...Who is Graze...
Many eons ago, Graze was born in a parallel
dimension much like this one. For now lets call this first dimension
Alusterius. After many hardships, and the scattering of his fold,
Graze and precious few of his kin and clan left Alusterius to seek
a better life.
He was sent here to your dimension, known as Retruvius
by the aware cultures of the multiverse. While most of the same rules
of magic and science hold true in both dimensions, there are some
differences. The first, and most important, is awareness. In Alusterius,
every sentient being on every planet in the core systems KNOWS that
there are other dimensions. Every ruling council and every Court sets
forth laws and standards that protected the very fabric and integrity
of Alusterius, for dimensions may fail, collapse utterly... leaving
only ripples in the multiverse continuum.
Dimensions do not fail through the ravages of time,
nor by any natural disasters that occur within. They fail from the
nasty effects of PARADOX. Paradox can be simply described as a statement
or situation that seems contradictory or absurd but is actually valid
or true. IE: a person or persons existing in two spaces at once in
the same dimension.
Without going in to too much detail on paradox, which
is a difficult concept best researched separately, just assume for
now that the effects of paradox can range from mild to DEVASTATING.
Sometimes people/places/things/events are simply erased from a dimension,
as if they never were, all but the faintest traces erased forever.
If an (event) is so crucial, that it is part of the very fabric of
a dimensions collective consciousness, it cannot be erased. Instead
one of three things happens:
One: an alternate dimension is created, where the
new change holds true (along with a multitude of effects from that
change) this seems to be the least detrimental at first, but how many
of these alternate dimensions can exist, before the multiverse collapses
on itself? Many speculate that we are dangerously close to collapse
already.
Two: the chaos from this changing of events overwhelms
the perceptions of all but the strongest or well-protected inhabitants
of said dimension. The result is total anarchy, to put it in the most
basic of terminology, that dimension slowly becomes part of "hell".
Three: that dimension collapse and disappears utterly.
Only extremely well attuned beings can sense that it ever existed.
No one is sure why or how this happens. But no one caught in one of
these collapses has ever returned, though some have escaped.
In Alusterius, there was enlightened planet called
Morrl, which for centuries was ruled by a council of Sages, Wizards,
and Mathematicians of the highest order. Morrl controlled the fabric
of Alusterius with powerful magic and formulae. For centuries the
beings of Alusterius prospered under their enlightened guidance. All
time travel and dimensional travel was strictly controlled to prevent
any paradox from disturbing the delicate balance they maintained.
No one living knows exactly what happened, but the
council was betrayed and destroyed by a powerful Neuromancer named
Insvanis. Insvanis was able to somehow mask his time traveling and
secretly plan and prepare his takeover in the distant past. When his
plans were complete and his armies ready, he launched the biggest
assault ever engineered through time travel. It was a perfect coo,
with little resistance; many hardliners even saw him as a messiah.
But known to only a few, a small tear appeared in the fabric of Alusterius,
and chaos began to seep in.
Insvanis, being extremely powerful, and having usurped
much of the power of the council through his spells and gadgets, sensed
this tear. He began to channel the chaos by unknown means against
planets that rebelled against his new rule, or were threatened his
rule in any way. They became living hells.
Graze's home planet was one of these planets. As the
iron rule of the new dictatorship spread its terrible grasp throughout
all Alusterius, Graze and his remaining kin fled for safety. They
were scattered throughout the multiverse by the matriarch of his clan,
a powerful and ancient Unicorn named Allyssa, who sacrificed her life
force to shield the passage of her kin to their new homes. Before
she passed she visited each survivor and told them that the reason
that their planet (Trella 3) was overwhelmed by Insvanis' chaotic
magic, was that it was the home planet of unicorns in Alusterius.
For an ancient prophecy, of which Insvanis was aware, speaks of his
coming, and his rule of Alusterius. In that prophecy it is the Horn
of a Unicorn is the weapon by which he is defeated and freedom is
restored to Alusterius.
Presently, Insvanis has crushed the last of the rebellion,
and consolidated his rule of Alusterius. His taste for power seems
to have no limits, and he began channeling the chaos, which subdued
Trella 3 against a neighboring dimension. Left unchecked he could
eventually conquer and rule the multiverse under a merciless regime
of strict discipline and repression.
Now Graze must try to fulfill this desperate prophecy
and restore order to the multiverse. He must master his craft, and
break free from the bonds of this dimension. He must become a master
of time and dimension travel known as Illistrada (Illuminated Guardians)
Only then can he hope to face Insvanis and his terrible powers and
restore Alusterius to its peaceful origins, and the multiverse to
its proper balance. For the time being, he quickly learns the ways
of Retruvius, and grows in power until he is ready to fulfill his
destiny...
