The Creator
Lord of Creation
"And so was the blackened sludge of the Abyss parted by Divine Light. All of creation came to be in one moment, and as they rose the Abyss trembled. The Old Gods cowered under the the Divine Radiance of the Creator. The Creator rose from the Abyss and with them, so did we." -Pillars 4:87
Architect of the Gods
While many documents and historical records make reference to a "Creator", the name is not and has never be meant to be taken to mean that it created all of creation. In fact, it seems as though the Creator only made eleven things: The nine Gods, the Elvalen, and Aphara for them to live in. During the time of the Creator, the only things seemingly in existence were the The Abyss, the Old Gods, and potentially Aberrations. None of this can be verified completely of course, with the only known sources being ancient Aberrations who claim to have lived since then, and the many Old Gods present in the Abyss of course. While some of them provide interesting accounts on the time before the Creator, there is often a large amount of inconsistency from source to source. Regardless of who was in existence at the time, the result of the Creator's verified existence is clear: All of recorded history. What came before the Creator is difficult to visualize, it's said that the Abyss was the first plane to be in existence, although it likely looked very different then than it does now. With no other planes, and no Raw Arcana being filtered through it, it was likely much smaller than it is today. What it looked like is also a mystery, as most features observable in the Abyss today are reflections of the many planes connected to it. The only other places likely in existence were the demiplanes controlled by the Old Gods, what they did then is unknown. When the Creator rose from the Abyss and created Aphara, the Gods and the Elvalen, it came at great cost to them. The amount of energy required to pull off such a monumental task took more energy than even the Creator likely expected. As their body was shattered upon the conclusion of the creation. This has always been seen as unintentional, as within the The Golden Palace at the center of Aphara was a number of thrones for each God, as well as a larger one presumably for the Creator themselves. It seems that the Creator meant to rule over Aphara, with the Gods acting as some sort of underlings to them. This unfortunately never came to be however, instead we got the next major thing: The Well. This has been said to be what remains of the Creator to this day, besides the Heart of Creation that was found during the Divine War, the Well seems to be the only remaining physical evidence of the Creator to this day. Exactly what the Well is in relation to the creator is unknown. It is theorised to be a part of their body, perhaps the blood of the Creator, or even all of its body turned into some sort of God purée. With the Well not being in existence before the Creator, that means that magic likely wasn't in existence either. At least not in the way that we likely think of it today. The Old Gods were around, and from the scant few records we have of conversations people have been lucky enough to have with them we can determine that there likely was some form of magic around back then. The Old Gods derive their magic not from the Well, but from the Abyss itself, this brand of magic has never been seen used by any creature not native to the Abyss. The Old Gods, Aberrations and Demons are the only ones to have ever been seen using Abyssal magic. Arcane studies have determined that these creatures do not need access to the Well due to the amount of Arcana, both Raw and Refined, floating around the Abyss. They are so in tune with the Abyss that they can seemingly just take this Arcana and cast spells with it. If this Abyssal magic is what was around before the Creator, then that would seem to imply that at some point, there was another source of Raw Arcana.Creating the Creator
The most notable thing about the Creator is that they're gone. And from our understanding, no one knows much about them besides the fact that they existed, created a lot of things, then disappeared. Starting from the beginning we get to the most common question: Who created the Creator? This question will likely remain unanswerable, as we have very little information about the Creator and the time in which they existed, let alone the time before the Creator. The closest thing we have to an explanation is a phrase commonly used among the Gods, "The Creator rose from the Abyss." This would seem to imply that yes, the Abyss was in existence before the Creator, and the Creator "rose" from the Abyss. The exact meaning of rose is notably missing in this context. It could mean that the Creator was made of the Abyss, forming in some unknown manner. If that is the case all of creation would be Abyssal in origin, which is difficult thing for most to stomach. If the Creator was made of the Abyss in a literal sense, that would likely make them a lot in common with our current perception of the Old Gods. And in fact some of them in particular seem to imply a certain kinship with the Creator, of course none of this can be verified completely as Old Gods don't have a very good reason to be forthright with mortalkind. The best we have is that a number of them, notably Envy and Desire, see themselves as being at least on the same level as the Creator. Envy has in the past directly stated to have