With less than six weeks until the release of the latest expansion, SOE has begun "Unfolding the Lore" behind the Seeds of Destruction. Here is Part 1:

Seeds of Destruction Overview

A new rift has opened in the Plane of Time. This rift leads to a bleak prophecy of the end of existence. The world of Norrath lies in ruins. The planet has shattered into millions of shards, spinning in a silent void around the rapidly blackening star of Ro.

In the wreckage on a small shard of the world, a lone figure sits quietly tending a small seedling growing between the rocks. The lone figure is none other than the fallen god Zebuxoruk. He is the only survivor of the end of the world, and perhaps the only one who knows how to prevent it.

Background:

During the invasion of the Plane of Time, mortal adventurers were intent on the release of Zebuxoruk from his eternal stasis. The goddess Druzzil Ro was forced to reorder the timeweave in order to prevent Zebuxoruk from escaping. This rethreading of the timeweave created a small weakness in the flow of time. For many years the weakness in the fabric of reality went unnoticed.

During the events of the Gates of Discord and Omens of War expansions, the forces of Discord poured through a portal into Norrath. The first invasion, headed by the overlord Mata Muram, was turned away by the combined forces of the heroes of Norrath. However, Mata Muram's forces were only a portion of the greater armies of Discord. These forces all worshiped a dark god of the discordant pantheon.

This dark god was infuriated by Mata Muram's failure but was also intrigued with the power that was able to repel the Muramite forces. While investigating Norrath the dark god became aware of the small weakness that Druzzil Ro had created in the timeweave and made plans to exploit it. The weakness in the weave allowed the dark god a limited access to the history of Norrath. He then sent agents to key points in Norrathian history to hamstring the development of Norrath and ensure an easy victory for his armies.

The dark god's meddling with the timeline did not go unnoticed. The inhabitants of the Plane of Time were immediately aware of something manipulating the continuity of Norrath. Rifts began to open in the plane. One such rift leads to the end of time where the shards of the world of Norrath float silently in space which foretells a horrible catastrophe.

How can mortals hope to stop it?

The Void

Because of Discord's interference in the timelines of Norrath the world has been destroyed completely. The only objects left are the drifting asteroid shards called The Void. Sparking time portals in The Void drift in the ether and lead to the various rifts in time: the Plane of Time, Bloody Kithicor, the Field of Scale, Oceangreen Hills, the Bloodfields, the Invasion of the Plane of Earth, and realm of Discord.

The only living creature in The Void is the god Zebuxoruk; torn from the flow of time by the combined might of the elder gods of Norrath. His only "companion" in The Void is a single small seedling that he tends as best he can with next to no resources beyond his severely limited divine powers.

The Pantheon of Norrath was destroyed when the world was broken. The only remnants of these gods are the discarded relics that drift throughout the void of space.

Norrath's Sun, Ro, is rapidly shrinking in on itself and turning into a black hole. Massive solar flares spark off the surface constantly. Even The Void will disappear soon unless someone repairs the damage that has been done to time.

Zebuxoruk is certainly insane, but has a unique insight into the current state of the world and possibly might hold the knowledge to guide adventurers in the quest to prevent the destruction of Norrath. Only he can direct adventurers towards specific moments in time where the armies of Discord were able to disrupt the timeline.

If they are able to stop the forces of Discord, the destruction in The Void will slowly be repaired. If not, all hope will be lost.

(For more screenshots, check out this EQLive article.)