History

Nodd has a long history, which seems to shift and waver the further back into the past one looks. Much like traveling into the Abyss, the further one goes the less certain things are - Even literature from times of yore is likely to hold paradoxical contradictions.

In the Beginning

Among the most consistent facts are that gloam was not as common in the past, and true understanding of magic was rare - most things were done the hard way. Mages were rare, often both famous and feared. Resurrection was reserved for the most important of individuals, possible only in the most ideal circumstances, and not guaranteed to work even then. Insiders were less varied. The various chaotic events that happened throughout the City were seen as either gifts or curses, depending.

Controlling Chaos

In Nodd's early history, the most popular theory for the strange chaotic events was a simple one - whenever there was an excess of order, it would invite chaos to counteract it. The pattern held true at many scales, from a single person to even the City as a whole. Magic of the time involved directing these swells of chaos to accomplish a desired effect.

The Council of the time began a myriad of experiments into the nature of chaos, seeking methods to understand and control it. The exact details of many of these experiments remain shrouded in mystery, as well as their outcomes. All that is known is that one fateful experiment changed everything - The Night of the Mothertoad.

The Night of the Mothertoad

The exact details of the experiment which preceded this event are not widely known, only that it involved subjecting a mere mephitoad to a concentrated amount of chaos. The mephitoad underwent acute corruption, becoming sentient and beginning to grow and assimilate anything it touched. It broke free of it's containment and began to take over the City - creating corrupted mephitoads, absorbing citizens and changing the cityscape as it went.

The event led to widespread panic. Many citizens fought to defend themselves, though just as many were entranced by the sight of the recently assimilated, slack-jawed and blissful. Seeking to stop the rampage, the Council sought aid from the City's strongest mage, Illa Phasmere. In exchange, she was promised a position in the Council, to which she agreed.

Illa led her followers to battle, and ultimately proved victorious - albeit at the cost of a vast swathe of the City. Illa also underwent corruption due to the immense magical energies involved, changing her forever. Before the corrupt mephitoad was completely destroyed, however, the Council made it an offer to join their ranks - an offer it accepted, becoming one of the first citygods beside Illa and gaining the name of the Mothertoad. The two gained an innate understanding of the City's ways, becoming powerful cityspeakers.

The Council consulted with these two godly beings for guidance, seeking their understanding of the City to aid in controlling it's chaos. Shortly after, they would found the first two of Nodd's houses. Illa founded the house of death, Umbrasia, while the Mothertoad founded the house of life, Vivira.

The formation of these houses led to an increase in the prevalence and skill of mages, as they could work and train alongside those of similar philosophies. Seeing the success of this system, the Council began to experiment on further theories, one of which led to the creation of the GodGrinder.

GodGrinder

The GodGrinder was a tournament of death matches hosted by the Council, with the ultimate prize of being made a citygod. Many mages entered, and hundreds of lives were lost during the tournament itself until there were only two contestants remaining - Filo Rooke and Mercian Vetch.

The two fought, but eventually Mercian stood, her face mutilated by one of Filo's attacks. As a lehlt such an injury was a severe one for her - cosmetic magics are famously resisted by lehlts, who require the envy of others to remain out of their wretched form. However, she was given the reward promised and became a citygod.

And yet to her horror, the Council also resurrected and similarly empowered Filo, who had been left intact enough for resurrection to be possible. With two more of Nodd's most powerful mages now in the Council's grasp, the City would continue to flourish even more.

The two new citygods would found their own houses as well. Mercian founded the house of flesh, Vorn, while Filo founded the house of mind, Psilysium.

The Door of Knowledge

WIP

Quin Aven was a petrid - a gargoyle-like creature - whose entire consciousness was confined to the shape of a doorknocker.

While most petrids are excised from their host building upon spawning, Quin refused this, as he had no viable body as most petrids do - excision would essentially mean decapitation. While decapitation seemed as though it could be no worse than his current circumstances, it certainly did not seem any better.

Most doorknockers lack meaningful awareness, but Quin was not only aware, but an intellectual. His mistress - the house owner - would bring him books and scrolls to enrich and occupy his restless mind. Over years of poring over these arcane texts, he learned elaborate methods by which he was able create his own artifacts. He began relying less and less on the City's gifts - harvested and resold by the Council - and began making his own tools to use and share with others. While Quin wasn't the only one capable of doing this, it was a strange and complex art reserved for only the greatest minds in Nodd - and one that was generally kept secret, lest one's hobbies invoke the Council's wrath.

Regardless of his secrecy, this very thing befell the poor petrid. Without warning or explanation, Quin was abducted for a mysterious new creation - now thought by many to be the Conduit itself.

The Omnillian citadel was constructed around Quin's original building, which now only makes up the central chamber where Quin resides. The Conduit was installed at the top of the Council Spire shortly thereafter, and the City's resources became nearly endless. Nodd grew in size in every dimension. Homes became richly furnished, and poverty became nearly irrelevant.

Technology flourished, and formulae known as spells were developed in order to further control gloam.

Citizens were now increasingly encouraged to indulge, as they still are today.

The Morphoria Mystery

WIP The last house, Morphoria, is perhaps one of Nodd's greatest mysteries.

Nobody really seems to recall when or even why it was founded, and stories are only consistent in that they vary. One would assume this means the house is older than the others, but the stories surrounding Morphoria actually become less varied the further back you go - all anyone seems to agree on is that it definitely wasn't there in the beginning, while nobody in the house can quite fully agree on what happened a few moments ago.

Present Day

WIP The Council has recently announced a defect in the Conduit, resulting in a sudden deficit in gloam.

Citizens have begun to panic, increasingly unable to generate income through various acts of chaos. Fewer citizens are being resurrected. A state of unease grips the city.

In addition, there has been talk of strange, otherworldly creatures known as outsiders appearing before the gates of the city. These beautiful creatures have attracted the interest of the Council, who has taken to calling them the Chosen Ones.