Arbor: The World of Wheels

Welcome to Arbor, called by the elves of it Tholos, a world of elemental influence. Here the five planes (the Material Plane and the Elemental Planes of Fire, Earth, Water and Air) are physically joined by what is called The Axle, a massive spire that skewers them together in the center. The world was once saturated in magic, following a great elemental war that ravaged the Inner Planes, but that magic has since faded. Magic, true magic, has not been wielded in over seven centuries, and the last great mages, witches and sorcerers died out with it. Now what remains are places imbued with some elemental magics, and select items that hold great power.

Lately however magic has begun reemerging. Of the four colours (red, green, blue and yellow) red and green magic has been rekindled in select users. Most normal denizens of Arbor have not encountered magic, and some few do not even believe it exists. Others have taken to studying it intensely, attempting to unlock its secrets and harness its power. Colleges and universities have started cropping up here and there, but their knowledge of magic is limited, and many more complicated spells have been lost to the ages. Others have wondered at and meditated on the source of their new-found abilities, and still others have used it to lord over the non-magical.

When Worlds Colide

The creation myth of Arbor varies depending on who you ask. Many elves hold that Corellon Latharian grew the Axle through the planes, and that it was turned to stone through the ages. The seafaring orcs say that Grummsh harpooned them together like so many great whales in a sea of stars. The many dwarven clans with their many and varied deities all generally agree that a deity (who shall remain unnamed just so they don't have to sort it out with their fists) forged the Wheels together.

No matter who or what they believe did it, all agree that someone or something bound the worlds inexorably together with the Axle and flattened them in the process. They also firmly agree that after a very long and destructive war fought by the elemental powers, the gods sealed off their worlds from the outer planes. No god has set foot on the inner planes since, and no mortal being of any form has journeyed outside the five planes either. Beings on the material planes have instead turned to worship of others, in some cases creating gods of their very own.

War of Four

Eons past, the Material Plane was torn asunder by the powers of four colossal elemental titans: Agni of Fire, Terra of Earth, Leviathan of Water, and Fūjin of Air. They led armies of elemental beings against each other in a seemingly endless battle for dominance of the innermost plane. Mountains and valleys, deserts and oceans, forests and plains formed in their wake, shaping the landscape of the world.

It was only after they found themselves exhausted beyond measure that they formed The Pact of the Titans, signing their names on the stone of the Axle, and returning to their home planes. Many of their subjects, disenchanted by the vanity of war, remained on the material plane to cultivate and populate it. These eventually became known as the Genasi, and are collectively considered the ancestral roots of all humanoids who walk upon Arbor, though none have been seen in many millenia.

Common Ties

All humanoid races one Arbor can trace their lineages back to the genasi. When the first denizens of the material planes founded their settlements around the base of the Axle, the four tribes stayed segregated from each other. The lingering distrust sowed during wartimes lasted several generations, but eventually the four tribes began to mingle. They formed the planes first city, and walled it against the outside world and the dangers it presented. This wall still stands, is the innermost wall at the base of the Axle and the primary defense against errant invaders from the lower planes.

As the elemental essences in the genasi mingled, they muddied and became many of the races we recognise today. Elves, dwarves, humans, gnomes, halflings, and even orcs have the genasi to thank for their existence as a people. The last of the genasi disappeared as the races mingled and either stopped existing or vanished into the wilds of the world. To this day only legends and the occasional unfounded rumor even supports their existence, as no genasi has been seen for almost three thousand years.

Hell Broken Loose

For many centuries, the city at Axle prospered. With no other nations or forces to truly contend with besides nature, the burgeoning civilization expanded, controlling more and more of the continent with each passing season. Frontiers were pushed back as new towns and villages sprang up. Roads were built, and mostly everyone profited. Then, everything changed when the Nine Hells invaded.

The destructive forces of the Nine Hells, led by an unnatural conclave of the lords of the Nine Hells, found a way into the elemental plane of fire and drove their army through to the material plane. Upon receiving a warning of the coming onslaught, an elf by the name of Jharak climbed the Axle to beg for assistance from the upper planes. He returned with reinforcements to find the inner city aflame, a force of devils swarming from the hole at the base of the Axle, and a resistance fighting valiantly.

Led by four legendary genasi warriors - Horikoshi Kenji, Marduk Amar, Demetrius the Stoneheart, and Agneya Agniprava - the humanoid forces of the material plane, strengthened by reinforcements from above, pushed back the devils armies. The forces of the Nine Hells were destroyed and dispersed, the only mark left the charred remains of civilizations first stronghold, sundered from within, and later tiefling - half-devils.