seen and interacted with the Creator, that the Creator was one of the Old Gods. How much faith one should put on the words of a being known as Envy in this context however is little to say the least. If we are to believe the words of Envy however and assume that in this context, "rose" implies that the Creator was an Old God, this as with any answer to the question only leads to more questions. Why would one of the Old Gods wish to bring about change to the Abyss in this fashion? While some Old Gods certainty might wish for a new plane to call their own and rule, none of them to this day have gone through the effort of doing so, prefering to stick to smaller demiplanes directly attached to the Abyss to rule. Here lies a potential answer to our question. If the Creator was one of the Old Gods, and their creation of Aparah was what destroyed them; perhaps the Old Gods are entirely dependant on the Abyss. Severing the connection from one plane to the Abyss, making it distinct could have possibly cut off the Creator from their life force upon first setting foot in Aphara. This may explain why no other Old God has made their own plane completely separate from the Abyss, they saw what happened to one of their own. If the Old Gods are completely dependant on the Abyss, what does that mean for them exactly? What is the Abyss? Where did the Old Gods come from? All questions we will likely never get answers to. Getting back to the original question posed, the alternate answer to "what is meant by rose in the phrase 'The Creator rose from the Abyss'" is of course that the Creator didn't come from the Abyss, but somewhere else entirely. Where this somewhere is, is of course unclear. Perhaps the Well is not a part of the Creator whatsoever, and is in fact where the Creator came from originally. Either that or there is some other location unknown to us entirely where the Creator originated from. Regardless this is the most common interpretation of the word "rose" in the context of the quote. Many find it more comfortable to believe that the Creator was not Abyssal in origin, and rather something else entirely, something Divine. Considering that on multiple occasions the Well has been described as the remnants of the Creator, most believe that the Creator came from somewhere else entirely. Perhaps some sort of interdimensional traveler who appears and creates life, or establishes order. If this is the case perhaps the Creator was never destroyed, but instead they never intended to stay. This does call into question the largest throne in the Golden Palace, now the Infernal Stockade, which remains empty. If the Creator never meant to stay, why was the throne made? Did or does the Creator intend to return? Could it be merely legend that there even was a throne for the Creator? Or perhaps the throne was meant to be symbolic, and nothing more. Once again, all questions we will likely never get answers to.Divine Domains
Considered to be the creator of the members of the Divine Pantheon, this would mean that their power stems from the power of the Creator. This would likely mean that the Creator is an embodiment of every conceivable domain. However since very little information is known of the Creator, it's impossible to know if they leaned one way or another in terms of domain.
Artifacts
The only known artifact known to have existed that belonged to the Creator is the Heart of Creation. A divine artifact that was used as a weapon during the Divine War. It is unknown if this was the actual heart of the Creator, or something they created and left behind. It's possible that it was never actually made or was a part of the Creator to begin with, the name might be a false legend or a misnomer. The artifact was destroyed during the Divine War and has not been seen since.
Holy Books & Codes
The most comprehensive compilation of knowledge we have to this day of the Creator is the Testament of Pillars. The holy book of The Five Pillars. With all four of the Gods that make up the worship of the Pillars being children of the Creator, the Creator is frequently mentioned within its pages.
Mental characteristics
Accomplishments & Achievements
Failures & Embarrassments
Presumed to be destroyed from the energy required to create all they did. It is unknown if they are actually destroyed or simply absent.
Social
Reign
The Creator was meant to reign above the Divine Pantheon in Aphara. This did not come to pass as the Creator went missing or was destroyed before they could do so.
Family Ties
The Creator is seen as the parent of the members of the Divine Pantheon, and by extension all of creation that came after them. Although this is only really seen as true for the Gods, and the Elvalen. These are the only life forms that the Creator has said to have created intentionally, everything else is merely a byproduct of their actions.
Relationships
Divine Classification
Creator of the Divine Pantheon
Current Status
Presumed destroyed or willingly absent
Current Location
Species
Realm
Church/Cult
Honorary & Occupational Titles
Lord of Creation
Age
Unknown
Date of Birth
Unknown date within the Abyssal Age
Date of Death
Presumed dead, 2C:1
Circumstances of Birth
The Creator rose from the Abyss, exact circumstances unknown
Circumstances of Death
Presumably died upon the creation of Aphara
Place of Death
Family
Spouses
Siblings
Children
Current Residence
Pronouns
They/Them
Gender
Neutral
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
Comments