Monomyth

From its onset, the universe of Invidere has been a fundamentally collaborative project. Its origin can be traced back to well over half a decade ago (as of 2021), arguably as early as the Minecraft server Neddehcraft when its admins began terrorizing the playerbase with a plugin that allowed them to take on the role of Herobrine - a fictional supernatural entity from the Something Awful days who was said to haunt people's Minecraft servers. The tradition of tongue-in-cheek Herobrine hauntings continued into Neddehcraft 2, where the community's admins created an elaborate storyline replete with dungeons, treasure hunts, and boss encounters, all the while maintaining the fiction that it was all the result of a plugin with a mind of its own. By the time the Herobrine story ended and the server closed, the groundwork for an expansive fictional universe had been laid, and a few months later in that summer I started writing the original Invidere story. It began as a simple hero's journey intended to function as a sequel to the story I began to tell in Neddehcraft 2; while it was intended to be a piece of Minecraft fanon, by the time its 19th and final chapter was written, I had begun to write it with the presumption that the lore we'd built had become a wholly unique fantasy world which was more similar in scope to Tolkien's Legendarium than anything created with spaghetti code written by Notch.

This page will serve as an out-of-universe overview of the Invidere world, detailing important people, places, and events that will hopefully provide a cohesive understanding of the canon. It should be noted that the page is written from the point of view of an in-universe scholar and thus reflects the interpretation of events from the perspective of a mortal, Aquilan historian, rather than an empirical breakdown of the lore; while this may seem counterintuitive for purposes of gaining an understanding of the Invidere universe, discerning the truth of events is a vital part of the main storyline, and the layman in Aquila would have a biased perspective of history due to a lack of standardized education and the monopoly on information maintained by the learned elite. As such, one may regard this glossary's in-universe counterpart as the Monomyth, a master compendium of all the accumulated knowledge with regards to Aquila's history, cosmology, spirituality, and geography.

## Cosmology

While it is the setting of the "Invidere universe," Emanation itself is more akin to a galaxy or large planetary system. There are 16 major planets, each of which constitutes a shard of the former "mother world." They roughly correspond with the constellations which comprise our celestial equator, and similarly hold important astrological connotations on Aquila. They are as follows:

1. Enesidaon
2. Monoceros
3. Arcturus
4. Serpens
5. Cetus
6. Procyon
7. Aquila
8. Canis
9. Hydara
10. Ophiuchus
11. Dendera
12. Ecliptus
13. Regulus
14. Eridanis
15. Deucalion
16. Ardra

Many of Emanation's unusual properties which make it not quite a galaxy nor universe by our definitions are due to the fact that its galactic centre or nucleus is not a star akin to our Sun, rather an irregular black hole which is some magnitudes less massive than the sun but whose event horizon exerts enough gravitational force to form an accretion disk that emits enough light through electromagnetic radiation to be roughly equal in energy output to what would be expected of a typical stellar body.

The black hole was formed as a result of the destruction of the previous "mother world;" when the rogue planet of Eden was destroyed by the Titans, enough force was exerted for a matter of microseconds to create a temporary gravitational collapse. The sudden uncontrollable output of primordial dark energy caused most of Eden to violently shatter into 16 lesser shards, sending them wildly into space. Their orbits were quickly stabilized by the resulting formation of a stable gravitational singularity born from the remaining quintessence of the former Eden. The singularity created a scalar field which in time forced the shards into stable orbit around the newly formed black hole; a new celestial plane was spontaneously formed - 16 Earth-sized planets held together by an invisible web of primordial quintessence: Emanation.

Aquila's proximity to the singularity has warped its relation to spacetime in strange ways. For example, for about half the year, the stars in Aquila's sky appear to actually visibly move as if floating endlessly through a sea of eternal shadow. In this period, usually called the stellar cycle, the days are mild and short, whilst the nights are longer, cooler, and brighter. Conversely, there is the ecliptic cycle, wherein the black hole in the center of Emanation exerts greater gravitational pull over the planets due to natural acceleration of its event horizon, resulting in longer and warmer days. There exists a brief period of equilibrium between the stellar and ecliptic cycles when the singularity exerts equal gravitational force with the nearby stars, resulting in the annual Equinox. Occasionally, Aquila will undergo a full rotation without ever reaching Equinox; in that event, the cycle which lasts longer is declared to be in a temporary state of astral dominance, resulting in a "stellar year" or "ecliptic year."

