The Birth Of The Gods

After five million years, the Intelligent Races had achieved a lot. They used metal tools, rode tamed beasts, and had made cities. All and all, they were more or less at the technological level of the real-life Roman Empire. Life was not good for the average person, but it was fairly stable.   But then, it all changed.   Just as it did five million years before, the sky began to swell with magic, the raw mana of the universe taking form over Ecumene as a sea of color. The people of the world looked to Heavens, crying and screaming that the world was ending, that their Gods had forsaken them after some unknown sin. In a way, they were right. The world as they knew it was no more.   The event, which is also known as The Second Great Surge, did not give life to any beasts, no. It gave life to three all-powerful, all-knowing deities. They had no physical forms besides pure light that they could change to their will, but as soon as they were born unto the universe, they knew their purpose. After the lights subsided, and the people of the world realized they were, in fact, not dead, they breathed a sigh of relief and tried to make sense of it all. However, they were hardly able to collect their thoughts before three balls of light appeared in the skies above them. By now, the people were shocked into silence, but as they looked upon the lights, their eyes did not hurt, no. Instead, their minds and bodies were soothed as they looked upon their new Gods, who then began to speak:   "WE, THE TRINITY, ARE YOUR GODS. WE ARE THE ONLY TRUE GODS AND NO SPIRIT OR IDOL SHALL BE PLACED ABOVE US. THE SOULS OF THOSE WHO PRAISE US WILL BE GIVEN A SUPREME AND MOST BLESSED PEACE. THOSE WHO REFUSE US SHALL BURN. BE NOT AFRAID, FOR WE ARE YOUR MOST SUPREME KINGS OF KINGS, AND SHALL CARE FOR YOU IN THIS LIFE AS WE SHALL CARE FOR YOU IN THE NEXT".   This was good enough for most people, who bowed in reverence of their new lords. Those few that refused to believe it was true or held onto the Pagan Gods, were turned to ash in the street. For the next five years, the Kings and Clerics of the world were thrown into chaos as they formulated new faiths around the Trinity, although records show that most religious practices were not changed too much and were simply adapted to be more fitting for either one God or all of the Trinity at once. The most notable example of this is the assassination of the King of the Immortal Kingdom, Julijonas. Like many, many generations before him, King Julijonas was believed to be a living God by his people. However, almost as soon as the Gods finished their speech, the people of the ancient city of Sulaca (with help from the Royal Guard) stormed the palace in a rage. The King and his family were dragged out into the street and all disemboweled for their treachery. As a result of this, the Dracon folk religion is notable for being almost the only one to go through a major adaptation, interpreting the Trinity as a group of beings from another world that had come to conquer this one as their own. The Dracons, of course, needed to help in this endeavor, so the Immortal Kingdom technically remained, just under a new theocratic dynasty devoted to world conquest in the names of what they called the "Traveler Gods".   While the Intelligent Races did most of the heavy lifting, the impact of the Gods themselves upon the theology of the world cannot be left unstated. For the first three years of their lives, the Gods truly cared for the people of the world and were absolutely fascinated by them. They walked Ecumene in upright forms, wandering the world to bless random people and to impart wisdom onto them. In fact, the only reason we know of the First Great Surge is because of the Gods. Each member of the Trinity became uniquely fascinated by some sector of society during the time period. Yxotl loved the soldiers and sailors, Qhaxsus loved the farmers and merchants, and Oxlan loved the craftsmen and scholars.   However, as it is with mortals, so it is with Gods. Before long, they realized that even if they disappeared, the Intelligent Races would worship them with the same fervor they do know. The Trinity stopped seeing the mortals as equals worthy of study, but rather pets who must give the Trinity their total respect. How they went about that respect is up to them, as long as prayers still slip from their lips. In the years of 4 and 5 E.D., the number of blessings and sightings of the Gods slowly declined until they were a thing of the past as the Gods retreated into some unknown place of the universe where they can still watch the goings-on of Ecumene. However, the Gods were right. In all their omnipotence, they correctly deduced that the mortals would worship them just as much as they did when they walked the land, if not more. This status quo has remained until today, with the Gods silently watching as time marches on.