The Schism

The Binding of Rathilon
It is said that in the days after the making of the Three Mortal Races, the gods were well pleased with their creations and the homage they received. Even Barrilos, the Most Envious quieted his fury for a time and sat in study of all the new things that had sprung up to life in Canthia. He became a well-loved figure among all the races, save his estranged dwarven children, and taught them many things of the world and its secrets. His twin was notably absent at this time, for Rathilon had been taken with wanderlust as was his nature and had left the firmament of Canthia to explore the secret places and ways of Time.

It was in this age, that a great many Aei'kar found themselves powerful in the ways of magic. These were the Archons and their might in the arcane was unequalled. They became the kings and princes of legend in many corners of the world, erecting cities and temples by the sheer force of their mighty will. Chief among them was Esterlakrius, who they named Uenthir the Spelltongue and Ulldar, the Mage of Whispers, for it was said that he need but whisper to spell even the greatest of magics. Even the smallfolk knew of Esterlakrius' power and many came to him for boons and favours.

These Archons ruled wisely and well for the most part but Esterlakrius grew unsatisfied even with his great power. Each night he would secret to his laboratory and test the limits of his power and every night he struck the same well. Though he could summon and spell, ensorcell and enchant, creation was beyond his grasp. For all his experiments and trials, he could never manifest a true creation.

He cursed all things, even his creator, Rathilon, blaming the Lively God for his lacking power. And as he cursed and swore it so happened that the noise was such that Barrilos, the Sagely God heard Esterlakrius' cries. The Learner of All Things bent closer for he could feel the weakness in the Archon's soul and saw his chance. It had been eons since Barrilos had discovered a horrifying truth, that for all the things he would learn and know, he would never truly understand Time for it was not of his realm. Dispondent and jealous of his brother's knowledge, Barrilos had long been planning a way to take it from Rathilon. And in hearing Esterlakrius' own jealousy, Barrilos bent to dark whispers in his heart and spirited down to the elf's home in the form of a small toad.

He came to Esterlakrius' bed as the elf slept and whispered dark dreams into his ear. The Archon dreamt of power beyond imagining, greater even than Rathilon or even Aei. He dreamt of the power to create, to fashion the world in a manner to his liking. The sleeping elf smiled and his heart darkened with evil purpose against his creator.

When Esterlakrius awoke he was set in his purpose and called his fellow Archons to him. To they who came, he told his plan:

"My brothers and sisters, I have seen the limits of magic and I cannot abide it. But I have had revelations of a way to break past this wall that blocks our ascent. It is only right that we grow in power and ascend. As our creators came to their godhood so we are meant to follow them. We shall soon know the bliss and homage of godliness, all we need do is follow my scheme."

Many of those assembled stood in agreement, nodding their heads and clapping their hands, for they too held secret desires for godly power. But there was one among them who stood in dissent and would not agree, a youngling priest called Aei'klatharius A'Dun. He told them that the gods' power was not for them and theirs. That to covet it would disrupt the harmony of creation. He reminded them of the fall of Erbos and his siblings who pretended at power greater than their station, he warned them the Archons that they too would run the risk of becoming like the Demonsires if they pursued this course.

But the Archons did not heed his words and named him craven, unambitious and bloodtraitor and they threw him from their midst, exiling and taking his eyes and tongue for they feared he would reveal their plans. In blindness and without voice, Aei'klatharius fled the Archons' wrath to places unknown.

And so these Archons went to work never knowing to what end they laboured or what dark purpose the jealous Barrilos had set in Esterlakrius' mind. To be true, it was not even for Barrilos to know what evil end his mind had been set.

When after one hundred days and one hundred nights, he called a halt to their work, the Archons gathered again. Taking each spell that had been made, Esterlakrius went down to the deepest dungeon in Ivo to do his shadowy work. There he drew a circle of summons with the blood of a girl child who had not seen her first day and scattered his reagants into and and said into the darkness,

"With bone made dust and undone by your hand I call thee, Lord of Time. With the sigh of first love won, I name thee first, the Lively One. With the cry of first child born, I name thee twice, the Creator Most Proud. With the keen of only heir mourned, I name thee thrice, the Seer of All Deaths. A fragment of Var'alla I have found, shattered by your fury and by it, I bind you. A son of Dasra's blood I have killed for, dead by your grief and by it, I chain you. And by my magic, I summon you with all my power and might. With all my strength and will, I summon you, Lord of Time."

For a few moments, Esterlakrius stood in silence. His breath was caught in his chest and he thought his failure sure. But then, in the space between moments and between breaths, a great bloom of magic erupted within the circle. It was all manner of colours and elements and contained within it the great and terrible sounds of creation and doom. In the vortex, there stood Rathilon in all his glory. His true form, though great, was contained by the evil power of the circle and he was securely bound. His eyes, the brightest starts amidst his pale skin, shone in a blinding light and for a moment, Esterlakrius believed his course uncertain. He stood in awe of his god and creator, his mouth open.

It was then that Barrilos, the Most Envious, came down from the heavens and gazed upon his brother, trapped behind the circle's binding. The Sage laughed and jeered at Rathilon, he called him fool and weak. Finally, he turned to Esterlakrius and thanked him for sealing up Rathilon so that Barrilos might know the secrets of Time. Turning to his twin, the Learner of All Things began to chant a spell of dark and might that would draw all of his brother's secrets into him.

But a force stopped him and Barrilos looked in surprise to his brother's calm face. Rathilon, looked back, his expression implacable. In an instant, the Lord of Time rebuffed his brother's spell and broke free of the circle. He stood before his twin and his unfaithful son, anguish heavy on his face.

