Backsround. There have always been a large number of gods, and over the millenia their fortunes have ebbed and flowed. Generally, as a civilization becomes more technologically advanced / dependent, support for the sods decreases. Belief in gods is generally strongest when a civilization is non technological! either early in its development, or late. Since the power of a god is directly proportional to the number and strength of the faith of his / her believers, they are most powerful when & lot of people are strong beleivers. Note that their powers vary with locale? if a god has a lot of followers on Greyhawk, say, but feu on Terra, then he will be mich more powerful on the former planet. For the civilization of humankind as a whole, the original gods were worshipped far back in prehistory. These sods uere the ones who took selected members of the prehistoric human race from Terra (a geologically violent planet with drastic periodic climatic variations) where they began their evolution, and transplanted them to Mosh! a much quieter place, where he could develop in comparative peace and safety. Man's belief in the gods continued strong until he gained technology. After that it began a rapid decline. At the same time, the predecessors of the First Galactic Empire were exploring space, and spreading their civilization through the galaxy. The FGE itself carried this to its apex, and began to move outside of the Milky Way itself. At this point they met their match, in the Feknar of the Magellanic Clouds. This race proceeded to destroy the Empire, and it could well have been the end of mankind had he not discovered the Triad. The Rhior Power consists of three stones. These stones are the physical manifestation in this mltiverse of three gods. Tuo of the gods are nameless, while the third and most powerful is called the Roah. One of the weaker gods is neutral good, the other is neutral evil, while the Roah is neutral. The ability which these gods bestow on their favoured followers can best be described as luck. Things just seem to go right for those they favour. In the case of Mankind, the Rhior Power enabled it to defeat the Feknar, though at the cost of the virtual collapse of the Empire. It was at this time that the Triad was lost, and the remnant of the FGE spent the next 58,000 years trying to relocate it. Finally they were found, and the Empire was renewed, but not without first merging with the technologically advanced Gasis, to create the Second Galactic Empire. The ultimate result of this was the decline in the power of the Rhior, as Mankind turned to science instead of faith to advance. Now, however, some 80,000 years later it can be seen that this was merely a short term effect (for a god, anyway). It is now known that all races ~ provided they survive long enough - have to go through a science / technology phase as part of their evolution, before entering the post technological phase of their growth. It is during this latter time that mankind’s latent mental talents are finally exploited,through the disciplines of magic and psionics. And, of course, such abilities cannot happen without the presence of gods to grant them. The technological peak of mankind occured around 25,000AD. This was also the low point of godly power in this multiverse. The old gods uere very weak at this point, but the Rhior, while weak in this miltiverse, were more powerful elsewhere. They used this power to introduce the Wizards into this multiverse at about this time. This race were powerful followers of the Triad, and extremely skilled at magic and psionics. They took the role of teachers, and worked through the following ages to prepare mankind and his allied races for the next stage in their development. As is often the case, the Elves first embraced the Wizards and learned what they had to teach. Then, humans moved in, and displaced the Elves in skills and powers. As the science based space faring Civilizations of mankind declined, so the powers of the Triad grew, as more and more people took up their religion. Then, something happened to the three gods who formed the Rhior. For some reason Known only to themselves, they turned against each other, and ceased to work in concert. The technological decline of humankind, which they had been cushioning, became a collapse, as their powers deserted man. In a matter of a few years the 130,008 year old space faring civilization disintegrated. It was the start of the third age of mank ind. In this existance, the Wizards - the closest to the Rhior - battled among themselves. Finally, they broke up into three separate sects! good, evil, and neutral. The latter, the followers of the once dominant Roah, are by far the weakest now, perhaps a reflection of the current state of affairs among the three gods. In all the confusion and disruption of the War of The Stones, mankind and his allies were ignored at best, or caught in the crossfire at worst. En masse, civilization turned away from the Triad, as it seemed totally enmeshed in its war. Seeing the opportunity, the old gods returned, and the people came to them at once. The current state of affairs is thist The Rhior Power is still enmeshed in an internal power struggle. Reflecting this, the Wizards - virtually the only remaining followers of the Triad - are also vying against each other, and against mankind. Man worships literally hundreds of old gods...too many for the liking of those gods. They see their powers diluted across too many worlds and among too many gods. If certain pantheons were restricted to certain worlds, instead of being scattered helter skelter across hundreds, then it would be to the advantage of all. But, which pantheons get which worlds? The gods see a shakeout coming, and are currently preparing for this struggle. Then, it is also certain that the Rhior will not always be turned inwards. Eventually they will return to reclaim their followers. The old gods mst prepare for this, too. ‘The only certainty is that the soldiers in these developing conflicts will be men and their relatives.The Gods and Earth Taking a closer look at Terra, its religious development paralleled that of mankind and its empire as a whole. In the very earliest days, mankind worshipped a vast assortment of old gods. These gods removed a selection of humans to Mosh, and there accelerated their evolution. Millenia later, these men returned to Terra and found the ones who had been left behind still in a low state of development, and still worshipping their old gods. However, before the men of Mosh could have much effect on the men of Terra, the Empire found itsel# at war with the Feknar. Thanks to that and the subsequent collapse of the Empire, the men of Terra were left to develop alone. However, even the brief contact with their more advanced bretheren changed the direction of the Terran's evolution, and they began to move forewards rapidly. fs time passed they developed their own technology, and their interest in the old gods waned. One of these survived longer than the others! named simply God, but He too eventually lost the interest of His disciples. Terra was the capital of one of the small empires which were the predessors of the Oasis! itself one of the predessors of the Second Galactic Empire. After its absorption by the Oasis, its impertance waned in the eyes of man. By the time of the Second Golden Age (3220AD - 5177AD), Terra uas a backwater. But not to the gods. Even the Rhior Power viewed Terra in a special light. It was still the place where mankind developed, and would still play a crucial role in his continuing evolution, uhether he knew it or not. By the time of the arrival of the Wizards in 13,@30AD, the very existance of Terra was doubted by the seneral populace. The planet itself was by then referred to by another name, and was slowly reverting to wilderness. Nevertheless, the Wizards made it one of their main centres of operations in this universe. As a result of this, the magical and psionic abilities of the remaining populace of the planet has been greater than that of an average world. Terra continues to be a focal point in the continuing evolution of mankind.