Shattered Skies

The Spark That Started The War

Teacher! Tell us the story of the moon!

Sigh. Alright. You've been of age for some time now... it's likely good for you to finally hear the true details. Still, you lot shouldn't have such fascination with a tale so dark. It's not good to obsess over the broken gods.

I wanna hear who killed He'an. I wanna know who made the moon!

Creation of the Moon, Destruction of the Gods

Long ago, long before the people built cities and wonders, the world was owned by the gods. Fourteen Titans roamed the planet of Cathedris, and they kept it peaceful and whole, for it was theirs to govern. The gods had an agreement, ratified by blood shared.
During the eons of rule by this pact of Gods, small sects began to form. The Southern Cluster Gods worked the fires of the planet to continuously shape Cathedris into new and interesting forms. The Winter Giants, who called the cold and snowy regions to the north their home, used their inner heat to breathe warmth into organisms, sending forth the first examples of life to Cathedris. The Winter Giants worked together with the Tower Duo, who meticulously curated all knowledge in the world, to give intelligence to the first people to walk the planet, and soon civilization began to spread.
This balance of Gods, and an ever growing population of civilization, worked for some time. But perfect growth was unsustainable, and soon darkness and fear grew. This corruption grew until it exploded into a short and brutal civil war between the gods, beginning with the assassination of He'an, and expulsion of their body into space.

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But.. if the gods are dead, why are they still here, teacher?

Gods don't die like you or I, Jearan. They are too strong, too rooted in this world. When the Gods die, it is not their body that leaves this plane of existence, it is their minds, their soul. All that is left behind are the titanic husks you see today. Just enough of their old selves still reside within them to keep them acting in loops, but that is all they do now.

Can they hurt us? Can we fix them? Will they ever come back? Who killed He'an?

Slow down! You will learn these subjects with greater depth in your future studies. For now though, yes the gods can hurt us, though they are slow and we are quick. We research ways to help them, we pray they come back, and we look for evidence of He'an's assasination... but as always, we simply do not know.

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Geographical Records

The Civil War between the gods may have been short, but it was exceptionally brutal. The destruction caused from the infighting trampled and nearly snuffed out the embers of early civilization of Cathedris. A massive crater in the northern hemisphere of Cathedris is thought to be the initial location where He'an's assassination sparked the war. Other possible candidates include a second crater in the southern hemisphere, to the east of the Broken Isles, or the Flattened Plains on the continent of Keyayith east of that.
Nearly all records inside the Duo's Tower were destroyed; any information from this time period must be pieced together from scraps of information, or from the physical scars marring the planets surface. Thousands of years have been spent living in the shadows of the God-Husks, as the people slowly rebuilt and grew. Present day scholars estimate evolution was set back nearly 3,000 years due to the Civil War.

the moon, he'an by Stormbril

The Moon, He'an

Death

Genderless, beautiful, massive. He'an was the tallest, and most magnificent of all the Gods of Cathedris. They cultivated the largest following of pre-war peoples. He'an tended their flock with a level of care that was almost alien to the other gods. This love shared between God and follower is believed to be one of the key reasons He'an was envied by some other Gods.
Scraps of records show that He'an once called the mega-continent Apathae, in the Northern Hemisphere, their home. Other gods made Apathae their home as well; Old King Caed, and the sun god, Qur. The three of them worked together in relative peace, occasionally working in tandem with the Winter Giants to the further north.
Now, He'an's body is locked in stable orbit around the planet Cathedris. Curled into a small ball -- knees tucked tight into their chest, all 6 arms wrapped tightly around, He'an drifts endlessly around the globe.

Stories people tell

He'an has become nearly every Cathedran's favorite god to hear stories of. Possibly due to their violent end or existence as The Only Truly Dead God, tales range from He'an's assassination, all the way to personal tales between He'an and a lonely follower. Most stories are just that -- stories. However, research into He'an's life and eventual death continues to be the area of scholarly work that sees the most action.

Historical Expedition

Nearly 200 years ago, at the advent of the current Era, Cathedrans proposed an expedition into space. Further research was intended to be conducted, this time on the body of He'an themself. Construction of a great tower began, in the hopes they might be able to climb all the way into space to study The Only Truly Dead God.

Suspects

Qur, the Sun God

These days, Qur is found roaming the Western half of what was once Apathae. Qur's flaming head burns brightly, bathing the continent in a near constant source of harsh light. Records show that Qur and He'an shared an uneasy relationship, despite the fellowship they shared living in such proximity.
Power level wise, Qur was thought to have once had enough power to blast half the planet into the nearest sun, and is thus high up on the list of possible culprits. These days, Qur's power lay dormant. His head is the only place his power still resonates -- where as before, Qur's entire body emanated powerful fire.

