GODS OF AVALORR

The origins of the race known as the Gods of Avalorr stretch far beyond the mythic realm known as Otherworld.

In ancient times, long before the height of the great pantheons of the world, a war was fought between the Aesír and the Vánir, two races associated with the peoples of the northlands. Odin, All-father of the Aesír, sought to consolidate his power by merging the Aesír and the Vánir into a single unified tribe. The Vánir, gods of nature and super-nature, resisted this merging with the warlike Aesír, and a long and bloody conflict ensued. Eventually, however, the might of the Aesír proved too great, and a treaty was struck between the two tribes. They would bend to Odin’s will, unifying their peoples through marriage, and in return, have members of the Vánir join the ruling High Aesír themselves.

This agreement was met with resistance among a group of Vánir, spearheaded by the god Mophion and his wife, Danu (who was herself another aspect of the Elder Goddess Gaea). Mophion and his followers refused to bend the knee to Odin’s will, and rather than prolong the war with the Aesír, this group of separatists left Vanaheim to seek their destiny elsewhere.

During their travels, these wandering gods founded four great cities where they taught their skills in the sciences, including architecture, the arts, and magick (including necromancy), to those who wished to learn.

Eventually, these gods, now under the rule of their new king Nuada of the Silver Hand, migrated to the extradimensional realm known as Otherworld. It was here that the gods fought a war with the natives of this realm, the monstrous Fomorians (an offshoot of the Jötun race), the Fir Bolg, and the Dark Elves. Eventually, an armistice was reached with the Fir Bolg, which saw the gods ruling over the majority of the mythic realm, with the Fir Bolg retaining a smaller section for their own. It was then that Nuada commissioned the founding of Avalorr, the new capital city and seat of power of the gods. Both the gods and the Fir Bolg continued to war against the Fomorians, a conflict which continues to this day. The Dark Elves, never satisfied with the perceived invasion of their homelands, swore vengeance against them all.

Due to the ancient war between their peoples, there exists a blood feud between the gods of Avalorr and the gods of Asgard. For though they began as sister races, too long have old grudges, regrets, and hatred festered in their racial memories.

The gods of Avalorr were widely worshipped and held in high regard among the ancient peoples of the Earthrealm, but when the continued expansion of Christianity began to ensnare the people who once worshipped the ancient gods, the Church began a campaign that stamped out even their memory. Much of the gods’ remaining influence was lost during this time, and Nuada, in his last act as High King, eventually cut ties with both the mortal realm as well as the rest of Otherworld in order to preserve the survivors of his people, though many of the High Gods among them had been captured, killed, or were missing, including the thunder god Taranis. Nuada commanded the Dagda to use his knowledge of druidic magicks to sever the mystical ties between the Celestial City of Avalorr, the Earthrealm, and the dimension of Otherworld itself, making travel between the realms difficult and fraught with danger.
Now isolated from both Otherworld and Earth, the current fate of the gods remains largely unknown. Though with the reemergence of the Thundergod Taranis into the mortal realm, it is only a matter of time until this mystery reveals itself.