Asura
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A new day dawns. The White Sun, born of the death of an inscrutably malicious Ancient God, shines brightly over the three Inner Planets. From the untamed jungles and incomprehensible geometries of the mad Aosa, to the the scorched wastelands and nightmarish wilderness of the twisted Gehna, to the imposing castles and temples of the majestic Sarva, the wonders and terrors of the cosmos are myriad. Mad spirits that could obliterate one's mind lurk in the verdant madness of Aosa, while beasts that could devour one's soul prowl the plains of Gehna. These two wild planets have their civilizations, of course, but the constant flux that pervades the energies of creation and destruction ensure that the great primordial Insubstantial Madness is never fully out of sight. Balanced precariously in the middle, the great nations of Sarva rise out of the dead Prismatic Imperium and serve as beacons amid the tumult. Hardy, insatiable Agahza towers over the Great Desert, every part of it from its soaring towers to its bustling canals infused with a spirit of progress. The industrial megaliths and gleaming skyscrapers of bold Xeres stand for progress as well, no matter what the cost. In the west, meanwhile, the proud nobility of Latoria attempts to strike a delicate balance, and hold on to sacred tradition while creating a strong and modern state. And, through it all, ancient Varrdyen looms mysteriously in the jungle, its secrets so deeply hidden that they may well as well be forgotten... but, of course, they are not. Not to those who truly know.
The greatest secret of all, and the greatest power of all, is that of Transcendence. Of all the wonders and terrors of creation, foremost among it all is the wonder and terror of the Asura themselves. They were once human, but through their Conduits, they achieved mastery of Prana, the ancient and pure essence of the universe itself. The Asura are both natural and supernatural, wielding a staggering power, yet, at times, they seem all too human in their motives and failings. A single Asura alone would be a force to be reckoned with, but in the vastness of creation, there are untold legions. On all three of the Inner Planets, affairs of man and nature are guided by Asura hands. Powerful Asuras rule great civilizations, and other envious Asuras conspire against them. Through their guidance and their meddling, their love and their hate and their fear, they direct the course of fate. It is a long road, and one whose destination even the Asura themselves cannot truly know. Yet, as they always do, clues to the future hide in the past.
In a dark time long ago, the universe was one of black sun and Insubstantial Madness. The first and foremost of the Ancient Gods was the malevolent force Chaos. Sadistic and irrational, it created life only to torment it; it only gave so that it would have something to take away. Jealous of its power, the other Ancient Gods created the Faeries and Revenants, first of the Asuras. The were once human, but they had the most ancient, primordial power in their hands, that of the Ancient Gods themselves. They created and destroyed with a fervor unmatched even by their masters. The transhuman Progenitors, meanwhile, made their own way and constructed their own blessings, free of the influence of the Ancient Gods. Fearful, the other Ancient Gods made a pact with Chaos, granting it the secret of Transcendence, and giving rise to the Demons and Succubi. Yet, in its zeal, Chaos made its Asuras too strong, and too opportunistic. They broke the ties that bound them to it, and in doing so, mortally wounded Chaos. The univeres was shattered and then reborn by Chaos's death throes, and then, with Chaos dead and the Ancient Gods banished, it looked forward to a brighter future. Rising out of the ashes of the demise of Chaos, the magical Serene Ones, youngest of the Asura lineages, had the blessings of their newborn goddess, the Serene Mother.
Since Chaos met its end, the Inner Planets have made nearly four thousand orbits; it is the year 3991 in "standard star years," as the Progenitors put it. However, the end of Chaos did not mean the end of chaos. Storms plagued the cosmos, and storms of a different sort plagued the relations between nations, peoples, and Asuras, as well. There were times of prosperity and even more times of destruction and war, but this is all the stuff of only legend. Historical records, even for the mighty Asura, do not extend all the way back into the mists of ancient history. Some heretical souls would even dare to say that the tales of the death of Chaos themselves are but myths.
Time marches onward, and the fates craft infinite new destinies for all souls. Conflicts grew, even as other conflicts ended. Even the ancient hatred between Demons and Revenants slowly faded away, at least officially. In the hearts of many, ancient hatreds do not subside so easily. Political institutions once proudly waving the banner of revolution became more decadent and rotted from within, until they too were replaced in the fire of yet another revolution. Yet, an even larger revolution seems to be growing. Just as the Asura overthrew their Ancient God masters once they had become powerful enough to do so, now human populations ever-increasingly and alarmingly rebel against the mastery of those would call themselves better. In Xeres in the west and Higashi in the east, the rule of Asuras is no longer seen as beneficial or fashionable. Yet, even this is tolerant compared to the United Coalition, which has branded the Asura as "Inhumans" and mobilized a crusade against them.
