In the first era of Millirand, in the dragons' golden age, there existed two lesser gods that served the Ten and governed the Cosmic, Celestial, Lunar and Solar dragons, guiding them as a shining example of balance. They were light and dark working together, siblings of white and black known by their ethereal natures and the dazzling golden lines that crisscrossed their beautiful scales. For thousands of years, they were looked to by the Lost dragons, until the Age of Bloodshed when Millirand began to fall apart.

Auryelia and Athlryion, the lesser gods of the celestials, saw the world's end nigh. They watched Gorg'grauth consume everything, destroy all, and could only see death in his wake. Forsaking Millirand while the Ten were busy crafting Felnova, they escaped into the cosmos and flew on shining wings into the darkness of space. For an indeterminate time, the pair wandered, dancing among stars and nebulae, seeing shadows move amid the cosmic energies and bright flickers of life here and there. But when they turned back, it was not the Fiv'ean Void Hydra alone they saw - but a second, ethereal being next to her that was another Void in its entirety.

Flying towards this Void, it came to their minds that this one was named Novaltair, and it was suffering greatly. It has just lost one of its Realms, and the destruction of the world had destroyed and withered the balancing head. The Realm that once held its balance was degrading, its Veil dying, and the Void was losing its hold on it as the years slipped by. Consumed by curiosity, they traveled to this unknown world, and hid away to study and learn of what happened, its inhabitants, and its inner workings. When they discovered the denizens of this place - Kaligos - and their peril, they made a decision that would change the course of its history forever.

They would craft a new Realm to balance this one - and thus, save it from its destruction. Conferring together, they first dedicated time to fortify the Realm's broken Markers, and shore up its connection to the Void as best they could. Then, the two gods broke away, flying through the celestial skies to the other head - the dying head - and began a great working with its failing energies. Renewal, rebirth, new hope - a Core was formed by their combined divine energies, now known as Aether and Nether, and began its life as a new-born world. With the help of Novaltair's sister, Fiv'ean, they formed an earth around the Core, tied it to the Soulplane shared between them, and christened it with the Light and Dark Realms, as all worlds are.

However, there was an extra step the two gods took. Using their own life energies -divine magic, their own reiatsu - they infused the Core with their power. Light and dark in harmony, a veil of white and black in sparkling gold surrounded the heart of the world, and spread into every working as it was done. Rock, sand, clay, loam - it radiated with the shining energies, and when plants sprouted and insects buzzed, they glowed with the infused magic of their beings. Then, Auryelia and Athlryion released water and life into the world, carefully crafting each in the image of absolute perfection. They wanted to avoid the mistakes of the past - to craft a world that was, in effect, immune to the ravages its sister undertook, more beautiful than the home they had left behind, a paradise where all could prosper. And while for a time they succeeded - the world flourished as they added life, guiding it forward - goals of perfection are never meant to last untarnished.

They named this new world Aeyonethyr; which in the Aethyrian texts is thought to mean balance. This was later shortened to Aethyr, as we now refer to it as.

They were only partially successful in saving the first world. By the time that Aethyr was new-formed, its lands bound and rich with life, Kaligos was already on the verge of its final death. The earth beneath had shattered, its Core fractured, and the Void that struggled so hard to keep hold of it very nearly lost his grip. However, after the Ascension of two new gods, Kaligos was bound in reiatsu, held together and stabilized as the long-broken balance was finally restored.

Aethyr was beautiful. Ordered perfectly, structured wisely, its equilibrium in tune with the Aether and Nether that shimmered around all things. Continents grew and were shaped by energies and magics and elements, guided by the gods, and life was abundant. But this life was not intelligent - it was not sapient, it did not learn and grow and prosper as the races they remembered and the races that they had observed. So, pulling the latent energies of Nether and Aether from the plants, animals and even the earth itself, so that it no longer sparkled and glowed with golden-flecked light and shining darkness, they settled to craft a new race.

The Aethyrian dragons.