Widespread Religious Beliefs

## **The Story of the Beginning**

Before the colors became what they are today, there were greater beings known as the Ancients. These eight ancient beings had the power to create life, but each had a different idea on how it should be made. Therefore, they all kept to themselves, except for two: Prometheus and Voiem, who were very good friends.

Voiem, the younger of the two, was too inexperienced to create things of his own, but he would watch in wonder as Prometheus made many beautiful things. Prometheus was the most imaginative of all Ancients, constantly thinking of new ideas. Their leader, however, thought that the world should be left to them, and therefore hated the creation of new life, and despised Prometheus especially.

Eventually, Prometheus began to teach Voiem how to create life. Other Ancients gathered round to see what their friend would create. To try and inspire Voiem, Prometheus created the gift of fire for his people, the Reds. The Oranges and Yellows, creations of other ancients, looked amazed at the sight, so Prometheus acted generously and gave fire to the orange and yellows, too. Just as Prometheus had planned, Voiem’s magic awoke, and the Void joined the world.

With all the creation happening throughout the world, the Ancient Leader became furious, and cast the blame onto Prometheus. As a punishment, the Leader decided to create one thing; a prison for Prometheus, where he would reside for the rest of time.

After seeing this, Voiem was furious. In an attempt to inspire his people to assist him in revenge, he gave them a gift, like Prometheus had once done with his people. However, in his range, Voiem gave his people an ability unlike any other: the ability to destroy.

With the help of his people, Voiem managed to free Prometheus, before killing the Leader in cold blood. This was not an end, though, as the Void people still had thoughts of destruction and death in their minds, almost becoming the creature they had just destroyed. They planted thoughts into Voiem’s head, making him paranoid and reckless. He eventually came to the conclusion that the other Ancients were against Prometheus and him. As an effort to protect his friend, everyone else had to die.

After overhearing Voiem’s plans, Prometheus rushed to alert the rest of the Ancients. Knowing that they may die, they each gave their people one last gift, and then left to defend against the Void. In a harsh battle, the Ancients learned of the Void’s ruthlessness, and they knew that they would never be able to win.

As a last resort, the six defenders used their remaining power to create a large, indestructible wall, to keep their creations safe. Voiem’s creations overtook the six, and slaughtered all of them. Now, in need of something else to destroy, the Void turned on Voiem and murdered him, too.

After learning about the death of their creators, the flairs were distraught. A lack of leadership and protection, along with fear of the Void, resulting in anarchy, with the only sense of order being the distinct hue of each Ancient’s creations. As the ages went on, each generation remembered less and less of the eight creatures which walked the planet before them. Loyalty to the Ancients became loyalty to a flair’s color, and the bloodlusting Void were all but forgotten. Worst of all, however, was the recession of relationships between the six colors, resulting in immense distrust.

Thousands of years later, the flairs had organized themselves into six teams, though no fights had yet broken out. Lack of communication made every team fear the other five were out out to get them, so instead, colors focused on building up their own defenses. This gave rise to the most common and powerful technologies of war: content.

“So what if before humanity became what it is today, there were these greater beings known as the ancients, these beings favoured the reds and so gave them fire, however, Prometheus and another ancient named Barackar felt that the fire should be divided evenly, so Prometheus stole fire and gave it to the orange and yellows.

In response, the ancients took away prometheus’ godhood and chained him to a rock for all eternity. Baracka was curious that his friend was thrown aside, and in his madness, slayed the other ancient, but not before being imprisoned himself. This was when he took up a new title, the blood god.” - SRW

Thousands of years later, the flairs had organized themselves into six teams, though no fights had yet broken out. Lack of communication made every team fear the other five were out out to get them, so instead, colors focused on building up their defenses. This gave rise to the most common and powerful technologies of war: content.

Each flair made content in it’s own way. The more artistic ones would craft finely detailed original works. Others would find already existing content, such as fruits, plants, or animals which was their color, or redye it to match (a technique known as recoloring).

## **Blood God**

Have you heard of the legend of God of Blood?

They say the Blood God was once a beautiful bringer of life, gave birth to all animals that roam freely to this day. They say that he was cast out from the heavens for this act of treason, forced to live a mortal life, a life in the wild, like the animals he so carefully made. Alone and starving, he was hunted daily by the pantheon that once supported him. He was caught, gutted, mutilated and left to die on bloody rocks on the riverside.

But instead of dying, instead of bleeding, the Blood God’s fury was unleashed upon the world, its beautiful looks shaped into an ugly, deformed, demonic presence. Its skin grew cold, as cold as ice. The wounds it endured sealed shut into a grisly and painful reminder. The blood that was spilled onto the rocks seeped into the river, turning it red and killing everything that tried to drink from it.

A hatred towards everything that lived, that breathed, was born on that day. It does not rest, it feeds from the warm blood that pulses through all of us. It has ravaged villages in a single night, leaving nothing but the shriveled husks of man, woman, child and animal alike about the abandoned buildings. A virulent disease would infect those that tried to search for the truth behind this beast, a poison that would slowly turn the person, drive them into madness till they become a servant to the god, another beast who feeds upon life itself.

And the river, named The Red River, where its water is tainted, where plants and animals that drink from it would fall dead within minutes, is the shrine of all that follow The God of Blood.\*