Cossyxia

Cossyxia's True Form

**Cossyxia,** referred to by mortals as either the **Illuminator** or the **Lightbringer**, is the Goddess of the Stars. She is considered one of the Five Gods. Cossyxia is the oldest Divine, created personally by the One. She rules over Cossyxium, the vast darkness that surrounds Enselonde.

Cossyxia has played a significant role in the history of Enselonde, constantly promoting peace between the various races that inhabit the realm. Most notably, she ended the Divine War through the Starslaughter. She also stopped the Darkest Decade alongside Nyara.

For her relentless dedication towards peace, followers of Cossyxia can be found far and wide, as she is one of the most worshipped Divines throughout Enselonde. The most dedicated followers join the Cossyxian Order, whose purpose mainly revolves around divining the stars and conflict resolution.

## Forms

*Main Article: Divine Forms*

Cossyxia only has a single form, which is her True Form. However, she is rarely present in the actual sky, as she mostly stays inside of her star, Clia. She only emerges into view in times of dire need and can dominate the sky, easily towering over all of Enselonde. However, this has only happened a few times throughout Enselonde's history, and she will usually communicate her displeasure through Clia itself, changing the color of the sun or the sky.

## Biography

### Creation

Cossyxia was created by the One in 5875 BW. She was the first thing ever created, making her the oldest Divine and the oldest object in the known universe. Cossyxia soon lit up the endless void with her own Divine Offspring, who subsequently also acted as stars. The magic of these stars eventually led to the formation of the other Divines of Enselonde.

Cossyxia herself, however, was more of an observer. As the other Divines went on to create Enselonde, Cossyxia remained in her native realm of Cossyxium, although she carefully observed the happenings on Enselonde itself.

### The Dream

While the matters and politics of Enselonde might seem pointless on a cosmic scale, Cossyxia remained a careful observer, giving advice to the other Divines where needed. She watched in despair as the Freeholds tore one another apart, how the labor shortages led to the enslavement of Humans for milennia and the violence that ended that slavery. She watched as the First Human Rebellion was squashed, the Second Human Rebellion saw magic tear through Enselonde, and the Third Human Rebellion snowballed into the Divine War.

As the Gods began fighting one another, Enselonde was being torn apart, with untold amounts of damage being done. As the Divine War endlessly escalated into more and more mismanagement of the Divines' powers, Cossyxia finally stepped in. She called her Divine Offspring, numbering in the hundreds, to descend upon Enselonde and end the fighting using any means necessary. What followed was the Starslaughter, a period of assassinations, duels, and chaos that, while destructive, ground the Divine War to a halt.

While this did not uncomplicate matters between the various warring Divines, at least it made them stop fighting long enough for Cossyxia to lay out her plans. What ended the Divine War was ultimately Cossyxia's Dream, a set of guidelines on behavior for both mortal and immortal alike, aiming to facilitate peace between the warring factions. While not all Divines or mortals agreed with this peace policy, so much power had been expended on the Divine War that most Divines were exhausted to the point of barely being able to fight. With continued fighting being suicide through cosmic fire, the Divine War ended, and the Withdrawal began.

Cossyxia briefly bestowed advice to the mortals left to pick up the pieces of Enselonde before finally distancing herself from the world again, trusting the mortals of Enselonde enough to not immediately begin butchering one another again. Against the odds, however, she was right, as a period of relative peace descended upon the world.

Cossyxia's Dream became a reality at the time. Wars were still fought between races, but widespread slavery and total warfare became a thing of the past. Content, the Goddess returned to her position as an observer. Yet, in time, Cossyxia's Dream would come falling apart.

### The Nightmare

The Age of Sapphires and the Age of Kingdoms went by relatively well in the eyes of Cossyxia. Many of the Freeholds had been conquered by Human statelets, but the treatment of non-Humans in these new nations was good, with many being viewed as equals. However, in the South, the Sapphire Empire, once a prosperous Human superpower, shattered and collapsed after centuries of mismanagement and unrest.

One of the successor states, the Sapphire Empire of Da'al Mon, blamed the local Dryad population for ruining the Empire. The Emperor set up the Sapphire Inquisition to root out and punish those who had caused the Empire's fall. When the Inquisition ran out of Dryads to target, any non-Human became fair game. The Inquisition spread throughout the South like wildfire, encompassing the former Sapphire Empire's borders and spreading further beyond. The Darkest Decade, a period of racial warfare and mindless genocide, had begun.

