Age of Creation Long before when the world was new and the Gods remade the land in their image, Elara and Ulla harnessed the power of the stars and nature. Ulla began to shape the world growing trees and the spirits within them. She turned her attention then to the beasts who would roam the forests of her creation. Ulla was very proud of her achievements and asked Elara to create leaders to direct her creatures, and give them guidance and so, Elara created the demigods of the animals of the land. These powerful leaders of the wild would use their own power to give purpose to the wildlife and communicated directly with them also. Ulla and Elara were overjoyed with their creations, as the beasts of the forest lived peacefully, led by their shepherds. Elara had been careless and placed too much of her light in some of her creations. The Great Wolf demigod, became unhinged and over proud, drawing more power from his connection to the moon and acting with great haste. The first Druids came to be in the age of creation, they inherited the powers of the forest deities and could change their forms to become animals of the wild. Ulla taught them how to master their animal forms and abilities, and to communicate to with their forest cousins. Their magic was drawn from nature and the earth itself, the druids therefore considered themselves caretakers of the land. The druids and creatures of the forest named this land Ulthran, and they lived in harmony with Ulla. War of the Seven The Gods fought fiercely in their attempts to stop Mazaroth from his evil deeds, Ulla however chose to refrain from fighting as she felt Mazaroth had done nothing to harm the nature within the world. Ulla was even apathetic when Leitos and Kraz were both killed in the conflict, as long as nature remained safe she would remain out of the conflict. This inaction changed though when Asteria, Elara and Oriani initiated their most significant attack on Mazaroth. The God had expected a plot by them and unleashed a counter strike of his own. Mazaroth detonated himself in a colossal and destructively incredible explosion of light, shattering his soul into pieces before it could be purged by the other Gods. As the dead Gods fell the power of Mazaroth swept over the lands and formed blights, grass turned to ash and dust within moments, and all life in the path of destruction withered and died. Ulla looked on in horror as her world of nature and harmony underwent horrific change. She became desperate to save her wilderness, her world, and her creatures. In a powerful and beautiful act of sacrifice, Ulla used all the power she could muster to change into the largest tree the world had ever seen. Her roots went deep, soaking up the poison of the lands and rejuvenating all living things. At the cost of her own life, nature survived and the Druids would hold on to the stories of Ulla, and to the gift she gave them and the world. Age of Freedom The Druids of Ulthran struggled at first to continue in a world without Ulla to guide them, though the animal deities did the best to lead them. As time passed the Druids learned to live peacefully once again, under the shadow of the giant tree along with the creatures and plants of Ulthran. Though most outsiders were unable to traverse the forest, some who were committed in their worship of Ulla entered, forming a series of druidic settlements across the forest, the biggest of which being Tyndoth, which went on to become a hub for all druids in Ulthran. The original Druids of the land taught the outsiders and developed a great society. As time passed those outsiders began to recognize themselves as natives to the land and considered themselves Ulthrish regardless of the background, or race. It was also during the Age of Freedom that the Druids most important alliance was born. The people of Sollovast became split, and thousands were displaced due to religious doctrine and fighting. A group of Human women had fled from the south carrying the bloodstained weapons of their husbands, sons, brothers and fathers, they fled Sollovast and found themselves deep in the forest of Ulthran. They had escaped persecution of believes much like the newer Druids but rather than attempt to integrate with Druid society these women kept to themselves in the Jungle and dedicated themselves to the sword becoming the Amazons. They declared that no woman need fear again, and that protection came at the pommel of a blade. Their society seemed to be a polar opposite to the peaceful nature of the forest, yet the Amazons flourished mastering the harsh way of life to those who are not one with the forest. The Druids were patient with this new society, wary to not draw their ire. Eventually these Amazons would mingle with the Druid societies, sending envoys to Tyndoth, and the two communities became symbiotic in nature. Age of Invasion The Demon Invasions swept across all of Vathria, plunging the land into war and violence. So many died during these conflicts and despite the dense canopies of the jungle forest land, Ulthran was not spared the danger of the demonic threat. The danger was certainly lessened but the Demons were relentless. The forest however fought back and thousands of Demons that entered the borders of the forest simply never