Creation Myth
From the forthcoming Celestial Codex, a creation myth for Amtgard. Submitted By Luke.
In the Beginning, there was Void and the Universe was without form. It has been surmised that amid the formless Chaos of the Beginning, a Word was uttered, though there were none to hear it. The Word became what we will call The Supreme Being, He Who Was First and Will Be Last, the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning of Everything and Its Ultimate End. To call this Being a god would be nearly blasphemous, for His Power cannot be measured or gauged by neither the brains of mere mortals nor the minds of even the highest forms of existence. He simply Is, Was and Always Will Be.
The Supreme Being sought to create other things, for in order to survive the Void, one must have a pattern to make sense of the nothingness. His First Word was His Opposite and Equal, a partner and companion to share this new dominion. It is easiest to think of Her as the Feminine to His Masculine, Wife for a Husband, for again the mortal mind cannot hope to fathom the depths and intricacies of even the most basic celestial, much less the awesome relationships between the mightiest immortal beings to have ever been. Suffice to say, They were One and Separate, Two Who Made Whole, and the Heavens shook with their love and passion for being.
So They created other Words and the beings who would speak those words, and while They had the chance, created the opposites of those first Words, so that a pattern might emerge from the Void. After a time of creating Words and the beings to speak them, the Supreme Beings would pause to thoughtfully examine what they had made and what more they might create. And so did Darkness and Light first enter the world, as did Fire and Water, Earth and Sky, and other words of eternal importance. With that out of the way, the Supreme Beings retreated again for a time, but whether to contemplate further what They had created or decide Their next creations, none can say. So it was that the first Divine Entities were roused from the slumber of the Void and set out to explore this strange new place called Existence.
Existence, it turns out, is remarkably huge, but equally empty for the most part. Thus, while the Supreme Ones turned inward, the First Beings spread out and began their own attempts at Creation. Darkness begat Shadow, Light begat Heat and so forth, until the cosmos veritably resounded with a chorus of new words and concepts heretofore unknown. Naturally, the First Ones were justifiably proud of their works and set about sharing their creations with one another, which led to the inevitable exchange of ideas and cross-pollinating of concepts. So it was that Earth, Sky, Fire and Water got together to create the very first material planes of existence. It was not long (cosmologically speaking) until the First Ones had given birth to a plethora of dimensions, worlds, elemental planes and spheres of chronicity, including without a doubt, the realm of Amtgardia, a sort of semi-realized place located near the nexus of dozens of worlds and times.
Upon these new worlds Life began, quite accidentally and without the nudging of any particular being. Life, it turns out, had plans of its own, and would have very little to do with divine beings at first. Life, being a natural and random function of existence, had more in common with the Supreme Beings than with the Firstborn. Life followed the example of the Supreme Beings by building for a while, then retreating to decide what should happen next. After a particularly long rest period between the ice ages, evolutionary leaps and continental drifts, Life discovered something completely bizarre: some mortal creatures had developed the ability to create, or rather procreate, themselves. Never before had one being sought to replicate itself, and this was greeted with mixed feelings by many higher entities, who thought that only they, the Chosen of the Heavens, should be allowed to experience the joys of creating (for Emotion had only recently been born and spread like wildfire, allowing Beings to have opinions for the first time!).
And so the first conflict in history divided the Host of the Heavens along the lines of those who supported mortals in their endeavors and those who sought to keep the universe free of the ravages of Time. For, as the theory goes, Time cannot exist without something mortal to measure it, thus by filling Creation with mortal creatures, the Divine Beings would be forced to obey a new set of laws governing Time as well as Space. Gone would be the freewheeling Eternal Present of the Beginning, and their ability to travel across vast reaches of the Void on a whim. To many, this was an acceptable loss, since mortals proved to be quite interesting and entertaining, able to occupy the attentions of a divine being for eons of evolutionary time. To others this was the ultimate insult, pale and weak creatures of the flesh imposing actual rules upon the very beings that saw to their creation. With such an outpouring of otherworldly attention on both sides of the issue, it is scarce wonder what happened next.
While those that would soon be known as Angels and Demons waged a verbal war of words against one another, some mortals made another remarkable discovery. Apparently mortal will, fuelled by the proper sacrifices, emotions and/or desires, could not only summon lower-level entities to their presence, but could actually force an immortal into a type of temporary servitude! Once bound to a summoner, the entity could be made to perform tasks ranging from menial labor to earth-shattering acts of destruction.
The rift between those who encouraged the development of ephemeral life and those who sough the unfettered freedom the Eternal Present began it‚s slow crawl toward epic proportions. Few would admit to being surprised when a particularly belligerent celestial finally took offense at some random mortal whim and through it‚s own direct action deliberately took the life of its summoner.
It was called Murder, this new sin, and none can recall what the entity was known as before that moment. Through a singular act of betrayal, Murder caused a chorus of dissonant new words to form; from the Void emerged a motley collection of Treachery, Fear, Defiance and, worst of all, He who would one day become The Adversary. At first, Free Will seemed a blessing amid the cacophony of freshly born words screaming across the ever-expanding Heavens. The chance to choose one‚s course of action, as opposed forced servitude or preconceived notions of behavior was so radical, so innovative, that it was the first concept since Creation Itself to effect every single celestial, regardless of affiliation, motivation, form or function. All Existence echoed with a world-shattering refrain of rapturous exaltation accompanied by an overwhelming crescendo of bickering and squabbling from the divided Host.
