History of The Second Age¶
Years 1001 through 2000.
⬅︎ History of the First Age. · History of Bhreia · ⮕ History of the Third Age.
Breaking Bhreia¶
When Bhreia awoke on the first morning of the Second Age, she felt ill and weakened to the point where she could no longer hold her form. Something felt different, but she didn't know what it was exactly. Something was deeply wrong inside her and painfully pushing outward.
"Mother, what is the matter?" Primani asked when she laid eyes on her that morning.
"Was it something we did?" Melora asked.
But Bhreia broke apart when she opened her mouth to speak to them. Her body instantly erupted, and its pieces scattered across the seas, forming the many islands and bodies of water between the countries.
Info
Bhreia is the Old Common word for "broken" or "to fracture."
Yet she was strong enough to remain somewhat together, mostly at her center, though it took all of her strength. To this day, Bhreia is doomed to spend her time keeping the lands in place.
Info
It is common knowledge that when earthquakes, floods, or volcanic activity occur, something other than her eternal task held Bhreia's attention.
Imperfect Creatures¶
Bhreia's children mourned the loss of their mother for many years. Though she was not dead, they could no longer speak with her without jeopardizing the earth itself. Melora and Primani agreed that the best way to deal with this grief was to create more life.
In their desire to create life to celebrate their mother, they created a creature in her image. And with its birth, the dawn of People had begun.
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It is contended which race was the first created, and others even suggest that there was a first race from which all other races descended. This text assumes that Elves came first, followed by Humans.
Elves were the first of the Peoples and nearly perfect in every way. Yet Melora and Primani noticed a corruption in these creatures that they hadn't before in animals or plants. However small, a seed of darkness lay in their hearts, waiting to sprout.
The sisters observed the Elves for a time and decided to try again to create a more-perfect creature. They focused on ensuring a pure heart rather than extraneous features this time. Humans were the second of the Peoples, honorable, productive, and short-lived, yet the seed of darkness was larger in them still.
Info
In honor of the Earth-Mother Bhreia, the Peoples named their world after her.
Melora noticed another trait in each of them, though stronger in Humans: a desire to consume their environment. Disgusted with this behavior, Melora retreated into the wilderness, where she swore to uphold her domain and protect it from her imperfect creations.
Info
Melora only assisted in creating Elves and Humans. However, all other life finds its origins with Primani in some way.
Dawn of Monsters¶
Primani repeatedly tried to create the perfect People, but the seed grew larger and darker in their hearts with each iteration. Eventually, her creatures were born more wicked than good. These creatures are known as Monsters by those who fear them.
Crestfallen, Primani retreated, much like her sister, and left the further creation of Peoples up to other deities.
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Unbeknownst to Primani and Melora at the time, the corrupting presence of Dhoutr inside Bhreia was the cause of the dark seed in the hearts of their creations. When Bhreia broke apart, pieces of Dhoutr's plane of existence escaped into the material plane of Bhreia.
Meanwhile, Bhreia's brother was content. Near the end of the Second Age, the world brimmed with People and Monsters. Tension and combat were the usual product of encounters between creatures competing for the same territory.
Info
A rare exception is the first encounter between Elves and Humans in Korbantir during this time.
As the Second Age ended, Bhreia's brother split his attention into distinct pieces so he could behold the unfolding tensions both day and night:
- Brother's Eye, the eye of the day (the sun)
- Five eyes of the night (moons):
- Dagaz
- Noktus
- Sunuz
- Menoz
- Eeroz
History of the First Age. · History of Bhreia · History of the Third Age.