Change for the Better

Prologue

Prologue

(as taken from the War of Harmony core book)

After the Great Revolt of the First Age, when the Shigohm were stripped of their wings and the Humans were elevated by the Divinities to match their might, peace reigned in Moghmar for over a millennium. The Shigohm and the Humans lived their lives in the environments best suited to them. The reptilian Shigohm thrived in the warmer climes of the deserts and grasslands and tropical jungles. The more hardy Humans found territory in the temperate North with its forests and mountains and broad plains that were covered in frost for a season. However, soon both races began traveling beyond each other’s borders, either for trade or for adventure. It seemed that perhaps they could live in peace at last.

Unfortunately, familiarity breeds contempt. The Shigohm, descended from the Dragons of old, felt superior to the Humans. The Humans, on the other hand, held themselves above the Shigohm because the Divinities had chosen them to rise against the Dragons during the Revolt of Imbalance. Animosity spread. Allies became enemies. Another war was fast approaching, with both sides gearing for dominance and superiority.

There were those who opposed war. They kept their protests to a whisper, hoping the message of peace would spread once again. When it became obvious that battle was inevitable, some decided that, rather than clash with their brethren or against their friends, they would hide until the conflict ended. Humans and Shigohm alike flocked in subtle droves to sympathetic sorcerers or magicians’ guilds to ask for transformation spells. They changed themselves into innocent animals so they could not be found and called upon to fight.

This act of treason was neither condoned nor forgiven by either side. In addition to skirmishes between races, both Humans and Shigohm hunted their own kind in their disguises to punish them for their cowardice. They were brought together in imprisonment, forced back to their original forms, and during a temporary truce, the Humans and Shigohm came together to decide a suitable punishment.

Since these deserters appeared to hold no loyalty to their kind, they were cursed to never belong to any one species. Chaosborne sorcerers cast strong magic that unbound the forces keeping them in a single form. After three days and three nights, their bodies changed, shifting wildly from one shape to the next. Those among the cursed who knew magic were able to alter the spell, but only slightly. The changes could be controlled, so that one could decide what their next form would be, and one could change before the end of the third night, although only their original form would last longer, and even then by only a day.

Thus, the race of the Shifters was created…