How ironic, is it then, that the fate of our world was forever changed not by the all-mighty [[Gods|gods]] of the Heavens and the Void, but rather the actions of only two persons: one [[Men|man]] and one woman. The Prince Balcorion, second son of the last Emperor of [[Old Ildir]], and his beloved Vestila, daughter of the Eavrish warlord Raedfrith the Bloody. It was during his conquests of the [[Andar|Andaran]] Peninsula that Balcorion first encountered Vestila, or as she was known then, Saewynn Raedsdéhter. For the Prince had forged an alliance with Raedfrith the Bloody to secure victory over the other Eavrish clans, and it was this pact that allowed Balcorion and the warlord’s daughter to grow familiar with each other, and eventually to fall madly in love. Once victory was assured in the Peninsula, Balcorion returned to the capital city of Ildiris with his beloved Saewynn at his side, and the couple proclaimed to the Prince’s father, the Emperor Thaltares, that they were to marry. Thaltares was less than pleased at such a declaration, for not only had Balcorion previously been betrothed to a young noblewoman from a powerful Ildirian house, but the Eavrish Saewynn was deemed to be of a “lesser race.” But Balcorion and Saewynn were tenacious, and Thaltares eventually relented, allowing the two to marry so long as the bride would abandon her Eavrish name in favour of a more appropriate Ildirian title: Vestila. Sadly, the two would not remain united for long; Balcorion was drawn into another long and bloody campaign on the fringes of the Empire, leaving a crestfallen Vestila in his wake. Now alone in the Imperial Palace with only the royal family to keep her company, Vestila quickly found herself isolated through unrelenting derision. Yet it was during these dark days that the Princess Consort would be blessed with the rarest of all honors: [[Alor]] the [[Alor|Allfather]], the Great Progenitor, Master of Creation, spoke to her, directly. Such a blessing had never been received in the course of all known history, for unlike all other [[Gods|gods]], [[Alor]] the [[Alor|Allfather]] never took Divine Possession of the Oracles and puppeted their mortal lips, nor did He visit prophets in mantic visions of waxen fate, nor did He bellow upon the frigid winds of Mount Himyn. No, [[Alor]] had never, and would never again, allow His voice to be heard by a mortal. To this day, none know of what [[Alor]] and Vestila spoke to each other. None know what words, what secrets, what passions they shared. All that is known is this: [[Alor]] bestowed upon the Princess His holy seed, and Vestila became with His child. Eventually, Vestila could keep her secret no longer, and it was only through the Oracles convening with the other [[Gods|gods]] that the truth of Vestila’s extraordinary tale was confirmed. Once fearing execution for what she imagined the royal family would believe to be heretical lies, the whole of the city of Ildiris erupted in euphoric celebration. For Vestila carried in her the blessed Child of Prophecy, the first mortal-born offspring of the [[Alor|Allfather]] Himself. It was then that Balcorion returned. Much has been made of the Prince’s anger, jealousy, and heartbreak at the discovery of his wife’s supposed treachery, but this author chooses to enlighten another far grimmer conclusion the Prince must have immediately drawn. That, like all mothers who bare the seed of [[Gods|gods]], Vestila would die a bloody and violent death during the birth of [[Alor]]’s child.    Unfortunately, this premonition would prove true, when in the year 7 B.C., Vestila, the Bride of [[Alor]], died giving birth to her first and only son: Celdrestes. It is said that Vestila’s dying wish, whispered to Balcorion from the blood-soaked sheets of her birthing bed, was for the Prince to raise Celdrestes as his own, and to prepare him for the day he would reign as Emperor of Ildir. One needn’t agree with the crimes eventually committed by Balcorion to sympathise with the young Prince, and to imagine what fraught questions plagued his broken heart. By what right did [[Alor]] take his beloved from him? By what right did He condemn Vestila to such a terrible end? And by what right did He, or any of the [[Gods|gods]], command the fates of mortals? It was in this darkest hour that Balcorion was visited. Not by a voice, but by a whisper. And it said: “By what right does one seek vengeance?” The [[Maloth|Dark One]], the Bane of [[Alor]], the Bell that Tolls, warmed Balcorion’s cold, shattered heart with his sweet whispers of revenge. It is said the [[Maloth|Dark One]] promised Balcorion a chance at vengeance against [[Alor]], against all the [[Gods|gods]], for the price of his servitude. And Balcorion was eager to pay. The [[Maloth|Dark One]]’s first command was simple: “Forge me a blade, a blade which shall be the Bane of All [[Gods]].” For 100 days and nights, Balcorion worked the finest spell-forged steel of [[Old Ildir]], hammering and shaping it to the edges of possibility. Yet on the 100th day, when Balcorion tempered the blade, it shattered; brittle and broken upon the waters of the River Ildir. Again Balcorion toiled, this time for 1,000 days and nights, his hands festering with blisters that painted the anvil sanguine and sallow. And when the 1000th day came, he tempered the blade not in water, but in the blood of Celdrestes’ still-beating heart. From the lifeless body of the Child of Prophecy, Balcorion drew the legendary sword Godsbane: the Unmaker, the Ruin of the World, the Bane of All [[Gods]]. With the newly forged Godsbane in hand, Balcorion raised the blade to the sky, and uttered the words which would forever change the world: “Let it shatter.” In an instant, the great city of Ildiris, and then the heartland of [[Old Ildir]], was destroyed. Majestic spires, grand palaces, august temples, and many more monuments were turned to rubble and ash. Thousands were consumed by the decimation and conflagration. Shockwaves from this cataclysm spread throughout all Runera, ripping ancient forests