History of Galasia

The known history of Galasia so far is divided into four eras. It begins in the First Era with the creation of Galasia by the Solstice Gods and is currently in the Fourth Era during the reign of the immortals.

First Era
The First Era begun with the creation of Galasia by the Solstice gods of Summer and Winter. An intended side effect of the creation of Galasia was leftover sources of power that covered the world. This power, later called Astral Power, would go mostly unnoticed by the first humans that spread across the land. Many groups of people would discover the ability to conjure small flames, dirt, wind, and water, but that was the greatest extent of their abilities. The First Era ended with the discovery of the usage of Astral Power, and how it could be amplified through strength and study.

Second Era
The Second Era began when Astral Power became a commonly used ability among most people across the world. The ability to teach this power to anyone, rather than have a few select people able to sporadically reproduce its abilities, resulted in a massive acceleration of its capabilities. Combinations of elements, along with research and advancements in efficiency, resulted in a great many magical tools being produced. Entire nations would run on these tools. Most nations would eventually hit a golden age of prosperity, which resulted in the slowing down of advancements in Astral Power, which had commonly become known as magic. Little hardship spurred little investment in research as many people were extremely satisfied with their state of living.

One nation, however, went far beyond just obtaining comfort. The nation of Velkis pushed the bounds of magic far beyond the comprehension of any other nation. Not only had they mastered the concepts of physical elements such as fire, ice, electricity, and so forth, they had gained a considerable amount of control over advanced principles like gravity, light, and space. Convinced they were superior to all other "lazy" nations, Velkis began conquering their neighbors using their unbelievable power with ease. Eventually, Velkin research pushed Astral Power to its upper limits with the study of life and death itself. Control over these concepts gave Velkis near god-like powers, with the ability to control who lived and who perished under its rule. Velkis continued to conquer the majority of the planet with their incomprehensible abilities. Still convinced of their righteous superiority, ruling classes began to determine what was good and bad, and started exterminating those who they deemed morally inept while granting those they considered righteous considerable life. The power to extend one's life required the death of someone else to have enough Astral Power. Thus, an ever increasing competition for sanctity in the eyes of those who determined what was right and wrong spiraled completely out of control.

The Solstice Gods, enraged by the monstrously corrupt abuse of the power they had granted humans, brought down what would come to be known as the Solstice Apocalypse upon the world. It began with a massive sapping of the Astral Power in the world. The vast majority of magical tools failed as the endless supply of Astral Power suddenly evaporated. Then, with the main power to control basically anything removed from Velkis, they triggered a massive eruption of Mount Nythonrethian, which would be later known as Mount Solstice after the Cataclysm. The top five thousand feet of the mountain vaporized as ash and fire spewed into the atmosphere. The majority of people within a thousand miles were killed under the ash.

These were immediate punishments in the eyes of the Solstice Gods, as the effects of Mount Solstice eruption would only last a few centuries, and they planned on returning Astral Power to humanity once the Velkin empire had totally collapsed and people had long forgotten about their sanctimonious crusade. As a long term punishment, the balance of weather and temperature was disrupted. Temperature swings between night and day were far more extreme than before. An average day in spring or fall could see snowfall at night while the day was scorching hot. In most places in winter, days were quite warm while nights were mercilessly cold, while in summer, nights were pleasantly cool while days brought extreme heat. These differences are exaggerated depending on the biome. Not wanting to completely eradicate all life, and not wanting their human creations to die off from starvation, the Solstice Gods altered most other life to survive in the extreme temperature swings. However, humanity would have to suffer the changes between extreme cold and heat on a daily basis.

Third Era (The Dark Era)
Commonly just known as The Dark Era, the Third Era encompassed a time where the world was mostly devoid of Astral Power, and the combined effects of the Solstice Cataclysm and the extreme changes of weather kept humanity suppressed for centuries. While humans were spread throughout the globe due to the expansion during the First and Second Eras, they had very little contact with each other due to their inability to navigate the inhospitable planet. Centuries later, as the effects from the Mount Solstice eruption faded and as the Solstice Gods slowly began to return Astral Power to the world, large nations began to emerge as communities reconnected. While none nearly as large as the planet-sized Velkis Empire, these nations were quite large due to the already expansive presence of humanity throughout the world.

The damage done by the Solstice Cataclysm, followed by the centuries long darkness of the Third Era, cause the majority of knowledge and historical records on Velkis and Astral Power to be lost. The most humanity can remember is legends of a god-like race of people who could bend reality to their will, and a massive event passed down through legend as the Solstice Cataclysm that destroyed them. With most knowledge of Astral Power gone, humanity had to restart from where the Second Era started off at and regain their lost knowledge.

Fourth Era (Rebirth)
The Fourth Era began as Astral Power was poured back into the world, the effects of the eruption of Mount Solstice subsided, and humanity once again begun its growth. Large nations were formed out of the various small communities which had been disconnected across Galasia. The Solstice Gods begin a new idea. They will chose a select number of humans and immortalize them, giving them the ability to help guide humanity in the future and hopefully not go down the same path Velkis did. If they also fail, they will simply eradicate magic, enact another cataclysm, and start again. These humans will be able to pass their immortality to someone of their choosing, but doing so will kill them. A select few people will not have this ability. Instead, they will each be granted a sword only they can use that possesses the ability to kill an immortal. They will serve as the ultimate check against humanity.