Lore: The Origins
by Saggidus the Elder
In the beginning, the Creator designed the universe, and the world of Lore. Whether this Creator be an intelligent creature, or a physical force, or even a dream, no one can know. Then, the Creator turned his plans to eight agents of its will. The Elemental Lords.
Every world is governed by the laws of the Elemental Lords. The elemental realms have been in conflict since the beginning of time. Fire and Ice. Earth and Wind. Energy and Water. Light and Darkness. The eight elemental realms. Each pair may counteract the other in equal measure, but equality is rare-- the great battles between the realms forever put their powers at odds in a neverending tug-of-war.
The greatest minds of Lore agree that as the eight realms continue to war on each other, that there will never be a perfect balance. Some believe that, in the end, only two realms will remain. These people think that those two realms will be Light and Darkness. But this is only a symbolic belief... Light often represents creation, Darkness often is seen as destruction or nothingness.
But the Elemental Lords themselves are neither good nor evil. The cause of the wars between the elemental realms is not the Lords waging battle among themselves, but the intelligent people and creatures of Lore who believe themselves servants of one Lord or another, and desire control over more than they should have.
The Creator, a powerful thing, is not alone. For the Creator, too has its opposing force, just as do the Elemental Lords. This thing is known as the Devourer. No one can say what exactly the Devourer is. Perhaps it is a beast on a universal scale. Perhaps it is a dark cloud. No matter what it is... what matters is what it does. It destroys. It eats the elemental forces from all worlds it encounters... and that includes all living things.
It is thought that the Devourer travels between universes, so as never to be seen. This, of course, implies intelligence. An intelligent agent of chaos may be far more dangerous than one that does not act for a reason.
It is thought that, sometimes, the Devourer does not destroy a world completely. It will eat its fill, then move on. Maybe one day, eons hence, that barren world it left in its wake will be full once more, full of more life on which the Devourer may feed.
It is also thought that the Devourer has already tasted the world of Lore. There is evidence of a great devastation a thousand years ago. Many think that the Drakel, a highly advanced, but secretive race, hid within their great domed cities while the Devourer ravaged Lore.
The Drakel know much, their libraries spanning thousands of years before any other advanced civilization began.
