First Contact with the Ohmites

The land of the Ohmites, known as Paephera, existed untouched by any human for millennia. It was full of lush vegetation, and its mountain ranges sprawled across the land like veins. The concentration of ohmi within Paephera was also denser than any other area or land mass within Iorasica. Much of the fauna living there were similar to those found in Vanori today, but because of the ohmi concentration, their stark differences would frighten many in present times.   While the Ohmites spent most of their time inhabiting the areas around their wells, there were areas of the land where they would all commune for various rituals and ceremonies. They often frequented the Unbowed Forest, where birds of many species frequented. The Ohmites would seek certain birds to perform rituals for wisdom, omens, prophecy, or cosmic sight. They would spend days discussing their findings and record them in vast tomes for future analyses.   One day, while the Ohmites were performing a rite in a forest clearing, a man appeared at the tree line. He watched in awe at the Ohmites as they used ohmi to perform this ritual and watched the birds flutter under their incantations. During this ritual, the fire Ohmites Canicus and Soleil summoned an ephemeral phoenix to lead the birds in invocation. The phoenix, grandeur in stature, was something the man had never seen before. Out of complete shock and awe, the man screamed, drawing the attention of the Ohmites and halting the ritual.   Startled, they turned to face the direction from which the scream emerged. What stood before their eyes was a miniature, frail version of themselves. The man was emaciated, his eyes sunken and body covered head to toe in sores. They hesitated to approach him since they could not sense any sign of vitality emanating from him.   He started backward before a whoosh of wind knocked him on his back. Trying to gather enough strength to pick himself up, the air Ohmite, Zephyr, appeared before him. Zephyr towered a few feet above the man, and his skin shimmered as the sunlight beams shone between the trees. He stared inquisitively at the frail man and reached his hand out to see if he could sense through touch why the man was not emanating ohmi. The man kneeled immediately and began producing a sound Zephyr he could not recognize. Zephyr looked back at the others as they slowly inched closer to the two of them with a look of confusion. Hyperion, the Ohmite of Brio aether ohmi approached Zephyr and the man first. He kneeled between them and outstretched his hand to touch the man's shoulder. What Hyperion experienced next was a sensation he had never felt before. The man felt hollow inside, yet he could see with his own eyes the man was alive. Through touch, Hyperion could also begin to understand the sound the man was producing– speech.   Hyperion cast a net of ohmi between the other Ohmites to interconnect their minds so they could make sense of the sound the man produced. They could sense through the inflection of his voice that he was panicked, but his words told them something different. He began to tremble as they moved closer to him and slowly raised his gaze from the ground to see the other Ohmites in more detail. All of them shimmered in between the beams of sunlight. He noticed ten of them in total, paired as man and woman. The pairs also mirrored one another in appearance, except for Hyperion and Eris, the Ohmite of Tenebre aether ohmi.   The man continued to speak while the Ohmites listened, learning to comprehend what the man was saying. He pleaded with them for grace as he understood they were far superior to him. He believed he had been summoned to the forest on purpose and been led to a sanctuary as his health was ailing. He was in search of help for his village.   After facing a series of raids for several years from the surrounding tribes, the most recent attack devastated his village. Many of the villagers were also dying from an illness plaguing the village. While Hyperion listened intently, the other gods were emotionless. He noticed he was the only one experiencing a feeling not otherwise acknowledged before. He felt a deep sorrow for the man's plea for help.