Father Time

Father Time is one of the two principal deities in Ofadin, often invoked by the pragmatic and logical-minded in contrast to the more intuitive followers of Mother Truth. His temples are typically modest and seemingly unkempt—not due to neglect by his most devoted monks, the Epochs, but because of their reverence. Vines, dust, parasites, and flowers are allowed to overtake the crumbling stone walls, symbolizing the passage of time and honoring the Father's eternal march. According to the teachings of the Epochs, it was Father Time who first brought life into being. He tore a piece from himself, enduring immense agony, so that the drifting particles of potential might find purpose—striving toward his gift of longevity and experiencing a world born of unknown circumstances.     But the first lifeforms were cruel and grotesque, both in form and spirit. They waged endless wars over scraps of the Father's flesh and enslaved the substance of Mucena, seeking nothing but to steal time from others and hoard it for themselves. Chief among them was the Striking Queen, the most abhorrent of all her kin, who ruled with gore and terror. Her dominion ended when the titanic beings of the mountains and seas—jealous of her towering fortresses and skewered trophies—rose in fury. They tore her empire to pieces in a tide of wrath.     Witnessing the destruction and hate his sacrifice had birthed, Father Time was overcome with sorrow. From his black, all-seeing eyes fell a single tear. As it descended through the cosmos, glinting with the light of a million stars, it revealed to him a lone scene upon the world of Ofadin: a small, nameless meadow beneath a nameless tree. There, two creatures huddled together—the larger shielding the smaller from falling debris and ruin. There was no gain in it, no ulterior motive. What the Father beheld was a spark in the darkness: compassion without reward, empathy without purpose, kindness for its own sake.     And he felt pride.     He blessed the smaller beings—those who had hidden from the light and scraped by in silence. In their rise, Mother Truth came into being, a companion to the Father. She gave these fledgling lives emotion and sensation, so that they might experience the world not as a grey wasteland, but as something beautiful. Through her, they came to see and feel the poppies blooming on ancient battlefields.     Father Time’s worshippers, known as Epochs, are more devoted than the average citizen. They dwell in monasteries built around temples, which in recent times have been fortified with walls and towers. Marriage is permitted among them, provided their spouses also join the order. Their duties include daily prayer, charitable aid, construction, healing, and—most sacred of all—tending to the life that grows around, over, and within their temple grounds, sharing in the Father's gifts.