Ragnarok Summary

Post Ragnarök Prime

Ragnarök destroyed much of the non-natural Prime, by which is meant those structures and mines which were not on the Plane when it was created out of the primordial essence (now know to pre-date the Gods). The world was dark for an age: the sun and moon were obscured by a thin layer of dust polluting the high atmosphere, following the huge volcanic upheaval that took place at Tiris during the final war between men, giants (including extra-planar creatures) and Gods. The power of the gods, derived from the Prime, was quickly exhausted and none survived. The titans that fought them were killed or retreated to the outer planes, much reduced in power. Not only was the Prime wiped clean of the influence of the Gods, but the outer planes themselves lost all their major deities; the lesser powers left behind focussed on healing their own worlds or fighting amongst themselves to establish dominance.

The Elves

The Prime lost all the elven races, either destroyed or returned to the outer planes (see Milai, below), often squabbling amongst themselves over dominance. Only the Drow remain in the under dark, free also to roam the gloom on the surface. They held faith with Inwe as she fought to keep power and control, assisting Hel until the very end of the Norse Gods. Inwe escaped an untimely end with the aid of the Gith, who raised her up to be their new Queen (Queen Gith having been killed by Heimdall in the final battle). She escaped the Prime, before the Astral collapsed, taking many of her folk with her.

The Gnomes

Of the gnomes and there kin, all were lost except the descendants of Orodruin, who retreated to Limbo, not to return to the Prime. Many Prime dwellers blame the gnomes for bringing about Ragnarök, for challenging the gods with clever artefacts that turned men mad with lust for power.

The Dwarves

Most dwarven houses were on the brink of collapse even before the final battles. Oddly, this helped them survive better than most. Unable to help the Gods, they hid deep within their mines avoiding contact with the warring factions on the surface. Of course, this has turned many into the dark races of derro and duergar, but rumour has it that some older lineages remain.

The Sylvan kind

All the fairy folk hid throughout the great war, yet many were lost (collateral damage), as the forests and sylvan places burned. There may be some folk left, but no-one has seen any for many years.

The Humans

Much of the Prime appears completely devoid of humanoid life – certainly on the surface. Only humans have bounced back from near utter annihilation. They have polarised into two main factions, separated by many hundreds of miles of empty space. One, in the far north of the Prime, is led by a strong lineage of warriors, descended from Pelanor (himself a distant descendent of Bavarik), who survived the Ragnarök wars, but lost faith in the Gods. These humans form a close-knit dynasty of Norsemen who pledged, on Pelanor’s deathbed, to work together to heal the Prime and overthrow any seeking dominance. Having shunned the remaining deities, fighting ferociously for their independence, they live as barbarian, hunter-gatherers.

The Orientals

In the centre-south of the Prime are the descendants of three great oriental houses, none of which had much faith in the Gods even before Ragnarök. One aligned with Iki Moko, one with the Samurai Tuar Chan, and the last – the House of Toranaga - eventually sided with Lanzi (or rather his consort, Yishmay). The fact that they had amassed vast, highly trained armies (albeit split by alignment (and the degree to which they had been corrupted by Lastar’s artefacts), meant they withstood the onslaught of both the Gods and the giants – aligning with neither in the end. Tuar Chan’s forces, split between Iki and Yishmay at his death, produced a clear distinction between Evil and Good (respectively) but neither side ultimately stood behind the Norse Gods. Indeed, it was Iki’s betrayal of the Goddess Hel and her minions - Inwe and the Lich Mercantire - that left his warriors non-aligned and largely unscathed. Indeed, Iki Moko’s attempts to push the Samurai lords to battle failed, and it is widely believed that he was assassinated before he could throw his armies into a futile conflict with the Giants on the side of Hel. On the fringes of all the battles, simply defending themselves, the Orientals survived.

The White Council

Yishmay was captured (once again) early in the tumult by the Efreet, who had joined the Giants as the battels waxed and waned. Lanzi went to his doom, with many of the Second White Council, including Hintzu and Dafydd, battling to return her to the Prime. Milai understood the futility of Ragnarök and decided to give up the quest to destroy the artefacts to avert the final war. It was said that she lost faith with the other members of the Council, believing they were driven more by avarice than a real desire to save the Prime. In her mind, all hope was lost when Lanzi decided to rescue Yishmay, rather than complete the quest to destroy the artefacts. She led many of the elves from the Prime back to their homes in the outer worlds before being lost in the final collapse of the Astral Plane.

The Demons

The Arch-demons, Orcus and Demogorgon, threw everything they had into the contest for the Prime. Ultimately both were banished back to their Planes in the Abyss, as were their most powerful minions. It is feared both made it before the Tree fell and the Astral failed. Yet more were trapped on the Prime, doomed to roam gloom, looking for mischief and continuing their struggles for dominance.

The Githyankie

Of Gith history, it is the 3rd age that is marked by Ragnarök; not surprisingly, the beginning of the 2nd Age was marked by the demise of Lastar, and the 1st began when the Queen Gith set her people free from the Illithids and the war with the Githzerai began.

The Githyankie had been preparing for Ragnarök for millennia. The death of their ancient Queen was, however, deeply shocking. There was nothing the Order could do to prevent it. Heimdall had attacked the Astral with the full force of the Vanir, only repelled by Hel and Loki’s giants and undead – but too late to save the Queen. Hel herself perished on the Astral, close to the Gate of her underworld realm, at Heimdall’s hand. Hel’s greatest servant, Inwe, brought her Drow army to the Astral, realising the Prime was finished, and struck down Heimdall as Fenris tore at his immortal flesh. Inwe and the Gith had worked together on the Prime for many hundreds of years, searching for the Great Mage’s artefacts that they had known would spell doom for the Prime. The gnomes of Orodruin unmade all that the Mlar (Githyankie ‘builders’) had done, many structures that had taken eons to build were now laid low. So many Githyanki had perished in the wars, fighting alongside Drow and the Duergar that so hated the gnomes. Guardians and gatekeepers of the Astral, the Githyanki were nearly destroyed. The once proud nation of warriors, builders, organisers and thinkers, is no more. What is left, is little more than a loosely knit band of warriors, desperate to regain their strength and take up the everlasting fight against the Githzerai.

The Githzerai

Non-aligned and godless, left in Limbo and under the protection of Orodruin, the Githzerai were almost unaffected by the Great War. It is only a matter of time before they seize the advantage and venture to beyond limbo to subjugate their cousins. As with all extra-planar life, the collapse of the Astral Plane has curtailed their ambitions.