Chapter 3- The God's Folly

Allowing the live spark to shape the Gods creations had many effects upon the creatures they created. While they took forms similar to those that the Gods wanted, they were far from what they deemed to be perfection. They also acted apart from what principles had been imbued to them in some cases, to the benefit of those principles in some cases, or to their detriment in others. Because of their unpredictable nature, the Gods came upon a system of rewarding those who serve them well, after pledging their alligance (Cross-reference Shifting Forms Terennen's work on Avandra's creation of the Changelings) or to punish them for misplacing their faith (Cross-reference The Moon's Lost Followers, Terrennen's work on Werewolves, as compared to their shifter brethren.) They learned after a time that it was better to stand apart from the actions of their creations, and allow them to find their teachings on their own, as they were less likely to chafe against the meaning therein, if it was not being largely enforced by an unseen hand.

They also grew and developed far beyond the reaches the Gods had planned for them, and they began to mingle and clash as they pressed for more room to live. The inter-relations between the species gave rise to a number of other, unintended and unexpected, species. Where Humans and the Elven species met, their thriving relationship gave rise to the Elhaen, or Half-Elf species, gifted with both the Elves grace and the Human's drive to achieve. Orcs and Humans also co-inhabited for a time, creating the Orogs or Half-Orcs, with both Orcish resilience and Human adaptability. Other species that originated from these meetings were the Gnomes, Hobgoblins, Trolls, Dragonborn and, to a lesser extent, the Helastar and Kulmerin peoples.

With the emergence of these new races, the Gods came to realise that, although they had not erred in the creation of their new followers, that their followers had inherited more from them than they had hoped or wished. They had inherited the God's ability to create. In some cases this did not extend beyond the ability to reproduce, but the collective consciousness of the race as a whole had the ability to alter the world as it saw fit. However, as each races got to know the other, their ideologies began to chafe off of one another and they clashed in conflicts that ranged from individual skirmishes to warfare that drew all races to one side of a conflict or another. The constant fear of each race, of discovering another race, and the conflicts that it woud lead to, led to a fear of the unknown, that stalled the races otherwise meteoric expansion. The Gods sought to alleviate their fears, and acted as mediators between them. Although the immediate fears were soon resolved, the general fear of the unknown remained amongst all but a few of each race. This fear was addressed by many leaders of their people and thinkers amongst their number, who attempted to rationalise it. The power of creation granted to the peoples of Merih'Angar gave shape to their fears and made them real. Creatures grew from the dark places of the planet, and throughout the lives of all, there was more and more reason to fear. These creatures became known as Demons.

The fears of the people had spawned something far beyond the control of the gods, although this did not stop them from trying to eliminate and destroy them. It proved a futile effort, as the irrational nature of their being gave them a resistance to any influence the gods attempted to exert over them. Their creation proved to be the beginning of the end of the harmony that had lain upon creation for so long. Now conflicts existed which could not be easily resolved by the intervention of the gods. However,the problem was not without a solution. While the people feared them, their creation gave them shape, and allowed certain members of each race to rise above their collective fears and strike them down. These members, when they united together, were able to drive back, and kill many of the creatures. These people were rewarded greatly by the people and the Gods both, although the Gods did not reveal their weakness. Over time the champions of the races grew old, and lazy, and did not manage to exterminate the creatures completely.

They hid away, plotting. The Gods actions although ineffective, were not without consequence, as the Demons tasted their power and they began to understand how they could overcome their foes. Over time, they preyed on the people of Merih'Angar from the shadows, never taking a single united form, and allowed the people's fears to grow once more. As the peoples' fears grew, the demons grew stronger once more. Although they still hid, their power grew and grew, and soon they had gathered enough power to challenge the Gods for power over the world. The demons had been cast aside swarmed again onto Merih'Angar's surface as the demons strode again unto the world. Meteors fell at their command and the sky was blackened by their fowl magics, and the smoke of the fires of war. The peoples of the world marshaled armies in defence of their world, and questioned the God's powerlessness aloud.

The Gods themselves were not left untouched by the return of the demons however. Amongst the Demons, greater demons had awoken, whose names had entered the minds of both the people and their Gods, as things to be feared, who preyed mercilessly upon all. Confronted by foes whose power was the equal of their own, the Aelin were uncertain for the first time, of their own immortality. However, they clung to their power, and marshaled it to strike out against the Greater Demons who assailed them. The lesser gods, and servants of the Aelin, used what powers they had to help both the creatures of Merih'Angar, and the Gods in their struggles. They created dimensions for the creatures of Merih'Angar to flee to, to escape the worst of the conflict, although only few could avail of them, to prevent the Demon's access.

The resulting conflict lasted over a century of the world of Merih'Angar, and the details of which will be set out in future chapters.