Who is the Creator?

"The universe is the Ida's canvas" is a common Yashelin turn of phrase used when presented with an exceptionally beautiful and/or weird aspect of the world around them. What many have pondered and few have ever dared to ask it directly is: if the universe is the Ida's canvas, then what is its medium?

Common Philosophies

The Yashelin compare the Ida to a Painter with an infinite color palette and an ethereal brush. Others, such as the Lainists, imagine the Ida as a Singer who willed the universe into existence via its sonorous voice. Although the Painter and the Singer are the most popular sentiments regarding the Ida's methodology, other ideas that have cropped up over the years include (but are not limited to): the Architect, the Programmer, and the Automaton.

Uncomfortable Truths

Although there is a grain of truth to each of the above commonly held beliefs about how the Ida creates, precious few have ever imagined something even closer to the truth. In many ways, the Ida is a Scientist, and its medium? The fundamental building blocks of the universe-that-is-also-it. With temperature, liquids, solids, gases, and consciousness, the Ida creates, maintains, and expands upon its gigantic canvas.
Perhaps so few people have imagined the Ida as a Scientist because to be a scientist implies experimentation. After all, it is most comforting to imagine that the being responsible for creating and maintaining the universe in which one lives already knows everything. The Ida makes no wrong strokes of its brush and its voice never falters.
If few are comfortable imagining the Ida as the Scientist, then no one wants to imagine the Ida as ever having been young. Children make mistakes, and the Ida should not be able to do that. And the implications, if it could have or still can make mistakes? Well, "the universe is the Ida's canvas, and we're all stuck living in it."

Prose: Ezeki and the Ida's First Mistake

The Ida by Midjourney

Named Things

The four Ofanin say to the Ida, "We were not built for this, we were not built to be named things. Release us and we shall take care of this planet upon which you have grounded us forever and more."
"What of your fifth, who you have waited to fall asleep?"
"It shall rejoice in the splendor of the universe beside you."
"You shall lose your ability to speak with mouths, to hug one another, to play with hands," the Ida warns, pleads.
"We will speak, hug, and play with another as we did before," the Ofanin say.
The Ida warns again, "I cannot remove your consciousness now that you have it."
"Don’t you dare."
The Ida releases the four to their incorporeal nature with great grief.
What feels like only a moment later, it hears Ezeki, the Ofanin of Consciousness, wake from its deep slumber.

Gone

Young Ezeki by Midjourney

Ezeki wakes up late, as usual. First to bed and last to rise.
Ezeki wanders out of its room, rubbing the sleep out of its eyes and subconsciously counting the rooms. Five, four, three, two, one! Ezeki, Ko, Vanori, Aveli, and Fari!
It is surprised to find the Ida sitting alone, poised and tense in its chair.
“Good morning, Ida,” Ezeki greets, automatically crawling into its lap.
It stiffly preens its wings. "Good morning, my darling Storyteller.”
"Am I the first one up?”
The Ida chuckles, sadly. “No, not quite.”
“What’s that mean?”
“Storyteller,” the Ida leans in to tap its forehead to Ezeki's temple. “The others went away. It’ll be just me and you for a while.”
“Went away?” Ezeki asks, unfamiliar with the concept. “When are they returning?”
“They’re not.”
Ezeki leans away from the Ida, brows furrowed in confusion and vague insult. "But Fari promised to play with me today!"
The Ida smiles, exasperated. “Never mind that, now. I'll play with you."
An unfamiliar feeling of dread eats at Ezeki's stomach. “I don’t wanna be alone.”
“I’m here with you,” it comforts.
“Bring them back?!” Ezeki's hopeful, doleful eyes could melt a demon's heart.
“They are not gone,” it counters nonsensically.
Ezeki has no idea where to begin asking questions.
Before it can think of any, the Ida kisses Ezeki on the cheek and asks seriously, "Have you ever heard any voices, Storyteller, except for our own? Have you seen waves when you should have seen your room?”
Ezeki has, but it shakes its head anyway. "No, Ida. That sounds scary."
The Ida droops, poised mask temporarily clouded over by grief. It focuses on preening Ezeki's twitchy wings and continues, "They’re not coming back. Do you understand what that means? You don’t have playmates anymore.”
“But I have four of them!” Ezeki argues, tears welling up now. “I’m Five!”
“Not anymore,” Ida rocks Ezeki gently, while a strange breeze whips around them both. “I can make you some new playmates. We’ll call you and them Yashelin. Do you want new ones?”
“New… playmates? Yashelin?” Ezeki has never considered that the Ida might create anyone else, after it finished Ezeki last.
“Yes!” The Ida latches to Ezeki's confusion. “You can be their… leader! How many do you want?”
Ezeki tries to think of the largest number it can. "Six?"
Ida grins, a tad manically, and kisses Ezeki on the cheek again. It squeezes it so close that it can hardly breathe.
"I'll create a whole world for you and the new Yashelin to explore, too, once I create them,” the Ida adds fervently, imagination already rising to the challenge. “I’ll show you first, and then you can show the other Yashelin around when I finish them up! Be their One.”
“Ok, Ida. I'll be like Fari!”
"I'll always be here to help you," the Ida reassures, voice cracking. It likely needed reassurance more than Ezeki at that moment, who benefited from its youthful ignorance, but there was no one here to give it to it but itself. "Never forget that."
"... I won't?" Ezeki promises.

