You are being greeted by the warm glow of the fire lighting up the room. On both sides of the fireplace are windows with wine red curtains reaching from the floor to the ceiling allowing you to see the heavy snow storm raging outside.
The chimney made from bricks stands out from the rest of the room as it is made of a dark stone instead of the wood. Above the fireplace hangs a large axe made from dark metal and red lines running across the blade. Even without sufficient knowledge on these topics you realize this axe is not made for wood but it seems as if it was happy with gathering dust.
The walls to your left and right are lined with shelves filled with books and some trinkets. You can't find out what these strange symbols on the books mean but you can see that some books seem older than others while some newer ones even seem to glow with a dim light.
In front of the fireplace is a white carpet, simple in design but you can feel how it tries to invite you to take a nap on top of it.
Next to the carpet is one rocking chair with a figure in it. Before you could take a closer look the figure turned in his chair and looked right at you, a small smile gracing his face.
“Oh, a guest?” You hear a small chuckle from him. “Come inside, young one. It's cold outside and I can assure you that I don't bite. Maybe a hot chocolate will help against the cold?”
You blink and find yourself sitting in a comfy chair right next to the rocking chair with a blanket wrapped around you. You hold a mug in your hand with hot chocolate in it. The steam coming from it shows that the beverage is really warm and the aroma coming from it makes you relax. In between your chair and the rocking chair appeared a small table with a plate of cookies.
“So, young one, for what are you here?”
As you think about your reason for finding yourself in this place you take a closer look at the owner of this place. He has shoulder length dark hair bound in a ponytail and a short beard covering his face. His eyes, those sky blue glowing eyes, are looking at you through his glasses as if they could see right through you. His body is covered by a dark red shirt with its sleeves rolled up. His hands are resting on a blanket covering his legs.
[Insert what you expected when you started reading this.]
“Hmm, so that is what you were hoping for? Then I will have to disappoint you but you won't be able to find it here. As you can see and probably already did, this place doesn't have it. Here is no adventure waiting for you, a treasure that would make your dreams come true or a way to find true love. This place only has some books, a few useless trinkets and an old weapon that is gathering dust. So, I'm afraid you will not find it here.”
You feel something as you listen to his words. Disappointment? Anger? Sadness? You can't tell but you know that there isn't any reason for you to continue staying here.
“Calm down, my dear guest. Just because you didn't find what you sought doesn't mean you should get back out there into that storm.”
You look out of the window at the snowstorm. It seems to be getting worse and you already know that going out now would be even more time consuming than just waiting here for it to end.
“Now, I did say you will not find what you came here for. But what you can find here are stories. Those books here are filled with stories that are just waiting to be heard and I'm sure it will be boring while waiting for the snow to end. So, are you ready to listen to this old man reading you one?”
His words are true and you also think that a story that nobody listens to would be sad. So, why not, you think and agree.
He smiles at you as he opens the book in his lap that you are sure wasn't there before. “Then let us not waste anymore time and dive right in. I hope you enjoy the ride and I almost forgot but you can call me ‘the Narrator’. Oh, and please, take a cookie if you want something to snack on.”
.
The world of Ephemera was a strange one. It wasn't created by an event like the Big Bang nor was it created through the hands of some form of primordial being. It just was there in a formerly empty realm. Only space and time existed at this moment in this place but Ephemera just appeared as if someone wished for it to appear.
Maybe that was what happened? The wish of an author to create a world for his story, to set the stage for his actors while he plays the role of director. Nobody knows how it came to be but what is known is what happened next.
Following the spontaneous appearance of Ephemera two lights appeared. One golden white and one dark and cold. Those two lights that stood opposite each other started working together, concentrating their will and guiding it to the giant ball of rock and dirt floating in between them.
After a short while they stopped and Ephemera started absorbing the light, infusing itself with it before a gentle glow started spreading over its surface and a pulse of energy spread out and through this empty space.
Eight new lights appeared. Some started growing out of the glow coming from Ephemera and some others came from the distance where the pulse of energy started crumbling to pieces and fusing them with small embers of light coming from the first two.
The Third radiated warmth. Concentrating its light into Ephemera caused a giant ball of fire to appear bathing the world in its own warmth. The third light was flooding this area with Joy.
The Fourth mimicked the Third but its concentrated light burst into millions of pieces that found their place all around this space , shining weakly. Some of them wanted to thank it and arranged themselves in strange formations. The Fourth felt indifference and Apathy towards everything.
