Revenge of the Gamer

In the beginning all was chaos, until the Primordials carved creation out of the endless untamed Wyld.  To watch over their creation they wrought the heavenly city of Yu-Shan.  To amuse themselves the Primordials created the Games of Divinity, which they housed in the Jade Pleasure Dome in the very heart of Yu-Shan. 

The games took more and more of the Primordials’ time so they decided to create servants to watch over creation in their name.  These servants were named the Incarna, and included the Unconquered Sun, Luna and the five Maidens.  The Incarna tended to creation for time untold, but grew tired of watching their masters while away the millenia playing the Games of Divinity.  In their jealousy they desired the Games for themsevles. 

The Incarna raged inpotently for when the Primordials created the Icarna they did not give them free will.  The Incarna could not raise a hand to their masters.  Instead, the Incarna worked with the renegade Primordial Autochron to create children of their own.  They created divine shards of essence that would roam creation searching among humanity for heroes.  When a hero was found the shard bonded to them in a process called Exaltation.

Three hundred Solar were made for the Unconquered Sun, and were the most powerful of the Exalted.  They served as generals, kings, sorcerers and peerless craftsmen.  Their power was vast, nearly eclipsing the Incarna themselves.  Luna created three hundred Lunar to serve as mates and guardians for the Solar.  The Five Maidens each created twenty Exaltations, and the hundred they raised became the Sidereal.  Their duty was to serve as advisors and guides for the mighty Solar.

As powerful as the mighty Celestial Exalted  were they could not achieve their purpose without help.  To aid them Gaia created the Terrestrial Exalted, known as the Dragon-Blooded.  Unlike the Celestials, the Dragon-Blooded carried their power in their bloodlines.  They reproduced quickly and soon there were millions.

At the behest of the Incarna the Exalted waged war against the mighty Primordials.  Their war was long and terrible, but when it ended the Primordials had all been slain or imprisoned.  The Incarna seized the heavenly city of Yu-Shan, and took their rightful place at the Games of Divinity.  They left creation in the hands of the Solar, and together with the Lunar and Sidereal they ruled wisely and well for time untold.

Unbeknowst to the Incarna the Primordials ensured the downfall of their wayward children.  When they lost the war they uttered the Great Curse, which doomed the Exalted to go mad.  The first to feel the curse were the Solar, who grew increasingly insane as they aged.  Since the Solar could live for thousands of years they could do untold damage in that insanity.

The Sidereal saw the people suffer under the yoke of the Solar, and decided to intervene.  With the help of the Dragon-Blooded they betrayed the Solar during what is now known as the Usurpation.  All of the Solar were killed, and their essences were placed in the Jade Prison to prevent them from seeking out new heroes.  For the first time since their creation the Solar were locked away, and creation was without their guidance.

The Lunar attempted to protect the Solar, and were hunted to the very edges of creation by the treacherous Sidereal and their Dragon-Blooded allies.  Those few Lunar who survived did so by hiding in the Wyld just outside the bounds of creation.

To ensure dominance over creation the Sidereal modified the religion of the Dragon-Blooded.  They altered history to paint the Solar and Lunar as monters, and created the Wyld Hunt to find them wherever they appeared.  For fifteen hundred years the few Solar essences that escaped the Jade Prison have been hunted down, and the Lunar have fared little better.

The Sidereal had been affected by the Great Curse as well, although they remained unaware of it.  The curse manifested itself in the form of hubris, and in their arrogance the Sidereal believed themselves strong enough to rule creation in the Solar’s place.  They were wrong.  Within 8 centuries of deposing the Solar the Contagion swept the land killing nine out of every ten people.

At the same time the creatures of the Wyld, once held at bay by the Solar, surged into creation destroying what little was left.  Only luck prevented creation from being overwhelmed entirely.  A single Dragon-Blooded gained access to the Solar’s mightiest weapon, the Sword of Creation also known as the Realm Defense Grid.  Using its massive power The Scarlet Empress, as she later named herself, drove the fair folk back into the Wyld.

She created the Realm, a lesser version of the empire the Solar had once governed.  That Realm has endured for nearly eight hundred years.  Five years ago the Empress disappeared, and her civil war threatens to tear the Realm apart.  At the same time someone or something broke the Jade prison, and for the first time in 1500 years the Solar have returned in all their glory.

Creation desperately needs their help, but they are still hunted by the Wyld Hunt.  Can they live long enough to save creation?