The First Two Eras
'Somnium and Phantasma'
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'Legends and Lore'
'Mythos'
Creation myths ask and answer where we came from, where and how we began the plot; the overall mythos, which is not only our individual and family lives, but our cultural lives as well. In searching for self-identity, one goes to the beginning, how and where did we awaken to consciousness? These answers are necessary to understand who we are, but as no one can know for certain, we are left with the necessity of telling stories, of constructing metaphorical and symbolic narratives. Creation myth expresses the overall place and role of creation in time and space; in the world and the cosmos. - David A. Leeming.
The Creation myth is the most important story because it serves as a model for everything that precedes it, as Myth proclaims a central reality and builds a structure of valuation (religion) around and in relation to it. For this reason, myth concerns itself with the relation of the known to the unknowable, what the mind cannot think, the eye cannot see and the soul cannot fathom. This unknowable source is what constitutes absolute reality, and all myths attempt to define what cannot be objectified. To be an absolute reality, myths must be eternal, independent, active, and unchanging, and creation myths primarily proclaim this absolute reality in relation to all other realities in the making of a work of art. - Barbara C. Sproul.
Vita S.
['The Books of' ~]
Sacred Life.
The first Four of the 'Eras' are known through the teachings of the Reinnan religious text Vita S., and are known as 'Sacred History.'
The events spoken of in the Era of Dreams, followed by the Era of Illusions, and the Era of Origins are believed to have taken place when time did not yet toll.
Interpretations of the text's metaphorical, and symbolic meanings and narratives may vary according to different species, and cultures.
Each 'Era' is a 'Book' is divided into 'Sections' like the 'Chapters' of the Bible.
(Bible: John chapter 3, verse 16 - John 3:16. Vita S: Somnium Section 2, verse 5 - Somnium 2:5.)
'Era of Dreams'
'Somnium'
Somnium was the Era of Dreams, a primordial state of potential which was the beginning of creation that has never ended.
Section I explains when the Great Dreamer existed alone in the Void.
Section II tells of the Great Dreamer's loneliness which personified as the first deity, the Divine of Compassion.
Section III reveals the essence of the Divine of Love who was created from the Dreamer's tender affections for the Divine of Compassion.
The Dreaming
Timeless Time.
Mythology
I
From nothingness outside of time,
It dwelt immemorially in the Void.
Formless, wrapped in primordial darkness,
The Eternal One was potential.
Self-sustaining, the Dreamer slumbered,
In the emptiness of space.
Indefinable, unarguable, and unknown,
Sunken in silence unchanging and alone through eternity.
It would cross the infinite distances,
In pursuit of possibility, in search of mystery.
Yet still there was nothing, the void bereft of anything,
The Eternal One remained alone, self-moved, and undisturbed.
In ancient dreams, it grew to desire,
A fierce sorrow tormented the Dreamer's soul.
Unable to bear it's own loneliness,
One tiny drop in darkness called her.
Born of tears and misery,
Divine of Mercy.
II
Of formless energy and impression,
was the personification of Sorrow.
Dreamed first and foremost,
she calmed the Dreamer's fears.
"I am here."
Naik'lea
Oh, Beloved Mother of Loneliness,
I revere Thy Divine Compassion.
In thine presence, this soul truly sings.
Dwell in the recesses of this heart,
so that it will never give up and never lose hope.
The Mournful one comforts the broken who are her darlings,
So crush your heart, be broken, and in your suffering be loved.
III
From emptiness came infinite feeling,
the Dreamer unfurled love across Eternity!
It's Loneliness transformed into Compassion,
yearning flowed through the Universe.
The Dreamer's Heart so moved,
from fondness did divinity grow.
Cherishing all that was yet to come,
Noble Queen of the Endless Expanse.
Sila Vor
Oh, Evening Star,
Never stop whispering your kind affections.
Your eternal radiance fills the night skies,
You who are a protector of ill-fated lovers,
Help us to be loving and love-giving in return.
Please illuminate our hearts as you do the Eventide,
So in your embrace we will find the Mantle of your Love.
'Era of Illusions'
'Phantasma'
Phantasma was the Era of Illusions that shows all the visions the Dreamer would see of possible creation and destruction.
Section I opens with the Dreamer's fantasies of unknown worlds and explains the concept of infinite, separate universes.
Section II is during these illusionary visions where the second deity, the Divine of Illusions is revealed.
Section III manifests the Dreamer's hope and faith in the future of these illusions as the Divine of Light.
