Fantasy Divinity- lore

[ThePrime]

Timeline of Paru
The following is a summary of world history as told to the Character by The One God Jin.


The beginning

Tens of Thousands of years ago the world of Paru was a barren desert world until the gods arrived. At first there were hundreds, together they made great oceans and filled them with life, likewise they filled the land with plants and animals until the world was a lush paradise. Soon the gods would make the decision to fill the world with peoples. At first this seemed great, these people like little gods would take what the world had to offer and change it to suit their needs. Their gods would lead them and teach them and in return they were worshiped and emulated by their creations. For a time it was heavenly as gods and mortals lived together in peace and harmony. Sadly it was not meant to last and conflict would break out. At first it was the mortals debating over who was the best patron god, a debate that would eventually reach the lips and ears of the patron gods themselves.
~~~
The Age of Calamity

About fifteen thousand years ago the first conflict between peoples would arise. War between the two patron gods would break out and while at first it was just the two sides would be taken and the conflict would spread like a wildfire across the entire planet. During this age the God Jin was born as the god of Ambition, a young god who would see the conflicts and refused to take part in them feeling great disdain for the petty squabbles. He would spend most of his first few centuries attempting to convince his elders of the folly of their ways and the cost of mortal lives, both of which they refused to consider. Eventually he would give up on this and he would direct his small group of devout followers to begin building his dreadful pylons. The other gods were so engrossed in their wars that by the time they noticed something was amiss the pylons had been completed and the followers of Jin along with the god himself were fleeing into one of many great vaults. The moment the vaults doors closed the pylons activated unleashing a terrible divine blaze that would engulf the entire planet boiling the oceans, glassing the surface, and burning to ash every god and living creature on the planet.
~~~
The Golden Age

A year After the great blaze was unleashed the first great vault opened releasing clouds and great winds that would bring rain and snuff out the embers and flames that remained. In The second year the great oceanic vaults were opened and sea life began to thrive again along with currents once again carrying the life and nutrient rich water all across the planet likewise in this year the Seed vaults were opened and their seeds scattered by the winds. The third year after the blaze the Great mountain and Forest vaults opened releasing birds, insects, and animals. In the fourth year the Life Vaults were opened unleashing the divine energy that would accelerate the development of the budding life. Finally in the fifth year the Great vault of Jin was opened and the followers of the deity walked out alongside the god who had spent the past five years teaching them. On his direction they scattered in all directions while he moved towards the sixth and final vault the Soul vault, which had collected the souls of the fallen gods and mortals claimed by the blaze upon opening that vault Jin absorbed the souls of the gods and recycled the souls of the mortals allowing for a massive population boom while simultaneously solidifying himself as the Single most powerful god to ever exist on the world of Paru. For thousands of years the mortals enjoyed prosperity and peace while Jin ruled from a distance rewarding those who did good and punishing those who did bad all the while growing more and more distant as he hoped to enjoy his mortals development organically. And enjoy it he did as their development was great and the people were for the most part happy.
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The Age of strife

