Emanation

**Emanation** is the most commonly accepted name of the universe in which *Invidere* takes place. While the term "Emanation" technically refers to the Aetheric confluence at which the dimensional planes converge, it has been appropriated as a synechdoche for the universe as a whole.

## Origin

At the temporal edge beyond which nothing can be said with certainty, all of existence was compressed into an infinitely dense singularity that irrationally manifested and then vaporized in a seemingly endless loop until it rapidly began to lose mass, spewing forth the wealth of information that was stored within in the form of cosmic energy, the oldest and purest form of quintessence - the elusive and invisible thread which binds together all reality. A gargantuan portion of this primordial essence eventually amalgamated into the earliest consciousness, the all-father Coda. With his nigh-omnipotent control over the laws of the universe, he created the Aether, his infinite paradise wherein he toiled for untold millennia to replicate the miracle of his origin by creating life. Rhea was his first success, possessing cosmic potential nearly equal to that of her creator and eventual lover. The two curated the Aether for an epoch, building their garden of bliss hand in hand until Coda fell tired and entered a deep sleep.

With her love dormant, Rhea grew lonely, not content to hold dominion over the vast Aether with only herself for company. Thus she breathed life into the Titans, lovingly sculpting every one of them in a similar fashion that she herself was created, albeit another level removed from pure cosmic energy. Their company brought her joy, but the act of creation strained her near to death, underestimating the exertion it would inflict upon her being. To preserve the Aether, she made the fateful decision to borrow her dormant lover's Heart, the conduit through which he was made omnipotent, and gift it to the Titans, believing the knowledge it held would grant them the powers needed to watch over the Aether while she gradually passed into sleep herself. When it came time to return Coda's Heart, however, the Titans refused to yield up their prize to Rhea, who no longer held power over them. They took dominion over the Aether, and with their unchecked powers began to fray its very fabric.

Coda awoke in a rage, scorning Rhea for her betrayal and immediately seeking to reclaim what was his. The First Titanomachy followed, with half of the Titans standing with their Father to restore order to the crumbling Aether while the rest sought to keep control. So fierce were their battles that the realm was shaken to its core, the laws of reality which Coda had tirelessly written now beginning to turn to ash. Without his Heart and weakened by the fragile state of his dominion, Coda was defeated and retreated into the dark recesses beyond existence along with his remaining followers to plot their revenge. He took Rhea and imprisoned her within the Void as well, unable to fathom the sheer betrayal she had inflicted upon him.

Meanwhile, the victorious Titans celebrated their victory and set about partitioning up the Aether, ripe for their rule. Fearing potential wars over land could threaten their race, the children agreed to divide the Aether up into 8 equal shards, destroying what was left of their Father's legacy by tearing his paradise into shreds and removing his name from the tides of history. In the cataclysmic event that permanently fractured the Aether, so too was that cosmic energy that once permeated it decimated, torn into 8 distinct strands in kind. From these strands arose the Elements, devolved forms of quintessence which shaped the new reality. Fire, Water, Ice, Earth, Lightning, Wind, Light, and Darkness were born, each of them particularly concentrated in their respective shards (though these new forms rapidly spread throughout the universe, all converging upon the source at their origin point). With the coming of the Elements came Emanation, the broken successor to the Aether.

Epochs later, the Second Titanomachy began without warning as Coda, now known only as Moros or the Ancient Fear, emerged from the Void with his loyal progeny in tow in an insatiable thirst for vengeance. Every Elemental shard and their three respective sub-dimensions came under assault, forced to defend their godly kingdoms and empires against an existential foe long thought to have been destroyed forever. At the climax of the conflict, one of the original rebel Titans defected and joined the Ancient Fear, surrendering their dominion in hopes that the Father's hunger would be satisfied and thus averting further devastation. The Titan's name was Eztrakir, lord of Ophiuchus, one of the worlds aligned with the Darkness. Moros consumed Ophiuchus, using his residual control over the cosmic energy to absorb the entirety of the dimension's quintessence, obliterating all life in the process. With the might of a world, the Ancient Fear advanced to further planes, consuming Ophiuchus' neighbors Noctus and Exuba shortly thereafter. Thus, Emanation's quintessence was thrown wildly out of balance, with one of its key elements now robbed of its origin point. The Titans feared that Moros would continue on his rampage unabated, but salvation came in the form of the armies of mighty Gamma, lord of Arcturus, who united the forces of Light to counter the Darkness and leave it vulnerable to the other elements.