Aquila has three notable natural satellites or "moons," by far the most prominent of which being Ophelia. Compared to Luna, Ophelia is quite prominent in Aquila's sky due to its greater relative proximity. The elder moon has puzzled natural philosophers for centuries not simply due to its impressive size, but the fact that it appears to have supported some form of complex life in ancient history. The layman may observe Ophelia with the naked eye and immediately notice that it is replete with unique features such as frozen oceans, ice plains, volcanic clusters, and mountain ranges which tower over those of Aquila. Upon inspection with a telescope, astrologers have consistently made note of more fascinating qualities such as massive boreal forests buried beneath transparent glaciers, a system of interconnected lakes which appear to carry running water across the surface in beautiful vein-like patterns, and most famously, the remnants of what can only be described as man-made temples and strongholds which have greatly eroded over the millennia. Whether these ophelian lifeforms were eradicated or relocated is the subject of an ongoing scholarly debate, though the people of Aquila will likely never know.

Ophelia is named for the first Grand Master of the Templars, who formed the order to avenge the abduction of the Mother by the Fiend in the pre-Imperial era. Popular legend says that her grief for the Mother's death was so great as to cause the heavens themselves to weep,  and their holy tears imbued the moon with Rhea's light to watch over her mortal children even in the darkest night. Scholars have noted that the trope of the "weeping goddess," probably originated with the myth of Lorelei, consort to Hades, whose devastation at their parting caused her to cry for 1,000 years, forming the great oceans of Aquila in the process.

Aquila has two additional lesser moons: Cordelia and Titania, both of whom are significantly smaller in scale than Ophelia. Their unique position as being within the gravitational influence of both Aquila and Ophelia has caused them to behave somewhat strangely; they form a peculiar binary system together, rotating between the two greater bodies and resting closer in orbit to either Aquila or Ophelia depending on the season. About once every century, the three moons align and cause potentially catastrophic tidal fluctuations on the planet's surface. In the extremely rare circumstance that the moons align perfectly to block out the "sun," calamity bourne of unstable disruptions in the quintessence field is sure to follow.

Unlike on Earth, beautiful and haunting auroras can be seen in the Aquilan skies from practically every continent, especially during the ecliptic season when the singularity's pull is greatest. The acceleration of the black hole's accretion disk causes ambient dark energy threads across Emanation to activate, creating memorable displays of dancing purple and green lights.

## The Old Ways

The Old Ways is an umbrella term used to encompass the many distinct traditions of occult, magickal, or otherwise arcane practices endemic to Aquila. It is so named due to the generally accepted historical perspective that, prior to the Imperial era, magicks were much more commonly practiced across virtually all cultures, only to be wiped out virtually in their entirety by the Mad King. In Kilran and surrounding continents, the term has come to be embraced by the various disparate occult communities who regard "the Old Ways" as a religion unto itself with its own pantheon and observances, largely on account of the gradual homogenization of arcane schools of thought which has occurred in the current epoch, especially from the year 4800 and on.

While there is still significant variance in the practices of magicks across the geographical Centre, the Old Ways are near-universally based upon the use of words of power, or "shibboleths," which derive from the language of the celestials. Owing to its origins in per-Desynchronization Emanation, the language carries with it practically limitless potential to manipulate the physical world simply by speaking it aloud, making any individual familiar with its alien incantations extremely dangerous. The remaining celestials capable of speaking it fluently number in the single digits, and even then are usually reluctant to employ it flippantly. Few mortals in any generation are born with the capacity to effectively speak the words aloud without risking the destruction of their souls.

