.Navigation. Home - CCT Forums - Rules - Powers - The Plot - Spotlight - Map of Adversity - Emporium - .The Tale of Adversity - Part One. As written in the Book of Souls... Long ago there was nothing but a single star in the black void of space. Slowly the star grew old, and its color changed from a bright yellow to an angry red. As all stars do when they grow old, this one exploded. The entire universe shook with the impact of the single star’s explosion while boulders the size of planets flew from the star’s core amongst the gas and flames. For thousands upon thousands of years the flames slowly died out, and the boulders spread to the farthest reaches of space. The force of gravity created many more stars as the largest boulders attracted flames and gas toward them. Many other rocks crashed into larger ones and disintegrated forever more. It was a time of chaos and destruction that should never be forgotten. Slowly the universe calmed down. You could once again see the blackness that surrounded all the newly created worlds. Slowly the large boulders pulled themselves into orbits around the new stars, and order began come back again. One of larger boulders went on a long journey through space; as it traveled it bumped into several other planets. Finally, after thousands more years of endless drifting, the planet had been broken down into a more usual size. A large star pulled the planet into its orbit, and life began to come from the melting water that planet had gathered in its travels. Life started out small and weak, the tiny organisms needed very little to survive; only sunlight, water, and food. Yet, these little creatures slowly evolved. Thick foliage made its way over the planet, growing with the little organism’s who inhabited the land. The planet was large, colorful, and prosperous during that time. It went largely undisturbed until one fateful day that changed the planet forever. Another large planet was drawn in by the gravity of the gigantic sun, and by the gravity of the prosperous planet. The new planet crashed into the prosperous planet which caused a disastrous effect. The world shuddered with thousands of earthquakes at once, and the foliage and organisms burned all around the world. For some reason the prosperous planet was stronger, and the other planet shattered into two large pieces. Dust from these pieces blocked the sun from reaching the planet for several years, and only the strongest of life survived. Just as everything else, change happened slowly. The dust gradually cleared, and sunlight struck the planet for the first time in years. What had once been a beautiful green planet had turned into a place of gray and brown dust. The remains of plants lay everywhere, and almost all the water had been contaminated in some way. The crash was not all bad though, it helped the planet in three very important ways. First of all, the tiny organisms that had managed to survive evolved a lot during the time of dust. They grew larger, and they also grew legs and fangs. The organisms had become intelligent enough to communicate with each other through body language and sounds; they formed their own packs and hierarchy. The second good thing that happened was that the planet gained two beautiful moons. The large planet had broken up into two pieces, and over during the years of dust these two pieces had gotten captured by the planet’s orbit. Slowly they had rounded themselves out into proper moons. The third thing was the greatest of them all. The core of the other planet had broken against the prosperous planet, which caused many unexpected outcomes. Normally a world does not have any magic on its surface, for all the magic is located at the core. When the other planet’s core broke against the prosperous planet, the magic spread all around the world. The magic fused with the blood of the organisms, and they flourished. The organisms began to develop their own shapes and personalities, and they began to harness the power of magic. This was the time when wolves, deer, rabbits, and all other creatures became known to the world. The magic enhanced their brain capacity which allowed them to be extremely smart. Soon they had established an Order to make sure that all creatures of their world would live in peace. It was during this time that the Great Naming took place. The Order decided to allow the creatures to name the things of the world so that everyone called them the same thing. It was like a giant contest, and every last creature strived for their names to be accepted as the official names of the world. The wolves immediately jumped upon the chance to name the things dearest to them. They named the larger moon Annatia, and the smaller moon Ninaria after a tale told to their pups about a kind mother and her daughter. Everything else was given its name during that time except for the planet itself. None of the creatures knew what to call such a beloved place, and they argued bitterly for many generations. Back then, magic was a single power. If you possessed magic in your blood you could control all the elements, and heal all your friends. Shapeshifting, travation, and