and Ira wiped clean from the world, the survivors began the process of rebuilding the world upon the blood, bone, and ashes of the old. Calling this new world Ither, they set out to remake what had been lost.
And so ended to Age of Blood... Let this tale be a warning to all people and all kingdoms, do not allow Hatred and Anger to control you, for if you do... you will suffer the same fate as the empires of old...
But, for as grizzly and horrifying as this age was, it succeeded in securing peace for the future generations of Ither. Reason being... by the end of the Age of Blood, Odi and Ira had destroyed one another, their eternal hatred dragging them both into mutual ruin and ultimately death. And once it had all ended, when the last Odi and Ira warriors had been slain, when the last battle had faded, when the last ember of rage had burnt out, and when the last drop of blood had been spilt... there was nothing. Those who survived the bloody age were so backwards and isolated that they knew nothing of Odi or Ira, they only knew that the world had been set ablaze by their great anger and the folly of mortals... and so, they began anew.
With any hint of Odi and Ira wiped clean from the world, the survivors began the process of rebuilding the world upon the blood, bone, and ashes of the old. Calling this new world Ither, they set out to remake what had been lost.
And so ended to Age of Blood... Let this tale be a warning to all people and all kingdoms, do not allow Hatred and Anger to control you, for if you do... you will suffer the same fate as the empires of old...