Section IV the Divine of Darkness materializes from the vast negative psychic energy composed of the horrors and desires of the Dreamer.
Section V the Dreamer sees visions of another universe where the Divines had children, and these Demi-Gods brought terrible war.
The Dreamer kills this rebellious brood and declares that the Divines are never to have children between them and makes it impossible to do so in all future realities.
Section VI in response to the endless misery and limitless sorrows made possible by thousands of Universes, the Divine of Compassion gouges out her own eyes in an attempt to avoid the horrors.
Yet the Divine of Compassion cannot escape the sounds and begins to weep in effort to save all of creation from suffering.
Section VII the Divine of battle and vengeance spawns from the terrible war between the Gods and Demi Gods in the other universes.
Section VIII from the excess and shambles of the countless Universes, the Divine of Chaos emerges.
Section IX in the Dreamer's need to Control these endless Universes, another being emerges from the Dreamer's essence, the Divine of Fate.
Section X The Divine of Law comes into being, spawned from Control and Chaos as Law is but one possibility of the infinite possibilities of Chaos.
Before Shape and Form.
Time is Meaningless.
The Divine Past.
I
From nothing, there was the begetting,
From the conception there was mystery,
From thought there was possibility,
From dreams there was illusion.
Was it not all illusion?
Everything the Dreamer seized was made of mist and imagery,
Things made with no physical reality.
This illusion had filled the Dreamer's emptiness,
as the Dreamer was himself part of the grand illusion.
Nothing else existed except itself.
Thoughts evoked, made manifest,
A thread of dreams within the gulf.
Who will search the wide infinities?
Count the universes side by side.
No end was there to what could be perceived,
The innumerable worlds and uncalled galaxies.
Destines undetermined and awareness of only one reality.
Cosmoses split apart by myriad differences,
fractured lines, and time's tipped balances.
Behind the veiling power of illusion and dreams,
All possible worlds in every universe were tied.
As branches, they rooted with the center of the Universe,
'The Heart World.'
Cor'terrae!
II
It had dreamed alone deep in revere.
Then new Mysteries were revealed,
Secrets unveiled on moon-beam wings.
An expression of a distinct quality,
The Lady of Illusions.
Tin'Duhil
Oh, Lady of the Veil,
We behold our deepest dreams,
and kiss the heights of your fantasies.
Dispel the mists of our illusions,
as we live inside our shrouds.
Your radiant face lavishes us with silken kisses,
The mantle of moon dust is your serene secrets.
III
The Dreamer was delighting in potentiality,
In all the visions of times to come.
For the hope that slept within,
a hymn of glory rose in sound.
A manifestation of outward faith,
a form stemming from splendorous light.
Created from innermost purity,
High King of Paradise.
Reinn Anon
Oh, Sovereign Angel,
All have perceived Thy Light supreme.
Strengthen the hearts of man through thine grace.
Bring me to salvation in thy righteousness,
so I may live my life in your faith and glory.
A Revelation to be shown, a judgment to be laid,
Illuminate the darkest depths beyond with your starkest radiance.
IV
From hope rose everlasting regret,
creation foreshadowed future destruction.
Calamity and misfortune gave way to ruination,
fear and corruption, unspoken truths of existence's undertaking.
Negativity and spite personified,
thought and emotion warped and amplified.
Emerging from the energies of the Void,
Father of Darkness.
Nanqa
Oh, Prince of Honour,
Anguish and Desire.
You who were always discarded,
annihilate the weak and helpless,
those unworthy of your favor.
Beyond others' sensibilities, from the blackest void inside your mind,
Duty and loyalty beside martial pride, demand of us our greatest sacrifice.
V
Seeking, the Dreamer wanted the unknown,
Countless visions did the pictures run.
Worlds of Light, Worlds of Darkness,
Heredity and progeny shaped one of the cosmoses to come.
Discord broke out among those Gods,
Steel and hate against one another.
Jarring and painful, brutal and rageful,
merciless weapons, without fear of rival.
So stunned, the Dreamer sat alone in black silence,
till his rage was known of these preparations of contention.
The Divine of Mercy raged and cried aloud at the strife,
grievous at the fate of her brethren assembled.
Changed events swayed the balance out of favor,
beings exalted were spawned of Divine kinship.
Bickering brutality, successors of Gods took issue,
all children had to be destroyed, destroy those in full rebellion.
No pity in the weapons, hastening the Demi-Gods' destruction,
The Dreamer decreed the fate of the Gods with all certainty.
