Creation Lore

#### **Disclaimer:**

Though the listed lore below is the factual lore of the universe of Astraelous, **each race will have their own ideas or views on how creation and the afterlife** **are.** Be certain to read each race's page to see their views on creation and the afterlife. Remember, do not metagame this information in roleplay!

## The Creation of Everything:

Long ago, farther now then any living being could possibly dream of remembering, there was a time where there was nothing. All that existed was a void - a massive blank plane of nothingness where only a single being resided: the One. The One lived within this inky blackness, existing for hundreds of thousands of years, before it became restless. It stirred within the void, driven to make force a break, to change the unchangeable. It was this motivation to create something out of the nothing around it that caused the One to tear itself into two. In ripping itself asunder, it created two new beings: the God and the Goddess.

   Once more they existed within the void, together and yet so alone in the endless emptiness that surrounded them. After many years together in the still, silence of the void, they too grew restless. Two halves of a whole, the two begun to forge stars, gasses, planets - the world as we have come to know it. It took them thousands of years to perfect the universe they aimed to make. Finally happy with the endless expansion of stars, the two Gods thought they could finally rest but soon realized that something was missing from their beautiful creation: life.

It did not take the God and Goddess long to come to terms with what had to be done: much like before when they had been united as the One, they would have to rip themselves apart to create the life that their precious creation so desperately needed. It was a slow process, but over the next several thousand years the two that had made all the stars, the gases and planets tore themselves to pieces and in doing so gave the infant universe the spark of energy it needed to create life.

## Gods and Solar Systems

Lailahn is home to a pantheon of gods that range in importance, power and purpose. At the top, they have two major gods known as the Greater Gods or True Gods. Lailahn has always had two major gods, and it is very likely that they always will. It is not know what would happen if Lailahn were to ever have just one Greater God. It is a common misunderstanding that the people of Lailahn only worship one of the two Greater Gods; normally both are revered and praised for different reasons, thought *usually* one is favored.

Beneath the Greater Gods are a series of Lesser Gods, also sometimes called Demigods. The Lesser Gods often work alongside the Greater Gods, some choosing to favor one over the other while others remain completely neutral. In addition to the Lesser Gods are a strange level of Gods that are not considered to be on the same level of the Greater Gods but are more powerful and often viewed as more important than the Demigods, these beings are called the Gray Gods.

### Previous Greater Gods

With the passing of time, the Greater Gods that have always ruled over Lailahn have decided to step down and pass the torch to two younger beings that would be able to take over and rule in their place. These are the per-exisiting gods.

#### Hollyn

Known to be bitter, calculated and stern, Hollyn favors the academic to the brute. He acts not with emotion, most of the time, but with logic and planning, some have claimed that this makes him cold and indifferent to the suffering of his people on occasion. Scholars will often utter Hollyn's name when they find themselves stuck in their studies, this stemming back from a tradition of people claiming that Hollyn was the one preventing breakthroughs in research, just so he could watch the 'wise and intelligent scholars' realize they aren't as capable as they assumed.

Hollyn is thought to be a bit of a hot headed man, once you break past the exterior calm he usually displays. He expects perfection from everyone around him. Due to this, he is sometimes refered to as the god of pride and lust. It is also known that Hollyn believes strongly in destiny, and that each person is born to fill a certain role and that they must stay in that role no matter what.

No matter his bitterness, Hollyn is symbolized with the sun and great heat. On devastatingly hot days, it would not be uncommon to hear lower class citizens utter something along the lines of, "It's as hot as Hollyn's arse/balls." This is not so common with the higher ranking in the world, but that doesn't mean they don't let it slip from time to time. A less vulgar variant of this would be, "It's as hot as Hollyn's breath."

The greatest temple to Hollyn resides deep in the dense tropical jungle of Is'sonyk. It is believed this temple is where Hollyn resides and carries out his godly duties.

Hollyn has sense been replaced with his daughter, Avonnia.

#### Zyitalan

Chaos and emotion are what led young Zyitalan through his rule; his governing hand could be gentle or stern accordingly. While he was a young god, he was referred to as 'The Fierce' or 'The Expressive'; this is thought to be because of how willing he was to show his people that he felt just as they did, and he would not stand for cruelty dealt unto them. As the god aged and became more wise, he was more commonly called 'the Kind', and refereed to the Father god due to the fact that he could still be stern but often wanted what was best for his people.

Zyitalan prefers those who work hard, no matter if it is in their magical studies or their physical craft. He appreciates people who earn what they have and have something to show for their time and energy. People often pray to him before starting major projects to remind him of all they have accomplished in hopes of getting his blessing on continuing their work. Due to this he has become associated with art and trade-skills. Since he has mellowed so much with age, he has earned the position of being the god of wisdom to many.

The symbol of this god is often a finely crafted axe, as he was thought to favor that weapon in his early days. He is associated with large, elder trees and cold winter nights. When it is colder than usual, it is common to hear people utter, "Zyitalan must be watching." - as it is thought any place the god is currently examining will become colder.

The grand temple to Zyitalan resides on top of the steep mountains of far north Myerdal, on the border of Ock'tsennia. It is believed to be built on the peak of Mt. Galdavyn, one of the harshest ranges on the continent.

Zyitalan has since been replaced by his son, Khonda, also known as Nokyiita.

## Death

As to be expected, all things that live do eventually die. Death on Lailahn is nothing new, and is understood - to some degree - more than any other aspect of life. When a person dies, a Reaper is assigned to them; it is the job of this Reaper to collect the soul of the deceased and take them onto their next destination.

It is up to the Reaper if the soul will be collected as soon as the person dies, or if the soul will be allowed to linger in the living realm for a while longer. Additionally, the Reaper can decide to allow the dead to return to the living - in doing this the Reapers pay a life-toll, draining some of their existence to allow the other person to come back from the end.