Legend has it that Pannotia was created as a sort of "cosmic test" by deities from a far, unknown world. Little is known about these overdeities, save that they created the land of Pannotia and populated it with creatures from their world. In the beginning, Pannotia was a chaotic place, and the newly created races warred among themselves for hundreds of years before learning where each belonged in the greater scheme of the world.

After several thousand years, the mortals of Pannotia had progressed to a point that adventuring was becoming common. The world's inhabitants had discovered magic, and they were beginning to move beyond the crude ways of their forebears and into a more civilized society. At such a time, an individual arose of such power, the overdeities decided it was time to move on to the next phase of their test. They plucked the unknowing Ilraeth Gilanthel from his wooded home and brought him before them. They bestowed upon him immortality and the divine spark, changing him from mere mortal into a god.

They then instituted the Divine Tournament, a contest of such proportion that no magic, save that of the overdeities who created it, is able to alter its outcome. In this tournament, mortals gain the ability to challenge a deity in single combat for the right to join the ranks of the gods. The overdeities set forth specific rules for the tournament, and then they left.

During the following millennia, thousands of battles were fought in the Divine Arena. Many of these were between the gods themselves, each vying for more power and fighting to win support of worshipers. In addition, thousands of mortals challenged the gods; some won, and gained entry into the pantheon of Pannotia, but more still died, and their souls were forever destroyed.

As the number of deities grew, magic's prevalence grew with it. The deities created divine magic - that is, magic granted to mortals by the gods themselves. Eventually, the number of gods became too great, and there was a war between them. This battle did not take place in the divine arena, but in the cosmos themselves. Many deities were slain, and countless more mortals with them. After the Great War, the gods of Pannotia realized that if they did not maintain a balance in the pantheon, Pannotia would be torn apart in the battle for power, leaving nothing behind.

This brings us into the current age. The gods, while still hungry for power, have become more benevolent toward their worshipers. The world of the mortals has gained more meaning than the simple pursuit of godhood.