Cossyxia had sworn to not intervene with mortal matters after the Divine War, but her Dream had been spat upon and trampled over. If she acted immediately, she would undoubtedly have been accused of favoritism and hating Humans. Yet, nowadays, many non-Humans blame her for acting too late. Ultimately, after a decade of slaughter, millions of non-Humans had been killed throughout the South, North, and Eastland. Racial relations were at an all-time low, and the same hatred and distrust of the Divine War resurfaced.

Ultimately, the Goddess of Life, Nyara, ended it. As the Sapphire Inquisition invaded the Green Grove, both the Goddess and the Grove itself came to life, as the unrestricted power of Nature tore the Inquisitors apart. Taking this as a sign that more Divine action was needed, Cossyxia finally acted, destroying Kirisil – the Da'al Moni capital – in an apocalyptic firestorm cast down from the heavens. Without the central leadership in Kirisil, the Inquisitors either turned on each other for power or laid down their weapons in fear of Divine retribution.

The Darkest Decade eventually ended heading into the 1010s. However, the distrust and hatred between races had become an aspect of daily life, as discrimination and hate crimes became increasingly common throughout most of Enselonde. Cossyxia's Dream had been abandoned by all but the most devoted of her worshippers.

### The Great War and Present Day

As Syarus broke his Withdrawal and began his quest against his fellow Divines and the One, Cossyxia has notably remained silent on the matter. She simply stated that the conflict between the Republicans and Monarchists was political and religious, not racial. That said, she did make William Ryker her champion, bringing him back from the dead, primarily due to the alliances he had been building with the refugees of the Green Grove.

She has not restricted her Divine Offspring in staying out of the conflict. Yet, despite this, only a tiny minority have descended on Enselonde to fight alongside or against the God of Thunder. Instead, Cossyxia remains in Clia, where she simply waits and observes, as she has done for thousands of years. Whether she is waiting for her shattered and abandoned Dream to become a reality or for Syarus to grant her the peace of death is something only she knows.

## Personality

Cossyxia has an icy and calculating personality, despite being an entity made up of pure magical fire. Her pursuit of peace is not a moral one but one of efficiency. If the Divines or mortals tear Enselonde apart, she would have been waiting for nothing. A notably distant Divine, both to her own Offspring and to her fellow Divines, Cossyxia is generally silent and will go decades without speaking as much as a single word to anyone.

Some argue that this is a sign of depression caused by the failures of Cossyxia's Dream. However, whether or not this is actually the case or just a theory is unknown.

## Champion

*Main Article: Champions*

Cossyxia's Champions are usually chosen based on merit, not membership of the Cossyxian Order. Furthermore, she often goes without a Champion if there are no worthy candidates. Her current Champion is William Ryker, the King-Consort of the Green Grove. After he sacrificed himself for his Faerian allies at the Battle of Akqural, he was slain by Sallanthian General Alos Amukkia, buying enough time for the Faerians under Nivhael to escape. However, mere minutes after he died, the Clian Sword, previously located in the vaults underneath Freistadt, fell from the sky, right into the hand of the deceased Ryker, who resurrected as the Champion of Cossyxia.

Despite this, communications between Cossyxia and Ryker are almost non-existent, and he has been left to do what he wants with the power she has granted him.

## Divine Offspring

*Main Article: Divine Offspring*

Every star visible in the night sky is one of Cossyxia's Offspring. They number in the hundreds, the overwhelming majority being older than the other Divines of Enselonde.

* Amythos † - Son of Cossyxia and a red star. He joined the Starslaughter at the request of the Goddess. He was slain by Anir, the God of Justice, after which his body fell down onto Enselonde near modern-day Amberg.
* Inyne † - Daughter of Cossyxia and a blue star. She joined the Starslaughter but ultimately broke her orders, mindlessly burning down villages in the Eastland. She was destroyed by Cossyxia as a result.

## Artifacts

*Main Article: Artifacts*

* Clian Sword - A burning sword made of the magical fires of Clia. It was granted to her first Champion, Kangleg, who wielded it after the Divine War. After his death, the blade remained in possession of his descendants: House Luftschwert in western Fühlgart. The weapon recently disappeared from its vault in Freistadt and was granted to William Ryker instead.

## Relationships

Cossyxia isn't friends with any of the Divines. Instead, she has chosen to intentionally keep her distance to not cloud her judgment should any Divines begin abusing their powers once more.