Overgod

## The Legend of the Overgod

A time long ago, a time before tales untold, before the existence of gods and monsters, there lay nothing. Nothing but a void; simple, dark, emotionless, devoid of any life. It was there where the Overgod, Qiyuen, came to be. The Overgod, a being of pure creativity and omnipotence, gained consciousness, and gazed upon the darkness encompassing the universe. He pondered existence with only one question coming to mind… why? Why was this world, so infinitesimally large, yet so empty and colourless, drained of all vibrancy and life? The universe, in all its infinite potential, was simply…non-existence. And so, Qiyuen, brimming with unbridled power, began his work, transforming this unremarkable darkness, moulding the very fabric of reality into this world we know today.

And thus spoke the Overgod: “With every new beginning comes a horizon of untold opportunities, each with its own brilliance and shadow to come.”

The world of Oracle took five days to create. First, he created the lands of the world. From the mists of the abyss, he solidified the earth, and all of its soils, stones and minerals, creating a habitat for those whom he deemed worthy to walk upon its fields.

Yet, there remained gaps in his creation. Holes and craters with nothing to fill them. Fields of grass with nothing to sustain them. Thus, on the second day, Qiyuen filled the world with water, flowing ever-so-gently, and to balance it, lava; molten chunks of heat and flame. And on the third day, he filled the skies with stars, and the Sun and the Moon, to illuminate the world in both day and night.

Through this, the Overgod emblazoned upon his world the still calm of tranquillity, and the raging sparks of life and hope.

All that he created, he filled with vibrancy. Life, after all, was not meant to be lived in muted darkness and desolation.

“With the creation of the land, the skies, the seas; I now place my creations in servitude to the sustenance of life, so that this world may flourish and grow even when I am gone.”

And so it was. Channelling the world’s energy itself, the Overgod created the first specks of life. He made a pair of each animal– cows, pigs, sheep, horses and more– and set them free to roam the world.

Then, on the final day of creation, Qiyuen created god-kind. The children of the “Golden Age.”

Of his soul, the very essence tying his primordial spirit together, he created a pantheon of twelve. The Elden Gods. Each god seemingly made for their own unique purpose. Their true forms were never recorded; they were simply too majestic, too mighty, for the mortal eye to behold, for the mortal mind to comprehend.

Qiyuen gave them each dominion over various parts of his creation as he saw fit, and tasked them with cultivating the virility of what they reigned over. And for a time, this land… was paradise.

The Overgod, however, with his gift of foresight, saw what was to come. But he did not fear. He did not falter.

“If this is truly what the passage of fate desires, then I shall follow it. As all that exists is interconnected, time can only flow towards the inevitable.”

Soon enough, the Elden Gods created children of their own. And as the godlings grew and matured, their inheritance of divinity and domain marked the beginning of the “Silver Age”.

It was not an age of glory, however. It was one of endless betrayal. Of oaths sworn and broken. Of brothers killing brothers, sisters killing sisters. Of children killing fathers.

It was an age of blood.

And the Overgod knew this.

But as the seasons change and pass, he simply focuses his efforts on bettering his creations, instilling life and blessing into the very lands he built. His fate, he knew, was unavoidable, inescapable, and preordained.

As the gods grew in number, so too did their capacity for evil. As they grew, so too did the darkness lurking in their hearts.

It was not hatred, nor rage, that brought divinity to its knees. It was petty greed. It was jealousy. It was dissatisfaction. It was a deep, inherent lust for control. A desire for what they did not possess.

And so it came to be that the gods became locked in a timeless battle, vying for dominion over the world they themselves helped cultivate. Ravaging the lands, scorching the skies and vaporising the seas, they clashed, again and again, caring not for whoever they had slew. It was not long before the very earth that formerly sought to protect was reduced to nothing but ash. And yet, whilst many had fallen, many remained. And in the eyes of the gods, it was still too many.

So they looked upwards. They set their sights on the Overgod itself. They wanted, yearned, to wrest control of his power from him. All for themselves.

Once they found him, they chained him, and laughed. They spat on him. They mocked him. They belittled him. And then, their weapons fell upon him– a torturous slaughter. First, they took his legs. Then, they took his arms. They rent his body to shreds, to ashes. All without mercy.

And yet all throughout, no empyrean wrath fell upon Qiyuen’s godly transgressors. No cosmic erasure, no transcendent vengeance. As he bled the golden ichor of the divine, he simply smiled, and held his head high. He was at peace with his fate. He would remain pure, uncorrupted by the iniquity and vice his children had fallen prey to.

And yet, the gods were unable to extinguish his light. For the Overgod had already poured the last dredges of his soul into one, final creation. Mankind.

First, he created the humans, who served as the basis of all mortality he would establish. To them, he granted nothing, but autonomy and a will to survive.

From the glaciers of the Frozen Wastelands he had created, he sculpted and fashioned the very first Snow Trolls, not yet evolved into the flesh and blood being Snow Trolls are today, but rather, creatures of pure elemental frost, destined to thrive through their beyond hulking stature, and strong adaptation to the desolate, unforgiving and harsh snowdrifts of the lands he had fostered them within. Charging them with the responsibility of preserving the frostlands, Qiyuen blessed their kind with speed, strength and vitality; but only within the cold, to remind the Trolls of the duty they held.

