Introduction

Maiina.

This is a strange, strange place.

An entire continent lies in rest, it's surface defaced by ancient powers; civilizations stand tense, their armies depleted from years of war. Life on Maiina is difficult for your average man- at least, since the Splitting happened. Abominations roam the land, tyrant kings rule, and peace is hard to find.

It all began and the twelve gods were brought into being. They were powerful and strong, and their largely benevolent rule allowed the world of Maiina to prosper, as well as creating dozens of other planes. Orin, king of the seas and skies, was the first to create life on Maiina (or anywhere else for that matter), making the humans and Leikopluri. Humans were short-lived and ambitious, the Leikopluri, powerful, noble and small in number. These two races flourished for decades, and then Guntai made his contribution to Maiina's intelligent life, the Dwarven race. They were stout, dedicated to their god, and were extremely intelligent, making advanced technologies and pioneering their way into the Under. Many more years passed, and civilizations rose, and some fell. K'riad, the god of just battle and punishment, created the Alduvade, a race of lithe humanoids that dedicated themselves to the defense of the weak. Many Alduvade found their calling in the forests and followed Nipke's disciplines, protecting the forest that often could not protect itself.

Thus were born the first four races of Maiina, and they were prosperous. In the north the humans created a great empire, Illidria, a place of peace, where studiers of magic and the defenders of righteous justice were welcomed; in the east of Maiina the Alduvade lived in their forests and their cities. On the centerline of the world, south of Illidria, there laid a continent full of the Leikopluri, the Derel Republic, and they prospered most of all the races.

Quickly, however, this all went to waste.

Further Creation and the Splitting
Other gods quickly joined in on this spree of creation- in their perception of time, all this was going by rather quickly. Arcanae created the magic-blooded Londian race and blessed the world with more powerful, grander magical properties. Guntai created again, with the stonekin Kerell, a race of rocky-skinned peoples that established themselves very quickly upon the surface of Maiina; their minds and bodies were both strong, and though unable to do magic, they were skilled in the art of psionics as many other races were not. However, they got along badly with other races, and this was how the first wars began.

There was a small empire on the coast of the northmost continent, Ain, whose peoples were hungry for more territory. They could not expand northwards- Illidria was such a powerful nation and would easily destroy the Kaonians, a lesser human nation. They could not expand eastwards, for the Alduvade would fall upon their cities with their magic and a million horrid beasts. They could not even expand southwards, for while the Derel Republic had grown weaker in recent years due to internal struggles, they still would crush Kaonia with little problem. Thus the only option was to move westward and then south on the continent of Ain and pass through the lands of the Kerell.

As the Kaonians plotted their attacks, more came to be- Jasn, the destroyer god, made his presence known to the world, and many a warrior converted to his cause. The A'quelle, a race of water-people, came to be on their own by a piece of stray magic (and they take great pride in this). Ghanao, god of benevolence, and Nieda, goddess of love, made a temple that still stands today with a piece of powerful magic on it- no one inside could harm another that was also in the Temple. As such, many of the gods were distracted when Kaonia attacked the Kerell.

Death was not unknown in Maiina- Firam, the Reaper God had been doing well- but large-scale war was practically unknown. The Kerell did not live in cities, and they were driven back quickly by Kaonia's organized military. Their land was taken and they were forced into the mountains to the south of Ain. Kaonia had won the First Kerell War with little issue, and this set a worrying precendent. More time passed.

Illidria and Derel engaged in escalating skirmishes; thousands died as the two great empires warred over petty grievances. Kerell struck back at the Kaonians, and, in a sudden and horrid manner, killed most of Kaonia's population, destroying them almost completely in the Second Kerell War. The Kerell were mostly left to themselves after that.

At this point in time, the world was torn by war and there was little peace to be had; hundreds of thousands died until Illidria and Derel were satisfied and the races of Maiina cowered in fear at what might come next.

A Fiery Baptism
Thirty years passed after the Illidrians and the Derel were done warring. Each still stood at a tense and serious line that they toed regularly. And a mage from the Formori Badlands approached both great nations with a proposition- he had found a way to pierce the dimensional bubble that surrounded Maiina and make his way through the Crystal Eternity back into Maiina in an entirely different spot. Twelve of his arcane machines- the Gates- were created around the world, not only in Derel and Illidria. Every nation wanted a Gate. And that was what they got.

Merin Haldstaff had gotten exactly what he wanted. The twistings and turnings of Haldstaff's mind had encouraged him to open portals to other dimensions, to see what could be and had been in other places, and he did so with glee. His mind was being toyed with, but he did not and could not know this.

Unfortunately for the world, Merin had not created gates to the Crystal Eternity but to Xzer, a plane where the abandoned and twisted creations of the gods stayed in eternal banishment. These creatures had schemed for many centuries to make the gods pay for their suffering, and finally, they did. Using the power he had and the powers of the land that lay under him, Merrin proceeded with the ritual that he had "thought up". This, he thought, would activate the Gates. But it did much more. Merrin's life was snatched away at the final utterance of this dark ritual, and so were a multitude of other lives, and the land's fertility as well. Most of all, the gods were split in twain, creating Shadowed opposites. Merrin's skeleton now rested in a cave upon what would come to be known as the Barren Continent. Daemons poured from the Gates into everywhere the Gates had been placed. Every nation, regardless of it's prowess in battle, was rapidly overcome, and a dark age descended upon the world- Illidria fought desperately to keep the hordes of monsters from washing over it's walls every day, Derel had become a haven for the monsters and no sane Leikopluri still tried to eke out a life on the Barren Continent, and every race clawed for it's survival.

Six heroes emerged- a Londian, an A'quelle, an Illidrian human, a Kerell, and two Alduvade. These six advanced through the world, staying as secret and as quiet as they could, for to face the Daemon armies at full strength was suicide, and closed the Gates one by one, using ancient magics and what little power the fading gods could spare. They sailed, ran, flew and crawled across Maiina, destroying the Gates until the came to the final one- the First Gate, the one constructed upon the Barren Continent. A massive Daemon army awaited, and try as they could to evade it, they could not. And it seemed as though the world's hopes were gone, to die with these heroes. But as they fought with a fire, the Six spotted sails upon the horizon.

Soldiers from every nation had gathered together, having repulsed the threats to their respective lives enough to allow a brief respite, and here they were. On the crags of Werelain, this coalition held back the Daemons and into the First Gate the heroes went.

Six weeks passed and the coalition was slain. Thousands of soldiers dead, and the rest retreated. It seemed as though the tide of daemons, while slowed, was not stopping, and it was simply too much. Nations began to crumble.

Then, one day, the daemons cried out all across the world as one and retreated. They ran to the dark places of the world. They hid. The Six, while never seen again, had seemingly done their job.