The Gods and Creation

PREHISTORY

Creation and the Four Elder Gods

The world began as a roiling mass of pure chaos. Four lone beings wandered this wasteland, searching for purpose: The Earth, Terrenus Regem; the Sky, Dominus Caelum; the Sun, Regina Solis; and the Moon, Domina Lunae. Only when they found each other did the world begin to take shape. As each pair of gods found each other, their domains revealed themselves. The physical earth and sea did not separate to form islands and shores until their overseers came together, and the sun and moon did not shine until their rulers knew each other's touch.

At first, there was only the physical. Each pair of gods shaped an aspect of the concrete world. They spent years perfecting the land, and it was beautiful, but it was empty. For a time, they were satisfied with this.

The Council of the Four

Over time, Solis and Lunae grew lonely. They had each other, yes, but still they craved more. Terrenus and Caelum, on the other hand, thought the world was perfect as it was and should not be tampered with. The four gods gathered together for a long, intense debate on what they should do with their new world. The Sun and Moon proposed the idea of humanity– intelligent creatures to fill the world and enjoy its beauty. At first, the Earth and Sky vehemently opposed this. They argued that if these “humans” were given free will, they would eventually come to destroy the world that they had spent so long perfecting. The Sun and Moon replied that while granting the humans free will would make this outcome possible, it would not make it inevitable. And without free will, while they would lose their capability to destroy, they would also lose their capability to create something new. 

After much deliberation, a compromise was reached. Solis and Lunae would create the human race to occupy their world, and their children, the Stars, would watch over them and help them grow. Terrenus and Caelum would fill the world with their own children, the Dragons, who would guard the natural world and keep humanity in line without interfering too much.

THE DAWN ERA

The First Humans

Soon after the Council concluded their debate, humanity began on earth. And with their birth, so too were the first Stars born– the children of the Sun and Moon. Instead of ruling over an aspect of the physical world, these newborn gods oversaw emotion and thought. When the first humans appeared, among them were two divine children. These children, though small and physically the same as those around them, would go on to teach their peers what it meant to live and die. And when they had done so, passing on as much understanding as they were able, they returned to the sky, where their mothers waited for them with open arms. They took the form of a binary star, orbiting around one another for the rest of time.

Not long after, the next time the Sun and Moon crossed one another in the sky, another set of twins was sent to live among humans. These Stars taught the people about love, family, solitude, and grief, and how to live with these complex feelings. And like their siblings before them, they returned to the sky when their work was done. 

This pattern continued for many generations, a new pair of Star children being born to teach humanity a lesson after every eclipse. In the beginning, these eclipses occurred quite frequently, so there were usually multiple pairs of Stars walking the earth at once. Over time, as humanity began to understand itself better, these eclipses became less and less frequent. 

As all of this was happening, the Dragons roamed the earth as well. For a long time, humanity didn’t know of their existence at all. They stayed hidden, guarding over nature in solitude. But as both their own and humanity’s populations grew, interaction became inevitable. Over time, the Dragons made their presence known, and eventually came to live among humans peacefully.

THE MODERN ERA

Thousands of Stars now fill the sky, and thousands of Dragons walk the earth. No new Dragons have been born in centuries, but since they remain in sight, there are none who doubt their existence– only those who do not believe that they deserve to be worshiped. No Stars, on the other hand, have walked among humans in generations, and thus, some are beginning to wonder if they ever existed at all. Many believe these Star children to be a myth, but those who still believe pray daily for guidance from these beings, knowing them to be far wiser than any human. Perhaps it is only their absence that created this level of reverence, allowing people to believe that the Stars are more perfect than they actually were. As none alive have actually met a Star, there are few who still think of them as human. 

Nonetheless, worship of the Stars remains quite prevalent to this day. Priests suggest always praying to both members of a pair for the most well-rounded advice. It's hard to prove if these prayers are truly answered or not, but many gain clarity from the practice nonetheless. 

The Island Nation

The Island Nations are the world’s center of Moon and Star worship, being a theocracy with these gods at the center. Each city-state in the region is led by a temple devoted to a specific Star, and while not every temple is the head of one of these city-states, every Star at least has a temple. Many of the temple heads are direct descendents of the Star they worship. The largest province is instead led by the temple of Domina Lunae, the mother of all Stars.

The Forest Nation

Citizens of the Forest Nation mainly worship the Dragons, and are extremely reverent of them. Nearly all adults in the region are some kind of mage, having formed a pact with a specific Dragon in exchange for power. Like the Dragons, the people of the Forest are highly respectful of nature, so they get along quite well.

The Mountain Nation

Inhabitants of the Mountain Nation mainly worship Regina Solis, having brought over their religion from the sunny deserts of their homeland. The natives of the region follow the Terrenus Regem and Dominus Caelum, and as the groups have homogenized, so have their religions, leading to a prominent space for all three gods in their worship. The Moon, Stars, and Dragons are not ignored, just not placed on quite as high a pedestal. 

The Cult of the Silent Mountain: A small group of the native population that refused to assimilate with their neighbors still exclusively worships Terrenus Regem and Dominus Caelum. This tribe believes that the Celestials were wrong to put humans on earth, and should have left the land uninhabited like the Earth and Sky originally wanted. Though the gods themselves no longer share this sentiment, the tribe continues to preach that humanity is a plague on the earth, and should be removed by any means necessary. This group is small, and thus poses no significant threat to humanity as a whole, but woe unto any outsiders who dare to approach their territory. Their hatred for their fellow humans knows no bounds, and they will not hesitate to eliminate any who oppose their views.

The Desert Nation

Religion is more complicated in the Desert Nation. Many upper-class individuals and politicians show a blatant disregard and even violent attitude towards the gods, especially the Dragons, who they have gone to war with multiple times. Most commoners, however, do not share this attitude and are instead working to repair their relationship with the Dragons. The Earth and Sky still hold a grudge for the killing of so many of their children during the aforementioned Dragons Wars, and thus, their worship is almost nonexistent in the Desert nation. The Sun and Moon, however, being humanity’s creators, are much more forgiving. The Moon and Stars are largely ignored in the region, but the Sun is impossible to avoid, her light being the source of nearly all of the nation’s power and wealth. Citizens of the Desert recognize this, but still they think of Regina Solis less like a god and more like a business partner. 

The Sky City

In the Sky City, attitudes towards the gods are quite different. Mages still benefit from the gods’ power, but there is no reverence held for them.