Godwars

Channelers come into rule by force and are worshiped like deities. Their enormous lifespans lead the everyday people to believe they are immortal. The 5th Age ends in bloodshed: the godwars have begun. Throughout the 6th Age, to escape the tyranny of the god-like channelers, non-channelers realize the gods may be killed with the very weapons they created to kill one another.

Introduction

The godwars were essentially a series of civil wars erupted within each cultural pantheon as channelers scrambled for more of their tyrannical power. The violence was so ruthless, that many pantheons beget their own destruction. For others, new gods rose from the smokes of cold battlefields to take their predecessor’s place. Eventually the bloodshed trickled down to the mortals that worshipped them, and eventually instigated the uprising of the Atharim.

The final pantheon of channelers were destroyed in the great and final war of the Norse gods known as Ragnarök.

Pantheons by culture

Those whose heights of power peaked in the 5th Age.

Here you will find a short description of the various known pantheons of gods throughout the 5th and 6th Ages. See individual pages for additional detail (if known).

Fairytale

Little is known about this period of history. The stories and myths of these people flourished as literal fairy tales told in the 7th Age.

Semitic

A society that grew out of the restriction of Seanchan rule in the previous Age, and retained many of its ethos concerning the natural order. It was not ruled by channelers, but controlled them with faith-based indoctrination. Channelers were warriors, guardians, and figures of great esteem, but they were forbidden from breeding and beholden to the Highest. Their reign is marked by the Fall of the Watchers, who broke covenant and took wives, and the devastating flood which was engineered to wipe clean the remnants of their eventual uprising and civil war. Such was the scale of the world disaster, the flood is also referenced in Mesopotamian and Hindu pantheons.

The Archangels were often deployed to quell disturbances in other parts of the world. The whole reign ended upon the rise of Ahriman, the Father of Lies, after a long and violent war.

It was the Archangels who first believed Ahriman to be a reincarnation or descendent of a Great Old One, their name for the mythical figures from the 3rd Age.

See also: Watchers of the 5th Age

Persian

Similar to the early Sumerian pantheon, they were an enlightened society with an emphasis on good deed, knowledge, and harmony. They were one of the peoples under the purview of the Watchers and Archangels of the Semitic pantheon.

However an early civil war erupted between Angra Mainyu, who later became known as Ahriman, and Ahura Mazda, later known as Ohrmazd. The feud centred around a desire for singular godhood. Ahriman desired to conquer, to subjugate, and above all to refuse the judgement or rule of other channelers. And he certainly did not wish to share his power.

Some theorise that Naamah, who instigated the fall of the Watchers, was in fact an agent of Ahriman himself.

The Persians thus became known in legend as a highly dualistic pantheon at war with itself in the eternal struggle between light and dark. It’s marked by the rise of the Father of Lies, Ahriman, and the attempted uprising of the prison Sheol, where the Watchers had been imprisoned. A fierce war waged for many years, necessitating a call to the Heroes of the Horn to prevent the prison being blasted wide open. Once the Archangels were destroyed, Ahriman’s influence spread east, causing chaos and destruction that sent shudders through the world, including the end of the Taras.

One of his notable lieutenants was Aži Dahāka.

The forces of the Shinto pantheon ultimately rose to stop them, spear-headed by Amatseru, and in alliance with others the threat was defeated.

Ahriman was widely believed to be the successor to a legendary evil of the 2nd and 3rd Ages. Some believed him to be the literal soul reborn (though this was not the case), while others believed him to be a direct descendant.

Sumerian & Mesopotamian

An enlightened and peaceful society known for its development of writing, advanced architecture, and innovations in agriculture, trade, and governance. Some of the greatest minds and scientific discoveries were attributed to Sumer. Though channelers were allowed to hold power, it was usually in service of a greater good or to aid the smooth run of society. As a matter of tradition rather than rule, many had few or no children. They were one of the peoples under the purview of the Watchers and Archangels of the Semitic pantheon.

The decline of the Sumerian civilisation is believed to have been due to a combination of factors, including political unrest, invasions by neighbouring peoples, and environmental factors such as droughts and famine. Many of their notable gods were forced to adapt to the changes of the world around them in order to survive, especially at the onset of war between the Persians and the Angels. By the time these gods became merged with the Mesopotamian gods, the number of channelers among them had made a sharp rise, including deities that became remembered as demons. It marked a swerve away from Semitic ideals, perhaps hastened by the troubles of Ahriman.

No major wars mark their reign. Eventually they were conquered/absorbed into the Persian pantheon upon the rise of Ahriman.

