A/N: Well, hello there, and welcome to a Terraria fic made by me! I'd love to make this long 'Author's Note" (gotta have the caps to make it seem special) telling you exactly what I'm doing here, but I think the summary and the words below give you a better idea of what I'm doing here. Also, this "Chapter 0" is a little unorganized, so you'll have to forgive me for that. Anyway, enough of my babbling, let's get to the story already!
DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Terraria or anything belonging to it. Terraria belongs to Re-logic. I DO, however, own any OCs that I use in this story, unless otherwise stated.
Our universe is made up of four dimensions. Celestia, also known as Outer Space, the huge expanse between worlds, and the place from which Celestial Energy flows. Erebia, also known as The Underworld, a dark and fiery place that lies deep below, the dwelling place of Demons. Aquaria, also known as the Ocean, the vast waters that cover many of our worlds. And finally, Terraria, also known as the Earth, the land that sits above Aquaria's waters.
Long before humanity existed, Celestia was in turmoil. The Angels and Demons, who had both lived in Celestia at the time, were engaged in a terrible war that spanned millennia. Both sides used incredible amounts of Celestial Energy against each other in battles that shook the universe to its core. The largest battle took place directly above one of the worlds of Terraria, next to a large, fiery star. And when the fighting began, something happened. The dark and light power that the two sides used in battle began combining. And the combined powers melded, and became alive. A terrible and chaotic being was formed, taking stones from Terraria and fire from the nearby star to form its body.
The being began destroying both sides, decimating both armies. The Demons began fleeing down to Terraria, hiding deep underground, in what would become Erebia. The Angels fled far away, to the farthest reaches of Celestia. And the being, seeing its own power, declared itself a god, and began taking residence in the star from which it drew its unquenchable flame.
Ever since then, the Angels and Demons have been few in number, and fain to engage in such battles again, lest they be destroyed entirely.
Celestial Energy is not the only form of energy that exists in the universe. There is other power, taking the form of the Souls.
The Souls are the manifestations of different parts of our world, each having a certain power, depending on which Soul it is.
The Soul of Flight is the essence of all flying things, and can grant the powers of flight to its wielder.
The Soul of Might is the essence of strength, granting great power and strength in battle to its wielder.
The Soul of Sight is the essence of vision, granting sight over one's enemies, and forewarning of danger.
The Soul of Fright is the essence of pure terror, and those who wield it can cause their enemies to flee in horror.
The Soul of Blight is the essence of diseases. What strengths, if any, this Soul contains are unknown.
And then, there are the two Warring Souls. The Soul of Light, the manifestation of all that is good and pure, and the Soul of Night, the manifestation of all that is dark and evil. These two are engaged in constant battle, for each contradicts the other.
Once, long after the Celestial War, during the time when Humans reigned supreme, there was a Terrarian kingdom known as Grandelia. They, through the power of the Souls, had discovered the means to travel across the many worlds of Terraria, and set up a kingdom between them. Grandelia became a prosperous kingdom, spanning many worlds, and they experienced a long peace.
But it was not to last.
A Demon, who had remained in Celestia after the Celestial War, had decided to meddle in the affairs of the kingdom of Grandelia. The Demon's name...was Cthulhu.
Cthulhu was considered extremely powerful amongst his brethren, for he had long fed upon the energy that flowed throughout Celestia. And he had decided that he was to no longer be a Demon, but rather a god. He had decided to remake the universe in his image, and rule as its lord.
And so, to accomplish his plan, Cthulhu brought another Demon, known as Umbra, from the depths of Erebia.
Umbra had long researched the power known as the Souls, and had discovered a way to use them to accomplish Cthulhu's designs. With the power of the Soul of Night, they created a magical virus that became known as The Corruption. And they released it on one of the frontier worlds belonging to Grandelia.
Soon, fueled by the Soul, The Corruption had covered that entire world, changing a once green land into a dark purple landscape, dotted with chasms filled by creatures born from the dark power of The Corruption itself.
Eventually, The Corruption spread to many of the worlds of Grandelia, threatening every corner of the kingdom.
