History

Before the expansion of the universe, there existed beings outside the comprehension of man akin. Where they came from or whether they were around even before the universe is still one of the greatest mysteries to plague the minds of mortals. They sought to bring life to the empty void that was space. So the Gods spilled their essence and created the universe, worlds that speckled across the black canvas. They then occupied these worlds with living mortals. These creatures were not always made in the image of their creators, whom had no real image to begin with, but rather as concepts of ideas, thus allowing the process of evolution to partake in some worlds. The Gods, not beings of perfection themselves, would be the first ones to create the concept known as "mistake". They created life but did not know what else to do with it. In a short time, their creations became abominations, contorted in confusion. This caused them to turn on each other and destroy themselves. Dismayed, the Gods destroyed their creations, leaving those worlds barren. There were, however, two lover Gods who created a world specifically with the interests of their creations in mind. Their names were Kaiden and Yara and they would not make the same mistake as their fellows and would imbue in their creation the gift of purpose to prevent them from destroying themselves. And with that purpose would come order. Like the foundation of the world they lived on, these creations, also known as akin (humans), were born out of Kaiden's aspect of influence that would be known as the element en (earth). Much like dolls, these akin were not yet "alive", thus prompting Kaiden's lover to imbue them with a soul, which would be coined as the element ka (spirit). They were not perfect creations yet for they could not function properly. Like new born, they often crawled on all fours. It would be some time before they would naturally learn to walk on two legs. The success of making life work for the pair had soon reached to the other Gods whom all decided to band together and collaborate with one another to complete this world called Ein to the behest of Kaiden and Yara's support. With the help of the other Gods, Ein grew into a beautiful plane of existence. The Goddess named Alune decided that she would quench the en with alu(water) so that the creations may drink. She, however, did not account for them getting sick due to the stagnation of the alu. Without berating her, Aeolin, God of aeo(air), would input his ideas in having energy course throughout the entirety of Ein, making it easier for the creations and the water to move. This energy was strong enough to move Ein itself, putting it in a permanent rotation. The world, however, was cloaked in darkness, keeping the akin in total blindness. The God named Solorax would move his dying planet known as the sunar (Sun) closer to Ein and give warmth and light, thus granting vision to all on it. The rotation of the planet would give concept of night and day to the planet. There is another planet called the lunus(moon), created by the God named Malacath, who failed to create life upon it. He would give meaning to the deceased planet by providing reflective light by the sunar to brighten the dark side of Ein. Ashul noticed that the akin shivered whenever day turned to night, figuring that they might be exposed to the elements, so he created ashur(fire) and showed them how to utilize it as a tool to keep them warm. To further help with keeping the creations safe from the elements, Roroka gave them hair along their clay, naked body. Some of the akin would still walk on all four, having not yet gained the functional capabilities to walk on two like their brethren. These creations would be sorted from the ones that walked on two, a concept thought up by the God named Aphlex who would dub them apex(animals). Time would go on for the life on Ein and all seemed well. However, things would not stay this way as hidden, growing resentment would surface. The brother of Kaiden, Malacath, had been envious of Yara whom he thought to have taken his only brother from him, so he sought to sabotage their relationship by tricking Yara into believing he was her beloved and mated with her to shame her soon after revealing himself. He thought it was rightfully so that he keep Kaiden to himself. Catching wind of his brother's betrayal, Kaiden confronted Malacath, resulting in a vicious battle that lasted for seven days with Kaiden finally being the victor. Fist full of rage, he plummeted his brother into the depths of Ein, causing a cataclysmic effect that flooded the entirety of the world in alu and wiped out most of the akin inhabited on it. This crash would also break apart the land, separating it into six different sections. The akin that were strong enough to survive the flood would be known as the kai, demi-Gods of their world. These demi-Gods would later be tasked with safeguarding Ein from further harm, keeping vigil over the Fallen God in his submerged prison. The surviving apex would evolve into various savage beasts known as the vargs, capable of devouring even the kai themselves. Because the treacherous act of Malacath upon Yara could not be undone, she would give birth to a new species of demi-Gods that would later be named the volkari by their fallen father. These newly born demi-Gods closely resembled their elder brethren. Blessed with perfection in looks and adorned with wings, they rivaled the holy appearance of that of the kai, but bared sinister horns and tails like Malacath whose ability to shapeshift was also carried over to them. Ashamed, Yara would reject her youngest children, putting them at odds with the kai. This blatant rebuke of their lineage would later on spur a war between the two races, resulting in the Great War of the Demi-Gods. Because of the set rule of no interference from the Gods with their creations, neither of the Gods would intervene in this war of the demi-Gods. They would rule that the two opposing races would have to work it out amongst themselves. Both sides seemed to have reasons within their own right to win this war. The volkari fought for recognition while the kai fought for their lives. After two generations of warring, the kai finally win over their younger kin, but the land is now torn and worn from the constant ebb and flow of their battle. The innocence of the kai is tattered from years of battle, but they somehow retained their faith that things will get better, that the Gods, their parents, Kaiden and Yara would not forsake them. With the war won and the volkari mostly vanquished, peace to the realm seemed possible and the future of Ein looked bright once more, however, not all would go well as it seems. Years would go by and peace would seem to be restored to the land once again however, it was not the same Ein as it once was. With the dwindling numbers of the kai, they sought to repopulate their numbers to avoid extinction. So they began to recopulate with the other surround lifeforms, specifically the apex. And even though the apex were large, ferocious beasts that often ate the kai and anything they could capture, the kai some how managed to tame the apex enough to breed with them. This errant but necessary procedure would not only save the kai and apex as species, but also introduce a new species known as the beastkin. Baring traits of both their parents, these kin would be able to walk on two legs like the kai and bare bestial features like the apex, however, they lost their demi-God titanus height as a result. As the