The practice of magicks in its most essential form is the manipulation of the natural world through supernatural means. More specifically, it is the tendency for unexpected fluctuations in quintessence to have dramatic effects on the corporeal. As all life and matter is essentially quintessence (or "dark energy") modified over eons to develop new elements, the ability to exert even a measure of influence over it can have drastic implications. Being of pure cosmic energy, Moros is the ultimate source of quintessence from which all life and time flows chaotically. When his Heart was stolen by the Titans, his omnipotence was lost, and though he remained the supreme entity he could no longer alter the laws of reality. The Titans were comprised of approximately 50% cosmic energy, making them infinitely more powerful than mortals but still multitudes inferior to their Father. The children of the Titans (in Aquila's case, Makrozoia, or the Mad King) then retained 25% cosmic energy, and their children around 12%, and so on until the purity became so diluted as to become negligible. Those mortals capable of wielding the power of the gods are speculated to have the slightest more pure quintessence within their spirits than average.

The manipulation of quintessence is not without consequence. As it is warped, the dark energy becomes "excited," accelerating its energy output. Pushed too far, the quintessence will break down into a new state completely, converting into volatile phantom energy. This dangerous form of quintessence constantly depletes itself due to its precarious nature, and thus seeks to consume as much neutral energy as possible to sustain itself. The uncontrolled spread of phantom energy can have devastating effects on the land, draining light and life in its wake until entropy eventually triumphs and the broken quintessence is returned to the Aether to be recycled.

The language of the gods is *enochian,* and those mortals blessed (or cursed) with the ability to recognize and speak its incantations are said to experience *xenoglossy.*

### Gods

The traditional gods of the Old Ways are distinct from the "Gods," who are directly descended from Moros. The old gods are more mysterious and ephemeral entities; some of them were actual historical figures deified by their followers after their death, some amalgamations of pre-existing myths to form one being, some legitimate supernatural entities who attracted cult followings either deliberately or unwittingly through their actions. There are 16 gods detailed in the *Ars Goetia,* and astrologers have historically associated them directly with the 16 known planets in Emanation:

1. Lorelei, the Mourner
2. Gamma, the Sentinel
3. Zeralith, the Lightbringer
4. Pashmal, the Drowned
5. Rajazel, the Guide
6. Nicodymus, the Jaded
7. Hades, King of Avernus
8. Havok, and his Dogs of War
9. Diocretius, the Wrathful
10. Sycorax, the Horned Serpent
11. Metarot, the Wanderer
12. Therion, the Watcher
13. Israfel, the Merciful
14. Apocrypha, Knower of the Forgotten
15. Dantalion, Keeper of Precepts
16. Caliburn, the Forgemaster

Lorelei was the mortal consort to Hades, from whom she was forcefully separated when Hades was permanently confined to Avernus to watch over Aquila's riches and the souls of those who were buried underground. Similar to the myth of Ophelia, she was so devastated from her loss that she wept for 100 long years, her tears accumulating to form the world's oceans. She is goddess of the seas, spring, and grief.

Gamma is the eldest son of Moros, and the leader of the rebellion against him. He is represented by the night sky, particularly shooting stars, which adherents believe to be Gamma himself traveling around the world in search of evil. Because of his responsibility in creating Emanation, he is the patron of both ends of life, watching over both the elderly and the babes. In some cultures, he is known as the embodiment of Wisdom.

Zeralith is the will of the cleansing Light. She is said to have torn out her own heart and placed it into the sky to create the Sun, for she loved humanity and wished to protect them from the wrathful beasts of the Shadows. As the arbiter of mortal souls, she judges the deeds of Man in their totality and decides whether they will face punishment in Moros. Though a stern administer of punishment, she is above all a merciful god who holds the preservation of life sacrosanct.

Therion is the spirit of fury, fire, grudges, and the destruction of the wicked. He holds the race of man in unspeakable contempt, seeing them as pale imitations of what life was like before the Desynchronization, and thus finds solace in their suffering. However, he is not without honor, and he abides by the laws set forth by his brother Dantalion and respects Zeralith's final authority on the judgment of mortal souls. He is usually depicted in pitch black robes marked with arcane runes and wielding a golden scythe. Aquila's black mages turn to him for patronage after first consulting the wisdom of king Hades.

