Lines of Inheritance
Chapter Number:
001
Chapter Title:
Introduction
Pre-Chapter Notes:
On the planet Olympus where this story takes place;
· A day is 36 hours long
· A week has 10 days
· There are 4 weeks in a month
· And there are 10 months in a year.
This means that 1 year on Olympus is equal to 600 days on Earth (a little bit over 1.5 years).
Ten years on Olympus is 16.4 years on Earth
Twenty years on Olympus is 32 years on Earth.
Both the Earth (The True Year) and the Olympian calendar are used for time keeping.
The Olympian calendar is necessary for tracking seasonal changes that affect the growth of plants and the mating habits of some animals. However, human ages are often counted in both true years and Olympian years.
Though Earth has long passed into mythology and its name lost to time, religious and cultural beliefs on Olympus have led to the continued use of the True Years calendar system as brought to Olympus by the now absent gods.
It is important to note this because references are made to the ages of characters in both true years (Earth years) and Olympian years (which might just be referred to as ‘years’ with no qualifications).
When the Nefhilim half-human children of the Chaos Gods were first cursed to become undead Necromancers, no soul was safe from the ravaging of their hunger. In the war to defeat them, the battlefield spread to encompass all the known lands on the world of Olympus and the heavens of the Chaos Gods as well. All the mortal races of this world rose together to combat the life-draining demons which the holy offspring had become, and it was a miracle to behold.
The Orcish Horde stood shoulder to shoulder with the humans upon whom they would feast, elves made peace with the vulgar centaurs, the animal people, sirens, dwarves, and fairies all rose as one on the fields of war. The Witches of the Priestess Isles, descendants of the Ordered Goddess of Desire, were worshiped a thousand-fold for using their magic to protect more than just their small kingdom. Even the Chaos Gods and Goddesses came down from their glittering cities in the sky to lead their supplicants in splendorous glory against the tide and ever-growing armies of the undying Necromancers.
Yet even the gleaming Gods bedecked in otherworldly armor and wielding weapons more magnificent than the rays of the sun were nothing more than sustenance for the life-hungry Necromancers. The greatest army Olympus had ever seen, only fed the ever-ravenous wells of the soulless undead Neflihim. Thousands fled. Billions fell. Their life’s force consumed by the now wraith-like beings which had remained of the most beloved children of the Gods.
Once it was strong enough there was no way to kill a well-fed Necromancer. The great Necromancers: Ghandi, Zeus, Jesus, Shiva, and others of their ilk who had fed on their holy parents could only be killed by starving them first. So, the remnants of the armies turned to other works to save themselves from the Necromancers.
With the help of the surviving Gods, a great trench was dug and the lowlands between the Land of the Neflihim and the rest of the world were flooded. Only those who could leave the Land of the Neflihim were safe, for the Necromancers had drained the life of everything in their land. Even the husks of trees drifted to dust and there was nothing to build with.
Alone with their own kind the Necromancers fought and fed off one another until there was only one left, wandering a dead continent taking the life of whatever creature was unfortunate to come too close. The survivors of the warring races went back to their own homes diminished by centuries of terror and bloodshed. Of all the nations of man, only one remained, fortified, and protected by the Mages, created by the Gods to guard their people. The last stronghold against the Necromancers, it had been protected by the magic of the Gods when they were cut off from the secret ways back to their cities in the heavens. It would now protect the humans from their former allies.
As a precaution, the burgeoning Empire of Man decreed that no man or woman of Nefhilim blood could ever hold the throne. Even though the only Nefhilim who remained were far removed from their Godly ancestors or the Great Necromancers who had ravaged the world, the breeding and propagation of the Nefhilim were outlawed. Nefhilim could only have children with one who was not also of Godly descent diluting their blood further and lessening the chance of a second great war. But still, the curse remained and, from time to time, some Nefhilim turned. Those who were a danger were killed quickly, those who did not turn eventually died.
Never welcomed in any town, Nefhilim were ostracized out of the civilized world, living in hiding and secret. The creatures which had allied with humans during the war, once again became their enemies as the Empire of Man expanded and flexed into lands that had never been theirs until they were cast out of the continent killed by the Necromancers. The Witches of the Priestess Isles became the sworn enemies of the Empire of Man as the Mages conquered their temples in the name of peace and order forcing them back to the Islands from which they came. The Gods were never seen again among the mortals, and so the Nefhilim were no more…
…and in the vacuum left by the Gods and the Nefhilim, new and beautiful creatures came out of the dark sky, offering sanctuary to those who asked for it from the Mages and their Empire…
After-Chapter Notes:
The Introduction, prologue, and first chapter wouldn't all fit in the first chapter. Oops!
