Age of Deception

The Age of Deception is the period, lasting roughly a thousand years, during which Immaru the Deceiver masqueraded as The Creator.

Before the Age of Deception
Prior to Immaru's rise, he was one of The Ascended, a group of people that gained great magical power by finding their way across the Astral Sea. Immaru was the first to find his way there.

To maintain their connection to the Material Plane, the Ascended planted the Great Trees. These permitted communication with their followers and enabled the use of divine magic.

Many of The Ascended, including Immaru, promised the people of the material plane all sorts of things exchange for their favor and worship.

After a time of peace and prosperity, a great civil war broke out among the Ascended. Immaru used the Razors to cut down the trees of the other Ascended, severing the connection between them and the rest of the multiverse. This ensured his was the only voice to reach the material plane.

Age of Deception Begins
After cutting down all Great Trees (except for Tiamat's), Immaru bent Tiamat's dragons to his own use, sterilizing them and instilling them with noble values like self-sacrifice to ensure they remained loyal protectors of Immaru's followers in the material plane.

When he styled himself The Creator, this officially began the Age of Deception. In the material plane, his dragons founded the Glorious Empire (now known as the Alitheian Empire), which lasted for nearly a thousand years, supporting the facade that Immaru and The Creator were one and the same.

Age of Deception Ends
After nearly a thousand years, the dragons that held together the Glorious Empire in service to Immaru the Deceiver rebelled against his rule. With the help of a group of heroes, Immaru's Great Tree was cut down, severing the different planes of the multiverse, and cutting off access to divine magic.

The abrupt end to the Age of Deception led to chaos across the world from the sudden loss of magic that had been used in almost every aspect everyday life. The fall of Immaru also came during a time of war in the material plane, with the Glorious Empire embroiled in a difficult war against another faction.

The ensuing scramble for resources and to fill the power vacuum left by the crumbling empire resulted in the Orichalcum Wars.