Much of human history is as it has been discovered by the scientific community. People are born, live, and then die amongst the historical events of their era and generation(s). However, there is a parallel history which has been growing for far longer than current human history can or has measured.
Life on Earth didn’t originate as initially assumed, but is more than 100,000 years older than any other measurements and evidence.
During the prehistorical time when the first continent, Pangaea, had completely split into the different continents and island bodies littering the planet, there was once a land bridge which led to another continent equivalent in size to Australia, also located in the Pacific, later known by the native population as Tiermiohr A’Idria (Life of the Land.) Here, many of the creatures of Upper Asia/Russia migrated across this land bridge to Tiermiohr A’Idria where, after the land bridge disappeared over time, became an entire ecosystem of its own, the top predators evolving exactly as certain species of primate had later on elsewhere on Earth. Soon these creatures were walking erect, using tools, learning about fire, domesticating animals, and further progressing long before their distant cousins on other continents were.
It was their equivalent of the dawn of the Bronze Age when the denizens of Tiermiohr A’Idria learned there was a source of power usable only through biological means, i.e. magic. While the rest of the world was naked and foraging for anything edible and living in fear of the moon, scholars on this island continent were learning how to weave spells, create alchemical reagents, writing incantations and methodology in the varied uses of sorcery. It wasn’t long before they encountered the beings of myth and legend. Within decades, the humans of Tiermiohr A’Idria had made peaceful contact with the elves, ogres, orcs, dwarves, Manticorri, Sphinxairi, Dragona etc. of Danitrae. These new friends realized these humans were extremely smart, clever, eager to learn, and possessed an insatiable curiosity and sense of honor and integrity. In that knowledge, they helped the people of Tiermiohr A’Idria to grow and expand their base of knowledge and skill, which helped them gain further wisdom of the living, cyclic energies which ebb and flow throughout the universe.
After a few centuries, and their first age of growth age had arisen, curiosity had begun to settle in on the people of Tiermiohr A’Idria, the need to learn more growing in the hearts and minds of the people. At first, unusual sea-faring vessels crossed the vast oceans, mapping coast lines, measuring distances and charting the various islands which they came across. Eventually, expeditions to these distant lands became the norm, the ships bringing back resources, new plants and animals, and relating stories of their encounters with primitives who used stone and wood as simple tools. These forays led to several debates concerning the dangers of exposing primitive people to advanced technology and magic, which could alter the natural development of these aboriginal beings. This led to the First Precepts – a rule of non-interference, but establish a series of protections and bases of observation to watch the development of these proto-humans until the day would come when the people of Tiermiohr A’Idria and those of the rest of Earth could safely establish lines of communication and détente.
Then came the first conflict those of Tiermiohr A’Idria had ever known. Having lived in relative peace since the people had gained intellect, this first war was little more than an increase in the possibility of hostilities rather than actual fighting. This became known as the Rift of the Weres. The Were people of Tiermiohr A’Idria (also known as the Wyr or Wyrrah) had grown increasingly frustrated at their human counterparts. While they were all living as equals, many of the Wyr felt curtailed and restricted from government, exploratory, and other lynch pin roles in society. The truth of it, many of the “norms” of Tiermiohr A’Idria were afraid of the Wyrrah and their ability to become animalia of different forms. Historically, the Wyr had been dangerous, violent, and uncontrollable, but as they learned more about their special nature and learned how to control their transformations, through time, so they were able to soon control their abilities to transform without training in how to do so, so new generations already instinctively knew how to control themselves after a certain age.
However, this still didn’t diminish the long-time fears of the “normal” populace, so there was a subtle societal discrimination between the two groups. Eventually, hostilities between them had finally erupted in small skirmishes, and a few had escalated into bloody battles, but never blew up into full-out war. The two groups met constantly in the hopes the Wyrrah could be integrated back into society. This, of course, met with dismal failure, so the Wyr population left in a small fleet of ships to parts unknown to all but a few.
By this time, technology and magic had embraced one another so many of the tools and devices they used had fantastic abilities which weren’t seen anywhere on Earth. The nation of Tiermiohr A’Idria became a space-faring society, using the designs and hulks of their old sailing ships, converting them for space-worthy flight, and began exploring the solar system in their new generational ships. Then as science and magic caught up with new discoveries, ships of metal, glass, and plastic began to fly the space ways, eventually settling on a standardized arrowhead and wedge design. As the ships evolved, the galaxy grew to be a much smaller place as new planets and systems were charted, colonies were placed, and more new resources began flowing through the newly-established trade routes. Elsewhere on Earth, the people were just learning about agriculture, writing, and simple math.