And so, the king of Grandelia, desperate for a way to end this crisis, travelled to a land known as The Hallow, where the Soul of Light rested. Here dwelt many fae beings, including Pixies, Dryads and Fauns.
The king begged the creatures of The Hallow to aid him in defending his kingdom from the ever-spreading Corruption. And so, the Dryads gave him the secret of creating what was known as purification powder, a concoction capable of cleansing The Corruption.
The king passed this information to his wizards, who began producing this powder in large amounts.
Unfortunately, it would take much time and purification powder to restore what The Corruption had already claimed, but the Grandelians were still able to use the powder to slow The Corruption's spread to halt, saving their kingdom.
As all of this unfolded, Cthulhu and Umbra watched from Celestia. And, when he saw the weak and pathetic Humans of Grandelia standing against the creation of his world, Cthulhu grew angry. It was then that Umbra suggested that Cthulhu and himself gather an army, and wipe out the humans that resisted their creation. Cthulhu agreed, and began pulling more Demons from Erebia to form an army. Umbra also gathered an army, one made of the creatures that The Corruption had created.
Cthulhu and Umbra's armies laid waste to much of Grandelia, and the king had to go to The Hallow for aid once again.
And the beings of The Hallow came to decision. There was only thing they could do.
The dryads knew of a way to stop The Corruption forever. But it required sealing away the Souls. The Hallow, and indeed much of magic itself, would simply die. But this was the only choice they had.
And so, while the dryads prepared the required ritual, the fauns led the other denizens of The Hallow into battle against the eldritch hordes of Cthulhu and Umbra, in order to distract them long enough so that Cthulhu did not discover the dryads' ritual. They fought with no fear, despite knowing that they would likely not survive, regardless of whether they won or lost.
The plan worked at first, but soon Cthulhu had caught on to what was happening, and headed straight for The Hallow to put a stop to the ritual. His Demons began to set fire to The Hallow, and Cthulhu himself proceeded to the ritual grounds. And, when it seemed that all hope was lost, the Dryads' full plan was revealed. Cthulhu had fallen into a trap.
The ritual was designed to take apart the body of a powerful being, and use its flesh as a vessel to seal the Souls away. And Cthulhu was to be this vessel. With a loud cry, Cthulhu's body was ripped apart, and reformed as the colossal Wall of Flesh, in which the Souls of Terraria would be stored. Cthulhu was not entirely destroyed, however, as his eyes and brain survived the ritual, and, sustained by what remained of Cthulhu's once great power, they fled to the unknown reaches of the universe. The Wall of Flesh was sent down into Erebia, to torment the Demons that lived there with its endless hunger.
With the Souls gone, The Corruption quickly faded into nothingness, along with Umbra, who had attempted to use his own life force to sustain it. And The Hallow did the same. The Dryads, no longer having a true home, began live in the woods and groves, finding peace in the now cleansed wilds of Terraria. The other races began to slowly dwindle in number, until reaching extinction. The only Hallowed races to remain were the aforementioned Dryads, and the Fauns, who remained with the Humans in order to help them pick up the pieces of their ruined kingdom, and rebuild. For Cthulhu had destroyed nearly the entire kingdom, along with most of the population, and the sealing away of the Souls also meant that they no longer possessed the ability to travel between worlds.
The cataclysmic war became known as The War of Souls.
Slowly, the Humans built a new life for themselves, but they would never again reach the heights of the kingdom of Grandelia.
Over time, the number of Fauns began to dwindle, much like the other Hallowed races.
And now, over a thousand years later, only one Faun remains.
And that...is where our story begins.
A/N: So, I hope you all enjoyed that little bit of background lore. I actually had to revise it more than once before I got it the way I wanted it, and I ended up with those four separate pieces of lore that you just read. And now, next chapter, we'll actually get started with this.
Before I leave, and this VERY important to me, I'd like to ask if someone could make or find me some cover art. Something like a picture of the Souls would be nice, but it could be something else as well.
As I'm still new to fan fiction, reviews are appreciated, as they help me figure out what I'm doing wrong. I hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you folks next chapter.