The Titans had survived once more, but it was a pyrrhic victory, having lost 1/8th of Emanation and being left with a universe wildly out of balance. Moros, absolutely saturated with the Shadows, returned to the Void but retained dominion over Ophiuchus and its neighbors, laying the groundwork for his sphere of influence from which he would one day strike again with a new strategy.

## Composition

Emanation consists of 8 distinct regions or points of convergence, from each of which spawn 3 lesser worlds/dimensions comprising the local nebula or cluster. Each region is particularly strongly aspected towards a specific element, though this difference would not be directly observable as most of Emanation's quintessence is concentrated in the spaces between the worlds. Such "gaps" between planes of existence which support life may colloquially referred to as the void, while the lifeless space outside the strict bounds of Emanation where quintessence distribution is theorized to be completely nil may be suitably called the Beyond.

Detailed below are each of the 8 elemental nebulae and the worlds therein, as well as their original Titan curators. "†" indicates the world has gone dormant, either by direct void assimilation or, whether accidental or deliberate, excessive levels of phantom energy causing a quintessence collapse effect. A nebula with all dormant worlds has had its quintessence permanently displaced, returning it to the Void as cosmic energy.

### Fire

* *Arens* - Valefor, the Blacksmith
* *Leonis -* Malphas, the Dragon
* *Nergal -* Bifrons and Gomory, the Twins

### Water

* *Aquila -* Avromemnus (Avus), the Eagle
* *Serpens † -* Zepar, the Leviathan
* *Hydrus † -* Berith, the Elder

### Earth

* *Tarvos -* Barbas, the Mountain
* *Astrea -* Raum, the Architect
* *Silenus -* Pucel, the Miner

### Air

* *Dioscuri -* Saleos, the Mystic
* *Azura -* Sytry, the Dove
* *Osiron † -* Roneve, the Poor

### Lightning

* *Procyon -* Eligos, the Brilliant
* *Almiraj -* Sabnac, the Knight
* *Ceton -* Vapula, the Barber

### Ice

* *Eridibus † -* Amon, the Silent
* *Hevelius -* Aguares and Astaroth, the Historians
* *Achaeron † -* Halphas, the Old

### Light

* *Vega -* Andras, the Warrior
* *Cygnus -* Baal, the Magistrate
* *Arcturus -* Gamma, the First

### Dark

* *Ophiuchus † -* Eztrakir and Naberius, the Lover and the Serpent
* *Noctus † -* Paimon, the Blind
* *Exuba † -* Belial, the Hidden

### The Void

The Titans which remained loyal to Moros in the first Titanomachy were banished with him to the Void, depriving them from the prize of holding direct dominion over any of Emanation's dimensions. Their resulting lack of Elemental affinity makes them beings akin to their Allfather in that they are comprised of "untainted" quintessence in the form of primal cosmic energy; as such, they hold symbolic stewardship over the Void between the worlds where they are most powerful. Despite lacking any Elemental connection, the "Dark Titans" still roughly correspond with their rebellious siblings, representing portions of the Void where locally aspected quintessence has begun to emanate out into the Void, slowly causing remaining pockets of cosmic energy to fade away over millennia. On mortal worlds such as Aquila, these condemned gods are often personified and worked into religious canon, either as malicious daemons or as fair deities. Their separation from the elements makes them coveted among magick practitioners.

* Beleth, the Cunning
* Asmodai, the Witness
* Balam, the First Fury
* Zagan, the Second Fury
* Amduscias, the Third Fury
* Agreas, the Accuser
* Focalor, the Arbiter
* Dantalion, Keeper of Precepts
* Oroban, the Righteous
* Sear, the Inquisitor
* Pheynix, the Seneschal
* Oriax, the Final Justice
* Malthus, Prince of the Infernal
* Mirak, Baron of the Infernal
* Avnas, Lord of the Underworld
* Valak, the Pontiff
* Alocer, the Treasurer
* Volag, the Final Architect
* Therion, the Bishop
* Auriel, the Ritual Master
* Ozath, the Keeper of Virtues
* Delitar, the Scribe
* Masloth, the Night Sky
* Saobath, the Withered
* Zeralith, the Lightbringer
* Pashtal, the Serpent-bearer
* Oseraf, the Shepherd
* Raja, the Emissary