Austerity and Pandemonium
The birth of the known universe by virtue of opposing yet complementary forces.
It´s difficult to define what came first: Order or Chaos. Like light and darkness, one cannot exist without the other. It is from the balance of both that life blossoms and the universe endures. And it was through their meeting that the world came to be, in the event known as 'Ýibil'.
Chaos was life and death, while Order was eternity and infinity. Without Order, Chaos is volatile, a pandemonium of unleashed creation and destruction. Without Chaos, Order is static, with no conception or evolution.
For millions of years there was harmony: from Chaos came the stars and planets, and from Order came the laws that keep celestial bodies in their orbits.
At some point, a small world caught the attention of the Beings. The globe gleamed like a prism, producing a spectrum of colors never seen before. Dazzled by their creation, Chaos and Order leaned over the planet and created their garden within it.
From Chaos came the seas, initially turbulent and treacherous; then Order made them cyclical, with a silver thread connecting them to a small shining satellite.
It was from this alliance that life finally emerged. First small, shy, insignificant in the vastness of the ocean. Soon it conquered the waves, the land, and the skies. Evolution is unstoppable, and the primal instinct in some beings gave way to reason. It is said that Chaos and Order marveled at the grandeur of their work: an entire universe existed in the consciousness of their offspring.
But this consciousness also inherited the darker aspects of the Two. From Order came rigidity and intolerance, from Chaos came impulsiveness and destruction.
With the emergence of societies, wars also arose. Conflicts between individuals were common, and inherent to Creation, but never before had such a level of slaughter been seen.
A rivalry arose between the Beings. On one side, Order believed the mortals should be controlled, while on the other, Chaos corrupted itself and delighted in the frenzy of the battlefields.
The truth is that neither of the Two had anticipated how the actions of their offspring would influence them. The bond between creators and creation is powerful. If there was war in the material plane, in the incorporeal one, those who once balanced each other began to fight for supremacy.
An era was lost in blood and ashes, and only when the world was on the brink of collapse did the Two look at each other and realize with horror what they had done.
In an attempt to end the conflict, the Beings provoked a cataclysm that shook the foundations of the planet, in what became known as the Aurora. The most wicked beings were banished to a Plane of darkness and despair, the Umbral; the great original continent was divided into three and of all the inhabitants, seven were chosen to ascend as deities.
Devastated by the guilt of so many lost lives and hopeful for the awakening of a new era, the Two decided to withdraw from history, placing themselves in a deep slumber. It would then be up to each species to find the balance between the aspects of their original patrons.
However, despite the random division of lands aiming to unite the different peoples, not all had the desired outcome. In many places, ancestral conflicts persist, while others have found harmony in their differences.
The known history of the universe
Ýbil: The creation of the universe
The Age of Sylkora: The First Era, before known life
The birth of Pryös: The beginning of known life
The Age of Infancy: Development of first civilisations
The Strike: The start of the Great War
Aurora: Cataclysm provoked by Chaos and Order, banishment of the Unworthy, ascencion of the New Pantheon, division of the great continent
Age of Multitudes: Era of adaptation to the new nations
The New Pantheon
Amid a gruesome war, seven mortals from different origins were chosen to rule over the new age.
| God | Dominion |
|---|---|
| Röd | God of fire, passions, love and war. |
| Òma | Goddess of seasons, agriculture, hearth, and family. |
| Melyn | God of dawn, youth, creativity, mischief and rebirth. |
| Vihrea | Goddess of nature, generosity, health and vitality |
| Ni'e | God of the ocean, storms, longevity and loyalty. |
| Ýio | Goddess of night, wisdom, magic and dreams. |
| Casta | God of twilight, death, justice and riches. |
Cultural Reception
There are communities that still wait for the return of the Prime Beings; although most of them seem to worship one to the detriment of the other. In spite of some scholars' attempts to preserve the ideals of the harmony of the Two, it is a widespread phenomenon that of villainizing the opposite deity. As such, followers of Order tend to be in constant conflict with Chaos's devotees.
Meanwhile, The New Pantheon has been adopted by the majority of the population. Across the continents countless temples have been raised to honour the ascended gods and its acolytes tend respect and acknowledge each other.
In Literature
Mine salvation and mine undoing, ne'er let go of mine hand, for thou and I art one and the same. Let us fashion the stars and the heavens, that we mayst together dance unto eternity.
Chaos and Order's story was already a tale passed through generations when the first writing methods started being used. Through the ages, the myth has evolved and changed, inspiring books, songs, poems and plays.
In spite of their primarily neutral essences and platonic relationship - according to the oldest documents available in Ýio's Seminary -, the Two's nature has been adapted to fit mortal principles.
First and foremost, although essentially incoporeal, they were soon given genders. Order being usually described as female and Chaos as male; their cosmic strife reduced to a lovers' quarrel. This misrepresentation is the most commom, but there also texts portraying them as siblings or mortal enemies from different backgrounds/planes of existence.
They have also been assigned archetypes of light and darkness - light corresponding to Order and darkness to Chaos -, even though the most dedicated academics agree that, if anything, light should be originated from chaos.
One thing prevails throughout written history though: Chaos is always depicted as a villain. Whether it be a tragic one worthy of redemption or a vile creature of utter destruction, Chaos' original virtues seem to be lost to the general population.
In Art
The Legend of Austerity and Pandemonium has been depicted in every shape and form since before the discovery of the written word. Ancient temples, murals and artifacts can be found across the lands portraying the tale of the Two, although as it is with the known texts, the visual depictions of the dyad seem to follow the same misconceptions.
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
Comments