As the mortals prospered their numbers grew. Hunter gatherer tribes would become farming villages, which would grow into agricultural cities, which would in turn grow into huge economic hubs. The populations of settlements would boom and with it conflicts would grow over resources. Jin would try to solve this by blessing those in need, only to find them turning their blessings on those who they deemed enemies. War and struggle would begin to break out and the development of nations would result in border skirmishes growing until the scent of blood could not be avoided by Jin. He would attempt to rain punitive judgements upon those who sought conflict, only to find them turning their ire on him and descending into heresy to spite him. The practice of magic would spread and despite Jin’s attempts to guide it the powerful remnants of the first gods power would be weaponized and turned against the other mortals, several attempts were even made on Jin’s life and the god saw fit to enact harsh punishment upon the world. However a woman praying near the grave of her children would draw his attention and as he spoke with her his plan to once again burn the world changed. This woman remembered as the Saint of Prayers would convince the god that mortals would not bend to the gods will, and would need some kind of bridge between the two for true understanding to be made.
~~~
The Current era

With the world in chaos Jin has set in motion the final stages of his plan. For two centuries he has wandered the world finding mortal women with good hearts and spending the night with them. Each time a demigod would be born and Jin would mark them, upon their 20th birthday they would he immaculately transported to a Seventh vault where they would he kept in stasis outside of time and space. All the while their minds and souls would be purified, memories of their lives would be relived over and over again until the desire to change the world was all that was left. Finally he has opened this vault and tells his children of their purpose. The world must be brought to heel, the corrupt torn from their thrones, the wicked brought to ruin, while the innocent must be saved from the flames of war, the righteous put into positions where they can do the most good for the most people. Dubbing his children Divine Crusaders he has sent them into the world as a final judgement, to purge the wicked and gather the righteous. Each with the promise that once this task is complete the denizens of Paru would take to the stars and each of his children would become a god of their own world. However the success of such an ambitious goal is fifty fifty, the way jin sees it either the crusade is successful, or the second blaze will be enacted and he will start anew.​

 

[ThePrime]

The world of Paru

Culture- While a vast variety of cities, towns, nations, and peoples exist its really the shared history that brings them together. The Great Vaults can still be seen where they initially stood, the Layer of ash that encompasses the entire world is a testament to a shared history and none can credibly deny that truth. The belief in the same god exists more or less, though he is called different things based on language and culture the idea of a Ambitious God who saved mortals from the petty squabbles of his own brethren even at the cost of being the last god, is more or less accepted historical canon which actually frees up most people from the debates of theology. Sadly the idea of what is moral and correct is not gathered from this shared history and most believe in the needs of the many outweighing the needs of the few. Communities tend to be closely knit and very fond of one another with close interpersonal bonds within the same community, however outsiders are severely distrusted and even outright feared by many. That said most have a unpinning of honor and would find stealing from an old woman or beating up a child shameful, most are courageous enough to rise against such wickedness but that very same courage and pride often ends in blood feuds and duels being common place. The dead are most often burned with the general belief being that a Hidden Silver vault exists where souls are collected, however in actuality souls are reincarnated and this Hidden Silver vault is actually Jins Demigod Armies vault.

Technology- While this varies from people to people the current most advanced technology on the planet is simple powder firework style explosive weapons like grenades or explosive catapult shells. Ballista are a pretty common siege weapon and small metal works allow for springs and other such mechanical parts which can allow the construction of intricate things like small hand crossbows, and door hinges, among other simple yet advanced metal working techniques. On the low end of technology there are several tribes in remote areas who still use bone and stone spears and such. Medically speaking most do not understand the microscopic world however those who incorporate magic, and a bit of morally questionable research practices, have become very useful in forwarding medical technology. Antibiotics are a recent invention on the cutting edge of medicine while still being widespread enough to he readily available, as a direct result the life expectancy has nearly doubled from around 40 to closer to 80.

Magic- In paru magic is an odd force. It is the left over bits of divine power left over from the first gods, the age of strife, and Jin himself. Those who use this force will often seek artifacts such as weapons and tools of the gods from the age of strife which they can then extract the divine power from and use it to weave spells and enchant items. Sadly magic is channeled through the user which limits the amount of magic they can use. For example it can take a single man up to a week to pull the magic from a simple godly lighter, much longer for something like a weapon of war. Magic has its perks and weaknesses, for example a mage will almost always be capable of feats of deadly potential, but that very same mage will likely have a weak body as channeling the divine energy is not beneficial. Mages tend to age fast, have feeble bodies, both of which grow progressively more noticeable as their use goes on. Because of this many will trade in the potential diversity of effect that comes with being a mage instead opting to use magic weapons and items that possess far more limited abilities but also far less noticeable side effects. The social view of magic tends to vary based on where you are. Some Peoples see magic and its users as a gift from Jin who will bring prosperity, while others see magic as a blasphemous misuse of their gods power and see it as a heretical practice worthy of death. As with most things in life it depends on where you are.

Economics- While the value of individual things varies from city to city and person to person the world has conveniently decided upon the same currency to be used. Astrae, a material believed to he the scorched remains of godly bodies from the Great fire at the end of the age of calamity. This material was selected for a variety of reasons. First and foremost its a limited material of which there will be no new created this sets the value fairly unilaterally. The second reason is because there are multiple types of it with a rarity that coincides directly with its value. Red Astrae is the most plentiful and thus the least valuable with ounce sized chip of this material being the equivalent of a dollar. Blue Astrae is the next most plentiful but is one hundred times less plentiful than the Red kind, as such it is one hundred times as valuable, making an ounce of Blue astrae the equivalent to a hundred dollar bill. Finally there is Green Astrae which is only ten times as rare as Blue astrae making it likewise ten times as valuable meaning each ounce of Green Astrae is equal to 1000$. Purple astrae is also in existence but its rarity is far beyond that of green astrae to the point of it being less of a numerical value and more a token of ones wealth. Possessing a single ounce of the purple astrae is something that could he traded for a kings ransom. The third and final reason for the use of astrae is the reforgability of it. One can always take astrae and melt it back into a hunk that chips can be broken off of meaning the largest sums of this material can he stored in singular massive hunks with chips being cracked off as needed, Red can only blend with red, blue with blue, and green with green. Purple is so rare that none would dream of reforging it however it is said that the richest man in the world collected over a dozen ounces and blended them into a fist size chunk of purple astrae.

Demographics- The humans of Paru are just as diverse and widespread as those of the real world, however unlike the real world “mortals” does not refer to just humanity. In addition to humans Orcs, Dwarves, Elves, and Goliaths are all existing species. Each has subspecies within them depending upon their local area such as the Aquatic variety’s of all five main species, the woodland, dessert, and mountain varieties exist in all five peoples as well. Elves live long enough to accrue large amounts of knowledge and magical prowess but have physically weak frames and are notably less gifted in all aspects physical might. On the inverse Goliaths are remarkably strong and sturdy beings who are not quite well known for being intellectuals and they struggle to use magic but likewise magic seems hard pressed to effect them. Dwarves are a bit of a step down from the elves, their lifespans are longer than others except the elves, and physically they are a but below humans but an equal bit above elves. Their minds are more adapted for the intricacies of craft than the abstracts of magic but nonetheless they are capable. Meanwhile orcs are a step down from goliaths being slightly less physically gifted but lacking the struggle to perform magic that the goliaths have. Humans fit into this tapestry as a fair middle ground in all regards. It was members of all five species of mortal that stepped into the vault with Jin and very early on any ideas of racial superiority were crushed by the deity.

Biology- The plants and animals of paru have been permeated in the divine energy of the Age of calamity and the opening of the Life vault. As such they possess great power that is not always apparent immediately. Plants are capable of fast movements that make predatory flora alot more common. Meanwhile animals often can reach titanic proportions and possess magical abilities such as fire breath and regeneration. Due to this expansion is a difficult and dangerous process for most and hermits living in the wilderness is just not something that really occurs. Small towns are kept alive only by their guards and what magic they can scrape together, but in some ways they are safer as the larger a population grows the more beasts and predators they will attract. Despite the best efforts of the best minds the genetic markers of the gods cannot seem to be identified and seem to be wholly unnatural.​