Chinese

A highly ordered society which lasted the majority of the Age. It ended in war with the Persians.

Buddhist

A cross-pantheon consortium primarily between Chinese and Hindu deities led to the creation of the Taras, a benevolent institution which took the same name as the goddess who began it. Tara was also used as a title bestowed upon its members. They were all female, and could be members from any pantheon of the time. The Taras were a great force for good in the world, eventually destroyed by the rise of Ahriman.

See also: The Twenty-One Taras

Egypt

This society was founded by an Emperor deity whose vision for Egypt was power, might, and structure. The interpretation of symbols and omens were deeply ingrained in Egyptian life, with a particular emphasis on the imagery and behavior of animals. The cycle of life and death was also a prominent theme in this pantheon, with the reverence of death holding as much respect as life. Unlike their neighboring pantheons, this one was more prone to violence, an extension of the frequent contests for power at the top.

Hindu

Atlantis

This pantheon was an offshoot of the Egyptians. The island nation existed in the Atlantic ocean, and for many centuries was a humble place of trade, seafaring, and agriculture. It was enhanced significantly when the gods Ra and Thoth used it to harbor the god-emperor’s greatest technologies, objects, and artifacts of magic in order to protect it from the impending war with Ahriman.

The Greek Titan, Atlas became the next caretaker of Atlantis until civil war erupted among the Greeks. Poseidon conquered Atlantis, and his meddling led to its self-destruction.

Greek Titans

The name “Titan” appeared originally at the outset of the Godwars, which began with the struggle between the ‘Titan’ and ‘Olympian’ deities. Fundamentally, these two factions were just that — factions within the Pantheon. Before the split, they were one and the same.

In a historical context, after the Godwars arose, the name Titan took on a different meaning to denote the original rule of the Pantheon in the 5th Age and later the faction that opposed the Olympian cause. One could call these two ‘factions’ dynasties of their Pantheon.

At the Turn of the Age, after centuries of secure rule under Titan control the old regime was threatened by a new school of thought, which escalated into a full blown civil war, under the name of the Titan-Olympian War. The Titan faction was eventually defeated with the last of their leaders ‘banished to Tatarus’. Thus ended the Titan legacy and gave way to the rise of Olympian dominion.

See: Titan-Olympian war

Those whose heights of power peaked in the 6th Age.

Greek Olympians

The Olympian faction appeared at the end of the 5th Age as a group of channelers seeking more than the undeserved worship as Gods.

Led by the Brothers — Zeus, Poseidon and Hades — the Olympians, discontent with their station, aspired to become Gods and Godesses in reality, not just name. At first their actions were secretive, but eventually they gained enough support and their plans became plain. Among other ambitions, the Olympians desired immortality. After years of experimenting, the ambitious venture code named Operation Kronos was launched despite Titan opposition. The operation’s goal was clear: null the effects of time.

Operation Kronos was also the final straw which broke the peace and embroiled the Titans and Olympians in all out war. The start of the war is also held to be the beginning of the 6th Age. Although Operation Kronos was eventually abandoned, the Olympians defeated the Titans and ruled in their place until they were eventually overthrown by the predecessors of the Atharim in the Age of Escape.

Roman

^{(Note: existed alongside the Greek Olympian timeline in the 6th Age. Roman deities are distinct from their Greek counterparts (where they have them) however they are often conflated with older figures, so their mythos and exact placement on the timeline is uncertain. Presume them to have lived in the 6th Age)}

Shinto

First came to prominence towards the end of the 5th Age, when Amatseru helped defeat Ahriman. Their rule remained strong until the middle of the 6th Age, when the first pantheons began to succumb to the first Atharim uprisings against the gods.

Celtic & Tuatha de daanan

The Tuatha court held strong from the end of the 4th Age to the middle of the 6th, despite several civil was. See: Tuatha de daanan

^{(note: included in this 6th Age timeline would be the rise and fall of Welsh, Breton, Scottish, and Gaulish mythologies. These are not currently marked on the timeline)}

Africa

Central and South American

A region beset by almost constant civil wars and uprisings, until it finally ended shortly before the onset of Ragnarok.

See also: Godwars of South America

^{(note: includes Aztec, Mayan & Incan societies, which may have risen and fallen throughout the timeline)}

North American

Norse

Ruled by Odin from the middle of the Age to the end. Ragnarok ended the rule of gods and marked the final channelers until Nikolai Brandon was born in the 1st Age.

See also:

• Ragnarok
• Aberrations in the Pattern