The Creators of Orin Rakatha are referred to as the Mystics and were a small race of people who spent eons travelling the Cosmos, collating vast knowledge and power. Â They were a lawful and generally peaceful race who preferred to nurture and guide rather than destroy or dominate.
The Mystics were led by a group of their finest minds, referred to as the Masters. Â The Masters had long ago mastered the Spheres and Elements and had managed to achieve the peak of their chosen profession; the results of their labour and dedication granted them immortality. Â They were second to none within their chosen profession and in many places were regarded as Gods or Avatars.
The Masters were ruled by a family which consisted of six people; the Mother and Father (their names have been lost in the ages) and their four children called the Traveller, the Black Pharaoh, the Green and the Master of Time. Â The members of this family were the most powerful Masters among their people and were referred to as the Masters of Judgment. The remaining Masters were referred to as the Masters of Law (changed later to Lore).
The Mystics were strong champions of the Life Sphere who constantly worked to thwart the Void and its minions. Â Towards the end of the Mystics existence (which had already been extended long beyond anything else ever recorded) the Mystics were chosen by the Life Sphere to help contain the expansion of the Void and in particular imprison the Aspect of Darkness. Â They were granted the knowledge and power to create a plane of their own in which to rest their collective consciousness rather than travel to the Hall of Heroes or return to the Life Sphere. However, this knowledge and power would come at a price.
And so it was that after many centuries of roaming the Mystics were able to create a place of their own and thus Orin Rakatha was born. Â Orin Rakatha is not a natural plane but is instead a collection of bits of other planes that were brought together and bound by the Mystics, with knowledge granted direct from the Life Sphere. Â This land was encircled within a large mountainous range and the Mists were then created to inhabit this mountain range and bind the bits of other planes together to form the Land.
The final act of the creation of Orin Rakatha was to breathe life into this new creation and give it a sentience to help guide, protect and nurture those who dwelt upon it. Â The Life Sphere set a Tree of Life upon Orin Rakatha to bind it to the Life Sphere and infused itself within the Mother and Father from the ruling family who gave up their very essence to become the Mists (the Father) and the Land (the Mother), to be guided by their four children, the Masters of Judgment.
And so it was that Orin Rakatha came into being.
As a result of all of the powerful spells and invocations used to create Orin Rakatha and bind the different bits of other planes together, there are a number of points where this energy has accumulated. Â These points are called Nodes and are a concentration of one particular type of energy used during the creation process; element, sphere or emotion. These Nodes are connected directly to the Fundamental Planes and the Spheres and act as mini beacons to the Life Sphere. Â There is at least one Node for all of the elements and at least one for each type of Aspect from the primary Spheres and their subsets.
Once Orin Rakatha was created it shone like a strong beacon of the Life Sphere, which attracted the attention of the Darkness. Â In an attempt to consume this newly formed plane before it was fully developed the Aspect of Darkness itself attacked Orin Rakatha and attempted to consume it from within. Â The Aspect entered the land and sought out the strongest part of the Life Sphere to consume it (normally the Tree of Life). However, due to the nature of the land and its creation the Aspect struggled to focus on what the strongest connection to the Life Sphere was, as there appeared to be a number of strong connections (the Nodes, Mother and Mists). Â The Aspect of Darkness entered deeper into the land just as the Life Sphere had hoped and then the trap was sprung.
Whilst the Aspect of Darkness was within the Land, seeking out the heart of the Life Sphere, the Mystics finalised their preparations and sealed the Land. Â The Mother, infused with the Life Sphere, smothered the Aspect of Darkness causing it to shrink away from her glowing embrace into the very heart and depths of Orin Rakatha. Â The Masters of Law/Lore gave of themselves and infused their essence within the Nodes, strengthening them, and the Father infused the Mists and rolled across the Lands, bringing the Life Sphere with it wherever he went. Â This left just the Masters of Judgement fully awake to monitor and control the Land and guard against the Aspect of Darkness breaking free. Finally mortal races were brought to Orin Rakatha, followers of the Mystics, and were bound by blood into the Land creating the final seal of the Life Sphere upon Orin Rakatha.
The end result was many layers of the Life Sphere and strong champions of Life forming a cocoon around the Aspect of Darkness. Â The Aspect was trapped within the heart of Orin Rakatha, unable to break free for fear of coming into contact with the Life Sphere. Â Thus has the Aspect of Darkness remained trapped biding its time until it is able to break free once more, destroying Orin Rakatha in the process.
The first people of the Land consisted of a number of people that had served and aided the Mystics during their travels. Â They were granted a place upon Orin Rakatha as a reward for their service and also to act as a further lock upon the prison of the Aspect of Darkness.
A number of the people were primitive tribesmen called the Hill people, the Forest people, the Mountain people and so on. Â These first people lived in nomadic tribes in caves and around camp fires and were generally a primitive people concerned about survival, food, sex and other basic primal urges. Â They were joined by the River People and the Sneverhime, who had followed the Mother and Father and chose to dedicate themselves to the land and what became of their mentors.
In addition to the first people each of the remaining Masters of Judgment (the four children) gathered together some of their own followers, people that they had encountered during their travels and had an affinity with. Â They brought some of these people from their own lands to Orin Rakatha to help protect and guide them. These people were called the Halmadonians, the Otomi, the Dark Aspect and the Shendai.
The ruling families of these original six peoples were bound by blood to Orin Rakatha and their bloodline helped to strengthen the prison. Â As long as their bloodline remains upon Orin Rakatha then the blood pacts will hold, strengthening the chains around the Aspect of Darkness.
This original people were initially alone, keeping to themselves, but after a number of years the first people were joined by a number of other races, groups and individuals who came to Orin Rakatha (as refuges from other places) and settled here. Â As the inhabitants of the plane increased so did the order that had been imposed upon them begin to break down. Large-scale battles were fought, and the Masters of Law were no longer able to keep control. There was also the suggestion that some of the Masters of Law were becoming corrupted and deflected from their role of total impartiality by excessive contact with the lesser races and their combats, sufferings and strife.
Therefore the Masters of Judgement enacted the first Cataclysm and made massive alterations to the way in which Orin Rakatha was run. Â The Masters of Judgement and Time retained their positions and roles but the Masters of Law agreed to alter their fundamental existence and become incorporated into the fabric of the Land (the Nodes) and a number of Towers that would form the basis of future law enforcement on the plane.
A number of the Masters of Law became incorporated into each of the Towers, where they maintained a specific favourable environment and a number of unusual rules to prevent combat and bloodshed. Â Once incorporated into the physical structure they needed nothing to sustain them except continuing Law and Peace. The remaining Masters of Law become either bound within some of the special waystations, to provide connections to the Place of Myth and Legends, or bound into the Nodes of the Land. Â Thus ended the era of the Masters of Law active control of the Land.
As time progressed the Mystics became so embroiled within their contemplations and their own immortality that they lost their way and even forgot their own roots. Â The Masters of Law evolved into raw elements, spheres, emotions and vary between chaotic and lawful and consequently became Masters of Lore rather than Law. And so it was that the original race of the Mystics passed and their era came to an end.
The only person who still remembers the story of the Mystics, the first story, is the Master of Time and this memory of his lost people pains him greatly. Â However, the Master of Time will continue to guard this first story and provide guidance for his Mother and Father, Orin Rakatha, as well as serve as the final memory for his fallen people.