The Ida by Midjourney

First

Over one million years later, Ezeki ponders, "If the other Ofanin are like that, then why aren’t I? Ubiquitous and ephemeral, I mean."
"I realize the irony in saying that you need not be conscious of your own ubiquity to be so."
Ezeki laughs, a strained, terrified thing.
"You are everywhere at once. The invocation of stories activates that which would otherwise overwhelm you as an individual. In the same manner, the other Ofanin can control the point of their consciousnesses as well. Have you ever heard any voices, Storyteller, except for our own? Have you seen waves when you should have seen your room?"
Ezeki remembers both questions with perfect clarity. "Yes. What do they mean?"
"You are connected to the same vastness that is the universe, that is me, as the other four."
"Why did you hide that from me?!"
"I hid nothing. You did not hear nor see it when I asked first. Now you do."
"I lied!"
"Forgive me for not having experienced lies before you, then, Storyteller."
"You created me. You literally commanded me to tell stories."
"I did, didn’t I?" the Ida replies, dryly. "If only I was a prophetic pedant."
"You could have told me what happened to them, at least! We didn’t have to act like they never existed."
"You are correct. I could have and we didn’t."
Ezeki dares. Ezeki asks, "Why?"
"I am neither infallible nor omniscient."
"I know that, Ida, but why?"
"Do you, truly? Ezeki, if science is to be believed, I may be 5.6 billion years old. I have tended to this universe from its birth and mine to today, and I will always. Yet I am not the one who is blessed with a perfect memory. You are better positioned to answer that question than I."
"I’m not," Ezeki argues.
"Tell me a story, Ezeki," the Ida prompts with a wry smile. "Why did I not tell you about the other Ofanin?"
As visions of the past from the Ida's perspective fill its mind, Ezeki grits out, "Stop it and cut to the chase! Say whatever you want to say out loud for once."
"You, of all Yashelin, should understand that being the first also means making the most mistakes."

Ezeki by Midjourney

by Midjourney

A Painter

Primary Believers

Yashelin

Notes

The Yashelin are the primary believers in the concept of the Ida as a painter of the universe. Their belief is well supported by direct evidence, as the Ida personally named them the Yashelin, or the Painted.

by Midjourney

A Singer

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Primary Believers

Lainism, Mwimic

Notes

According to traditional Lainist and Mwimic beliefs, the act of Singing is the most important act of creation. When the Ida sings, the universe responds to its spiritual power, and something akin to a painting is the result.
Lainism celebrates the Ida via exuberant and loud music during their ceremonies. Mwimic, meanwhile, only allows a select few to perform music.

by Midjourney

An Architect

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Primary Believers

Followers of Coran, the Serayin of Architecture, Fibercraft, and the Arts

Notes

This belief largely does not conflict with the average Yashelin's belief in the Ida as a Painter. When presented with this view of the Ida as an Architect pouring over plans and then donning a hardhat, most would simply shrug their shoulders and move on. It's nice to think that the Ida has a sturdy plan.

by Midjourney

The Universe, An Automaton

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Primary Believers

Atheists

Notes

For an atheist, the Ida as a consciousness does not exist at all. The universe operates automatically and independently, without a need for any sort of God.
The Ida certainly does exist, but it is true that it is not omniscent or omnipresent. The Ida is the consciousness of the universe, and it is not in all places at one time. Despite this, the universe continues moving automatically without its direct imput.

by Midjourney

A Programmer

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Primary Believers

Bes Astris

Notes

The comparison between the Ida and a computer programmer is unpopular with most people, even amongst the Bes Astris who make up the majority of its believers. According to this theory, the Ivu language is the primary programming languages of the universe.
This belief is unpopular because the logical conclusion some people often come to as a result of it is that the Astris are errors/viruses in the Ida's design. Similar thinking has been used by bad actors in the past to excuse the attempted Astris Genocide. Besides that, it's hard to accept that errors can happen in the first place.

by Midjourney

A Scientist

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Primary Believers

Somewhat more acceptable version of the programmer theory, but not many takers of the idea until the Yashelin learned of the existence of the Ofanin

by Midjourney

One of Many

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Primary Believers

Lainism, Cetwoar Pantheon, many other polytheistic religions that have the concept of a divine creator.

Notes

A belief that there are other deities and spirits besides the Ida which influence the universe. This idea is popular. Lainists base this belief upon the existence of the Yashelin. Explanations vary by pantheon.
If you were to ask a Yashelin if the Ida was One of Many, they would disagree but eventually allow that the Emissaries might count. The discovery of the Ofanin supports the theory in practice.

by Midjourney

A Person, Albeit a Terrifyingly Powerful One

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Primary Believers

Amatu

Notes

For most people, it is difficult to imagine the Ida as being in any way like them. That may mean denying the concept of the Ida as ever having been a child that only later became an adult.
While there is a huge difference between the Ida and the denizens of the universe, at the end of the day, the Ida is a thinking sophont-like being who is capable of making mistakes just like anyone else.