invaria didn’t yet exist, and no one thought about creating them until much later. The members of the Order began to hire those most skilled with magic to assassinate other members of the Order, or to protect themselves. Wars openly broke out and the planet was once again thrust into a time of chaos and destruction. All the creatures fought valiantly for what they thought was right, and soon the planet that had once been full of life had little life, besides plant life, on it at all. Even though the creatures began to realize that there fighting would bring life on the planet to an end, they continued to fight. Fighting had become natural to them, and they didn’t know how to come to a peace and stop such madness. You could only call it luck that the planet drifted farther away from the sun than usual for several hundred years; the planet’s largest ice age occurred. The creatures could no longer risk death in pointless wars; they needed to band together to find enough food to survive. The ice age was devastating to the planet, and the animals were forced to live near the equator of the planet. Several of them migrated to a land partially protected by mountains that reached up high into the sky. The mountains helped hold in heat from the sun while blocking out most of the affects of the ice age. Wolves began to call them the Annihilation Mountains, for any who dared pass through them usually didn’t survive. Other creatures who had migrated to the land agreed with the wolves, and the name was settled upon. Soon the creatures began to name the other places of their one little section of the world. A time of prosperity began again even though the rest of the world had been plunged into an endless sea of snow and ice. A wolf was born who craved power. He rose up into power and used his powerful magical ability to take over the little section of the world. Many creatures tried to rise up against him, but all failed miserably except for one. The wolf did not have a name, but he had read the Book of Souls, and he knew more about the makings of the world than most other wolves. He used his knowledge to do the most amazing thing in the history of the planet. The wolf traveled to Mount Annihilation and used his skill to break the magic of the world into several separate powers. With the leftover magic he developed travation, invaria, and shapeshifting. Such a deed killed him on the spot, but by sacrificing himself he saved the land. The cruel wolf was nothing without his power, for the stranger had allowed him none. The land went through a few years of uncertainty while the creatures fought over who should be in power. Eventually an adventurous young wolf discovered the Book of Souls on the mountaintop where the stranger who had saved the land once stood. He brought the book back to his elders and asked them to read it for him. The elders muttered over the book for many days until they finally came to a decision. They took the book to a meeting with the other creatures, and together they all decided that no one should rule the land. With much hesitation the adventurous young wolf offered the idea that they called the world Adversity after the many hardships it had faced. The idea was jumped upon, and generations of peace and prosperity passed. Several copies were made of the Book of Souls so that all creatures could learn and understand from the mistakes of their ancestors. In truth, the Book of Souls is still being written. What will come next is for you to decide… .The Tale of Adversity - Part Two. As written in the Book of Souls... For many generations Adversity was a decently peaceful place. Wolves prospered most of all, and they rose up into an unimaginably large population. Wars began again, but they were different wars than before. These were not wars of hatred or fear, but wars for life. Food became scarce in the delicate and beautiful land of Adversity, and the wolves began to starve and die. A few braver wolves rose up to power. They called themselves Alphas and formed packs, large families of wolves who worked together to survive. The idea of living together was wonderful and new. Before all the wolves had lived alone or in pairs, but together in large groups they could hunt more prey. They could live with stomach full of good food. Before wolves had only gathered in great quantities for war, so for a few veterans the entire pack idea was hard to accept. They banded together into unions and protested the formation of packs and territories. They thought it unfair that wolves could claim land that only they could hunt in and nobody else. The packs joined together and rebelled against such ideas. They loved living with their families and having the freedom the hunt and the safety of a home. War broke out once again. On one side was a great gray brute named Hydnalian. He was against the idea of packs, and thought that wolves who joined them were weak and spineless. How could you ever learn to survive in a world surrounded by an Ice Age if other wolves were feeding and taking care of you? He thought the idea ridiculous, so he banded together with many other