The Fifth saw all the sparkling lights the fourth and the third had made and wanted its creation to be just like theirs. But it failed and failed again until the dark and cold light came to it and helped. Its creation wasn't like the others. It was a piece of rock floating closer to Ephemera than anything else the other two had ever made but it would only be able to reflect their light and never shine on its own. The Fifth looked towards their creations with Envy.
The Sixth became curious about what everyone was doing and wanted to try it too. So, she began and sent herself to Ephemera itself, where it settled like a blanket over the world and protected it from the light that came from everywhere. The Sixth bounced around seemingly happy that it was just the same as everybody.
The Seventh looked at Ephemera and found it lacked something. Its light caused the surface of the world to move. Some places rose in height while others sank. In areas where the surface moved into each other the land would rise high enough to touch the blanket created by the Sixth, while in others the land sank deeper and created trenches in which even the lights had difficulty reaching into. The Seventh wasn't showing any form of strong emotion but the others realized that it was just staying calm and patient.
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
The Eighth saw the blanket that the Sixth created as well as the changes the Seventh created and found that the surface seemed empty. An idea came to its mind and it started gathering its dark blue light, compressing it. The light began to “melt” and slowly drip onto the surface of the world, filling the trenches and flooding the lower areas of the surface. It became angry because it couldn't cover all of the surface but the Sixth and Seventh were able to calm it down.
The Ninth and Tenth weren't like everybody else and just started creating something. Together they went to the golden white light and dark and cold one. Those four coalesced their very being in one giant ball shimmering in various different colors. They brought it close to Ephemera before compressing it and letting it explode in a burst of small shards that started raining on the world.
Some of the shards upon entering the glow around Ephemera were stuck in the blanket created by the Sixth, some others fell into the liquid added by the Eighth and the ones that were left either landed on the surface of the lands that were moved by the Seventh or dug into it. Regardless of the place they found themselves those shards started changing into a form made of flesh,adapting to their new home.
The ones in the creation of the Sixth became birds, dragons and other beings capable of flight, the ones in the area of the Eighth became various fishes, crabs and others that felt at home in the dark. Those on the lands were the ones with the most variation.
Some had only two legs while others eight, some gained a natural armor around their bodies while others became completely ethereal.
All ten lights were happy with the way Ephemera now looked and after the golden white one and the dark and cold one created a place for themselves the ten lights entered Ephemera to help guide their creations.
This is the way the people of Ephemera remember the creation of their home and to this day the ten lights still help guide them but now they have a name that the people use to thank them and pay them respect.
They are known as [The Ten Creators].
[Ephemera, The Divine Realm, The Hall of Creation. The third day of Padox, year 17 after the Rupture]
The Hall of Creation, located in the very center of the Divine Realm, does have quite a noble name but the truth is that the name will never represent its true purpose in the best way possible.
There is nothing that was created in those halls and corridors and probably never will be. The Hall is nothing more than the place where the beings that are considered to be part of the Divine Realm are holding their meetings. Nothing more and nothing less.
These halls only ever witness discussions being held by the divine and the decision being made regarding their interactions with the non-divine part of Ephemera, or the Mortal Realm as some began to call it several millennia ago.
The design of the building itself was a mix of a temple made for worship and a palace that stood as a symbol of the power and authority its inhabitants have or more often than not think they deserve. If this is true for gods is another matter altogether but not something we will or should discuss right now.
White polished stone is the main resource that makes up the walls and pillars supporting the weight of the golden dome that acts as ceiling for the whole structure. Giant statues depicting knights in armor stand as silent guards next to the entrance, a stream of rainbow coloured water flows in a small trench in the middle of the stairs leading up to the open archway.
The corridor walls are lined with windows spanning the entire wall but clearly avoiding the pillars that have braziers hanging on them, each lit and shining a golden red light into each corner. The floor has thick lines of gold and silver running through the stone and acting as pathways that guide the visitors. Smaller and finer lines in different coloured run along the walls, sometimes completely chaotic and sometimes creating small pieces of art depicting wildlife found in Ephemera.
But what really draws attention to it are the embers and sparks flying through the air shimmering in every colour imaginable and even some you would never even think would be possible. And those are not part of the Halls decoration but are found in every corner and small crevice of this realm.
Even in the main hall where the ten creators and the other gods currently had a very important discussion were those embers found, though, discussions involving all of them were so rare that the only other time this happened was the time following the events that caused the end of the “Age of Myth”.