Then, he created the Dragonkin. From the stones of the earth, he fashioned their body, forming scales which served as a natural cloak of protection. Blessing them with longevity as well as a heavy resistance to both damage and extreme climates, he charged them with the responsibility of survival. Through their long lives, they were to oversee the development of the world, passing down their tales throughout generations so that cultures were maintained, histories known, and people remembered. Yet, the Dragonkin were cursed by the very earth they were formed from, and their race separated into two; one forced to remain above ground, whereas the other, below. From this, the species took a turn even the Overgod himself did not expect– evolution. The Dragonkin who braved the lands above– the Dragonborn– furthered their natural fortitude, developing an innate increase of strength, yet acquiring the disadvantageous trait of a constant hunger. Those who lived beneath– the Kobolds– became specialised with escape, stealth, and evasion, becoming much weaker and frail yet quicker and spatially aware. Despite seeing this, Qiyuen decided not to intervene, for he had wished to allow even a race deviant from his original intentions an opportunity to thrive.

Next, the Overgod created the Elves. Designing them as creatures of the forest, he blessed the Elves with speed, dexterity, and divine beauty. Yet, similar to the Dragonkin, they too deviated from his original design. Unexpectedly, the very first Elves had absorbed some of the magic woven within the fabric of reality, allowing them to utilise arcane arts far more powerful and delicate. Yet again, the Overgod did not intervene. He was a being of creativity, not control.

The Overgod would then create the Dwarves, creatures far tougher and resilient than the average being. Moulding their bodies from a framework of steel and ore, he blessed them with augmented physicality and fortitude fit for their laborious purpose. For what good would his subterranean treasures be, without someone to find, treasure and share them?

He would then create the Orcs– a race he tasked with the protection of all other mortals. Creating them within the desolate wastelands of the gods’ battlefield, he endowed them with fearsome strength and resilience, and bestowed upon them potential like no other, which, if fully unlocked, would allow them to tenaciously defend against divine wrath. For what good would his creations be, if it were unguarded and immediately be reduced to ruin?

From the Orcs, the Goblins came to be. Adapted for the darkness underground, these diminutive, reticent beings evolved traits entirely different from the Orcs Qiyuen had created. Not only did they sacrifice their strength and resistance for speeds akin to lightning, they had also entirely divigated from the Orcs’ fierce sense of honour– they served nobody but themselves. The Goblins’ change was so drastic, only their similar skin colour with the Orcs provide any trace of shared heritage. And still, the Overgod permitted them to live.

“This world must be balanced, after all, and thus the Goblin shall serve as the yin to the Orc’s yang.”

The Overgod then created the Avians and Tritons, races designed to preserve the skies and the seas. The Avians, formed from the weightless clouds of the heavens, were blessed with weightlessness and flight, whereas the Tritons, formed by a coalescence of coral, sea creatures, and human flesh, were blessed with water breathing, the grace of the dolphins, superior vision, and strength. He left them only one purpose: to cultivate life where others could not.

Lastly, the Overgod created the Yuan-Ti, a race of half-serpentine, half-humanoid individuals. Unlike the other races, he did not simply bless them with physical vigour, but also with superior minds and intellect. For what good would his creations be, without a steady hand and cunning mind to guide them through struggle and adversity?

And so, all of the Overgod’s work was complete.

Then, and only then, did his form begin to dissipate. And soon enough, all that was left of Qiyuen’s body were individual motes of light, fading into the night sky.

But still, the gods were dissatisfied, and their thirst for power had not yet been quenched. Thus, divinity clashed against divinity once more.

They fought, until… only their lifeless corpses remained.

Amongst the decadence of ruin and devastation, one god finally stepped in.

“Cease your fighting, you fools. The victor, treated with nothing but the battle of tomorrow, while the other, whose essence is lost, leaves only a husk. Are our numbers not already few enough?”

“I am Cerabt. Goddess of Justice. Goddess of Innovation. Look at the destruction you have wrought upon this world. Gaze upon your broken oaths to the Overgod. You are no gods. I deem you all unworthy of the throne. From today on forth, I shall be your queen. And you shall serve me.”

All the remaining gods were immediately silenced. None dared to challenge her. In spite of her overwhelming radiance and emanating power, it was also clearly evident that she killed not a single god. Yet, they knew that if she wished, she would be able to– without any effort, without any struggle.

Cerabt quickly ushered in a new age of life. One where god and mortal were split in twain. Divinity would quietly observe from above, whilst mankind would flourish and grow. They would still be able to interact with the world below, but in small, minor ways.

“The course of mankind will be decided by mortals, and mortals alone.”

That was Cerabt’s one and only decree.

And Cerabt, after having shared her wisdom to the mortals of the “Bronze Age”, proclaimed: “This… is the truth of your world. Memories melt in the morning light, and then, a new day begins.

Roads stretch out before you. So many paths.

Which do you choose? That is up to you.

Sometimes, you might run astray. You’ll stop, maybe cry in frustration. But… that’s alright. For the roads, they go on without end.

So, last children of the Overgod, look up and face forward, toward your chosen horizon…

And walk on.”