The Age of Mercy

Year 1 - 1002 B.X. First Sun

Xaltion felt great sorrow as he surveyed the lands of his world. There were no more great cities and buildings, they had all collapsed and turned to ruins under the wrath of his siblings. His children were now living in makeshift structures and caves. It was as if they were hiding from something. Xaltion soon realized that they were hiding from him.

To the population of the world it seemed that Xaltion was angry with them for something and had pressed his wrath upon the world then abandoned them. Xaltion felt great sorrow for this and sent visions to the few clerics who were left. He sent them dreams of the great cities and of them being blessed. The clerics interpreted the dreams to mean that Xaltion was no longer angry with them and wished for them to build once again. The clerics gave up cries of great joy and all of the races celebrated for weeks.

The population pulled together. The dwarves lent their creativity to the humans to help them design new structures and cities. The elves, with their long memories, helped remind humans and dwarves alike how to make tools to help create the buildings. Villages sprang up, then towns, then once again the great cities of old. Magnificent temples and monuments were built for Xaltion. The clerics tripled their devotion to him to make up for whatever it was they had done wrong. Xaltion wished he could explain things to them but a part of him didn't want them to know there were other beings as powerful as him. What if they liked the others better than him?

They also created something they called time. This concept seemed very strange to Xaltion but he enjoyed this display of their intellect. They marked this as the Age of Mercy and from then on began to keep records of history so they might be able to look back on what they had done wrong should Xaltion ever become angry with them again. The histories also helped them to never again forget their ancestors and the happenings of their world. They named the catastrophe that had torn the world apart The Ruination, and they were determined to never anger Xaltion again.

Xaltion was so guilty about all that had transpired, and so proud of his children for their devotion and desire to please him, that he felt a gift was in order. Xaltion sent forth a vision to a High Elf Cleric, one of the few left from before the Ruination. She was ancient and wise, and she knew what this vision meant. Her name was Yelu, and the vision she received was to let the people know to expect a gift from Xaltion. Something called a moon. This moon would help them to keep track of their time as it would shift and change as it passed. The moon was named Yelu by the people in honor of the cleric who received the vision.

So year one of the First Sun in the Age of Mercy began. People prospered and worshiped Xaltion. Clerics once again became revered instead of hated. When the world went mad, the races blamed their clerics for angering Xaltion and many had been exiled or worse yet, killed. Now that Xaltion was back, the clerics were once again accepted into society. Because of their sacrifice and suffering, Xaltion imbued the clerics with more abilities and power.

Xaltion was like an indulgent parent, giving to his children everything he thought they could ever want. Crops were abundant and there were no storms or harsh winters. For over 1000 years there was peace and great happiness. People relaxed and spent most of their time building or resting. There was all the time in the world for fun and games when Xaltion made life so simple and easy for them.

Xaltion was very pleased and enjoyed the feelings of being wanted, needed and appreciated. These were new feelings for him that he had never experienced before. He too was relaxing and enjoying everything. Then they returned. His siblings had finally grown bored and come to collect their brother.