After the God Wars
In the beginning, the world of Maia thrived on its own. Unspoilt and untouched by the Gods, it was abundant in its flourishing ecosystem, providing for the growing population of human villagers who prospered among its diverse terrains.
From this, four Gods saw potential. They believed they could create a better world—lands they could shape and mould in their image, playthings for their eternal toil.
But what they couldn’t predict was their downfall.
With one God fallen, set to be imprisoned for the rest of eternity, the other three grew bored once more with the mere animals they had created for the lands below.
It wasn’t enough.
It was never enough.
They needed more.
The threat of Orion’s beasts was neutralised, so they sought a new path—one that would bring them more entertainment than ever before.
They created life beyond the animal form.
Oona created the fae.
Oriel created the mers.
Osear created the silvers.
Each was a representation of the original animals they had created on Maia. Those new creatures would bring a consciousness beyond animal perception, a true show for the Gods.
As with all things, however, the three deities soon became jealous of their creations, wanting lives of their own. For them to achieve that, they had only one option: fall.
The Gods considered interjecting themselves into the lives of their current creations, but they saw a better way—a way they could improve on the mistakes they had made within those lands.
So, they created anew.
They forgot about the mers, silvers and fae.
They left behind the God imprisoned on the island of their making.
However, before they left, they imparted one last gift on each of the species they had created. From far above, they whispered three separate prophecies.
Three prophecies built on truth and lies.
Three prophecies that would be their abandoned creations’ destruction or hope.
For the Gods had never been kind and merciful. They served their own purposes, and for centuries, their pleasure had been amusement at the hands of their creations on Maia.
Those stories, as murmured between the creatures of the Forgotten Lands, were prophesied as follows.
The fae, created by the Goddess Oona, were foretold a great prophecy of bonded love between two warring territories to bring peace.
The silvers, created by the God Osear, were foretold a great prophecy of a Seraph, a saviour from the sky who would tame the beasts of the lands and utilise them to bring about a new world.
The mers, created by the Goddess Oriel, were foretold a great prophecy of kinship with neighbouring sisters who would create unity within the land—a story long-forgotten through their dwindling numbers.
At the core, all prophecies were stories—fables disguised as gifts to bring about more unintentional hope and cruelty from the Gods who abandoned their creatures for a new and better place. A new home where they would walk the lands as revered deities.
Upon seeing it play out, the fates took matters into their own hands, setting a course in motion that would bring all those false prophecies to fruition.
Soon, a woman made of flesh and fire would be the seed of the fates’ gambit. For where the Gods saw a place to play and wreak havoc, the guardians of rhythm sought balance for the future.
No one could outsmart the fates, including the Gods.