Hades is a dark and powerful ancient entity known by many names across the interconnected cultures of Meridian Aquila. In orthodox Templar doctrine he is the ultimate tempter of man, using the powers afforded to him as master of the Aquilan underworld, Avernus, to trick mortals into selling their souls to him in a blood-sealed contract. He is the god of wealth by the token of his sovereignty over all of Aquila's subterranean mineral riches, but he covets the souls of the living above all else, and so he wins the hearts of man by offering them shares of his great fortunes in exchange for their immortal souls once they perish, at which point they are doomed to serve in the mines of Avernus until he deems their debts sufficiently paid. According to the Church, Hades is one of the three Lukavy - the eldest children and the most dangerous servants of the Ancient Fear - who labor tirelessly to ensure his return to Emanation.

In the religions of the Old Ways, Hades is more of a neutral or even sympathetic spirit. He was once the mortal child Ithax, who was sacrificed by the people of Celephais to appease the outer gods after Dantalion bequeathed unto them the secrets of magick. Disgusted by the people's cowardice in murdering an innocent child, Zeralith made an offer with her brother Plutus to merge with the soul of Ithax and punish the entire city of Celephais with hellfire. In exchange, Plutus would be made king of Aquila's underground wealth. The entity Hades was subsequently born, equal parts the fearful and anguished Ithax and the greedy Plutus. Hades consorted with a mortal woman Lorelei for a time after Celephais was razed, but the soul of Plutus won out over time, and permanently sealed himself underneath Aquila so he could revel in his new fortunes without the risk of Ithax mustering enough strength to rebel and escape Avernus to return to the mortal world. By occult teachings, he is not a child of Moros, but similar to the Titans in that he watches over the living realm from the Shadows and offers strange powers to the few mortals he finds interesting, whether out of sympathy for their plight or for his own amusement. He is all told a harsh but fair god, willing to make deals with people who show him respect and demanding nothing from them apart from what he is exactly owed; those who go back on their word or attempt to trick him can incur his wrath and risk him "altering" the deal.

Across all depictions, Hades is almost always seen with his mount Kerberos, a giant three-headed hound or horse with dragon wings and serpent fangs. He is also represented by the hourglass as a symbol of the inevitability of death, as well as the Jackal due to his tendency to prey upon those who upset or underestimate him.

In traditional Meridian occultism, Moros is also recognized as an important celestial entity closely associated with the gods. Most cults regard him as an unthinking avatar of Chaos which is neither benevolent nor malicious, instead a spirit-of-spirits whose dark dreams gave shape to the celestials of Emanation. He is associated with a famous mythological creature called *Meghido,* literally "Old Fiend," usually depicted as a giant flying serpent whose black feathered wings cast all the Shadows upon the mortal plane. The appearance of *Meghido* in folkloric narratives across many distinct cultures has not escaped the notice of theosophic scholars.

*under construction*

## Geography

Aquila is relatively small compared to Earth. Its largest landmass, the supercontinent of Kilran-Ertdor, is roughly the size of Europe proper from the rock of Gibraltar in Spain to the Ural Mountains in Russia. Therefore, Aphelion can be assumed to be comparable in area to the state of Texas, Voshe the size of Cuba, Occa the United Kingdom, and so on. The continents of Aquila which are traditionally used in the Invidere setting are not the full extent of the planet; Kilran and its neighbors make up the Meridian or "central" region of Aquila, while there exist uncharted landmasses such as Zetia, home to the Khotan Empire and about equivalent to the size of Asian Russia from the city of Omsk to Vladivostok. The Western Wastes are so named for their vastness and desolation, and its true extent will not likely be deduced for quite some time as current technology simply cannot sustain a serious expedition into its interior. Similarly, the Rift far to the south of Meridia is gargantuan and nigh-wholly inhospitable to mortals, though it is believed to actually be replete with lush vegetation and vicious fauna who have created their own ecosystem totally independent from the rest of Aquila, and one which humans simply cannot adapt to. Thule is mostly a sea of semi-permanent glacial isles and ice sheets similar to Indonesia by the token of its archipelagic shape, and Scylla can best be described as a massive ocean, similar in scale to the Pacific, whose great natural hazards such as primordial maelstroms, roving hurricanes, and unnamed alien-like sea monsters have made the circumnavigation of Aquila basically impossible as of the 4850s.