Yet, still another word crept quietly into Reality, barely noticed above the roar of Free Will though ultimately no less powerful, for Murder had beget another Dark Son - a Son who immediately outshone in Father in importance to the Great Plan. Yes, very soon afterward did Murder recognize a new master, one whom many, if not all, beings would call thus: Death.
An eerie silence filled Creation; almost as quickly as the noise began did it seem to fade away into a hushed, conspiratorial whisper. In every place where Mortal and Immortal came together did this shadow fall, for Fear had begun its dreadful work. The brave souls who sough solace in, or wished to comfort, their divine attendants did so now with trepidation and an unspoken apprehension. For those who sought to exploit the Otherworldly soon learned the folly of such abuses and so were made harsh examples of for all to heed. Luckily, the mortals soon discovered which entities they could trust and which were prone to taking offense to their entreaties.
Existence spread at a phenomenal pace, and while many eons passed in the now-limited lives of mortals, the celestials registered this as an Age Unheralded - an era all could witness and none could say had begun or when it might end. Between their own divine experience and the continued interaction with mortals across the multiverse, Creation had expanded at an almost alarming rate. The Void had been forced to collapse and buckle back unto itself, jeopardizing the very fabric of reality - the very flesh of the Supreme Ones.
All trembled before the waking storm as the First Amongst First roused from Their distant slumber. A single utterance from He Who Was First And Will Be Last caused a cataclysmic reverberation across Existence; a syllable from His Companion and all the Physical Universe froze into an Eternal Instant. As the Father gained His Children‚s attention, the Mother called Her Offspring to task. During that Perpetual Moment, every celestial was brought together in the first - and last - Great Assemblage. In a clear and resolute tone, the Supreme Beings decried the Angelic Wars as an abomination unto Their Eyes and the further spread of reality a hazard to Creation Itself. They explained that the Void is akin to a limitless gulf and the whole of Existence a mere bubble in a sea of Nothingness. Should Creation grow too large, too unmanageable even for the vast powers of such deific beings as the celestials, then the fabric of the bubble is sure to burst, spilling the contents of countless experiences in the Void, lost forever.
The Stewardship of the Universe was to be shared by all of the Heavenly Host, so spake the Supreme Ones. For without the watchful guardianship of the celestials, Creation was surely doomed. From that point forward all members of the Host would be held to a higher standard, and each charged with strong-holding Existence against further strife and the potential ravages of the Void. To facilitate the Stewardship, the Supreme Ones promised to separate the Host from most mortal activities, and create for them a perfect place of heavenly significance, a place free from the constrains of Time and Space. The newly refocused celestials would pursue more ethereal endeavors, free of any undue harassment from untoward conjurers and less-than-altruistic intentions.
So did the Heavens and Earth divide in twain and so did an exodus of celestials ascend to the Gates Everlasting. As the Supreme One's opened the Gates, did They invite all who would, the chance the join Them in Their Holy Home. And They did allow all who chose to serve the Great Plan into the Heavens, for was this not the most perfect chance to make All Things Right?
And, with a singular phrase, did the face of Existence change forevermore.
No! Free Will spake aloud, for His Voice was mighty and swollen with newfound power, giving pause to the Ascending Host and attracting the attentions of the Supreme Beings. They spake as One, but somehow Their Voice had changed tone, as though the Two were more than Two, but at once greater and lesser for it.
So, this is the Bringer of Light, spake the Supreme Ones, this is the Great Uniter and Ultimate Divider? You think Your Choice a matter of Free Will, though We call you now by a different name. You shall be The Adversary; you shall be The Despoiler of Creation. Morals shall look to Your Graces and find only Damnation, for Yours is a Palace of Betrayal.
And so The Adversary, newly renamed, found His Voice stronger still, and a throng of His Allies drew near to lend Their Voices to His. Two-thirds of the Host had chosen to Ascend, the remaining third rallied to new banner, the cause of The Adversary. And so did the Supreme Ones again divide the Heavens, only instead of a glorious place both apart from and a part of the Universe, this new place was both beneath and within the same: the Palace of Betrayal, called the Pit, called the Inferno, called the Underworld, the Netherworld, Stygia - referred to affectionately by the occupants as Hell.
Thus end the Angelic Wars and the Eternal War begins. The forces of Heaven and Hell rally their supporters across the dimensions, sending help where needed and countering the plans of the enemy at every opportunity. With the separation of Heaven, Hell and the physical Universe out of the way, the Supreme Ones have vanished again, for how long, none can estimate. Various godlings, demigods and archangels lead the forces of Good against a bewildering array of demons, devils, fiends and minions of Evil in a seemingly endless series of sorties, raids and maneuvers rarely gaining ground in one location before shifting resources to the next pressing mission.
And so it goes.
