Woe unto the Sinners! Woe unto the Pax Faerunis and the TriPower Empire! Woe to them who oppose the RaGnARoK! Look here, foolish heretics! For here is where the sky darkens and your ashes will smolder, blown away on the wind! Here is where you will find the Jihad!
The Prophecy is a contingency plan conceived of by the Elder Gods, in order to purge a world of all its existing life. The concept is simple- if The Balance is tilted, wipe the slate clean and start anew. We the Faithful are the true watch-keepers of The Balance.
For every planet that is created, a self destruction sequence is designed to purge the world of all life and everything on it, so that the Elder God who created it can attempt again to build a world to his own liking... . In the case of the Great Realms, the trigger for this cleansing is a great meteor known only as RaGnArOk.
[The Prophecy of The Great Realms]
The continent of the Great Realms was created by a being known as The Apprentice. Every eon or so, an Elder God will take on a pupil. Ao, Elder God of Toril, had taken on many, until he took on what would be known as his Final Apprentice.
The time came for Ao to inspect his Apprentice's work, and found it more beautiful than his own. In jealousy, Ao sought to destroy The Apprentice's superior world. The Apprentice opposed him, and the battle raged. The arcane powers wielded by both Ao and The Apprentice were great, but in the end, it was The Apprentice who perished. Ao destroyed The Apprentice's world, and returned to his own work, abandoning his pupil's world. But elder gods never truly die... In his final moments, The Apprentice put a curse over the land he had created. He swore that he would come back to reclaim the continent, and the rest of Toril when the self-destruct plan was next invoked. Ao, unable to stop the curse, put a barrier around the continent, forever dividing it from Toril, and damning all that would ever live within to never see the Forgotten Realms.
[The Curse of The Apprentice]
In his final moments, The Apprentice put a curse over the land he had created. Investing a final portion of his lifeforce into the RoK, he then perished. With this act, The Apprentice created a new god of the RoK- a nonsentient god. Although it is The Apprentice's lifeforce which gives the RoK this newfound power, the RoK is controlled by Ao.
By worshipping the RoK, it is the Jihad's belief that we sustain the lifeforce of The Apprentice, which will be used on the day of Judgement to resurrect Him. We also believe that our worship of RaGnArOk leaves an imprint of our souls, and that when the RoK strikes and Ao is destroyed, the Faithful will be remembered. And Reborn. All others, having left no imprint, will never have existed in the memory of The Apprentice.
In his fear of The Apprentice, Ao has hired an immortal, Sephiroth, to invoke The Prophecy. This is not the first time Ao has sent RaGnARoK. It has been sent many times before, and has always been beaten back. Ao believes that by hiring Sephiroth to invoke The Prophecy and reawaken The Apprentice, he can destroy The Apprentice forever. Unbeknownst to Ao, Sephiroth also follows our cause, and will instead assist in putting an end to Ao's evil.
RaGnArOk is both our death and our Salvation. For with its arrival, it brings great suffering, and destruction. When it strikes, it will destroy the Realms and itself- and resurrect The Apprentice. After Ao is destroyed by The Apprentice, he will no longer be able to send the RoK. And the Rebirth can begin. This is the True Prophecy of RaGnArOK, and what the Jenovese strive for. This is the curse of The Apprentice.
[The Prophecy Begins...]
In the year 1264, The Great Wizard Council announced a meteor was coming towards the planet, and they dubbed it RagNaRok. No one is certain why, but shortly after their announcement, the Great Council vanished. Some have speculated as to the reasons... disease, a great spell gone awry, and others have said they simply went into hiding... to research ways of stopping The RoK. One year after the announcement of its arrival, the giant meteor appeared as prophesied. Soon after it appeared, animals and other beasts began mutating into unnatural creatures. These creatures attacked nearby villages and desecrated all things holy. Meteorites and fireballs jettisoned forth from the great RoK. Chaos and destruction reigned supreme. And then, just as quickly as it began, it all stopped.
A war broke out between the Tripower Nation and the Vectorian Nation. The Vectorian Nation lies to the north of TriPower; a smaller but ancient nation built on Trade. Vector was attempting to to control the trading routes of the Tripower, which provoked war. The war was brief and savage, lasting only a few short months and ending with the assassination of Ganon Vector, Emperor. With the assistance of Sephiroth, Kefka (Head Advisor of Ganon) had accomplished the treacherous deed. Kefka seized the throne of Vector without hesitation, making cries for peace to the TriPower. Seducing the TriPower into a sense of friendship, Kefka easily got the aid he needed to cement his power base on the throne. That done, he once again unveiled his conniving spirit and lashed out at the TriPower. Another war was waged, more fierce than the last. Seeing the damage the war caused, some of the gods called a tournament in order to end it. All the nations, and even the most secretive of organizations attended the grand event. Weakened from the furious battles of the last few months, the MagiTek Army was quickly crushed under the heel of all who attended, and the tournament continued on.
After the tournament, a meeting was called of all the Nations of the Great Realms. The great Emperors met at Red Steel Castle, home of the god of nightmares, Nisstyre. Nisstyre informed everyone that the war was pointless at this time, and Ragnarok was a greater threat. He called on Sephiroth to explain the true meaning of RagNaRok. Sephiroth explained how Ragnarok was part of The Prophecy. Sephiroth explained of the curses laid upon the land. That when Ragnarok hits the world, The Apprentice will awaken from his dead sleep to reclaim the continent, and then the world. Sephiroth then explained that he was the messenger of Ao; that Ao had asked Sephiroth to put forth the Prophecy, and destroy The Apprentice. He then explained that The Four Elemental Swords of Ragnarok had the power to stop Ragnarok, when placed in The Temple Of Light.
Though no wars have been fought between the mighty empires in the year of 1268, important events have occurred. A great plague has swept through the Realms, called Hemelia. As quickly as the plague sent forth by The RoK spread, however, it was also cured- by Sephiroth. Two meteorites of gigantic proportions have split from the RoK, one landing in Ofcol (destroying the fine city), and the other in an unknown location to the north, near Vector.