The next major conflict of note came in the form of The Great War. Acheron, a pseudonym taken by one of the great mages of Tiermiohr A’Idria, had surfaced after disappearing decades before, bringing with him terrible weapons of war and conflict. He managed to take control of huge swatches of Asia/Russia all the way to what is now Romania, all of northern Africa and a large part of the western coastal segments of North and South America, the latter of which he met with little resistance. He gained so much power and territory under the guise of being a human from outside of Tiermiohr A’Idria, and would have maintained a successful ruse if not for observation of his tactics and his weapons, of which could have only come from Tiermiohr A’Idria or from the colonies of Lemuria and/or Atlantis.
When it was revealed who Acheron truly was, battles broke out all over Earth, ending up with both sides in a stalemate. Time and again, one side would try to gain the upper hand, but once more advancements were made, the other side would eve out the balance. It wasn’t until a Mage by the name of Vantrion Locke developed a way to end the war and the treat of Acheron in one fell swoop. He and the most powerful of magical beings gathered their might together and managed to destroy the majority of Acheron’s physical body, but preserved 7 aspects of Acheron to serve as a lock to keep him from ever being fully resurrected, or entering this universe as a disembodied spirit. This ploy proved successful, and the threat of Acheron was ended for good, or so it was thought.
Every war has its repercussions. While this one was no different in the way of recovery and rebuilding, this one had one unusual result – the Migration. Of the greatest creatures of Danitrae, none could be equaled by the Gryphon and the Dragona – the first races of which all others of Danitrae had sprung. The Gryphon had come to the conclusion that the humans of Tiermiohr A’Idria were no longer children and needed to be allowed to grow on their own to flourish in order to join the Varied Races as equals. Their sister race, the Dragona, felt that it was their duty to watch and guide all of the other races in the ways of growth: wisdom, knowledge, peace, justice, and harmony. Rather than fall back into war, the two great races decided mutually they should part until the time when they could stand side-by-side and brothers once more. The Gryphon and half of the races (save for a select few who wished to stay behind) all gathered and left the planet and the Sol System for part(s) unknown outside of the influence of Earth, Danitrae, and their politics.
Now, with the rest of Danitrae open, the Varied Races expanded into other parts of the magical world and its moons. And, thanks to the war, more sources of raw provisions, refined metals and other construction materials opened up with which they could use to trade with Tiermiohr A’Idria, the colonies (formed to use as bases and rally points during the war) and some new allies from outside of the Sol System. Thus began the Golden Age. No war, no disease, no poverty, exploration was at its highest, and no citizen could want for anything.
Once again, conflict can find itself in some very strange places. This Golden Age heralded a difference in ideologies. Technology and magic had advanced so much; individuals didn’t need to do anything physically. This presented an entirely new and strange set of problems of a philosophical nature. Without exertion, many citizens had grown lazy and out-of-shape, physically nothing more than bulbous masses of fat and flesh. As things continued to grow, protestations also grew from a more fundamentalist set of groups wishing to return to a more instrumented and physical way of life, one which was getting lost in favor of a more pampered way of life with no sense of wonder, curiosity, adventure, or romance. These differences in mindsets had reached as high as the Congress of Mages, who realized that their society had grown too much too swiftly and citizens were not able to keep up with the major changes in their ways of life.
Fearing the repercussions of such unnaturally swift advancements and the issues which follow, the Mage Congress and the High Mage decreed to slow down development of new technologies and mystical expansion in favor of learning more about the world around them and the galaxy in which the planet Earth resided. This decision would prove to be disastrous later down the road…
At first, after the Reclamation, came another new era of peace. Exploration reached new highs, the first contacts with several new worlds were made, many conflicts were ended, trade expanded into new territories in the galaxy, and Tiermiohr A’Idria had begun colonization of unclaimed worlds. With new friends came new enemies. A conglomerate of cultures called “The Council of Four” had learned of Tiermiohr A’Idria and its growth throughout the galaxy and set forth to stop the newest space-faring power from causing them any trouble, the “Four” being despotic, cruel, and greedy.
