PROLOGUE

At the beginning of time, Sol, the Sun God, floated alone in the vast Heavens. Tired of his solitude, he split a part of himself and granted it consciousness. Thus, Ignis, the Fire God, was born.

Unable to control his creator’s power, Ignis dwindled away as he lost his heat to the Heavens. To protect himself and preserve his strength, he withdrew into himself, letting his outer parts cool and petrify.

Thus, Terra, the Goddess of Earth, came to be. She floated in the vast void of the Heavens, basking in the warmth of her Grandfather and warmed from the inside by her Father. Yet, she was uncomfortable. Her Grandfather was too strong, the side facing him burnt while the side facing away froze.

So, she began to turn and Dies and Noctis, the Deific twins representing day and night were brought into existence. Dies fell in love with his sister on first sight. Uncomfortable, Noctis ran from him. Thus, began their perpetual chase.

Millenia passed until a meteor from the depths of the void came crashing into Terra. The impact tore a grievous wound into her and the meteor merged into a whole with a part of Terra and formed a ball that orbited her. Luna, the Goddess of the Moon, was born.

The impact had knocked Terra askew and set her on an orbit around Sol. Thus, Vivaldi, the God of the four seasons was birthed.

Traumatized by the pain from the meteor and unwilling to suffer again, Terra released all the gases trapped within her and formed a protective veil around herself. Thus, Aer, the God of the Atmosphere, was born.

Soon, the water in Aer condensed into clouds and it began to rain. For millennia, the torrential downpour moistened the wounds on Terra, filling them with water. Thus, Inber, the Goddess of Rain and Cloud, and Oceanus, the God of Oceans, were born.

Collectively, the Gods called their physical manifestation Ea. The years flowed like water until one day, a rainstorm raged on a volcanic eruption and the four elements came together to form a bolt of lightning. Thus, Vita, the Goddess of Life and Lightning, and Mortem, the God of Death and Thunder, was born.

For nine days and nine nights, Ea withstood a baptism of thunder and lightning. When it ended, the first shoot, Arbor, grew out of the earth and the first fish, Piscis, traversed the oceans.

For the next nine years, Vita and Mortem travelled the world creating all manner of creatures. During their travels, they fell in love, marrying. Enamoured by the feeling, they divided their creations by gender and fragmented themselves, attaching themselves to their creatures so they could feel it again and again over the millennia.

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Thus, females gained the power to create life and males the power to deal death.

Intrigued by the tiny beings running all over and through them, the Pantheon gathered to create their own creature. Thus, the Hominum, the first Humans were created.

Aer lay claim to the floating islands formed due to the impact of the meteor and settled the Pluma, the first winged humans there.

Terra chose the only continent and settled the Aes, the first Earth elementals, in the tunnels below its surface.

Oceanus settled the Mer, the first merfolk, in the waters that covered half the world.

Ignis created the Incendo, the first fire elementals to dwell in the volcanoes all over the world.

Sol, Inber and several other newly born Deities chose to bless the Hominum with their aspects and scattered them all over the world.

Soon, the Humans propelled by the blessings of the Pantheon, developed swiftly and violently and came into conflict with the Beasts. Thus, Bellum, the God of War was born.

Amused, the Pantheon sent oracles to their most fervent followers, directing the war against the beasts, who retreated in defeat again and again.

Having merged into an organic whole with the Beasts, Vita and Mortem, had no awareness of the events of the outside. Feeling the pain of losing more and more of themselves to Humans, they awoke.

Enraged by how sentient creatures were being toyed with by the Gods, they blessed the strongest race within the Beasts, the Daemons.

Led by the Daemons, the Beasts counterattacked their oppressors. The war went on for a hundred years before outnumbered and outmatched, the Daemon Lord fell at the hands of the representatives of the Gods known as the Heroes.

Thus, the war ended but not with the victory of the Humans.

In his last moments, the Daemon Lord drew upon the power of Life and Death and cast a spell that merged the humans and the beasts into a race of beast-men, the Bestia.

Mortem’s consciousness was permanently erased and Vita forced into a deep slumber as a consequence.

Deeply saddened by the death of his children, Sol forced the Pantheon to sign a treaty of non-interference, barring them from meddling with the mortal world ever again.

Devoid of a clear enemy and changed beyond recognition by the spell, the Bestia fell to infighting. Thus, followed a decade of Chaos, before they settled into a tribal lifestyle, segregating themselves by the bloodlines of the beasts they carried.

Many years have passed and innumerable Bestia empires have risen and fallen. Now a crisis covers the world. After long years of deep sleep to recover from her wounds, Vita is stirring again.

All over the world, female Bestia are reverting to their more bestial forms, losing their reason in the process. They are driven by Vita’s rage and bloodlust at having lost her Husband, nothing but mindless creatures hellbent on destruction.

The only hope in these dark times are recessive Hominum males. Devoid of Mortem’s taint and wielding the ancient contract magic, they can purify the Ferals of Vita’s influence, returning them to their Bestia forms in exchange for being bound to their soul.

Now, able to shift freely between human and beast forms, these former Ferals travel the land with their Masters, subduing their unfortunate sisters and bringing peace to the world.