from the earth, cleaving mountain ranges apart, and summoning colossal tidal waves from the depths that besieged the coasts. And then, the sky broke open. Across the seething ruins of Ildir, across the whole world, uncountable gateways to other realities were opened, from which emerged monstrous beings of strange and incomprehensible origins. Beings that began to reek havoc throughout Runera. For with that simple utterance, Balcorion had not only destroyed his homeland, but he had also forever shattered the [[Mantle]]: the metaphysical barrier which protected our world from the [[Magic|Chaos]] of the Beyond. Such a grand calamity not only sent shockwaves throughout our world, but also the Heavens themselves. It is said the [[Gods|gods]] were greatly wounded by the [[Mantle]]’s destruction, so wounded that they were unable to use their Divine influence to save Runera from the decimation. It was then that the [[Maloth|Dark One]] gave his second command: “Build me a tower, a great Spire which shall breach the Heavens themselves.” Balcorion wasted little time. Using dark sorcery, the Black Prince gave life to hordes of hideous and wicked creatures: [[orcs]], goblins, and their wretched kin. With their aid, Balcorion erected the tallest tower that Runera had yet seen, an imposing and ugly cyst on the landscape, formed of an unholy, greasy black stone: the Godspire. Yet Balcorion’s crimes would not go unnoticed by the rest of Runera. First, the bickering [[Dwarves|dwarven]] Kharads put aside their differences and marched south to face the Black Prince. It is said they were defeated and sent fleeing within a fortnight. Then, the lords of the [[Elves|elvish]] united as one force, and they too marched south, seeking to succeed where the [[Dwarves|dwarves]] had failed. They lasted no longer than 3 days. Furious that any would dare to interfere with his plans, the Black Prince brought his armies north to the Elderwood, ancient home of the [[Elves|elven]] people. There, his minions butchered thousands of [[Elves|elves]], destroyed their cities, monuments, countries, and committed many more untold atrocities. The same fate awaited the [[Dwarves|dwarven]] [[Kharadrim]]; their ancient halls were quickly breached, and many of their number slaughtered. Those [[Dwarves|dwarves]] and [[Elves|elves]] who survived these horrors fled south to the Imperial [[Northlands]], where many of their descendants remain to this day. Yet all hope had not been lost. For [[Andar]], firstborn brother of Balcorion and heir to the throne of Ildir, had escaped the genocide of his people and marched to stop the Black Prince from completing his plans. Miraculously, [[Andar]]’s forces breached Balcorion’s defences, allowing the good prince to confront his brother atop the peak of the Godspire, where Balcorion had already begun a dark ritual, one which would fulfill the tower’s original purpose and open a gateway to the Heavens themselves. In this hour of greatest darkness, [[Alor]] himself mustered the last of his strength and took possession of [[Andar]]’s body, so that he could put an end to Balcorion’s reign himself. Using his infinite power, he transformed [[Andar]]’s blade of simple steel into the legendary sword Brightsong, the Maker, the Light in Shadow, the Steel that Sings and Stings. As Godsbane and Brightsong clashed, the world seethed; for the forces of light and shadow were colliding for the first time since the Making of the World.  But not even [[Alor]] himself could defeat Balcorion. With one fell strike, Balcorion plunged Godsbane through the heart of his brother [[Andar]], and hence, through the heart of [[Alor]] himself. As the [[Alor|Allfather]] lay dying, Balcorion completed the final note of his wicked spell, and opened the way to the Heavens themselves. Balcorion stood upon the brink, ready to take his final step through the gateway, his final step towards revenge. Even as his spirit faded, [[Alor]] knew there was yet one last thing that could be done to stop Balcorion, and to stop any from ever again attempting a coup of the [[Gods|gods]]. And as Balcorion took his first step through the gateway, [[Alor]] took action. With his dying breath, [[Alor]] sealed Runera from the Heavens, permanently. Godsbane shattered in Balcorion’s hand, the gateway erupted in a torrent of pure, unbridled divine power, and Balcorion was consumed by the tumult, finally destroyed. The countless gateways opened to other worlds collapsed in a similar manner, forever stranding those beings who had passed through them in a strange, alien world that was not their own. With this final act, the eternal beating of [[Alor]]’s heart faded away. The [[Alor|Allfather]], Master of Creation, the Great Progenitor, was dead. Runera had been saved, but a great cost. By sealing the Heavens to protect them from Balcorion, [[Alor]] had severed the [[Gods|gods]]’ connection to Runera. For the first time since the [[Alor|Allfather]] sung his Song of Creation, the [[Gods|gods]] went silent. Or so the story goes. It would be a grave irresponsibility for the author to present the above tale as unerring fact. The story of the Eavrish Princess, the Child of Prophecy, and the Black Prince has been passed down through countless generations, and as such has undoubtedly had its true facts forever-perverted by the unrelenting decay of time. It is certain that Balcorion existed, as did his brother [[Andar]] and his beloved Vestila, but what cannot be proven are the details of the fable; the specifics of [[Alor]]’s relations with Vestila, the 1,000 days and nights spent forging a legendary blade, and the great battles between the forces of light and dark. Yet what can be proven, what is certain beyond a shadow of a doubt, are the terrible results of the Coalescence: the land forever scarred, the world infested by hordes of [[monsters]], the tragic death of [[Alor]], and the unending Silence of the [[Gods|gods]]. These repercussions began with a [[Hundred Years Strife|hundred years of strife]], and their waning echoes haunt us to this day.