The First Imaginer

The First Imaginer is a mysterious figure from over two thousand years ago in Bazilia and, as her name suggests, was the first person to ever manifest the power of Imagining. There are hundreds of stories about her and she is hailed as a goddess in certain parts of the world, but the truth is that the First Imaginer, like all Gifteds, was still human.

And as her enemies closed in, this goddess-girl held out her hands, and tore the world apart.

— A well-known poem from 371 BEA

History

Little is known about the First Imaginer's birth and childhood. Tradition says that she was born to unremarkable parents just outside a large city-state in central Bazilia sometime after 400 BEA. Her name, Meica Araisah, can only be found in the oldest texts from the city-state she lived in when she was drafted into the army. According to these texts, Meica was somewhere between fifteen and twenty years old when she joined the army and moved into the city proper. Information on her parents can also be found here, revealing that her parents were both Non-Gifteds.   Less than a year after being drafted into the army, the city-state prepared to go to war. Details are scarce, but it is believed that a young man Meica was close to would be sent in the first wave of attackers. Meica attempted to stop this but was overpowered, and both she and the young man were sentenced to execution by arena fights. Meica and her friend were imprisoned for several days before they were forced to fight. Because they had been trained, they were able to survive longer than many other prisoners, but the king of the city-state grew angry and ordered they be put to death instantly.   What came next was described by the First Imaginer herself later on in a journal, one which was kept for years at the legendary Temple of the First Imaginer. Soldiers came to take the two away, dragging Meica's friend first. In desperation, Meica reached deep inside herself to a power that had long been slumbering and unleashed her rage on the soldiers about to kill her friend. This power was Imagining, a then-unseen ability that allowed her terrified mind to wreak havoc on the prison and soldiers. Meica and the boy with her escaped the prison but were cornered and corralled toward the arena where they would be executed in view of all.   executed the city's king, and made herself the city's new ruler, all in less than an hour.   Following this event, stories of her power spread throughout Bazilia and to other parts of the world. Meica, who was now called the First Imaginer, spread her empire slowly and carefully, making sure to protect her soldiers so that none would suffer as she and her friends had. Other rulers that met her would write about her confidence and unwavering strength, how she refused to keep her power secret, and the effortless way she would demonstrate it. Her soldiers would write of her inspiring leadership and the way she always knew what to do in battle. Her husband wrote of her growth from a scared   The First Imaginer reigned until approximately 330 to 325 BEA, when she died quietly of natural causes. After her death, her son took control of the empire, spreading his mother's legacy across Bazilia with diplomacy and peace. When stories of how the First Imaginer was no ordinary human but instead a goddess began to spread, the new king did nothing to stop them, possibly even giving them fuel so that his mother would never be forgotten. If that was his plan, he succeeded brilliantly. Thousands of people throughout history have worshipped the First Imaginer as a goddess, and every Gifted in Jerde knows of her.   No Imaginer has ever surpassed the First Imaginer's power and fame, although whispers in Tierhal claim the princess could be just as strong. But despite what others may say, the truth is certain: the First Imaginer was one of the most famous and influential people Jerde has ever seen.