Part I: The Unfolding (Asylon Supplement)

All is adrift in AETHER. ARU and TESURA interplay to create ASYLON. Within Asylon, life is created in the bias of Aru and Tesura. The first of these is ASHA, born from Aru, who forces the order of Time and Space upon Asylon. To maintain balance, Tesura creates SHEOR, the embodiment of change and upheaval, and there is much strife between them.

This upheaval creates two beings almost simultaneously: NEX, the Tesura embodiment of Death and Cruelty, and UTSIRTE, the Aruaic spirit of Life and Compassion. The Aruaic and Tesura pantheons begin to take shape with the marriage of Asha and Utsirte, and the alliance of Nex and Sheor. It is believed that Nex and the rest of the Tesuraic gods are actually children of Sheor. At some point (amongst the arrival of the other Aruaic and Tesuraic gods) Asha and Utsirte give birth to a child, SARGA-TOL, who alone amongst the gods realizes the folly of constant strife. Great with wisdom, Sarga-Tol explains the nature of duality to all the gods, and there if there is not peace, there is at least understanding between these two forces.

Eventually, Sheor envisions a way to attain ultimate strife, and convinces or tricks the Aruaic gods to create a physical world. MAIOR chooses to be the architect of this world, and Utsirte serves as the host for this world, IRTE, the world of mortals. In all, eight of the most powerful Aruaic spirits exert much of their strength in the creation of Irte, such that their physical bodies are spent and are now the planets adrift in the realm of PANTON.

Before he is trapped, Maior realizes the trickery of Sheor in his bid for power and strife, and flees Asylon. He punctures a hole in the walls of ORA and enters Aether, safe from the reaches of Sheor and the Tesuraic gods. This hole forms the Sun, and is the source of magic in the world. At the warning of Maior, several lesser Aruaic spirits leave Asylon similarly, creating the pinpricks of starlight visible at night. Thus did Asylon become exposed to a slight amount of magic, such that it would not be destroyed but rather enriched by its presence.

The seven other Aruaic deities that spent much of their energies in the enrichment of Utsirte realized their folly and turned on Sheor. Because they were weakened, they might not have been able to defeat him had it not been for Utsirte's increased power, and seeing his plans turned to ruins, Sheor determined to destroy Utsirte before he himself was destroyed. But lo, he could not reach Utsirte before her power split him asunder, ending his life and forming the twin moons of Irte, PRISTIS and FELTIS. However, a part of his essence broke free of the destruction, and--still thrumming with energy, dove deep into the body of Utsirte, impregnating her with a measure of his energy and selfishness. Thus was the world of Irte turned from a paradise of life and goodness into the balance of life and death, tranquility and turmoil that we see today.

The eight Aruaic gods that gave of themselves to create life in PANTON still held considerable (if fractured) power, and are known now as the EIGHT AEREN. Those first twelve children of Sheor rival the remaining power of the Eight, and are known as the TRAEREN PRINCES. Their spheres vary greatly, and encompass many of the Tesuraic ambitions of their father Sheor. Thus is there balance even today, despite the waning of power amongst the Aruaic pantheon, and the death of Sheor. Praise be to the Eight, for their sacrifice, that we might have life, and praise to the Ninth, Valde, that we might be united in peace and prosperity.

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