The lands now called the Blackwyn Empire are old and ancient. Corlea as it was once called was filled with wild forests and all kinds of fey creatures. Melora, goddess of wilderness loved the land and made her home in the middle of the violet lake. Her blessings spread over the lake, created the feygreen forest and all the lands beyond florished.
Far to the east Vecna felt the presence of Melora's blessings encroaching on those he saught to influence. When Vecna discovered that Melora had settled on the mortal plane he was furious. This was an afront to godliness. No god or goddess could ever dare to set foot on the mortal plane. Vecna set about to destroy Melora by spreading his powers of necromancy to those true evil mortals willing to serve his will.
With Vecna's army of undead finally prepared he unleashed his fury onto the lands that Melora had created.
In the far west Melora felt her lands slowly rotting away into undeath. She knew what was happening. This was Vecna's doing. Melora gathered her hosts and called upon the creatures of the feywild and humans to protect natures lands from the growing undeath.
Melora's army met with sword and shield and magics against Vecna's horde. Back and forth the armies faught. For every downed feycreature or human a shadow beast would grow and so would the horde. But Melora was a goddess on earth, her powers kept the waves of undead from encroaching too far. Vecna dared not enter the mortal plane least he have to engage Melora in combat himself. Instead he plotted with the captured general Undim, brother of Ilim. Vecna promised Undim power over all the undead armies if he would betray Melora. Undim was weak of heart and traitorously saught to save his own life. He agreed and the plot to remove Melora began.
Vecna concocted an evil sleeping poison that would incapacitate Melora. This poison was embued into a dagger and an orbed necklace. With the dagger and necklace prepared, Vecna let Undim be recaptured by the fey army after feigning losing a battle.
Undim was freed from the horde and was given audiance with Melora and her generals at Melora's temple home to detail all that he had seen while captured. Undim told of everything except his deal with Vecna. Melora sensing that Undim was holding back went to touch his forehead so as to read his thoughts. As Melora reached out to him, Undim wielded the vile dagger and stabbed the goddess in the heart.
There was a huge explosion as fey energies tore out of the wound in Melora's chest. The temple was blown to pieces across the land as the essense of Melora shot about wildly like a tornado destroying everything it touched. Undim lay dead as the torrent of Melora was slowly sucked into the necklace round his neck.
When the dust settled Vecna raised Undim from the dead as a lichking who's soul was to be trapped in the necklace with Melora, forever his phylactery. Vecna spirited away Undim back to the frontlines of battle to prepare the war anew.
Ilim, Undim's brother and chief general of Melora's Army, with Tradossa, Headmistress of Melora's Mages were all that was left of Melora's high command. Without their goddess and Undim leading the undead, the war was a constant loss. The army built a new keep as the final defense against the horde of undead. They called it Goldwynne Keep.
The war quickly found its way to the keeps walls. Having given up all hope the last in the keep prostated themselves and prayed for mercy and salvation to any that would listen. Even as the horde of cursed beings mounted the walls and prepared to ravage the last of their enemies the skies opened up and the good gods of the pantheon set loose their anger on the undead armies.
Bahamut, Avandra, Moradin and Pelor were disgusted by the chaos, rampant evil and destruction laid to the land in the hordes wake. Together they sent the hordes fleeing back to the abyss.
The good gods returned to Goldwynne Keep and spoke to Ilim and Tradossa. To prevent such a travesty from happening again they were to build a new world of good, one that favored justice, progession, loyalty and mercy. Teach these commandments lest we lose our second chance at life.
Undim was never heard from again, his necklace never found, the dagger lost forever. Melora's blessings have never since graced the earth.
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