Anachron was the god of law, structure, and cosmic balance among the pantheon. He served as the divine arbiter, settling disputes among gods and establishing the celestial laws that governed creation. The Aarakocra were his chosen people—bird-folk who embodied his ideals of justice and impartial judgment.

They dwelt in mountain-top aeries, serving as judges and mediators for mortal disputes. Under Anachron’s guidance, their civilization flourished with unparalleled order and righteousness, becoming beacons of impartiality in a chaotic world.

Anachron grew troubled. He observed that several gods—including some of the most powerful—were violating the very laws they had agreed upon. He demanded accountability. When the gods refused to submit to judgment, Anachron invoked his authority as arbiter to pass sentence upon them.

This unprecedented act—a god judging gods—split the divine pantheon. Some supported Anachron’s principled stand for cosmic law. Others viewed it as hubris and heresy. The stage was set for divine conflict unlike any the cosmos had witnessed before.

The gods united against Anachron. They stripped him of most of his divine power and cast him from the heavens. His fall shook the mortal world—mountains crumbled, seas surged, and fragments of the divine realm broke free from the sky itself.

These fragments would become the floating islands that would come to be known as Zephyria. The faithful Aarakocra, witnessing their god’s fall, caught his dying form and bore him to the largest island fragment, refusing to abandon him even as heaven itself rejected him.

With his remaining power fading like twilight, Anachron stabilized the floating islands and planted wind-crystals into their bedrock to keep them aloft. He carved his laws into stone tablets—the Tablets of Law—ensuring his principles would outlive his fading divinity.

He appointed the first five Great Judges from among his most devout followers, establishing the governmental system that endures to this day. Each Judge was entrusted with a copy of the Tablets and sworn to uphold Anachron’s vision of impartial justice.

Then his physical form dissolved into the wind itself, leaving behind only the faintly glowing tablets and a single feather that would become the most sacred relic of Zephyria—a symbol of their god’s enduring presence.

For centuries, the Aarakocra withdrew from the world below. They perfected their sky-civilization, developed sophisticated wind-crystal technology, and codified every aspect of Anachron’s law into a comprehensive legal system that would govern all aspects of life in Zephyria.

During this period, the Kenku—cursed wingless bird-folk forced to survive in the mortal world—were granted refuge on the islands. However, their rescue came with a price: they were established as second-class citizens, prevented from holding judicial office or participating in the Great Council.

Air Genasi also found their way to Zephyria, drawn by the powerful wind-crystal magic that suffused the islands. These elemental beings integrated into society, contributing their own perspectives to the growing civilization among the clouds.

A surface diplomat from Fort Valiance made the perilous and dangerous ascent to the floating islands, facing treacherous winds and wyvern attacks to reach the isles. When he arrived, bloodied but determined, he proposed trade between the surface world and Zephyria.

After decades of contentious debate within the Great Council, the Judges voted 3-2 to establish Gale’s Landing as a controlled point of contact with the surface world. This decision was neither quick nor unanimous. The minority insisted that contact would corrupt their isolation and their sacred laws.

Trade began flowing—sky-herbs and cloud-silver down to the surface, timber and grain up to the islands. The decision remains deeply controversial among traditionalist Aarakocra who fear the loss of their cultural identity and sacred independence.

Zephyria stands at a critical crossroads in its long history. Trade has brought unprecedented prosperity to the islands, but it has also introduced surface problems previously unknown to their isolated society—crime, cultural contamination, and entanglement in surface political conflicts.

The Kenku, long relegated to second-class status, petition the Great Council for equal rights and full participation in governance. Meanwhile, wyvern raids threaten the safety of the outer isles, forcing the council to debate the establishment of a standing military force—something Anachron’s original laws did not envision.

And deep within Windwhisper’s vast archives, scholars have discovered hints that Anachron’s power may not be gone forever—merely dormant, waiting in the wind-crystals themselves. Some believe this indicates a coming age of renewal. Others fear it heralds a final reckoning.