Mythos Wars
Albito, Chosen Historian
The Mythos War has been going on in Faerun for 45 years, though the Chosen have only just begun organizing themselves properly in the past thirty. Before the grand organizations of The Hunters, The Oracles, and the Valkyrie’s Chosen were formed, they would loosely work together and hunt after these creatures or just try to stay alive. There were many types of symbols in the beginning of the War. Albito claims that there are as many as 25 different symbols and each with their own unique abilities. After the many years of bloodshed most of the groups have destroyed one another, though there are rumors of beings with different symbols still out there with their own plans in motion.
When most of these beings arrived in Faerun, a number of horrifying creatures came along with them and they hunted them for sport. It was a brutal start to a war that has lasted decades. Towns were razed, cities were breached, and bands of adventurers trying to save those in the surrounding areas were driven mad. Many of the natives of Abir Toril began to despise the Chosen, they believed that they were the reason that all these calamities had come to them and sought to destroy them, though in reality the Chosen were summoned because these creatures were on their way to this planet. Mobs formed, organizations began to take shape, and the people of Faerun hunted the Chosen as though they were hunting orcs in their hills. Many were slain, and many Corrupted came about as a result and slain more of the people. This vicious cycle continued until finally a Chosen stepped forward with a brave band around her. Astorea of house Eurevale drove the Corrupted back. She cleansed towns, routed groups of monsters, and saved many people.
Through her relationships that she fostered with the Lords and Ladies of these grand kingdoms she was able to procure funding to set up the first of the organizations; The Oracles. The Chosen finally had a place to rally, a place where they could call home and not feel hunted. They began to work together and find ways to drive back these creatures more efficiently.
Then Dorem arrived. She brought with her mighty armies of ghouls, shoggoth, nightgaunts, and other unspeakable horrors. She began to set up posts in numerous settlements and made it clear that she was here to stay. With quick efficiency she wiped out numerous groups of Chosen. Only with the help from the kingdoms of Waterdeep, Cormyr, Balder’s Gate, and Sanctuary did the Oracles manage to hold back Dorem’s tides of War, but it was a temporary fix. Seeing such a danger rise before them the Chosen began to band together. The Hunters were quick to form up with Doomsayer, a cyborg orc, leading them to the fight. Finding flaws and weak points in Dorem’s forces. They organized strikes against them with guerrilla warfare tactics and caused them great pain but it was not enough. Eventually the need for an army was necessary. The forces of the four kingdoms and the Chosen banded together forming the Valkyrie’s Chosen.
Sven Allister, a human fighter, began the organizing of the four kingdoms. She rallied the troops with a charisma that was only given to born leaders. People flocked to her to lead them into battle, rallying behind her and willing to face any danger as long as she was there by their side. They began to fight back and took the fight to Dorem. Things were difficult in the beginning as the normal soldiers could not take the strain of fighting such horrors on a daily basis but eventually they found a combination of magical treatment, magical items, and divine magics would help keep the sanity in check. This would work for short deployments but then those soldiers would need to be on leave for some time, some of them permanently.
They soon learned that Dorem has three strongholds; The Shining Plains, The Cormyr Labs, and the illusive city of Arkham. Once they learned of the position they quickly moved onto The Shining Plains. In a matter of a few days they had razed that stronghold to the ground. The ghouls and creatures that held the fortress were dispatched quickly and they found that none of these creatures were willing to give any information, regardless of how they tried to extract them. When they took down The Shining Plains, something happened. A cult began to form, the Church of the Shining God.
This cult moved swiftly and moved under the guise of peace and prosperity. It’s members were fervent and they targeted the homeless and the less fortunate. They promised them food, healing, and beds, and all they asked for in return was their aide in sharing the good word of the Church of the Shining God. They were quickly growing and targeting the Chosen as Demons who were invading their world and forcing their war on the poor citizens of Faerun. Unfortunately people began to listen. They listened and they grew angry. They were right, why did they have to deal with this war, why did they have to lose loved ones just because someone wanted to play chess on their home? The church’s numbers began to swell and with it the pressure of hostility and xenophobic views towards the Chosen, extraplanar people who were simply visiting their world with their war.
The Chosen began to have to divert resources towards dealing with the cult and had to begin better practices as the Cult was targeting them on a battlefield that they could not use brute force in. 25 years after they formed the Valkyrie’s Chosen they finally found the Cormyr Labs. Hidden away with magic shielding its existence the Chosen were quick to attack. It’s towers caved and crumbled but the Chosen took heavy losses on this invasion. The siege took 6 months and almost all hope was lost until the arrival of Helm’s Shield. A group of Chosen who specialized in warfare and divine magic. They blasted through the defenses of the Cormyr Labs and made short work of their commanding officer. This allowed the rest of the army to pour in and destroy every last one of them. This put a great damper on the resources for the cult and almost completely stopped the attacks from Dorem, resulting in only smaller attacks from Father Matthews, The Beast, or worse the Wraith.
Another 5 years passed and forces had stopped coming. They found out that there will be no more new Chosen coming, no more reinforcements. They were officially on their own and Dorem was still moving with her plans to open the door for something so very evil and powerful.
The Chosen were getting desperate, hatching every plan they could think of to find the illusive city of Arkham. Then a vision came to Astorea, it was quick and painful, unlike any she had had before. A dwarf with golden arms and white robes, a githyanki with blood blades and leather armor, a tiefling with fair white skin and small horns, and a half elf with an odd orange tan, a pompadour, and a sequin suit. These four strange beings were all coming and they were coming right away. She quickly notified Doomsayer and he rallied 3 hunters that were in the area and sent them out to quickly go get the four of them. It would seem that these four unsuspected troops would become the very piece that would change this game forever.