The Bad Fairy (girlxgirlxgirl)

Page twelve: The old Gods

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The encyclopaedia of the middle-realm

Two thousandth, nine hundredth and fifty fourth year of the third moon

Genesis

How the world came to be has always been a great mystery between the three realms. Each kind has a different story, but they all have the same Gods and Goddesses, although sometimes with names that differ in pronunciation. How the world came to be is still debated today, but the original creation story found in the mountains of old demon settlements in the lower realm are still seen as the only true story accepted by all three realms. The mountain scrolls were later found in similar stone format in the angel realm, dating back much further.

According to the old mountain scrolls, the world was created from one single sphere. The sphere is known as 'the third', because it consisted of three substances, or three colours as it is called in the ancient scrolls. These three substances were dark, light and clear. The first God is said to have been born out of the clear substance, after millions of years of waiting and evolving. This God is known as Cibus, the first God and the child of the clear.

Cibus then spent a thousand years in solitude. The angel scrolls mention him living two thousand years in complete aloneness, however how they calculated time might have differed from the demons. Both ancient texts agree on the fact that Cibus grew too lonely after his time in solitude, and created a sister and a brother from the two other substances in the third. The Goddess Dreena was created from the dark, and the God Lidros was created from the light. The three siblings are known as the first Gods.

These siblings are said to have then created the world. First, the eldest God Cibus had created a beautiful land of forests, mountains and seas for them to live in and appreciate. He used the clear part of 'the third' to create this land, leaving the sphere damaged. The clear substance is assumed to be what we today call 'blue power', and it exists in the core of the world. He did not want to create any other gods or inhabitants, as he is said to have hated any creature to ruin the nature of his first and last unmoving creation.

Growing apart, the Gods Lidros and Dreena are said to have wanted more than just the realm that their brother had created. They created their own realms by each taking their own remaining parts of the sphere, on the condition that they were still connected to their brother's realm through holy pathways, or loopholes that rise up into the sky, and down into the ground. These worlds are the lower and higher realms. The first realm is the middle realm.

The Gods

To keep her company, the Goddess Dreena created three gods, known as the Gods of the lower realm. They carry no names and live in the mountains, the lakes and the dead forests of the demon realm, luring in demons into their demise, or giving them strength and power. These Gods are worshipped by demons who want safe travel, or more power. Despite having no names, these gods are referred to as Sea, Mountain and Forest in the scrolls and in prayer.

The God Lidros is said to have grown angry at the evil and cruel nature of the three new Gods. He could not kill them himself, but he forged three new Gods from the metal of the higher realm to kill the demon Gods. These are the three goddesses known as Tiphine, Tamis and Taneas. Out of the three, none of them managed to ever leave the higher realm and could therefore not kill the demon gods. The scrolls mention Tiphine especially, as she was the one who is said to have taught the angels pure, divine powers and created the first archangels. Today she is worshipped by the archangels as the first archangel and creator of divine powers.

Regular creatures are said to have been born from the Gods' jealousy. While Lidros and Dreena wanted to compete with each other and kill each other's creations, they could not make their powerful God creations fight each other in fear of their elder brother's wrath. Additionally, they are said not to have wanted to create more creatures with powers that resemble their own, as it would force them to compete with others. The God Lidros created the angels to use as soldiers against the Goddess Dreena's demons. These creatures can channel and use power from the now ruined sphere, however they can not create power themselves and have a very limited capacity for it.

The angels and demons have fought ever since their creation, lasting to this very day.

There are therefore only nine Gods according to the old scrolls. The God Cibus is the oldest and possibly strongest God, however he is only worshipped in the middle realm. The worship consists of daily, mundane tasks such as preserving nature and being careful of the environment around areas like villages, common roads and large capital cities. To this day it is seen as offensive and even dangerous to destroy nature or build cities or villages that ruin the landscape. This is why goblins, for example, began to build their cities underground, and why fairies build much of theirs in the trees. There is no other worship or even prayer to this God, because he is seen as a God who hates living creatures and wants nothing to do with them.

The Goddess Dreena is only worshipped in the demon realm, however not in any organised way. The occasional greedy prayer is the most common way. The three other Gods of the lower realm are worshipped only when safe travel is needed in their respective areas. The God Lidros is distantly worshipped through things like statues and old songs in the higher realm. It is mostly the Goddess Tiphine, however, who is worshipped for her involvement with the angels. Overall worshipping Gods is not a big part of anybody's daily life, although belief in these Gods has stayed consistent.

For more information about middle realm city structure and architecture, turn to page fifteen...