"You who were the greatest of my children, you should have known the evil you worked and yet, you went forward without prudence." Gesturing brusquely at Esterlakrius, Rathilon watched with no expression as the elf turned to ash and was blown away by a gust of wind. Slowly, the Lord of Time turned to his brother and spoke,

"You of my blood, you who shared the womb with me. We were brothers but no more, you have proven envious beyond trust. You shall suffer as now my children shall. This world that you know will rend and break, it shall be unknown to you and all things you know will be made useless. My children will perish by the hundreds and all those that know your names will die. Canthia will be a different world and one alien to you, once-brother. Bear witness and tremble. Now know the power of Time and that I had forseen this but hoped for the goodness of mortals and gods. Both have betrayed me and now both will suffer."

With these words, the earth beneath them shook and erupted with fire, swallowing Ivo in its raging. Rathilon and Barrilos hovered above the carnage as every acre of Canthia was burned and ravaged and all was made anew and strange to the Sage's eye.

His eyes darkened with grief for only now did Barrilos see the darkness in his heart and from whence it had come. He moved to plead for mercy from his brother, that he might be forgiven for his presumption and greed but Rathilon was gone and in his place stood a new strange being.

"Who are you? Are you my brother?"

"I am and I am not. I have been and I have never been. I am the Wanderer between times and places. I see all things that were, that are and that will be or may be. I am Tuir, this is my only name."

Barrilos stood in awe and could not move, he only watched as the new god named Tuir faded away from his sight. Then, the Sagely God watched as Canthia was changed and he wept.

The Finding of Truth, an Account of the Ascension of the Mor'kar
For the most part, the stories of the Sect of the Stars follows with what is told by the Mor'kar. However, it diverges at the moment when Rathilon retaliated and the way in which the Mor'kar survived. Here is the account as written:

And in the great tempest of godly magic, Rathilon appeared and was humbled. He knelt at the power of the circle and Esterlakrius believed his day was won. But the god was not defeated and he raised his head with much effort to look upon the face of his betrayer.

"My most faithless child," he whispered, "you have failed my test and I am saddened. I saw this future in the rivers of time and thought my children stronger."

Esterlakrius was stricken to his knees by the power of his creator's voice and wept for then he knew the folly of his ways.

"Behold my anguish, child. See the world unmade and your power revoked. Watch as your cities fall and are swallowed, for you pretended at power that was not yours."

And Ivo was made as dust, as was Esterlakrius and his brethren were burned to cinders for their arrogance. But all was not lost for their were those among the Aei'kar who had heeded the words of Aei'klatharius' and had banded to him and they were known as the Mo'hein. To the far south in Mora'wen, they made their stand against the cataclysm wrought by the anguish of Rathilon. They prepared magics and wards, built walls and great runed statues of protection but they knew that all would fall before the Lord of Time's power. But one among them, the youngest and lowliest acolyte who they called Ildra'na had seen a way to save them in a glimpse of the far distant past. In that past, she had seen the true creator of Aei and a thing that had existed before even the Void itself and she called it Var'sera, the Truth Unyielding.

And in the moments of that the Schism ravaged the world, each of the Mo'hein called out to the Truth Unyielding and pleaded for mercy and salvation. Through this Mora'wen and the Mo'hein were saved from the Schism. The assembled found themselves changed and no more than Aei'klatharius A'Dun. His voice had been given back to him as well as his sight, he was young again, invigorated and youthful.

Before the Mo'hein glowed a wide font of light, so bright that it seemed it was the fiery Eye of Aei itself and an inscription burned into the stone before it read: In an age of the faithless, the faithful gathered here and were saved. They called out for Truth in an age of lies. They pleaded for mercy from that which gives little. But we have answered for we have waited for those who might have the virtue to see us. We are the Truth Unyielding. We are the Light that keeps the Shadow in the Endless Deep. We are the Sentinel at the Outer Gates. We are the Chains that bind Erbos. We have been here since before Time and shall remain when Time is forgotten and become as dust.

You are the first to see us, first among gods and mortals. By our light you are reborn as Mor'kar, the Everbright.

Go forth into the ruins of your world and bring us to those who are yet blind."

Aei'klatharius and the Mo'hein were struck dump by the power and Truth and each fell to their knees and praised it, proclaiming Truth their only master and forsaking all gods, even Rathilon. There where the font lay, the newly made Mor'kar built a shrine which they named, Var'on, the Eye of Truth and it remains at the heart of the Mor'kar capitol, Mor'la.

So were the elves of Mora'wen saved and so were the first servants of Truth found.

The Exodus of Har'wen
Human civilisation as a society had yet to enter the detailed historical record stage of growth that the elves had enjoyed for centuries when the Schism came. The oral tradition still held strong among the Tribes of Men and it was through these stories, told by the learned and elder, that the Human perspective of the Schism is preserved.

It came to pass that in the long centuries of bondage, the humans engendered trust in their masters, the Archons. Through their devotion and prayer, some were raised to positions of high honour and responsibility in the priesthood and honour guards of these powerful elves. These men, though none ever forgot that they were men, were well regarded by both races. In the few years before the Archons began their plans of ascension, the men around them began to prepare. Being wise and cautious, they knew that no matter the power of their masters, the gods were still greater.

A scant few attempted to warn the Archons of their folly, hoping that some might listen and dissuade their brethren from the course. Their pleas were unheeded and most were executed for their blasphemy. In secret, these men met. They spoke in whispers and in shadows, they took care not to attract the attention of the Archons once more.

They made plans and prayers, these wise and cautious men. They gave offerings to the gods, in hopes that their piety would protect them. Strongholds they built, cut deep into the crag, for they had heard of the terrible magic that was to be used in the ritual.