POV Narrator:
Before The Age of Men and Elves, Goliaths and Gods, Avians and Spirits there was The First Age. The Age of Elementals. They stood tall and proud, like towering colossi with heads in the clouds. The largest measured thousands of meters tall. Fire elementals reigned in the volcanoes. Water elementals reigned in the ocean. Air elementals reigned in the clouds. Earth elementals reigned over continents. They are the rulers of the world before any God or creature, but as with every great species, there is always an individual that lives in the shadow of those mightier than himself.
An earth elemental, made from ordinary dirt, puny compared to the size of the other elementals, a mere hundred meters tall. He was standing over a small pond contemplating his mundane future. This little elemental always had a dream. A dream to be something more than he already was, something that no one could ignore. He wasn't interested in absolute power or to rule; he merely wanted to be the embodiment of that which he held most dear, his world.
Fate is a cruel mistress for such a tiny earth elemental to have such a colossal dream. The earth elemental ponders what to do as he stands over the pond looking at his dirt bound reflection. He finally decides. Slowly, the earth elemental lowers itself down into the crystalline water, going into a deep sleep and waiting for a time when fate will grant him a chance to seize his dream.
Now is not that time.
Ages pass around the earth elemental as he hibernates in the small pond, but he does not wake for he is waiting. Waiting for the time when fate would call upon him, and he could finally accomplish his coveted dream.
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When the second age dawned, all the elementals that still roamed the world perished into World Essence. The World Essence of these, once high and mighty colossi, floated around the world, ready to start something great and new.
The World Essence was the building blocks of creation, creating life and giving it form. The elementals from the first age gave them their power to allow a new age to dawn and the world to start anew. From the essence of the elementals, powerful beings formed.
These powerful beings, better known as Gods to the mortals of the ages that followed, embodied the very nature of the World Essence, much like the elementals themselves, but different. The Gods were each unique in their way, creating the mortal creatures that inhabit each consecutive age. They ruled the world, guiding it through the ages, but even they were not truly free from influence.
Only a portion of the World Essence, from the first age, became Gods. The slight majority of the World Essence became something more. As if guided by fate, the remaining World Essence became a peerless entity. This entity was not a god. No, it was something else, something much more important.
It became The System.
The System, an entity born from a majority of the World Essence, slowly worked its way into the very foundation of the world. The System governed everything, providing status screens, titles, and on exceptionally rare occasions the System granted a unique trait to selected individuals.
The System granted beings the power to ascend beyond their current self, into something greater, but only when they truly earned it. Not even the gods could escape the reach of the System, bound by its mighty power. The System created balance. It imposed restrictions on the gods, allowing them to nurture the world with every age that followed slowly.
With the System’s influence, the world found balance and harmony. The age of elementals was over, but they were not all gone. One remained; waiting for the day he would stand up and finally achieve his dream.