returned or were seen again. The Druids fought alongside the wild creatures, including the Treant Omamol, against the malice of the demons. Omamol saw the devastation around her and took drastic action. She planted herself deep into the ground and used her magic to form a great impenetrable seal that would block off Ulthran from the Demon threat. Her sacrifice saved the forest from the horde but the mourning Druids were still needed to fight back the invasion of evil that was already on the inside of the seal. The normally peaceful druid peoples became fierce terrors of the land in their animal forms using their abilities to stop the horde, reducing their number one by one. Together with the assistance of the Amazons, they beat back wave upon wave of evil. The Wolf Druids fought more than most relishing in the taste of demonic flesh which led to the earlier corruption of the wolf deity becoming more apparent. The wolf druids were relentless, violent and twisted. Before long, the people of Ulthran began to fear them as much as the Demons. Their overabundance of power gifted to them by the Gods and the moon itself merged with the tainted flesh of the Demons and caused madness. As the Second Demon Invasion came to an end, so too did the line of Druid Wolves. Their deity, the wolf demigod was never seen again in the forest, most believing he succumbed to the corruption and died. In truth the Wolf deity spirited himself away from the forest in desperation to hide in the neighboring Dreadlands. The Druids declared that the power of the wolf was to be outlawed in their society. All relics of the Wolf were to be destroyed or hidden, and the memories of the corruption of the wolves would be taught to children to impress the nature of the forbidden magic upon them. Age of New Kingdoms The story of the Wolf Druids would be passed down and the horrors of the corruption turned from legend, to myth, the bedtime tales of horror. The lands of Ulthran once more found balance and the Druids elected to follow a peaceful way of life, protecting the forest but swearing off fighting if they could help it. The balance of nature to the Druids meant that fighting and war were incompatible notions meant only for the kingdoms beyond the trees. A great warrior named Thellen Brightborn came to Ulthran in this age, with a plan and a mission to unite the continent under his rule. While the Druids were part of the negotiations with Thellen, ultimately the decision to unite was not theirs. Thellens soldiers took fire to the forest in their efforts to march through the impenetrable jungle land. The Messenger saw the destruction the Humans brought and cried at the loss electing to unseal the forest and remove its magical border. Ulthran agreed to unify if only to halt the damage and Thellen agreed. The Druids could do nothing but rebuild and accept they were now Vathrians. The Current Age The corruption long ago defeated returned to the forest world of Ulthran and the Druid people felt powerless to stop it. The Druid Hero Aevra made it her mission to awaken to awaken Omamol. With the tragic death of Farah, Aevra reluctantly took on the mantle of Messenger with a mandate to save the forest. She had strong views on the state of the region and how it needed to be protected. She felt that Ulthran must be sealed once more with Omamol's help to prevent all outsiders from entering. Within Tyndoth the Champion Bardulf led by feelings of inadequacy and envy towards his brother chose to pursue the power of the Wolf in anticipation of the oncoming corruption of the forest. Despite this power still being forbidden to all Druids, Bardulf arrogantly believed he alone was strong enough to control the power. On the eve of attack while Tyndoth prepared its defenses, Bardulf ignored the orders of his brother Bell, telling him to go home, and instead headed to an ancient palace long abandoned in the heart of the city believing this was his perfect opportunity to find the power of the Wolf. Bardulf, captivated by his lust for power killed a guard who was blocking his passage and successfully found what he was searching for. He inherited the power of the Wolf deity and changed his form into a Werewolf. Alone, he defeated the corrupted creatures bearing down on the city and expected a hero's welcome upon returning to Human form. He discovered however that his people were sickened by what he had done; his own brother could not bear to look at him seeing only one of the corrupted. The Amazon Hero Skova However saw a murderer, her brother's murderer. She came for Bardulf's head following his confession to killing the palace guard, Bardulf was imprisoned under his brother's orders but secretly freed by his sister in law, Bell's wife. Bardulf fled Tyndoth and Ulthran, only to be hunted by Skova as she vowed revenge on the druid, for her brother's murder. The Ages Yet to Come The histories of tomorrow are awaiting an author, one who would tell the stories of the heroes and events not yet known. The Druids have a vow to protect Ulthran and be caretakers. The land continues to struggle as the future brings destruction to the great forest nation, however those stories for now are unwritten and their outcomes uncertain as the looming threat grows larger across Vathria…