Thus started the first ever galactic war historically known as, “The War of the Spiral Arms.” This conflict was very long and costly, billions of lives were lost as were vast resources until two things occurred: first was the formation of the Paladin Corps and the establishment of the Protectorate. These two organizations focused on combining technology and magic in the ways of tactical combat, usually winding up with spectacular results. The Paladin Corps specifically, joined its very special soldiers with a chromatic animal “spirit” granting these warriors special abilities of increased strength, speed, agility, and endurance while serving to train each with a “specialty” in which they could use both on and off the field of combat. This new classification of fighter was, in essence, functionally immortal, yet with molecular dispersion/elimination to their bodies, the Paladin in question will perish. Secondly, Danitrae decided to break its own law of noninterference and brought the war to a complete halt in favor of Tiermiohr A’Idria and its allies. After the loss of the colony of Lemuria, they banished the Council of Four to their own system using their powers to erect a mystical barrier which engulfed all of the Council of Four’s core worlds and inner colonized systems. Many of the more violent and powerful of instigators and their followers were transported to the Nethersphere to forever remain with no hope of returning. Once again, this was a decision with ramifications none could have foreseen.
The War of the Spiral Arms began to form a rift between the Council of Sentients (the ruling body governing all of Danitrae) and Tiermiohr A’Idria. After centuries of talks and diplomacy the Council of Sentients decided to bring the humans of Tiermiohr A’Idria into the Council as equal members.
With the guidance of the council, a great deal was learned about power and responsibility with it. A huge paradigm shift transpired, bringing with insatiable human curiosity, a new respect for the countless others inhabiting the galaxy therefore rather than just sending explorers and warriors, increased relief forces were sent throughout the galaxy to help the worlds devastated by the folly of wars loss of incoming materials needed for survival, and the re-establishment of worlds once held under the thrall of the Council of Four. These efforts earned Tiermiohr A’Idria the reputation of being a society of benevolence and ones to go to when justice was in short supply. Also, with the gift of functional immortality granted to the Paladins carried over to the general populace, longer-lasting diplomatic and personal relationships with other races with greater longevity increased and strengthened.
Finally came the last of the Great wars – the Necromancer Uprising. For centuries a hidden sect of those “disgruntled” from the Reclamation in the Tiermiohr A’Idrian society had been growing in power and strength, after the Reclamation, through subversive political strategizing and maneuvering of key spokespeople within the Mage Congress who were either sympathetic to the Necromancer’s cause, or were Acolytes of the Guild themselves. It wasn’t long before full-out hostilities broke out once the colony state of Atlantis seceded from the main ruling body of Tiermiohr A’Idria citing – erroneously - their mother country had been withholding innovations and other boons to their society and were in the process of leaving Atlantis behind to fend for itself, or was becoming a dumping ground for the criminal element from Tiermiohr A’Idria to carry on their activities there in Atlantis.
The Atlantean government, completely run by the Necromancers, had begun recruiting for allies outside of its borders to include the nations once located in what is now the Middle East, Northern Africa, Southern Europe, and Asia – essentially surrounding Tiermiohr A’Idria on all sides. The Guild’s rise to power seemed unstoppable when an effort to expose the Necromancer Guild for the evil they truly were failed, the collection of Atlantis’s supporters embracing the truth rather than being revolted by it. Tiermiohr A’Idria fought back even harder, returning to research and development to somehow gain the upper hand against their enemies.
Once again, the Council of Sentients stepped in, not actively combatting for either side, but offered its full assistance for whatever the High Mage and the Mage Congress had planned to do. The idea spawned from one war council that an act of true desperation was going to be necessary to stop the Necromancers evil once and for all. Wheels were set in motion, entire cities were evacuated, coastal villages were abandoned, the mass of the citizenry of Tiermiohr A’Idria were brought further inland, while at the same time, other machinations were put into play which were meant draw the enemy forces even closer for the completion of the final act. Other smaller ploys were also put into activation to divert certain segments of society strongly supporting the Necromancer Guild from knowing the truth in order to further success for Tiermiohr A’Idria.
The time had come, and the final sanctions were set in motion. Enemy ships laden with modern technology given to them by Atlantis pummeled the abandoned shores and towns, Necromancer forces within Tiermiohr A’Idria took towards the coasts to assist their allies in obtaining a foot hold, while simultaneously the Necromancer Queen, Shirahala, was drawn elsewhere to distract her attention and guidance with a great deal of personal risk by (now) Congress Mage Locke, who’d been the top developer of the complex plans to save Tiermiohr A’Idria.