strong males and together they rose up. They traveled across Adversity, shouting at the packs and telling them about how foolish they were. Several of the pack Omegas fled and joined Hydnalian with the promise of power and fame. Hydnalian took his army everywhere. He speared fear into the hearts of the pack wolves until they cowered before him and offered him food they had caught for their families. Hydnalian enjoyed being in power, and he didn’t want to give it up even after he’d scared most of the packs away. On the other side was a kinder wolf named Kiranui. He was a large black wolf with bright silver eyes, and battle scars to prove his strength. Kiranui had a dream. A great and noble dream. He wanted to bring peace to all of Adversity. He wanted every last wolf to live happy, peaceful lives without fear of war or death or famine. He brought all the packs together with beautiful speeches that filled everyone to the brim with hope. Hundred of wolves threw themselves at his feet in dedication to his cause. Unlike Hydnalian, Kiranui did not revel in his power. He simply did what he needed to do in order to turn his dream into a reality. Kiranui hated death, and every time one of his comrades died he would howl for them in hopes that their spirit and soul would find peace in a better place. The great Kiranui loved everyone equally, even those who hated him. He thought of every living thing as an equal to every other thing. He spread his love across Adversity, and that alone helped bring out the bravery in those who coward from Hydnalian. Kiranui had a small family to look after, but he did not treat them any better than anyone else. He loved all unconditionally. Many thought Kiranui a fool for not using his shapeshifting daughter to help win the war against Hydnalian, but Kiranui insisted that she was a child and should be treated as such. Wolves were wolves, not tools to be used and thrown out. His method of fighting wars confused many, but they all gave their lives for him because they knew, they could sense, the greatness in him. They thought he would bring them to Adversity’s greatest Era yet. Kiranui and Hydnalian met in the middle of the Endless Plains. Kiranui tried to hold a peace conference and come to terms with Hydnalian, but Hydnalian would have none of it. Hydnalian did not look upon everyone as equals, and he thought Kiranui a fool for doing so. He insisted that it was not a way of living to be equal. He insisted that some must be powerful and rule over the weak. Kiranui could do nothing but shake his great, black head. They agreed to have one last battle to decide the outcome of the war. “To save lives” as Kiranui put it at the time, though he did not know that the outcome would be so devastating... The armies started on separate sides of the Endless Plains. Hydnalian called out a fierce battle cry and he and his followers charged onto the field like demons. Kiranui was smarter, he started his army forward at a energy-conserving walk while calling out encouragement to them. They ran the last twenty feet, and the armies clashed with a land-shuddering thud. Snarls and cries of death broke out everywhere. The field was in a state of complete madness, and blood covered the ground like and ocean tide. Kiranui may have been kinder, and a smarter commander, but his army was not nearly as strong as Hydnalian. Hydnalian had gathered hundreds of tough male loners, while Kiranui got the leftovers and weak pack wolves. Despite his encouragement, his army was doomed. Kiranui and his best warriors fought their hardest. They were covered head to toe in blood and nearly the last ones on the field, but they wouldn’t give up. Kiranui was covered in enemies who bite anywhere they could get their jaws. In a last attempt to help his people the male leapt upon a rock. Despite the fact that he was dying, Kiranui raised his muzzle to the sky. From his throat came the greatest howl to ever be heard. Kiranui poured his heart and soul into his howl, and it came out as a pure note. The hearts of his followers nearly shattered at the tune, and it rang in their ears for days after its sudden ending. An enemy took advantage of Kiranui’s exposed throat. He leapt and took the life from the great warrior. The war ended with Kiranui’s choked off howl. Satisfied that he had taught the world a good lesson, Hydnalian paraded Kiranui’s head around on a pole for all to acknowledge his victory, and then disappeared with his entire army. Rumors said that Hydnalian traveled North and conquered the lands there, but no one knew for certain. Four years came and went almost uneventfully. Wolves slowly came back to the paradise known as Adversity. Life went on despite the broken hearts Kiranui left behind when he passed on. Now a new threat has come to the land. A dark male named Zafar is intent upon conquering the paradise for his dearest love, Tarfinalia. He set up his headquarters in Northern Adversity, and his minions patrol the land searching for warriors to join Zafar’s army. Will the packs be able to rise up against Zafar? Or will Adversity once again be lost to evil? Only time will tell...