Journey of Knowledge

Born from the essence of the Fallen Elder Gods, Volnen emerged as a being of curiosity and boundless ambition. Unlike many gods who were content to govern their domains or revel in their power, Volnen had an insatiable desire to understand. His birth was a moment of renewal, a fragment of the ancient chaos refined into something new. This god was not merely a custodian of divine wisdom but an explorer of mysteries yet unveiled. Though Volnen carried the fragmented memories of the Elder Gods within him, their knowledge was incomplete. Their understanding of existence predated the creation of the World Tree Vorrill and the intricate network of the nine realms it connected to Volnen; this lack of understanding was intolerable.   He often gazed upon Vorrill, its roots stretching into shadowed depths and its branches piercing the heavens, wondering what secrets lay hidden within its vast expanse. While the other gods debated their roles in this new order, Volnen prepared for his journey. With a staff forged from a shard of Vorrill’s bark and a cloak spun from the mists of the Void, he became the first god to traverse the World Tree’s great branches. During his journey, he had come to learn many things about the realms and the knowledge they held with them. It would significantly change his understanding of what was happening and allow him to gain much wisdom; it was at the final length of his journey when he reached the realm of Athelheim, at the top of the word tree, everything for him.   The journey to Athelheim was unlike any Volnen had undertaken before. The branches leading upward were thin and treacherous, cloaked in blinding mists that seemed to sap strength and resolve. The air grew thin, and an unnatural silence enveloped him, broken only by the faint hum of Vorrill’s lifeblood coursing through its branches. As he climbed, Volnen felt a growing weight upon his being. It was not the fatigue of the body, for gods did not tire as mortals did, but a deeper, more profound heaviness. It was as if the very essence of Athelheim pressed against him, testing his resolve and worthiness to reach its heights. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he breached the mists and stood upon the threshold of Athelheim.   Athelheim was a place of indescribable beauty and serenity. The air shimmered with a golden light that seemed to emanate from everywhere and nowhere at once. The ground beneath Volnen’s feet was not earth or stone but a surface of translucent crystal, through which he could see the vast network of Vorrill’s branches stretching below. This realm was quiet, yet it was not the silence of emptiness. It was a silence brimming with potential, a pause before the first note of a song. Here, Volnen felt the presence of something vast and ancient, a power that dwarfed even the mightiest of the Elder Gods. Above the branches of Athelheim stood a great font of light, pulsing with a rhythm that seemed to echo the heartbeat of existence itself. Volnen knew, without being told, that this was the Source of Eternity, a fountain of knowledge of all that came before and the wellspring of all creation, which was as old as the Wheel of Ages itself.   At that moment, the Source spoke to him, not in words, but in a resonance that filled his very being; it offered him a choice. To become one with them is a flow of creation; in doing so, he would transcend his identity as Volnen and exist as pure knowledge, timeless and infinite. Or, he could return to the realms below, carrying with him only fragments of the truths he had glimpsed, forever changed but still himself. Volnen hesitated; the promise of ultimate understanding was alluring, but he thought of the nine realms and his fellow gods with the world that they sought to rule over; all were still you and held much potential with the knowledge he could give them to abandon them now would be just a waste of what he sought to achieve. Yet he refused to give up gaining more knowledge, even a sliver of it he had to bring back with him, so with all of his might, he plucked out one of his own eyes and offered to the source, knowing all too well that power always came at a price and with a fraction of the Source of Eternity was absorbed into him and gain more than he could comprehend as his mind attempted to process vast knowledge revealed to him lose his footing and fall of the branches of the Vorrill and descend to the very roots of the world tree and into Fralvok, the Realm of Madness and Chaos.   Volnen’s descent ended in the deepest roots of Vorrill, in Fralvok. This was a place unlike any other, where the primordial energies of the Elder Gods lingered, raw and untamed. The landscape was ever-shifting, a cacophony of distorted colors, sounds, and shapes that defied logic. Fralvok was a realm of paradox, where time looped and fractured, and the boundaries between thought and reality blurred. The very air was heavy with the whispers of the Elder Gods, their fragmented voices weaving a symphony of insanity. The remnants of the old chaos from which the World Tree had sprung still roamed freely. Volnen’s arrival was met with the realm’s embrace. The chaos recognized him as kin, for he now bore the mark of the Source, a sliver of the eternal that resonated with the chaotic energies of Fralvok. Yet, this connection was a double-edged sword. While the fragment of the Source shielded him from complete dissolution, it also made him a beacon, drawing the attention of the chaos-born entities that dwelled in the realm.   Volnen faced his greatest challenge. The knowledge he had taken from the Source began to fragment, splintering his mind as it clashed with the chaotic energies of the realm. Visions of infinite possibilities, alternate realities, and forgotten futures assailed him. For what felt like eons, Volnen wandered the shifting landscapes of Fralvok, his once-clear purpose obscured by the madness that sought to consume him. The memories of his journey across the nine realms, his connection to the Source, and his identity as Volnen threatened to unravel. Yet, amidst the chaos, fragments of clarity emerged. If the Source of Eternity offered order, what knowledge of what has yet to be brought to him realizes the potential of chaos?   