Let me tell you of a time long ago. A time before the endless war, a time when the mortal races were united. Back when man still had the blessings of the gods, back when mortal champions could move mountains or slay gods.
Long ago, so long the scrolls of that time have long been but dust in a disappointed scholar's desk was an empire. It spanned the world and reached into the stars. Back when we were one race, The Akasha. The empire had wizards of grand power and warriors of impossible skill, so great were its champions that the Akasha had little reason to revere the gods. Why worship an equal? Over time the conflict between them became increasingly common. Man did not want to bow its head to beings it no longer needed, and the gods were furious that man would forsake them after all they had done for them.
War was inevitable and man being a creature of conflict struck first and without mercy. They targeted the lesser gods while a council of the greater gods was happening. It is said all but the twelve great gods died that battle. But the Akasha did not just strike the gods down, they took their power, and used it to create defenses against the fury of the remaining gods.
Raen, the god of war, took to the field. Stories claim the very stars ran from his rage. Without the light of the stars Minerva, goddess of shadow would have run rampant over the forces of her enemies. However, the Akasha had planned this, they knew Raen was easily controlled by anger and with the power stolen from the lesser gods was led into a trap and killed. He took seventeen champions with him before he fell.
Minerva went straight for the emperor, she killed thousands of Akasha, but not a single champion died to her blades. Innata, Telmik, Ocerus, Jaelin, and Balgrex were hunted down. Little is known about these fights but it is believed that they sacrificed their lives to buy time for their allies or perhaps it was but confidence. The other five were performing rituals of terrible consequence. They knew they would not win the war, not in their current state. While the others bought them time Edum and Mareyr sought a way to break the bond between man and God. They had long fought for the independence of man. Their ritual pulled the blessings of the gods from the Akasha. No longer were they children of the gods, they lost the power being connected gave them. Warriors already weakened by Raen's death were left with mortal limits. Mages once able to pull from Edum's knowledge or Innata's power realized they couldn't cast the spells to return home. Three hundred champions died as a result of that ritual.
Edum and Mareyr had decided to leave. They knew of many places they could go to where the Akasha could no longer follow. However, they were not the only ones performing a ritual that changed history. Asin, Diris, and Eres had decided to take the Akasha with them. If man wanted to be their equal then man could see what the gods were defending them from. The veil between worlds was broken and the legions of darkness were unleashed. It is believed far less would have died to this action had the champions of the Akasha still been connected to the gods.
Mareyr sought to balance the danger and convinced Edum to help her. The two of them now empowered by the ritual they had performed swept the world clean of legions and held them at bay. Eres and Diris were consumed by the darkness never seen again. Asin, now weary from the fighting and tired of it all, called for a meeting. The few champions remaining were summoned to maintain the seal, preventing the darkness from returning while the gods and emperor met. Edum informed those gathered that the seal was temporary. He and Mareyr could hold it for a year but that was all. The emperor grieving for the friends lost in this war asked if they could do anything to fix this. Plans were discussed but neither ritual could be undone. The Akasha were on their own, no longer beholden to the gods but no longer under their protection either.
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A year passed, and the Akasha prepared themselves. Built strongholds using the power of the fallen gods, learned the limits of independence from the gods. Learned to tap into new sources of power, limited though they were. Asin, a god of craft saw the struggle of the Akasha and decided to put forth one last effort for the children who he could not truly hate. He built great spires of metal and magic, fueled by divine might and designed to endure. When the legions of darkness shattered the seal they were drawn to these great spires. Wherein the Akasha waited. Therein lies the beginning of the endless war. Millennia have passed since that era. The Spires still sit, a beacon for the darkness and a lifeline for us. In the time since then, the Akasha fell apart. Travel between lands became scarce. Distance created difference and difference created conflict. No longer drawing from the same power we changed. Those who tapped into nature became increasingly attuned to it, its long-lived nature passed onto them. Others sought safety in the stability of the earth. Many stayed in the safe havens left by our ancestors. No longer were we The Akasha, now we were elves, humans, dwarves, and so on.
Kingdoms were founded, lines are drawn, and allies decided. No longer one people we no longer spoke one voice, but the darkness remained. We agreed to disagree, we accepted that fighting would happen. The Akasha were creatures of conflict and as their descendants, we knew it was inevitable.
So an accord was signed, the Spires were neutral ground, nationality, status, bloodlines none of them travel within the walls of the Spires. They are owned by no man, nation, or organization. The warriors of the Spires are beholden to no sovereign, no king above them. In return for supplies, the Spires are granted the right of conscription should their numbers fall. Should a ruler stand against a Spire performing its duty the kingdom will burn. Should a Spire shirk its duty, well no one in the Spire would be alive to punish.
Today it is common practice for the next generation to serve a term in a Spire. Most kingdoms make a one-year term mandatory unless you plan to join the military. Most universities grant scholarships to anyone who serves four years. The Spires will fund your school if you sign for six afterward. The endless war is a part of life now. The blighted creatures are useful. Their essence can be captured by Spire Mages and the results fund Spire Activity. No active spire needs the support of the nations near it. Over time a Spire that does well can build enough reserve to create moments of rest. Days, weeks, some of the greatest can even create months of time where the darkness is sealed away.
Nations use these moments of rest for festivals, travel between regions, and expeditions into the wilds. During these moments of rest, the bounty of the wilds is open. The creatures of darkness are dangerous but they are also full of magic. Their deaths bless the land and those blood-soaked blessings translate into magical plants, rare ore, crystals of power, and more. The Spires use these moments to focus on training new recruits. Refining what they learned during their time until that point. Since it's rare a kingdom will send Spire Recruits without basic training, such time is often used to teach more complicated matters or simply relax a moment if the seal is weak.
There are shrines to the gods today, we no longer draw power from them and almost all are long dead but many have found power in the rituals, ideals, and tenets of the gods. Scholars will tell you it is because such things allow us a mental construct to rely on. That magic is far easier when one believes it to be possible and has a solid picture in their head. It's why many wizards study science and why those who do often struggle with certain types of magic. It is much easier to believe a tree can grow in seconds when you do not contemplate all that would go into growing a tree. Or why some healers will not work on a patient, they do not believe the patient is savable and know their magic will not work as a result. Conversely, mages who understand gravity might have an easier time defying it or healers save lives that should be impossible, most commonly seen when the healer truly cares for their patient.
In this world of endless war, of people beholden to nothing greater than one another. There is a rumor, a legend of people beyond mere mortals. Those blessed by the gods or more likely walking the path to godhood. Those marked with a strange rune on their hand, different for each of them. It is said they carry powers left behind by those fallen gods, a spark of power that lets them walk a path no one else can see. Perhaps it is Mareyr's last gift, she was a goddess of beginnings after all.
What will these rumored champions do? What great acts will they perform? What consequences will follow in their wake? For make no mistake these legends are real, they exist and are creatures of conflict just as you or me. With the powers they wield, they will do great things, let us hope they will remember to do good things as well. For there is no one to hear us had we prayed.