"No children would be suffered born between the Divinities,
For the lives lived in vain of all those devoured and torn away,
and pain endured of those children the Dreamer had to slay."
Across every reality, the Dreamer thus ordained.
VI
Myriad Universes in endless,
Beauty, Love, and perfection.
All possible realities with limitless
Indifference, ignorance, and apathy.
To one who could see hundreds, thousands, and millions,
in distress and misery, she surrenders to the suffering.
She, who witnessed the struggles of all creation,
Ruptures her vision, gouged and taken, all that remains is sunken.
Left to hear the weeping of the world,
The cries of misery untold,
we seek solace in the rawness of the ladies' grief.
She who vowed never to rest until she had freed all from sorrows,
In loving kindness, she endures our adversity and teaches us empathy.
She who will take the place of innocence to take their punishment,
There is no fear in lying beaten and bloody or dying for the unfortunate.
Naik'lea, alone at the edge of her lake of tears,
called by our hate and tragedy, embraces our imperfections.
In a cosmos not just or fair, there is at least her sympathy.
Our refuge and our aid, with her forgiveness and perseverance.
Bless'ed is the Mother of Mercy,
Who pours forth a stream of endless tears.
Bless'ed is the Mother of Compassion,
Whose strength is the appalling fate that she has always known.
VII
As drums had rumbled the clash,
battalions once proudly marched.
When Gods were embattled in horrible war,
the courage and fury of the battleground soared.
A mark of struggle upon glorious fields,
clouds swam across those scarlet baths.
Where sweat and blood sated the fury,
of those walking the fearful path.
The Lord of Vengence.
Shyr'Vaero
Oh, Avenging Strife,
the Proud Vanquisher.
Stir and strengthen our rebellious spirits,
Stormer of strong walls drive away our cowardice.
The dauntless Boneheart who is fierce and untamed,
give the glory of battle to one side or the other.
I am a warrior that does not fight for glory or wealth, but surrenders my life,
To die for freedom and loyalty and my place among my departed kin.
My ancestors beckon me to Alasse Cir where your Brave may live on forever.
VIII
Worlds that lay twisted,
and brought to their knees.
Through the wreckage of war,
Universes spiral out of control.
Split into a thousand pieces,
so begins the games of trickery.
Where there is potential and progress,
there will be madness and mystery.
Prince of Chaos.
Jhes'Khasti
Oh, Masked Anarchy,
you, who are the Outcast.
Indulge our pleasures and excess,
no matter how immorally deep we fall.
Make the Divines fear your laughter,
and feed upon our plots and intrigues.
Take my soul, Renegade, and give me power untold,
Wrap us in your guises as you bring us our fortunes.
We desire change, that essential part of life in the universe.
IX
In the Dreamer's wish to restrict the Chaos,
a guiding hand only limited the turmoil.
With multiple worlds lying in ruins,
there must be a price to pay.
No one could fully comprehend the threads,
of the intricate nature of what was to come.
Even those Divines already spawned,
would not attempt to understand the plans.
There was a want of command across the Cosmoses,
and to reign in these unruly parallel Universes.
A need to Control the mysterious and unknown
sparks the formation of one not content to observe.
Weaver of Destinies
Wan'an'iena
Oh, Architect of Fate,
do not send us to the Abyss.
Weave your webs of Prophecy,
and hold onto our sanity.
All Seeing dictator of time,
bind the future to your will.
Your Prophecies will come true,
for it is all you know.
Ancient secrets lie so deep,
And are forever yours to keep.
Empress of Premonition.
X
Spawned from the cosmic order of the Universe,
that had found itself in infinite Chaos.
All find themselves connected, for we are all "One,"
our thoughts and actions have greater consequences.
Law would be one more possibility among many,
regulating both physical and moral perfection.
A magnification of the righteous,
She ruled over mortal justice.
Even-Handed Daughter.
Meiva
Oh, Guardian of Oaths,
You who are the friend of the wronged,
and protector of the righteous.
Always fair-minded and impartial,
the judicial court is your temple,
and there you preserve social order.
Punish the wrong-doer, the wicked, and the false,
those who lie, cheat, and thieve will earn your wrath.
Lady of Strategy whose sharp sword pierces the heart,
preserve internal stability and all lawful conduct.
Thus ended the Era of Illusions.
Click Through to the next Era 'Origins'!
All Original names and references to the story they are from are Copyright of Nathanial Davidson.