History of Theros

The Library came first. 

That's the only thing the people of Theros almost universally agree upon. Where it came from, what it should be called, and even what it looks like is something people are much less concurrent about. Some believe it was built by the Archons of Trax. Others claim it was stolen by King Agnomakhos and brought to Theros. The most educated of guesses, however, place it further back, before the poleis, before the gods, even before Theros itself.



Every aspect of Theros has been shaped by the Library's presence. The fabric of Theros's reality is nearly as mutable and dynamic as the body of knowledge within the Library, making it a land where the boundaries between the mundane and the magical are almost non-existent, and where the surrounding countryside hosts 'collections' of its own. Although humans are by far the most populace intelligent species in Theros, and likely the first, they share the land with small numbers of centaurs, satyrs, minotaurs, and other beastfolk.  

Reigning over these peoples is a pantheon of beings particular to Theros. Similar to the deities of other lands, realms, and realities, these gods of Theros embody, command, and sponsor a variety of concepts and forces that are important to the people of Theros. However, most Theroans agree, these divine beings are entirely capable of mortal faults like pride, pettiness, and impatience, and have often exploited the mortals beneath them to act out their whims, both good and bad. 

Wielding nigh-cosmic power but ever desiring more, many of these deities (or their worshippers) were bound to come to blows over the Library. While many described the centuries after the Fall of the Archons as an "Age of Heroes", the long arc of this age was catastrophic. Through the actions of various champions and monsters, the great poleis of Theros had ultimately aligned themselves with different powers, as had nearly every village and tribe beyond their stone walls. With any pretense of divine impartiality gone, the convoluted web of alliances and enmities between the gods and mortals of Theros ignited an all-out war for control of the Library. Cities burned. Armies were wiped away like game pieces tossed aside by petulant children. The mortal peoples of Theros were reduced to the barest threads of survival, and among their gods, only those reigning over the dead were secure in their circumstances.

Then the Dragons Came.

The Archons had warred with great dragons in the Age of Trax and before, and lesser ones had intruded upon or been summoned into Theros from time-to-time, but it was into the shattered post-apocalyptic wasteland that the five great dragon mages arrived. Beings with nearly divine power and scope, these creatures said that they had been summoned to tend to the Library in its darkest hours. United, these five dragons were powerful enough to drive back the weakened and disjointed pantheon of Theros and force them to make peace.


A deal was struck. With the gods of Theros unable to share the knowledge in the Library, they ultimately accepted the dragons' custodianship of it. In exchange, the dragons promised to share the knowledge and power within the Library with the mortals of Theros, persuading the gods that if they did well by their peoples, then they would grow in power and wisdom as their worshippers did. The goddess Karametra likened this to a form of divine agriculture - planting seeds of knowledge among the mortal minds of Theros, and then cultivating their curiosity and ambition, would yield crops of wisdom and insight that the gods would ultimately reap for their own benefit. 

To this end, the gods of Theros helped the five dragons construct a massive, city-sized school around the Library. So impressive is this school, that it has drawn students from far and wide - from beyond Theros itself. Elves, dwarves, halflings, gnomes, orcs, and many others live, work, and study within the walls of Strixhaven University.   

Now the Mortals Go Forth. 

In the modern era, Theros has achieved such prosperity that its eyes have turned beyond the fog-shrouded waters that ring its shores. They say that the Library contains the sum knowledge of everything that has ever been known, and so now the greatest work lies in exploration and discovery - learning that which is unknown. 

To that end, Theros has begun constructing an armada of vessels dedicated to the oldest of their deities, Kruphix - the enigmatic god of mysteries and horizons. Being the god of navigators, and sometimes manifested as a four-armed, cloaked being filled with constellations, Kruphix's symbol is an eight-pointed star. Every ship in the fleet bears his star in dedication, leading the people of Theros to name the nascent armada Starfleet.

 

  

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