Old King Caed

A sad case, and yet still a suspect. The Old King resides solely in the place where He'an is thought to have first died; on a small island, in the center of the crater that tore apart Apathae.
Caed is stuck in a loop, endlessly walking circles on his lonely island. Due to the size of the crater and relative location when compared to He'an's locked orbit around the planet, Caed's island is a prime suspect for the location of He'an's assasination -- thus Caed is a prime suspect. Records of the Old King's relative power have been lost to the ages, and those who call Caed's island home refute the idea that Caed is the assassin.

Xiuthan, the Dark

Calling the southern hemisphere mega-continent of Vir Adanea home, Xiuthan walks and spreads death continuously. Xiuthan is known primarily as Xiuthan, The Dark, but also goes by another name: Xiuthan, Bringer of Death. Scraps of records found hidden in the ruins of the Tower Duo's home show that before the war, Xiuthan was able to spread death at an apocalyptic scale -- Husk-Xiuthan merely spreads disease.
Despite this, records show that Xiuthan was also known as a kind and caring God. She used her powers to allow the sick and world weary to finally sleep peacefully. She is nonetheless still a suspect, due to the nature of her power.

by Stormbril

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I heard it was King Caed that did it! That's why he never leaves his island.

Oh? And where did you hear this from? You seem very sure of yourself.

I... Helina told me! She said her Mom told her, and her Mom is always right about things, like how she always knows when we... er, she always knows things!

Well... you're right about one thing. Helina's mother is a smart woman. However, we still do not know enough to jump to firm conclusions. The Old King may have done it, sure. Him being the only God-Husk left in the area we believe to be the murder location certainly incriminates him. But there are doubts. And, seeing as we can't talk to Caed, or any of the gods, we might never know.

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Evidence

Weapon

Many of the gods used to wield signature weapons; Xiuthan's black spear, Codod's massive hammer, even Old King Caed had his signature silver dagger. It's thought that only one of the godly weapons would have been able to kill He'an -- yet which weapon it was remains unknown. Not all gods still have their weapon in their Husk-state. Any god without a weapon is automatically a suspect, as popular theory suggests the murder weapon remains lodged in He'an's left side.

Location

Three locations make up the list of possible locations for He'an's assassination.

1. Caed's Island, located in Caed Crater, in the middle of the once mega-continent of Apathae. The single largest crater on Cathedris's surface, it's thought the energy needed to create it would have easily been enough to blast He'an's corpse into space.
2. The Broken Isles. A second, smaller crater is located in the southern ocean. The crater may be smaller than Caed Crater, but it's thought to have gone deeper, enough to pierce the mantle and spawn a scattering of small islands to the west of the crater.
3. The Flattened Plains of Keyayith. Half-preserved records show a great battle took place in what was once a large mountainous area of Keyayith. However, whatever took place there smashed the southern half of the continent, and the Flattened Plains is all that remains.

Body

As He'an's assassination was such a large scale event, evidence may still be found -- despite the murder happening over 3,000 years ago. Battles between the gods left scars massive enough to shape the planet; craters, wastelands, shattered islands, all remain in the wake of the fighting. He'an's body itself remains as the greatest source of evidence to date; as soon as civilization developed enough to create telescopes, people have been staring at He'an, trying to discover the source of their death. He'an is however tidally locked with Cathedris. He'an's right side, the side that faces the planet, shows no obvious sign of injury, leading hopeful researchers to believe any cause of death would be present on He'an's left.

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The Moon Cult

Before the war, every God cultivated a following. Civilization grew at the God's feet -- and though the war between the gods nearly stamped it out, civilization remained. Each God-Husk still has it's own following, a country born from the ashes of each God. He'an is both similar and different, in this regard. He'an's followers have no God on Cathedris to follow or take shelter behind; thus the followers of He'an have fractured.

Deathrites

This group of followers believe it was He'an's destiny to die, and to become the moon locked in orbit around Cathedris. They believe that if there was never a Godly Civil War, evolution would have veered in the wrong direction, and civilization would never have reached the heights it's at today. Every Deathrite feels intense pride in having their God be visible to all, every night.

Rescuists

A significant portion of He'an followers broke off long ago; feeling strongly they had been wronged as much as He'an had. They see the existence of God-Husks as proof that He'an is not entirely dead; merely a God-Husk trapped in space. Their sole goal is to rescue their God and bring them back to Cathedris, no matter the repercussions. Rescuists spend most of their nights looking through telescopes, recording all they see, in the hopes that they spot movement.

by Stormbril

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