A third being arose: Orus, the balancer. His power was greater than both Talad and Grathis combined, and he forbid them to come near each other on pain of death. Peace followed, and the races of the world began to prosper. Then Grathis subverted all those with malice in their hearts, for he had learned a new trick. He could kill Talad by destroying his followers. Thus began the Gods' War.
The Gods' War renewed the destruction from before. While Talad and Grathis could not confront each other directly, they directed enormous power through their followers, and wrought great destruction to the world again. Orus, fearing for the very land, banished Talad and Grathis from the world to the outer planes; Talad went to the heavens, Grathis to the hells.
With the gods no longer able to channel as much power through their followers, the wars settled down into long sieges, with few gains on either side. During this time, the rest of the gods ascended. The gods of good and evil were followers of Talad and Grathis who gained enough power to gain followers and their own domain of power over which they ruled. Orus decree, however, was still in effect, so any being who gained godhood had to leave the world behind.
This stalemate could have lasted forever, were it not for a disturbing turn of events. The Nameless, just before ascending to godhood, used guile and cunning never seen before nor since, and managed to trick Orus into a vulnerable position. The Nameless began siphoning off Orus' power, but was interrupted only moments after starting by the intervention of the Angel Lizen, who tried to sacrifice herself to stop him. Orus was mortally wounded, and used the rest of his essence to cast the most powerful spell ever. He banished the angels and demons from the world, then locked the doorways from the other planes so that they could only be opened from the world itself. The gods were sealed completely in their own planes. This would help protect the world from their strife.
Unfortunately, the combined energies of the spell and Orus death caused more destruction than the entire war. Barely 1 in 1000 people survived the Cataclysm, and the land took a long time to recover.
Around the year 450, the Geltan Empire began exploring and ran in to the southern kingdoms. It takes several years, but a Bardus emperor eventually declares war on them to expand his own lands. As a result, the south forms the Allied Kingdoms for mutual defense. Eventually, the Allied Kingdoms evict the unwelcome invaders.
540 was the year of the First Orcish Invasion. The Allied Kingdoms were caught unprepared and suffer heavy losses. The Geltan Empire fares much better since their are only 8 passes through the mountains that troops can move. It takes the Allied Kingdoms 25 years to finally repel the Orcs. The Geltan Emperor looks south, and seeing them weakened, prepares to invade. Only a timely invasion of the northern Geltan lands by barbarians prevents this war. Around this time, the Allied Kingdoms begin preparing for their defense by building what comes to be known as the Wall of Heavens between the Zarod Empire and the northern Allies.
677 was the Second Orcish Invasion. All sides were better prepared this time, but the Wall of Heavens turns out to be a decisive factor on the Zarod-Allied border. The war lasts until 685, with the Orcs finally called home. An important development of this war is the establishment of the Battlemasters' School of Fighting. Its goal is to train better fighters for the next war.
765 - the Third Orcish Invasion. This time, the Orcs don't even make it to the top of the Wall. The Empire also rebuffs the Orcs easily. The key factor was the extensive use of magic by the Empire and Allies, who had been racing against each other for magical superiority.
The Fourth Orcish Invasion of 942 was a much closer battle since they concentrated all of their efforts on the Allied Kingdoms, with the Orcs bringing shamans and witch doctors in large numbers. They are eventually stopped, and the counter attack from the Allied Kingdoms destroyed every Orc settlement for 100 miles into the Zarod Empire. Fear of invasion by the Geltan Empire halts the advance, and the troops are called home.
The year 1003 marked the formation of the Mage guild in Staig by several independent mages to prepare new spells and better mages for the coming conflicts. They strike and agreement for autonomy from the Geltan Empire in 1015 in exchange for training new mages for the empire.
The Orcs looked ready to invade in 1150 when their Emperor Kravain took the throne. The invasion never materializes as Balson attacks Kravain directly nearly killing him. Over the next few hundred years Kravain does not attack but looks for ways to get around Balson.
In 1532 there is a great upheaval. With the aid of several adventurers Eric the Wrong creates a weapon which he uses to slay Kravain. It turns out that Kravain is the Champion of the Nameless god and his death also kills the divine part of the Nameless. The Nameless returns to the mortal realm where he is attacked and destroyed by the wild mage Raf. Zespar comes to claim the soul and reveals that the Nameless was actually a Lopendar named Anezaire, who was responsible for the end of the fairie folk which resulted in the creation of the Wild Magic Zone along with Talad and Grathis. Zespar was the last Lopendar named Eszerallum. With Kravain now gone Balson finally ascended to be god of magic, taking with him the Tomes of Magic to be re-written.
The current year is 1542.