Beryl

Beryl, The Lost Goddess of Light

In her final moments, as the Black Fire consumed the Celestial Archives, Beryl's words echoed through time: "Knowledge is not merely power - it is the foundation upon which all existence stands. I would rather die preserving one truth than live bearing witness to a thousand lies."

— Fragment from the Last Chronicle of the First Black Fire War

Beryl, High Goddess of Light and wife of Thianon, stood as the guardian of history and knowledge in the divine pantheon until her tragic fall during the First Black Fire War. Her domain encompassed not just the preservation of knowledge, but the very essence of truth itself. As one of the original Eeirendel created by Te Vevutur, she helped establish the fundamental laws that would govern the realms through the Drandsia Vatar.

Divine Nature

Unlike many deities who embodied dramatic or volatile aspects of existence, Beryl's power manifested in subtler ways. Her divine essence resonated with the crystalline clarity of pure light, reflecting her role as keeper of undiluted truth. She was said to perceive reality in its most fundamental form, seeing through illusions and deceptions with unwavering clarity.

"To gaze upon Beryl was to know truth in its purest form. Her eyes held no judgment, only understanding. Even lies melted away before her gentle scrutiny."

— Memories of the First Age, by High Chronicler Vesuvia

The Celestial Archives

From her seat in Thiandalune, Beryl presided over the Celestial Archives, a vast repository of knowledge that contained the accumulated wisdom of all realms. The Archives were said to be crafted from crystallized light itself, each facet holding countless histories, prophecies, and truths. Here, she trained an order of divine archivists who helped maintain what would become the most comprehensive collection of knowledge in existence.

"The Archives are not mere buildings or collections. They are the memory of existence itself, each scroll and tome a thread in the grand tapestry of reality."

— Beryl, addressing the First Conclave of Scribes

Relationship with Thianon

The union between Beryl and Thianon represented more than a mere marriage - it was the joining of knowledge and enlightenment, truth and understanding. Together, they embodied the highest ideals of the Light Realm, though their approaches often differed. Where Thianon sought to spread light through direct action, Beryl believed in the power of preserved wisdom to illuminate the darkness.

"My husband brings the dawn, but I keep record of every sunrise. His light shows the way forward, while I ensure we never forget the paths already walked."

— Beryl's personal journals, recovered from the ruins of the First Archives

The Weight of Knowledge

As keeper of all truths, Beryl bore the tremendous burden of maintaining perfect objectivity. She recorded victories and atrocities alike with the same unflinching dedication to accuracy. This duty often placed her in difficult positions, particularly when other deities wished certain events struck from the record or remembered differently than they had occurred.

"Some truths cut deeper than swords, burn hotter than fire, and weigh heavier than mountains. Yet we must bear them all, for a single lost truth weakens the fabric of reality itself."

— Beryl's final instruction to her archivists

The First Black Fire War

When Malovatar unleashed the Black Fire upon the realms, Beryl recognized the existential threat it posed not just to lives and lands, but to knowledge itself. The corrupting flames did more than burn - they rewrote reality, erasing truths and replacing them with twisted versions of history. She understood that if the Archives fell, the very foundation of existence could unravel.

"The Black Fire seeks not just to destroy, but to corrupt what remains. Each truth it taints spreads like poison through the annals of time."

— Beryl's warning to the Ayn Auline

The Final Stand

In the war's darkest hour, when the Black Fire breached Thiandalune's defenses, Beryl made her fateful choice. Rather than flee with the other gods, she remained in the Archives, using her own divine essence to shield its most crucial repositories from corruption. For three days and nights, she held back the flames alone, giving her archivists time to secure and evacuate irreplaceable knowledge.

"Let it be recorded that she did not scream. Even as the Black Fire consumed her, Beryl continued cataloging its effects, her final words precise observations of her own dissolution."

— Witness account from a surviving archivist

Legacy

Through her sacrifice, Beryl ensured that the fundamental truths of existence would survive, though at terrible cost. Her death created a void in the divine pantheon that would eventually be filled by Altorion, but her influence persists in every archive and library across the realms. The very act of recording history is considered sacred by many, a tribute to the goddess who died protecting truth itself.

"We who keep records carry forward her light. Every honest word written, every truth preserved, honors her sacrifice."

— Oath of the Ordained Scribes

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Today, threads of Beryl's divine essence are said to linger in places of preserved knowledge. Scholars sometimes report sensing her presence when uncovering long-lost truths, and her name is still invoked by those who seek to protect wisdom from destruction or corruption. Though she fell in the First Black Fire War, her dedication to truth remains an inspiration to gods and mortals alike.