Era of the Gods

Summary
An era defined by the closeness and presences of the Gods, their avatars, and mortal beings with extremely powerful divine powers. Civilization reached its peak during this era, according to some historians, but may also have reached its lowest point, according to other historians who point to how this era ended.

5,000 P.C. - 3,000 P.C.
The churches of the world began to have power they never had before, having people literally appointed by their Gods as leaders, many began to flock to the churches to see the great divine powers of the Gods' chosen ones. At first, many of the nations began to give deference to their influence, allying themselves with the churches. However, as time went on, the power and influence of the churches, especially their leaders, began to rival the nations themselves.

Eventually, a few nations were taken over by some churches by popular demand, effectively becoming theocracies. Most people didn't question it, and those who did were silenced pretty quickly. The world and the nations began to get divided up among the Gods and through the divine powers, they flourished.

3,000 P.C. - 1,000 P.C.
The churches of the Gods decided to do some good during this time period. Many of the evil creatures that had spawned during the previous ages were hunted down and killed, some of them almost to the point of extinction. Any evil, desecrated areas or evil magic items left behind from the Era of the Fiends were destroyed or consecrated.

The divine leaders also set about crafting various divine artifacts and magical items. Having a holy purpose or energy, these magic items were granted to the most loyal among the churches. Various Paladin training grounds were formed (such as the Field of Gallant, Grounds of Aubade, and Rule of Khanos) and holy warriors were trained to fight for the cause of good.

The Elves were even involved heavily in this era, some of them becoming powerful clerics in their own right. Some of the Elves of the Daeryn Forest became closely tied to the Goddess Ancillia. These Elves developed a relationship with her and her church, a relationship that survived until the present. These Elves changed slightly because of their relationship with Ancillia and became known as the Moon Elves.

The most powerful church became the church of Aubade, who ran the empire of Eres in the east. The center of all power and culture derived from that spot.

1,000 P.C. - 0 P.C.
The inevitable pride set in. The clerics of the time had direct lines to their deities and they began to think they were better than anyone else. They began to attack rival churches, make violent demonstrations of "non-believers", and starting wars with rival nations for the "glory of their God." Some of the clerics even hand grand ideas of becoming Gods themselves.

Pride always goeth before the fall, and the good-aligned deities, and even some of the neutral-aligned deities, began to be disgusted with their followers. No one can seem to remember the name of the city in the middle of the nation of Eres (almost as if the Gods collectively erased it from the people's memory), but the Gods chose that city to be made an example of.

It is known as the Divine Collapse, and the destruction that was reigned down on the world created the Eres Wasteland where they had once been culture, cities, and millions of people. The Gods did not disappear and become distant like they had been in previous eras, but they did pull back, along with the powers they granted to their followers. Thus ended the era...

Signs of the Era
The Eres Wasteland is the biggest and clearest reminder of the era. However, not all things from the era were bad. Many divine spells and knowledges were attained during this era, and even though many were catalogued in whatever city once inhabited the Eres Wasteland, not all was lost during the Divine Collapse. Various magic items and scrolls of this era still persist to this day and can be found in various places around the world.

The era is also responsible for the rise of the Paladin. Very few churches had clerics with great fighting skills, much less ones devoted to combat. That was, at least, until this era. Many of the training grounds don't exist in their original forms, but many churches of an even remotely lawful-aligned deity have a training ground nowadays to recruit and train young Paladins for their cause.

The best result from this era was the destruction or reversal of many of the horrific things done to this world during the Era of the Fiends. Many monstrous creatures were decimated in their numbers or driven underground. Evil spots and items from the Fiends evil rituals and spells were reversed, consecrated, or destroyed outright. Despite the way it ended, the era did make the world a slightly safer place to live. Various creatures were created or brought to live in this world during the era as well. These included Angels, Aasimar, Couatl, Empyrean, Pegasus, and Unicorn.