“Now that everyone is here I propose we start discussing what we all came here for.”
The words echoed through the council, silencing the whispers and small talks and causing even the laziest of the gods to turn their attention to the podium in the center of the room. There ten thrones stood, each of them in a different colour and style. Sitting in them were silhouettes made of light but all in a form similar to humans.
“I don't want to interrupt, Meltrismara, but aren't we still missing a certain someone?” A silhouette made of silver light sat on a throne with delicate paintings carved into it. They depict a being clad in armor with a sword in hand standing between a fearsome dragon and scared children.
“You are right, yes, but Paradox meant we should begin without him. He doesn't know if he will be able to attend this meeting.” Meltrismara, the golden white light, sat on her throne painted in a pleasant green with portraits of humans, dwarves, elves, orcs, beastkin and some animals.
“But enough of this. We came together to decide how to intervene in this war that is about to happen down in the Mortal Realm. I ask for ideas so that we can help them to get rid of this ‘villain’ that's plaguing Ephemera.”
A warm, red light seated on a throne with a painting of the sunrise raised his hand. “Unless someone found another way for us to spread our influence in their realm, our only options would be to send our Knights or give blessings to their armies. After all, there isn't anything that could count as a reason that would allow us to circumvent the Rules that existed since we left for the Divine Realm.”
Murmurs began to erupt in the ranks surrounding the podium. The gods whispered to each other, the younger and more ambitious ones questioning the need for the Rules while the older ones concentrated on thinking about their options.
“Solestio is right.” A loud voice declared, causing the gods to return their attention to the podium and owner of this voice.
“Of course we could send an oracle down and order our followers to gather the paladins and send them alongside the Knights but that in itself is not possible. Most if not all Knights are currently occupied with other problems that appeared since the Rupture and gathering all paladins now wouldn't be of any help.”
“Then what do you propose we do, Thalasos?”
Thalasos, the dark blue light seated on a throne depicting a stormy sea, leaned into his throne and crossed his arms. “I personally would love to go and take care of it myself but I also do not want a repeat of that. What I propose is a blessing, not as strong or as numerous as the Blessings we gave to the ‘Hero’ but something that is enough to nudge the scales just a little in their direction.”
Meltrismara nicked slowly, her gaze locked on the mirror on the ground. “Do I understand it right that your proposal is to help the mortals just enough to not lose but also not to win?”
“Yes, Meltrismara, that is my plan.”
The silver silhouette suddenly hit her fist on her armrest. “You coward! Do you not care for the people down there, Thalasos?! It's our job to take care of them and here you think about only helping them a little bit? This war will have the highest death toll in history if we do not help them!”
Thalasos shot an angry glare in the silhouette's direction. “You should control yourself better, Tenebresia. Not all of us are as benevolent towards the mortals as you. Especially I do not care about the land dwellers as much. So, do not test my patience, we all know I have none of it.”
Tenebresia stood up with her fists clenched. “You-”
“That’s enough, you two!” Meltrismara's voice cut through the brewing tension. “Tenebresia, I know you care greatly about the mortals but calm down. We both would like to save all of them but we can't and you know it. So, sit down and let us talk about how exactly we support them so they can save as many of them by themselves.”
Tenebresia was about to say something but one look at Meltrismara made her stop and she sat down.
“I do not want to sound as if I am supporting him but isn't the battle between the armies only of secondary importance?” A deep but calm voice came from a silhouette seated next to Thalasos. “Shouldn’t we direct our focus on the ‘Hero’ and his group? Killing the 'villain' should be our main goal or not?”
Thalasos shook his head. “Yes, our goal is to have the ‘villain’ be killed by the ‘Hero’ but the armies are enabling this in the first place. The united armies goal isn’t to win this war, even though they don't know it yet, but to gather as much attention as possible so the hero's group can get to the ‘villain’ in the most optimal condition to increase their chances. That is also why we need to be careful with the blessing for the armies so that they struggle and we can increase the strength of the Blessings on the boy.”
Meltrismara let a sigh escape her and swept her gaze over the beings in front of her.
“I would like to argue with Thalasos’ reasoning but he is right. Our main concern will be the Hero's fight not the armies. A small blessing or two should be enough, afterall my saintess and one of my Knights are helping in the healer tent. More will not be given to them. Does everyone agree?”
The gods voted for the decision and most of the Creators did too.
Meltrismara nodded, looked around once more before gesturing to the mirror on the ground.
“Then let us begin the blessing and observe this fateful moment!”