Once in place, and at the loss of thousands, the bulk of Tiermiohr A’Idria was encapsulated in a number of nested force fields of both mystical and scientific origin and then lifted from the sea bed. This left the coastal areas susceptible to collapse as the land mass was literally destroyed by the loss of millions upon millions of tons of earth and rock. The resultant crash also created a tsunami of nightmarish proportions which destroyed the enemy fleets under an unstoppable wall of water.
While this was happening in the Pacific, in the Atlantic Ocean, Locke teleported himself moments after the force fields formed to engage Shirahala in a battle of their own, Shirahala tried her best to kill Locke, but continually met with equal resistance, Locke keeping the battle raging for a purpose only he knew. When he’d been informed of the fall of the continent of Tiermiohr A’Idria, he struck with his own “Hail Mary” – he ended the fight as the large areas of the collapsing land mass in the other ocean were transported via dragona portals to hundreds of meters above Atlantis and allowed to fall where they would.
This desperate act forced Shirahala’s hand to preserve her power base, causing her to save her followers by ordering her own forces to flee using stolen tech by creating portals of their own. This also was a play right into Locke’s hands. He’d personally “leaked” the plans and blueprints for the portal and MET devices with one minor detail – they would have been good for only one use each and were preprogrammed to one destination only – the Nethersphere – which essentially caused Shirahala to banish her own forces from this reality.
However, all across the Earth, the repercussions were felt as vast areas of populated land was flooded and destroyed, entire populations vanished, and many species of animal life were also wiped from the planet.
Knowing of the hardships they had caused, left them in a darkened pall. The Mage Congress and the newest High Mage, Locke - who’d succeeded his predecessor after she had perished saving hundreds moments before the shields had been erected – which Locke had also managed to do for the son of his best friend and those around him before heading off to fight the Necromancer Queen. Lost with guilt, the citizens of Tiermiohr A’Idria didn’t know what to do, just as the Mage Congress was left literally speechless and incapable to act. For weeks, Tiermiohr A’Idria simply drifted slowly over the waters, directionless and faltering.
Locke finally stepped up, uniting his people, and putting them to restoring Tiermiohr A’Idria into a more functional state rather than the growing fallow nation it was slowly becoming. He contacted the Council of Sentients who agreed to uphold their word, and with some assistance from the Protectorate, managed to generate another gargantuan dragona portal and literally pushed Tiermiohr A’Idria to the alternate stratum where the Danitrae system exists. The only issue this produced was from several miscalculations which resulted in Tiermiohr A’Idria becoming a floating island continent, never able to touch ground again.
Now a part of Danitrae, the nation rebuilt itself with the help of its new neighbors, built four anchorages to keep the massive island from floating across the surface of the planet which, in turn, generated new trade and jobs for countless millions of humans and Danitraen-born citizens to the point where even elves, dwarves and others passable as humans joined the Protectorate and the Paladin Corps to add their expertise to the fighting forces of the newest landmass which was renamed by popular vote to Mythidria (Hope’s Land) to reflect its new status as a nation-state of Danitrae.
Eventually, the floating island nation of Tiermiohr A’Idria finally long returned to its former glory, albeit much smaller than it once was, but had become a formidable power equivalent to what it once was. By way of popular vote presented by Locke and the Mage Congress, the people decided to rename their nation of Tiermiohr A’Idria to Mythidria (The Redeemed Land.) However, after a short period, scouts travelling to and from Earth were reporting a disturbing problem. The magic used in the Necromancer War by both sides, and the unusual properties of Tiermiohr A’Idria as being a powerful source of sorcerous energies suddenly taken from Earth, had somehow combined and created a strange global anomaly which randomly generated hideous monsters, or tore open the fabric between realities allowing beasts from the Nethersphere to spill forth. It was not long after this discovery reports had started pouring of similar incidents occurring throughout an expanding envelope of worlds originating from Earth.
The sense of responsibility of all of those on Tiermiohr A’Idria was overwhelming, and once the issue had been made public, every citizen lifted their voices in support for the safety of the Earth and to find a solution to this new, horrific crisis. The Mage Congress and Protectorate went through a complete restructuring, shifting the focus from tactical combat roles/logistics toward stemming the tide of creature uprisings and a return to exploration. This was made far easier with the refinement of portal technologies, FTL travel, enhanced technologies, and newer, “cleaner” sources of energy for both material and mystical purposes.
Over time, the rest of Earth grew, fought, regrew, gained and lost knowledge and progressed without any more direct aid from Mythidria or her allies, still beset with monsters and aliens throughout its history, all the while unknowingly protected by a country’s champions from an unending evil - slowly progressing towards a time of dreadful suffering.