Lore · Planes & Wars of the Gods
The War for the Plane of Earth
Ever wondered why ogres are slow, why giants live in the snow, and why the Rathe Mountains are where they are? It is all one story, and it starts with a war against a plane.
Murdunk’s invasion
In the Elder Age the ogre empire wanted more than Norrath. Egged on by Rallos Zek’s son Eriak, the great ogre Murdunk led the first Rallosian army into the Plane of Earth, home of the Rathe, the Council of Thirteen. He wanted to prove himself worthy to lead all the forces of Zek.
It was doomed. Whenever a member of the Council fell, another took its place. Many guardians of earth died, but the Rathe won, and the surviving Rallosians were hurled out of the plane by the Council’s wards.
Sources: EverQuest.com: Seeds of Destruction, Unfolding the Lore Part 5 (2008) · Library of Erudin: “The History of Norrath” (original EverQuest manual text)
The Warlord’s second assault
Furious, Rallos Zek raised a second invasion under two proven war heroes, Tallon and Vallon, and brought the scarred Murdunk along for what he knew of the plane. This time the members of the Rathe Council were captured and dragged to Norrath, where one of them was executed. Where that Rathe member fell, the Rathe Mountains rose and Lake Rathetear formed. On Norrath, that death was permanent.
But Rallos Zek knew little about how the Planes of Power worked. He was scarred and disfigured by the same wards that had thrown Eriak out, and he lay regenerating in the Plane of War while the reborn Rathe took their revenge. Murdunk was killed.
Sources: EverQuest.com: Seeds of Destruction, Unfolding the Lore Part 5 (2008) · Allakhazam: Rallos Zek
The curse
To end the invasions for good, the Rathe Council, aided by several other gods, cursed every creature of Zek. The curse swept through the giants’ lush homelands and froze them into what is now Everfrost, and it turned Zek’s followers everywhere into lesser beings in mind and body. The manual adds that thousands of ogres died, their empire fell, the giants were scattered, and the goblins were cursed so thoroughly that nothing of their history survives.
Tallon and Vallon begged their god to save them, and Rallos Zek pulled them into his plane in time. He could not save anyone else. The gods then raised a barrier around the Planes of Power, shutting out mortals and lesser gods alike.
Sources: EverQuest.com: Seeds of Destruction, Unfolding the Lore Part 5 (2008) · Library of Erudin: “The History of Norrath” (original EverQuest manual text) · Library of Erudin: EverQuest RPG Player’s Handbook: History of Norrath (2002)
Eriak’s punishment
Rallos Zek decided Eriak must have known about the ward and kept quiet. He tore the essence of warfare out of his son, split it, and gave it to Tallon and Vallon, the two mortals who had succeeded where Eriak failed. Eriak, crippled and disfigured, was banished to the lower levels of Drunder to forge weapons for his father’s armies. If you raided Drunder, you met him there as Eriak the Oblique.
In Seeds of Destruction (2008), the forces of Discord tried to strike at this exact moment in history, because a Rallosian victory would have meant endless war on Norrath.
Sources: EverQuest.com: Seeds of Destruction, Unfolding the Lore Part 5 (2008) · Allakhazam: Drunder
Where the sources disagree
- The 2008 article calls the Rathe “the Council of Thirteen” and says one was executed on Norrath; a fan encyclopedia describes the council as twelve beings.
- The manual says the combined gods thwarted Rallos Zek and then cursed his creations; the RPG and the 2008 article give the Rathe the leading role.
Keep reading
Retold in our own words from the sources linked under each chapter; short quotes are marked and sourced. The illustration is an original AI-generated painting made for this page alone, not from the game.