The Coming God-War
It is well known to all the Folk of Cartyrion today that, two thousand years ago, the gods went to war among themselves, and this war spilled over from their heavenly homes to the physical world of Cartyrion. This war, called the Great Strife very nearly brought an end to all the civilized Folk of the world.
It equally widely believed that, should the gods choose to repeat themselves, and come to Cartyrion to wage war once again, the world - or at least its peoples - would not survuve.
The unfortunate result for this group is that there are, across the world, approximately equal numbers of people trying to recruit followers to each side, and anothe approximately equal count of people trying to actively quash the other side. The result is that conflicts - from argument to armed combat - are breaking out even now. And, ironically, some sages and scholars point to these as evidence that the end is near!
"If the world is ending soon, I've only got a little time left to have some fun," is the mantra of this group.
Fortunately, for civilization as a whole, this is the smallest group of the four, as these are Folk that have more or less walked away from their responsibilities and have fallen into lives of drunkenness, debauchery, outlawry, and any other hedonistic pursuits imaginable.
For the present, one thing keeping these folk in check is the realizaion that their "bucket lists" contain items still deemed illegal, and as such may be frowned upon by local officials. And since they don't wish to spend their last days incarcerated in some jail or dungeon, most tend to focus on discreet practice of activities that won't be too harmful to the population at large -- at least for now.
It equally widely believed that, should the gods choose to repeat themselves, and come to Cartyrion to wage war once again, the world - or at least its peoples - would not survuve.
Troubling Signs
A few sages and scholars have begun to voice concerns that there have been signs portending yet another struggle among the gods is imminent. And while most folk dismiss them as alarmists, they are attracting ever-growing groups of "concerned folk" who believe that the end of their world is coming soon -- quite possibly within their lifetimes.
Within the Kingdoms regions around the Inner Sea, the most often pointed-to phenonemon to reinforce this belief is the apparent apparent disappearance of the goddess Caronalyn?. In the Frontier lands, from the City of Endmere southward, the apparent swelling of the terror-filled Darkwood is considered proof that the denizens of chaos and evil are gathering once more.
Within the Kingdoms regions around the Inner Sea, the most often pointed-to phenonemon to reinforce this belief is the apparent apparent disappearance of the goddess Caronalyn?. In the Frontier lands, from the City of Endmere southward, the apparent swelling of the terror-filled Darkwood is considered proof that the denizens of chaos and evil are gathering once more.
Reactions
When common Folk hear the warnings of a coming "Second Strife", or "Final War", their reaction is almost always one of four predictable responses. Sages and scholars use the nature of these responses to group the Folk into four broad categories:The Disbelievers
These are the folks that simply laugh at the predictions. Whether they refuse to believe that the gods would once more subject their flocks to the terrors of the Great Strife, or simply believe that such a conflict - if it ever occurs - is so far off in the future that it won't affect them or their children, the Disbelievers are not about to make any adjustments to their lifestyles or goals in response to the declared threat.The Fearful Bystanders
These are the folks that are so terrified of the prospect of being caught up in another god-war, they cannot decide what to do about it. A small subgroup of these begin to take actions to protect themselves. One might stockpile food and other supplies, another packs up their family and heads for the wilderness. Neither realizes the futility of their actions if a god-war were indeed to envelop the world.The Rescuers
The Rescuers are folk who are convinced that the mortals of Cartyrion can influence the actions of their gods - provided that enough concerted effort is put in. Different groups of "rescuers" - they tend to call themselves the "faithful" - take one of two approaches, both of which are based upon the assumption that any coming conflict will see the gods line up against each other in pretty much the same way as before. But if the Folk don't split along the same lines, the balance of power would surely shift and force the gods to at least leave them alone. Thus, some groups are actively attempting to recruit followers of what they believe is the "correct side of the fight"; other groups are seeking out followers of the "wrong side" in an attempt to prevent them from gaining any traction.The unfortunate result for this group is that there are, across the world, approximately equal numbers of people trying to recruit followers to each side, and anothe approximately equal count of people trying to actively quash the other side. The result is that conflicts - from argument to armed combat - are breaking out even now. And, ironically, some sages and scholars point to these as evidence that the end is near!
The Last Chancers
The last group look at the portents and agree that the end is indeed near. They believe that there is nothing mere mortals can do to prevent it - that they're either going to be caught up in the fighting, or simply steamrollered by it when it happens. The gods don't really care what happens to them - so why should they continue to be concerned with the morals their gods wanted them to live by."If the world is ending soon, I've only got a little time left to have some fun," is the mantra of this group.
Fortunately, for civilization as a whole, this is the smallest group of the four, as these are Folk that have more or less walked away from their responsibilities and have fallen into lives of drunkenness, debauchery, outlawry, and any other hedonistic pursuits imaginable.
For the present, one thing keeping these folk in check is the realizaion that their "bucket lists" contain items still deemed illegal, and as such may be frowned upon by local officials. And since they don't wish to spend their last days incarcerated in some jail or dungeon, most tend to focus on discreet practice of activities that won't be too harmful to the population at large -- at least for now.
Entry for Worldbuilding Summer Camp 2024
Answering: "A myth or prophecy about the end of the world"
Regional maps prepared using Inkarnate
Battle maps prepared using DungeonFog
(with many map assets courtesy of Caeora)
Artwork designated as being from Pixabay is governed by
Pixabay License
copyright© 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 Robert O'Brien
Game Rules described herein are governed by
Open Game License version 1.0a
Descriptions of the World of Cartyrion, including, but not limited to its cosmology, deities, geography, political structures, religious sects, regional names, villages, towns, cities, and characters, are governed by Non-Commercial, Share-alike Creative Commonse License
Battle maps prepared using DungeonFog
(with many map assets courtesy of Caeora)
Artwork designated as being from Pixabay is governed by
Pixabay License
copyright© 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 Robert O'Brien
Game Rules described herein are governed by
Open Game License version 1.0a
Descriptions of the World of Cartyrion, including, but not limited to its cosmology, deities, geography, political structures, religious sects, regional names, villages, towns, cities, and characters, are governed by Non-Commercial, Share-alike Creative Commonse License
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