He began to piece together his shattered mind, using the knowledge he had gained to navigate the realm’s madness. After an eternity of wandering, Volnen reached the very edge of Fralvok, where the chaos coalesced into a swirling vortex of darkness and light, creation and destruction intertwined. This was the Abyssal Well, a manifestation of possibility born from the remnants of the Elder Gods’ primordial chaos. Unlike the Source of Eternity, which radiated serene order, the Abyssal Well pulsed with a wild, unpredictable energy that seemed to shift with every moment. The Well was not static; it was a maelstrom of potential, constantly creating and unmaking itself. Here, the chaos of Fralvok found purpose, and Volnen realized that this was the missing counterpart to the Source of Eternity. Together, they represented the duality of existence: order and chaos, the known and the unknown, the eternal and the ephemeral.   The Abyssal Well loomed before Volnen, a vortex of swirling shadows and glimmers of light, embodying the infinite potential of chaos. As he approached, its energies surged outward, clawing at his essence like a storm of raw emotion and thought. It was not a simple barrier but a trial that sought to unravel him, to test the depth of his understanding and the strength of his resolve. Volnen was no stranger to challenges, yet this was unlike anything he had faced. The Well tore into his psyche, exposing the delicate threads of his being. He stood witness to visions of himself: as a conqueror, as a savior, as a recluse hiding from the burdens of his power. He saw a version of himself consumed by the Source’s light, detached from the world he sought to guide, and another lost to the chaos of Fralvok, a husk of ambition adrift in the madness.   These reflections were not meant to torment but to question him, forcing him to confront the question that had always lingered in the shadows of his mind: what was the purpose of his knowledge if he could not control its destiny? The Abyssal Well spoke to him—not in words but in sensations and emotions, a pulsing rhythm that resonated in his very soul. It demanded something from him, a sacrifice greater than any he had made before. The Source of Eternity had granted him unparalleled knowledge, but now the Well called for his trust in chaos, a leap into the unknown. Volnen’s fractured mind reeled at the ultimatum. To surrender himself entirely to the Abyssal Well would mean letting go of the very foundation of his identity: the certainty and structure granted by the Source. He realized that his dual connection to order and chaos was tearing him apart, and to survive this crucible, he needed to relinquish part of himself.   In a moment of clarity, Volnen understood what was required. The Source’s wisdom, while powerful, was a tether to his past, a light that blinded him from embracing the infinite unknown. With a heavy heart, he reached up and plucked out his remaining eye, the one that radiated with the light of the Source. The pain was unlike anything he had known, not merely physical but spiritual. As the eye left his body, it seemed to take with it a part of his essence, the tether to the Source’s ordered light that had guided him for so long. With trembling hands, Volnen cast the eye into the Abyssal Well as the swirling chaos swallowed its light.   The Well surged with energy, a crescendo of chaotic forces that wrapped around him, threatening to tear him apart. Yet, in this moment of surrender, something extraordinary happened. The chaotic energies did not consume him but instead wove themselves into the void left by his sacrifice. The emptiness where his eyes had once been became filled with a new vision, one unbound by the limits of order or the constraints of knowledge. As the storm of the Abyssal Well subsided, Volnen emerged transformed. He was now blind to the physical world, yet his sight had expanded beyond comprehension. In place of his eyes were voids of shifting light and shadow, reflecting the balance he had achieved. He no longer needed to see the world as it was, for he could perceive its infinite potential, the dance of order and chaos that gave rise to all things. Volnen had become a being of pure duality, embodying both the structured wisdom of the Source and the boundless possibilities of the Well. His presence radiated a calm intensity, a paradox of serenity and turbulence that inspired awe in all who beheld him.   Volnen would return to the gods completely different than what he was once before, knowing more than any other them ever could. They may have become more powerful since they last met, yet they were unmatched in power, which Volnen had achieved in his journey. Through him, the gods found their way to Athelheim, where it would be declared the realm of the gods living in a paradise of their own making. Here, the Volnen planned the creation of humanity by taking pieces of the world tree's branches and placing them in Middenhal, where they bestowed knowledge and thought to them. He would be forever known as the All-Seer for his boundless knowledge and understanding of the cosmos.   His vast knowledge would also secure his reign as king among the gods; none of the gods would dare challenge him, for he had gained many powers and bestowed upon them many gifts that made him loved by them. Yet this power also came at a hefty price, as knowing so much made him realize the potential danger that could easily see the world undone by powers with and outside the realms. It would have often had him continue his knowledge across the realms in secret to avoid prying from knowing what he was planning. Having continually foreseen the potential future and Fate of so many things only makes the king of gods more concerned over them. It made it all the more reason to be prepared to face whatever challenge that may lie ahead to face them with victory in hand.

It is a well-known tale found across the Continent of Norria that many learn from a young age.

The story of how Volnen became what he is today is often told to teach mortals the price that comes with power and how the gods became what they are today thanks to them. Even the creation of Humanity was thanks to the knowledge he acquired to grant them the life they have now. All have come to learn the power of the All-Seer and ensure that they pay him respect to gain his favor or suffer his wrath should they ever cross his path.