**************************************************************

...........RUMOR..........


In the beginning were the Two Hundred Elder Gods. They ruled the
cosmos and the world of Wyreth with an iron grip, subjugating man and
animal alike to their whims. 

Some of the men were given powers making them like gods themselves.
The sorcerors, the necromancers, the wizards and the priests. Mages of
all ilk were the favored of the gods, since they had the powers to
drain power from their fellow beings and channel that energy to their
patron. 

In the Year of Redemption, one Mage, Alterion The Just, threw off the
yoke of his patron and with the help of the Council of Twenty cast the
Elder Gods into the Abyss.  

Much time has passed since the Year of Redemption, and much of the old
knowledge has been lost. 

Long lost scrolls fortold the return of the Elder Gods, but these
prophecies had been forgotton in the annals of history save by a
select few. 

The time of prophecy has come. The initial signs of the return of the
Elder Gods have appeared. First came the famine that raged through the
world and killed off most of the population. Then came the pestilence.
And finally, the Blood Moon. Now warlords and mages have arisen to try
to give some semblance of order to the chaotic world.    

You are one of these new leaders, cast adrift in a hostile world. Will
you work to keep the elder gods contained by finding and slaying their
earthly avatars and guarding the Black Keep which is spoken of in the
ancient scrolls? Or will you return to the worship of the Elder Gods
of your ancestors and seek to protect them and slay those who would
banish them? Will you ignore the entire struggle in favor of your own
personal pursuit of knowledge, power or glory. The choice is yours.      

#end