beastkin evolved into smarter, more cunning beings, they began to become more self aware of themselves as living creatures and thus explored their inner workings, specifically their ka. Along with their growing and adapting intellect, came the need for knowledge. And with this thirst for knowledge came the curiosity of their origins. This would open up the discovery of who they were and what they were via the sharing information of their predecessors, the kai, who would then give in to the teachings of their Gods above. This form of teaching would be called religion and it would be the sole practice amongst the kin of the land as not to forget their ancestry and whom to give gratitude to, also known as praise for it was the Nine Gods that help create life in the world they live in. Religion would spread across the world as one of the pillars of life. When given praise to one of the seven Gods, blessings are granted to the devotee. These blessings come in different manifestations depending on the God praised. Those who pray for stability, patience, and control give praise to the Goddess Alune. Those who pray for the lack of control and instead want to gain happiness and joy give praise to the God Aeolin. Those who pray for courage, strength and energy give praise to the God Ashul. Lastly, those who pray to the lover Gods Kaiden and Yara pray for good health, true love, and longevity. This religion in particular is named Levinity. Though the religion of Levinity as well as the other forms of religions would continue to spread across Ein as a solid belief, a new religion would come forth as some of the races would begin to discover the tale of the Fallen God Malacath and become curious over him. This curiosity would grow into fascination as some would believe that Malacath was just in his actions. That his passion and love for his brother brought on a tragic event. With this new belief sparks the conflict within kinkind, causing much confusion and calamity of their very ka. This frustration of pivoting directions of faith would create the concept choice and with this concept would turn many away from their path of higher being, specifically the faith and following of the Gods who helped give them life. The rejection of kinkind's higher being would give birth to the behavior of corruption branching off from the behavior of holiness thus creating the duality that is holy and evil. And with the corruption of evil came the discovery and practice of magica, something every living creature on Ein possessed, however this particular magica focused solely on harming and damaging others through the use of curses and hexes and sheer ill will upon a person. The path of harnessing the corruption caused by Malacath was called dark or black magica. To combat against this practice of evilness, new schools of magica began to arise. Rather than relying their hate and vileness, such magica like white magica used the faith of the Gods and one's own goodness for the well being of others were practiced, mostly to heal the wounded. A stray alikhat, one of the beastkin races, would some how find her way past the defenses of the guardian kai watching over the Fallen God's watery prison somewhere on an island that is now known as Isles of Ikuda. Due to the corruption that permeated the area, the once thriving and beautiful forest had turned into a festering swamp. The air turned dark green and thick with the sick aroma of the corruption that seeped into the very surrounding trees and plant life, sapping the very vivid essence of the once lively looking barks and turning them into a sickly color. The leaves of the trees sagged low, as if permanently soaked in moisture, giving them a sullen look of despair. Though the kai have been stationed there for safekeeping, there were non to be in sight, not even near the gloomy lake. It was thought that the dominating corruption had threatened their very sanity, forcing them to leave the premises. The radiating corruption seeping out nearly discourages the alikhat, however, her determination prohibited her from leaving. She sought to commune with the Fallen God and attempt to release him from his imprisonment. It was not known whether there was magica strong enough to unleash a God from the very confinement another God put him in, however, this form of black magica had evidently been practiced and perfected long enough to do just that. The alikhat communes with the dark force by using an instrument known as an idol in the image of the Fallen God. She then summons the strength to call forth the God by drawing an upside down diagram of the five elements of life known as a pentagram. This ritual was strong enough to call upon the Fallen God through his restless slumber, rousing him from the depths below. With his freedom came the strong desire for revenge against his brother, however he did not yet have the strength to confront him. As such, Malacath would continue on living in secret with the alikhat within the swamp. The Fallen God would soon find himself smitten with the alikhat that saved him. Together they would sire a species known as the jaeger. The jaeger looked much similar to that of Malacath himself and also bared horns, large protruding fangs, and four sets of ears. The jaeger were known to be malevolent and malicious in nature, much like the parents that hareld them. They carried the innate ability to harness the dark arts of their magica and thus harbored a strong soul affinity that rivaled that of the elkai race. With this strong force hidden within the swamp of Ikuda, their natural corruption along with their father Malacath, would begin to spread pass the borders of the swamp and reached the surrounding areas of Ein, turning all those affected into hellish forms of their former selves. The kai captures Malacath's mate and kills her on the spot, attempting to stop the poison at its roots. This only enrages Malacath and sends him on a rampage. He corrupts the minds and bodies of every living female beastkin he could lay his hands on and copulates with them, creating several aggressive, loyal delinquents of different kinds. Some of these species would come to be known as the draken, and the elderlock. Some of these corrupted beastkin, however, grow to have minds and ideas of their own rather than partake in their father's fight. With his newly acquired army along with some of the surviving volkari, Malacath would seek revenge once again on his brother. He takes the battle to the skies. With him and his brother duking it out in the heavens above, his corrupted children are clashing with the kai below. It is an even, long battle with great loss on either side. Evil does not prevail in this tale, however, and Malacath is once again defeated at the hands of his brother. With sword in hand, Kaiden strikes down his brother, who falls to the en once more. Because Gods can not kill one another, Malacath was not presumed dead. His body was later found stabbed against the trunk of a large tree where he remained until some of his remaining volkari children managed to find and rescue him. They take him deep within a hidden forest, out of sight of the kai, where they were able to lay low for some generations. As time went on, Malacath begins to grow weaker and his children began to grow less in numbers though they attempted to maintain their lineage through the act of incest. This does not save their effort and their numbers dwindled down to a remaining of five. These lasting five members of the volkari are what makes up the house known as the Nighthood.