Post by CCORI on Jul 4, 2022 13:40:25 GMT -5
Hello, everyone! As many of you know, this site is nearly a decade old, and in the time we spent here, a lot went down. The staff have been hard at work trying to figure out where the site should jump off of now that we've returned after such a long hiatus, and we've decided rather than scrub everything and return to the original plot, we'd return to our characters at a time shortly after where we left them - a lot of their character development is hard for us to erase, especially since they've been such a near and dear part of our hearts, even after all this time.
To make things easier for newcomers, and to help refresh the memories of old players, below we've provided a summary of the major plots the site has gone through, as well as where we are now in the ROH timeline. We hope this will help you orient your characters into the world as we move forward with new plots!
To make things easier for newcomers, and to help refresh the memories of old players, below we've provided a summary of the major plots the site has gone through, as well as where we are now in the ROH timeline. We hope this will help you orient your characters into the world as we move forward with new plots!
The Road So Far
Where it All StartedHades has grown tired of living as a lesser God to his brother Zeus, after so many eras of existence have passed. He has begun to amass an army, granting the many creatures across the lands a mortal body in order to increase the abilities and collaboration efforts amongst his militia. Zeus hears of this, and on both sides hero's of old are resurrected to settle old scores. In the mortal world on Gaia, storms of unprecedented magnitude begin to swell in major cities, huge power outages across counties cause social and economic unrest. The apocalypses has begun.
(Original Plot)Poseidon's ContributionInspired by Hades' retaliation, Poseidon begins to amass his own army, arming the many creatures within the sea. Human beings begin to catch wind of the true, divine nature of the the destruction, and since Poseidon's realm shares so many resources with their own, those that wish to join the fight flock to his aid.
(A Matched Intelligence)Strategic First MovesKnowing that Zeus's kingdom is better equipped for war, Hades and Poseidon begin to concentrate their effort into sending spies into Olympus for recon and recruitment. Hades places an emphasis on convincing the Gods of War to join his side for the fight, and Poseidon focuses his efforts in recruiting the creatures that call the sky mountain home.
(Spies in Olympus)Zeus's AnswerUp to this point, Zeus had been relatively unbothered by the rise of his brothers, but even he can feel the tables turn as those who he'd so long provided for begin to abandon him. In an effort to compensate for the swaying Gods of War, he resurrects an old army created by Hephaestus - the automatons. These beings are sentient creatures with no soul and no will, answering solely to Zeus and Hera.
(An Industrial Army)Retaliation of WarAngered by the implication of replacement, the Gods of War completely split off from Zeus. Their goal is to dominate it all and craft a world to their own, and they'll stop at nothing to tear it all down. Their anger and activity inspire war to break out in the mortal realm as well, and the fight for domination truly begins.
(The Lucifer Effect)The Children of HadesRelatively unknown and inactive until this point, three sons of Hades emerge to take action in the fight. Concocting their own specialized weapon, they release a sickness that had originally meant to target the Automatons - it rotted their metal, and almost instantly wiped out Zeus's slave army. However, the sickness had a side effect no one planned; it spread to all of those touched with divine energy, weakening and killing many on all sides. Anyone siding with Hades were immediately inoculated, and as time went on Poseidon and Zeus were able to offer similar protections, but those who refused to join a side had more or less been handed a death sentence. Rapidly, Olympians, gods, deities, creatures and resurrected mortals begin dying en-mass. The War Gods, for their own survival, disband and rejoin under Hades with the exception of Ares, who allies with Zeus.
(Plagues from Heaven & Hell)AsthenesterosFrom the depths of devastation, new heroes emerge. The death toll on Gaia was immeasurable, reducing the mortal population to under a third of its previous size. Disgusted with the goings on of immortal beings, two former gods - now cursed to be human - begin to create the ultimate mortal army. They create a fortress in Mt. Durmane, and put all who join them through the most brutal trainings in order to create the strongest army imaginable.
(Rise of an Army)DevastationYears pass, and this universe has never before seen this level of carnage. Troubled by the possibility of complete ruin, the prime protogenoi of creation (Phanes, Chronos, and Ananke) step in. They bind all entities to the mortal plane, and strip all divine beings of their abilities in hopes that with an equal playing field, peace can be bartered. Unfortunately, they are mistaken, and the army of Asthenesteros takes advantage of the situation and slaughters hundreds of former gods, targeting specifically those with War God lineage in retaliation for all the loss they'd previously endured.
(Stripped Bare)RestorationChronos and Phanes, in an effort to prevent mutually assured destruction between the entities remaining, return all divine beings back to their former status, though many are weaker than before, and remove themselves from further interference. This creates a temporary uptick in violence as the Gods of War lash out from their grief, toppling the last remaining mortal cities and targeting specifically centers of healing and care (hospitals, schools, shelters, etc). The mortal population is reduced to less than a total of ten thousand, and the remaining divine entities can be counted in the hundreds. Eventually, the Gods of War lose steam, and a peace is bartered among all sides while they count their dead and take in the true toll of this endless war.
(An Innumerable Toll)
The Path Ahead
We now live in a time of tenuous peace, though a new tension builds. The now restored Gods are mostly in worse shape than they have ever been, now affected by mortal mental ailments they had previously been impervious to (paranoia, depression, anxiety, etc), and many have a difficult time grappling with these effects. In fear of even more loss, an arms race has begun. All sides prepare for new waves of destruction. There are currently 4 sides in this war, and here is a summary of what each one is up to:
Hades has completely opted out of any war effort at this point, since the fight has moved far away from his original intent. His three sons, Pharmakos, Kolasi, and Nekromantio now lead the charge of these efforts, and they are working to ready new plagues as well as keeping the hellhounds and Gods of War on high alert, ready for the next throw down.
With the constant betrayals, the losses, and the slow death of Mount Olympus, Zeus's paranoia rises by the day. He's scrambling to find new and remaining allies in this war, though his lack of trust makes recruitment a tough sell. Still, with loyal subjects like Athena standing beside him, he continues to believe he'll find victory in this war.
While Atromitos (also known as Igetis) and Animeros lead the continued training of a better militia, human Genevieve Crowe has taken charge of moving the remaining bits of humanity into the mountains, and speaks now as a diplomatic leader for the reconstruction of their society. While this side has a focused effort in keeping their own people alive, Asthenesteros now also targets it's efforts in arming its militia with better weapons... designed specifically for the annihilation of Immortals.
