In the beginning, there was a barren land full of dust and stone with no life. An empty earthy plane.

The great old ones had known of the existence of the new plane but couldn’t enter it so they waited because they felt its magical potential and they needed the arcane resources for their eternal wars with the demons of chaos.

Then the first cosmic rains fall and rivers lakes and oceans were made, while life began stirring in the land.

land of oyr after the first cosmic rain (1st CR) pure and untamed

First grass and flowers, low bushes and then trees the land was full of forests that brimmed with insects and bugs and later animals, birds and fishes occupied the land and filled it with life.

Life abounded in the lowlands while in the tall mountains cold and snow hindered life although many hard species survived there as well and the land of Oyr was blessed with life and creativity

It was the chance the great old ones sought. The cosmic rains opened a rift in the enclosed plane that could be breached by other beings as well. They send their servants, the eternal high-elves, to seek the land’s inherent magical powers. Τhe rift the cosmic rain opened was enough for them to enter with their silver airships.

There they sought the magic source and found it in the form of crystal pyramids on top of the tallest mountains.

Twelve pyramids there were (and three more that they were later found out, of lesser value and beyond reach at that time) and so they separated into twelve parts, formed twelve tribes and built twelve villages and started extracting the magical power and sending it through the void to their masters to assist their efforts in the eternal wars with the greater demons.

For many thousand years, the land of Oyr was quiet, the elves staying atop the mountains never interfering with the lowlands, but the great demons had learned of their journey and they were watching and waiting.

Suddenly the second cosmic rain fell and the land of Oyr changed again and many features were reversed, land become sea and sea become land and then men of light came out of the wet earth and become the children of the land of Oyr and Oyr their mother and populated the land and struggled with beasts and weather, but survived and thrived and were happy in those days of ignorance and innocence.

Under the mountains, another race was born, dwarves, stout and silent dwellers of the dark and masters of creation and the two races lived in ignorance of each other for that time.

Many centuries passed thus with no great changes except struggling for survival.

But the second cosmic rain made another rift in the plane and thus twelve demons (and three secretly after them unbeknown to all) entered the land of Oyr with violence and wrath with attempts to destroy and kill and thus were trapped inside the land and their demonic nature entered the world, but couldn’t leave again and in this way twelve demon beast gods were made that trouble the land ever since.

They abandoned their demonic appearance and took the form of animals, but their image was terrible and great and although they looked bestial they were immortal god-like beings full of hatred.

In the north four, they were the dog, the wolf, the bear and the bull.

In the center three, the goat, the elk and the horse

In the south last four, the ape, lion, tiger and leopard

And the last one separated in a great island in the eastern ocean, the boar.

In the north were cold and harsh lands, inhospitable that bred tough cruel men and beasts.

The center was more temperate with tall mountains and large valleys, long rivers and many islands both in the west and east.

The south was tropical with jungles wet and hot untamed and unexplored reaching from one coast to the other a vast ocean of hostile green.

The island of the Boar was lonely in the east ocean, large fertile with a tall mountain on the east side and a comfortable bay in the north.

The demons, when they realized of their trap were enraged but furthermore were afraid to oppose the elves because they realized that they were bound in this world and that they could be destroyed forever and so they decided that they needed allies to achieve their orders and through them, they would try to oppose their enemies.

Each one took humans as captives and mutated them and made beastmen according to their own nature and stature, mutated humanoid beasts intelligent enough to become a nuisance to all, a torture to the land of Oyr and a curse that the demonic wrath vomited on the land.

But the beastmen were creatures of chaos as their masters and never obeyed them because the demons have instilled in them a love of destruction and they were unable to obey, they wanted only to torture and kill and so their creators abandoned them and the land suffered because of them and humans for the first time felt the pain of war and death by violence, to such a degree that almost they were destroyed, but during the first beastmen wars their Great Mother send her sons druids, wise men with powers of knowledge and guidance to help and protect, so they endured and learnt to defeat the beastmen and built fortified places and used bronze weapons for war and battle, instead of wood, bone and stone. Because the balance had been tipped against the men of light by the demons in first hand and Oyr could help them, without invoking the wrath of the cosmic balance.

Many fortified places were built and the first beginnings of towns and kingdoms were made and unified, the men of light, defeated the beastmen (although with losses) and the mother earth helped them in their struggle and they become stronger and wiser. Druids were their teachers and mentors and not their leaders but they helped appoint kings and warlords to help the human in their struggles.

