In the ancient land of Ilihect there existed many creatures. Some were mighty and powerful, others small and weak. Above them, governing them, were the great Merakae; great beings of extraordinary power who created the very world they inhabited. There were millions - taming the seasons and shaping the land. Then one day, not so long ago... Humans appeared. Fearing these powerful beasts, the humans hunted and killed as many Merakae as they could. The lesser Merakae were destroyed, their corpses piled high as the destructive force of the human race swept the land "clean". Only four, exceptionally powerful, Merakae remained. Gate; Mera of Ice and Fire. His power over temperature - able to call forth snow and frost, then thaw the land as he pleased. His stomach held a portal to a another realm, his temple spanning these two worlds. Gila; Mera of Sand and Water. He purified the water and could dessicate the deserts at will. Wyrm; Mera of Leaf and Stone. His power of growth brought life even to the smallest cracks in the ground. and Aura; Mera of Light and Air. Aura lit the world with a brilliant sun and brought the winds to breathe life into the land. Without these four Merakae, Ilihect could never have existed. The original humans, from the great city of Toria at the foot of Tortower Castle, feared these Merakae for they had power too great to leave unchecked. These ancient Torians began to plot... they hunted down the last Merakae and, one by one, imprisoned them in Obsidian, Stone and Gold. These statues, known as "Goliaths" witheld their power and kept it in check. So they remained, trapped in Goliaths, for the Torians to keep watch over in safety; hidden away in giant temples so that their power can be tapped. Unfortunately, these Torians were unaware of just how much they had relied on the Merakae; without the full extent of their power to keep the land as lush as it was, the Torians fell ill and eventually vanished. Only their writings remained in ancient texts. Without worship, the Merakae became dull and stopped feeding the land, forests died and grasslands became barren, but there was just enough power left in the land to sustain life. A new wave of Humans emerged, evolving without the Merakite influence, they adapted to the new world and lived in peace. Wpon discovery of the ancient Torian writings, they began to feel sorry for the way their ancestors had arrested the Merakae. These new Humans rebuilt the city of Toria and erected the great Merakite church, where they could worship these four trapped Merakae. The priests and mages sought out the temples, doing their best to restore power to the Goliaths. Unsuccessful, they instead located each Mera's "Core"; a power souce hidden deep within each temple. Refueling the Cores as best they could, they went back to planning - to figure out a way of releasing the Merakae. Restored, each Mera began to exude power once again. The new Torian priests ordered an expedition in order to use their power to free each Goliath. Unfortunately, as all this was taking place, a small cult known as the "Cult of Carbract" had entered Wyrm's temple and removed his Core. His power stolen, the temple began to decay as Wyrm's power faded. This angered the Merakae, who had hoped the new Torians were unlike their ancestors and when one party of priests arrived at Aura's temple and freed him, they were attacked. Aura began destroying huge areas of civilised land across Ilihect in a rampage known as "The Unvent". Soon, and before they had time to halt the release of Gate, the other party of priests found themselves under attack from Aura. Gate began to flee Ilihect before the Torians could do any more damage, but some fled through his portal into the realm beyond. Unaware, however, that his body had served as a time portal and they had merely found themselves in a barren and fiery landscape that was their future. As Gate left Ilihect, his portal closed; trapping those Torians in the nether future where they evolved into Zombie Pigmen. During the Unvent, the mages fled and transformed themselves into the Carcherosapiens, inhabiting Ilihect's oceans before eventually dying out. The only remaining Mera was Gila, who had not been freed in time before the Unvent took place. To this day, Gila remains trapped in his stone Goliath in his temple of sand. Ruins of the ancient temples can be found scattered across the land of Ilihect, but nothing of value remains.