A HISTORY OF MAGIC

Although no recorded history exists of a period when the earth flourished with an abundance of
arcane energies, students of the esoteric know differently and are well-versed in a time when man
coexisted with wondrous creatures and humanoids that defy all logic in modern times – Magic existed!
The earth itself could be compared to a giant sentient battery— giving fuel to the imaginative fires of
those wise in the ways of magic fueled through ancient ley lines dating back to the time of the creation
of Humanity. The youngest of the races walking the earth, would prove to be both a boon and a curse to
the world, eventually bringing the end to all things born of magic. Humans proved adept at weaving
arcane energies, often learning in years what their more ancient “cousins” had taken centuries to
master.
The Hunger
Sadly, humanity’s thirst for power and forbidden knowledge brought an end to the age of magic despite
warnings from those who knew full well the folly of stepping through doors that lead to things that
promise overwhelming power for “small favors ”. The fall of magic came about through the meddling
of a powerful cabal of those well-versed in the arcane—those with a thirst for power that could only be
sated by dabbling in magic found in dark tomes never meant for human eyes. After centuries of
searching and paying the price of blood and soul, an ancient forbidden tome fell into their wretched
hands, The Necronomicon, a living artifact, would act as the key to open wide the cell doors to a race
of powerful beings known as Elder Gods. Through ritual and great sacrifice, a doorway opened
between worlds and through it poured the very essence of chaos.
The world was covered in a shroud of infectious darkness. The onslaught came like a thief in the night,
and with no time to prepare a defense or countermeasures, entire races perished, wiped from existence
or exiled to hellish realms in mere days. Only humanity would remain—part of the dark pacts made
between Elder Gods and the dark cabal. The Elder Gods took their place on thrones around the world,
enslaving humankind and drowning their world in a tide of madness.
The Celestials
Centuries passed before a light of redemption would appear, piercing the curtain of darkness
smothering the earth, to answer prayers fueled by faith and hope. The Celestials, as they would come to
be known, are a benevolent race claiming a distant kinship with the humans of Earth, claiming to have
had a hand in their creation. The Celestials would plant the seeds of rebellion against the Elder Gods—
empowering humanity with new magic and a way to tap into long-dormant ley lines to fuel spells
powerful enough to challenge gods. Much like the tainted invasion caught the world off guard and cast
it into darkness, so did the rebellion take the Elder Gods and their twisted host by surprise. Aided by
the Celestials, humankind cast a powerful ritual designed to not only exile the Elder Gods to personal
prisons, but throw them into an eternal slumber to which they’d never awaken.
With the Lords of Chaos banished, all that remained was to wipe out those who stood with the Elder
Gods, in addition to erasing any trace of the sadistic beasts that followed the Elder Gods to earth to
plague humankind. This was is known to scholars as Antediluvian Times, before the Flood. The earth
was cleansed of the taint of chaos in a Great biblical Flood! But her ley lines fell silent, drained by the
unfathomable amount of power needed to fuel the exile of the Elder Gods. The Celestials decreed that
none should talk of the dark time they had survived, nor of the allies that had come from another world
to help them. All would be forgotten, as would any knowledge of a time when magic existed. This
would ensure the Elder Gods would never return.
Nyarlathotep

Several centuries would pass and all was forgotten as planned, but even the best laid plans can hide a
vital flaw. The Celestials underestimated one of the Elder Gods and its knack for subterfuge,
Nyarlathotep. It knew of the coming rebellion, but was also painfully aware that its kindred would
never unite as one to quash the Celestials and the humans they led. Rather than warn the oozing,
crawling gods that held rule over the domain of man, Nyarlathotep took the living relic (known as the
Necronomicon) and performed a powerful ritual that created a refuge in a place known as the
Dreamlands or Otherworld. The Elder God not only avoided the slumbering exile his monstrous-kin
had fallen victim to but held in his hands the very tome needed to break the binding spell and awaken
the slumbering gods.

