Before Time

Before time began, when Awlidan was new to the cosmos, there were beings with such power they could create life and crush worlds. These beings moved and shaped the Planes to suit their needs, desires, and ambitions. These two entities are so old and timeless it is difficult to put them into a category of omnipotence. Their true power is incomprehensible to the mortal mind, possibly even the immortal one. For those very few individuals that know of these great beings existence, they are known as the First Ones, or the Creators.

The First Ones create the balance throughout the Cosmology of the Planes. They are beings of ultimate law and ultimate chaos. They create the fundamental laws that are the Cosmology’s foundation. These diametrically apposed entities are in a constant struggle against each other, the Eternal War. One of these great beings wants uniformity in the cosmos above all else while the other wants total anarchy. The First Ones do battle on a level of existence beyond the scope of mortal understanding. With the sheer power of these two beings unleashed, they threatened to destroy all that they worked so hard to create.

The Tribunal is the ultimate embodiment of Law and uses his omnipotent power to keep order throughout the Planes. He is the Judge of all things and his judgment is final. It is speculated that he is a massive titan of colossal size. His form is made of pure energy and when in humanoid form he appears to be made of solid yellow light. It is widely argued that his fingers are tipped with all-seeing eyes that span the Planes themselves. What most scholars and sages agree upon is his faces of judgment: the Innocent with its bright sun filled eyes, the Guilty that refuses to show its face, and Justice that wears a veil over the eyes. It is said that to look upon the Tribunal causes unyielding despair, for nothing in the Planes can compare to his unequaled perfection.

The Chaos Lord is even more unknown that the Tribunal, none of his names or identities has ever shown up in written text. For most it is only speculation that the Tribunal has a nemesis at all, but for the cosmos to stay in balance there must be. Hence forth he is known as Lord Chaos, Master of Anarchy. Because of the secrecy of his existence, it is highly speculation as to what he looks like. Since there are many creatures that exist through Chaos, the chaos beasts and the gibbering monstrosities, it is assume his natural form is an amorphous one. However with omnipotent power comes the ability to choose whatever form one wishes. It is a matter of opinion that Lord Chaos would have a humanoid shape with highly grotesque features. Some say he would have reptile features with 4 arms, 2 tails, possibly wings, and eyes on numerous stalks that can see everywhere and everything. Looking upon him brings instant insanity and eventual death. His form is so alien to the mortal mind that it cannot comprehend what it is seeing and therefore brings about intense madness. This leads to a total shutdown of the mind and inevitably death ensues.

In the Before Time the Tribunal and Lord Chaos warred against each other. Their battles threatened to shake apart the Planes and lead to neither side gaining any kind of advantage over the other. Knowing that their powers were opposite but equal in all ways, they decided the direct approach was futile. Their war became a chess game.

Lord Chaos created the Primordials to wreak havoc on the cosmos. They were created to spread destruction and were given the power to do just that. He wanted to reshape the cosmology to fit his own needs and desires and the Primordials were his tools. They were sent out by their master to spread throughout the Planes. They followed their master’s instructions and carried out his plans. The Primordials’ only goal was to go forth and recreate the cosmos in their lord’s image.

The Tribunal could not let this continue, there must be order above all. To counter Lord Chaos’s creations, the Master of Law created his own race of beings to do battle with the Primordials. The One Above All created the Beings known as the Aspects. These powerful beings would one day become the gods of Awlidan and will be widely worshipped by mankind, but for now they were tools and weapons against the Tribunal’s enemies. He created the Aspects to bring order to the plague spreading across the Planes.

The war between the Primordials and the Tribunal’s new creations, the Aspects, lasted for eons. These pawns of the First Ones created pawns of their own for their war, filling the Planes with their offspring. Something happened that Lord Chaos was not expecting; the Primordials began to fight amongst themselves. They each vied for power among the cosmos and favor from their master, they were divided. This left them vulnerable. The Aspects banded together for a massive assault against the Primordials. One by one they fell. Finally after eons of warring the scale was tipped, the balance was finally in favor of Law. The gods had won the war and the Primordials were banished.

With his creations defeated, Lord Chaos was weakened. The Tribunal, with the Aspects at his side, confronted Lord Chaos and threatened to destroy him. Seeing his defeat was eminent Lord Chaos fled to a place far removed from the known cosmos. Some of the Primordials went with their lord, others were banished or imprisoned in a place they could do no harm. The cosmos did not end there, instead it progressed and prospered.

Time Began

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