With beastmen came also a chaos of rapine and bestiality, the beastmen were foul creatures of darkness and dark desires of carnal instincts, that wanted not only to destroy but also to humiliate and many women fell devoured to their unhealthy appetites and a new race of halfbeastmen were born less bestial but more dangerous, but also mutant beasts were born, because the beastmen satiated their instincts with both human and beasts and among themselves, animals bigger and healthier, stronger and more productive than the ones living in the land, that eventually humans could tame and use to strengthen their forces. Thus darkness never prevailed entirely and through chaos, there came great help to human and the new mutated animals mainly: boars, goats, horses, bulls, elks, wolves, bears and dogs became a great asset and helped their new owners after they had been tamed, manifold from the “normal” species. The wars continued for many years, but now the beastmen were slowly being defeated and were forced to hide in the darkest places of the endless forests and the most remote corners of the land and waited only to raid lone travelers and small groups, or when a powerful chieftain united them to larger bands and send them to destroy and burn without reason or purpose.

Thus many years passed and instead of destroyed, humans of light become stronger and had druids to guide them, weapons of war, fortified places, mutated domesticated animals and were united against the common enemy. They began settling regions and kings reigned and ruled, whereas before they were restless nomads.

But the demons were discontent that their creatures were disobedient and knew they could not find help from them and so started a new project.

This time the result was orcs, the filthiest creatures the land had ever seen. Again poor human children were mutated and tortured and lost their humanity and become perverted creatures.

then the orcs were bred in the mountains and caves (thus they had no fear for the tall and high places like the beastmen) and when they had multiplied enough they were released to the land spreading havoc and pain.

Paranoid and warlike cruel and savage orcs were the perfect tools of destruction, but the demons were not patient to use them and become estranged again and they left them alone to survive and another menace fell on the land more terrible and cruel.

Orcs were militaristic and better organized than beastmen and soon fortified places fell to them and the humans fled to the hills to survive. There they met the dwarves who were also attacked by orcs, that could dig in underground places as well as run in the wild and the two races become allies to face the common enemy and they traded with each other depending on each other needs and skills.

The dwarves gave humans the secret of iron weapons and tools and later steel and armed them with fell weapons and armor and the orcs fell under their attacks and the humans were able to return to the lowlands and send their allies foodstuffs so that they could concentrate solely on crafts that they adored and an alliance was made that endures until today…

Thus the demons were for the second time thwarted in their plans and their rage blinded them and wanted now only to destroy the humans and their allies forgetting the elves and their original task devoted all their energies to enslave humans and making them their servants.

Thus they abducted females and bred with them in unholy rituals presented by beastmen loyal to them and half-demons were born, terrible wielders of divine powers given by their own demon sires.

the half-demons were the children of the beast lords, faithfull and powerful in magic and their sire taught them well although they were cruel and this cruelty blended with their tortured and hideuous blood and so they were corrupted but strong and they fully understood their masters and gods wishes and devised plans on how to succeed when all the other creatures had failled. The half demons had only one disadvantage: due to their peculiar nature and the tremendous effort of the demons to mate with women of light only one every century or so could be born and so their numbers were always small although they could live up to a thousand years!

Half-demons archpriests came in peace to the kingdoms of humans, disguised as templars and made temples in human towns and presented their sires as gods. Their powers were great and they came with gifts of magical items and spells that initially helped and humans were tricked and turned from the light and slowly accepted the beast gods as their lords and masters and seven temples were made in the seven major cities in the north and center, namely the Bear, the Dog, the Bull, the Elk, the Goat, the Horse and the Boar

In the beginning, the demons gave more than they received and the newly created kingdoms thrived they progressed in technology and amenities but degraded in ethics and spirituality. The people were glad for the gifts and prosperity and accepted their new gods and turned a blind eye to their sinister practices. The nobles had now a priesthood to support their power and rejected the wise druids that fled from the civilized towns and cities to the wild and there nurtured their faith and watched and prepared for the new menace.

So great was the influence of the demonic temples that the kingdoms also changed their names to honor the new gods and thus they were named a new and few now remember the old names:

• Kynis the kingdom of the dog, in a great forest in the northwest between the great mountain range that splits the land of Oyr in two halves and the bay of islands.
• Arcturis the kingdom of the bear, around the great lake in the north.
• Tavris the kingdom of the bull, in the far northeast at the edges of the eastern ocean.
• Tarantis the kingdom of the elk, on the great plateau in the west.
• Tragis the kingdom of the Goat, in the center, between the great mountain range and the bay of the many islands.
• Atis the kingdom of the horse, in the great plains in the east and center.
• Capris the kingdom of the boar, alone in the south in the biggest island of the eastern ocean.

The rest of the demons (wolf, ape, lion, tiger and leopard) remained as cults of their demon gods the first in the far north the rest in the great jungles of the south, lost from human eyes and known only as rumors that plagued the night.

Slowly humans realized their mistake, but it was now too late and they had to struggle to remain free because their benefactors became their oppressors and what they have given they claimed now manifold. But the temples were too powerful to be opposed and the clergy held both the nobles and the middle class with gifts and threats. It would be needed a new power to topple the balance of terror and degrade…