The rituals needed to free the Elder Gods must be performed under certain conditions. First, only the
species responsible for the imprisonment may release their captors—thus it requires humans. Next, the
rituals must be performed during times of great strife. As the Earth and her ley lines have all but
“dried” up, the power needed would come from plagues, wars, and other occasions where death falls
upon the world, claiming lives by violence and suffering. As the centuries passed, Nyarlathotep visited
its kin through the Dreamlands, promising a day of reckoning where humankind would once again
become enslaved and punished for their treason. Nyarlathotep fuels their god-dreams with a promise
that will surely find its way home when the right conditions appear.
Watching patiently, Nyarlathotep continually grooms a flock of followers eager to unleash Hell upon
the earth in return for power and a place beside the throne of those they seek to free. Warlocks
dedicated to the cause instill their madness in sons and daughters, passing the dark arts from generation
to generation—all the while waiting for the chance to strike out. During a time of war and great
plagues, Nyarlathotep’s cabal struck with the aid of the powerful grimoire, but be it fate or the luck of
the draw, the cultists were discovered by the agents of light and were cut down. To date, the
Necronomicon has escaped destruction, allowing the hidden struggle between good and evil to
continue. One known only as, The Archon, possess a small fraction of the tome, but is known to be
actively seeking the missing pages. This, Archon, has concealed himself away in an near impregnable
fortress, amassing followers, using the Dark Arts to further his power and agenda. Using the pieces of
the Necronimicon he possessed, he tore a great section of the earth away. This section, known as Ghost
Mountain, remains elusive. A floating mountain under the control of a madman!
The War of Brothers
Nyarlathotep’s greatest triumph came during one of the bloodiest wars in American history, one that the
Elder God pridefully admits to having a heavy hand in starting. With over six hundred thousand
casualties of war, coupled with the hate the war instilled in those it affected, the American Civil War
served as an endless bonfire of negative energy needed to once again attempt the dark rituals held
within the pages of the Necronomicon. In 1865, Nyarlathotep gave the living tome to a warlock with a
fanatical devotion—Helmut Wagner, a German immigrant who settled in the slums of New York during
the Summer of 1863. Nyarlathotep’s watchful hounds sensed the arrival of a potential “vessel” within
days of his arrival, and the young man offered no resistance once shown the truth of his lineage and the
role he might play in days to come. Helmut took to occultism like a fish to water and soon began
drawing the dregs of the city to his “flock,” each miserable soul seeking escape from the unforgiving
streets in hopes of a hot meal and a sense of purpose. In the Spring of 1865, the Confederate army on
the verge of surrender, Helmut began his pilgrimage. He took the ancient tome along with his flock and
traveled deep into Mexican territory, far away from prying eyes They murdered and collected innocents
for sacrifice on the way to a nexus point rumored to have been a Celestial gate.
Seven Days of Night
The first of two rituals proved to be a success for the dark apostle, and after days of sacrifice and self-
mutilation from their followers, the slumbering Elder Gods roused from their dimensional slumber—
suddenly made aware of the warded prisons holding them captive. Word reached Helmut and his cabal
that the Confederate Army had surrendered, he needed to finish the ritual. The second ritual of
unbinding only partially succeeded before it was brought to a violent end by a small band of Texas
Rangers, led by a man claiming to be a direct descendant of a Knights Templar. The posse tore into the
cultists, mercilessly cutting them down amidst the last hours of the ritual. Once again, before it could
be destroyed, the Necronomicon escaped Flying high into the night, each page of the tome scattered on
dark winds, carried safely to the most desolate places on earth, where it might be re-bound once again
in the hands of its keeper. Though the Elder Gods were contained and the ritual ruined, the world still
found itself home to the twisted things oozing from beyond the summoning gate. A new darkness
stained the land, followed by creatures bound to the Elder Gods. The seven days of rituals and sacrifice
triggered strange events and astral phenomena—like the lunar eclipse that lasted seven straight days.
With the land cast into perpetual darkness, many thought the world was coming to an end. Mass
hysteria led to mass murders and suicides; this period was forever known as The Seven Days of Night.
Though the madness of The Seven Days of Night would come to an end with the return of the sun, the
obvious infection the rituals left upon the earth quickly became apparent when the newly buried dead
clawed their way out of loose graves to rise and feed on the living.
The walking dead destroyed towns, while more sinister things waited in the shadows to snatch up those
unaware of the new “neighbors” they were about to become a meal for. Within weeks, President
Lincoln called forth the armies once again so that the hordes of dead terrorizing the territories could be
put down For once, Native Americans and Citizens of the Southern and Northern States (along with
newly freed slaves) united for a common cause—united against the abominations walking the earth!
The Return of Magic
Much like a host body fights off the destructive nature of a virus, the earth has grown infected from the
weeping taint of the Elder Gods and is fighting back. The gates to something worse than Hell had
opened, if only briefly, but long enough to allow a taint to infect our lands. However, Mother Earth
would not succumb, and long dormant ley lines pulsed with arcane energies once again. These “pulses''
could span miles of territories, catching unsuspecting travelers and townsfolk in the supernatural
energies at random times. Most would walk away from the pulses no worse for wear and with a grand
story to tell the children, but occasionally, a witness would never be the same. Kissed by the
supernatural, these rare individuals are capable of things no mere mortal could ever perform.
Besides being the source of creation for several of the classes found within the pages of Weird
Frontiers, the appearance of ley lines has given birth to a second age of magic. Occultists now find they
can manipulate the winds of magic to fuel fantastical spells of their own creation, while mountebanks
draw from the arcane to charge wondrous potions. Even the simple church pastor has found that pleas
for diving intervention have not gone unheard.
Along with the rebirth of magic, creatures and races thought to be only the stuff of legend have slowly
appeared all over the world. By 1870, anyone wanting to keep their name out of the Book of the Dead
had to swallow some hard facts. First, things that shouldn’t exist stalk the night in search of
unsuspecting prey, and some folks are in cahoots with them. Second, magic is real. You might not
understand it or know how to use it, but you’d best respect it and keep a healthy distance between
yourself and those that do—for even if they mean you no harm, there’s often something following them
that does!