Creation Myth & Eras of Kryllos
The origins of Kryllos are veiled in mystery - a question pondered by many across time and place. Every culture holds its own beliefs and myths about the world's beginnings, though they are often jumbled misunderstandings - each confused by the passage of time, fragmented oral traditions, and conflicting interpretations. Countless scholars and philosophers have sought to uncover the inception of life, yet only fragments of the tale have ever been grasped by even the most diligent of searchers.
Kryllos has endured epochs of exploration, strife, and rebirth, shaping it into the world as known today. What follows is the creation myth and eras of Kryllos—an account more complete than even the most learned scholars could ever compile:
Before the world took shape, there was only a boundless, formless, primordial void - wild and unpredictable in nature. It was a tumultuous place of pure chaos, divided only into light and darkness, but utterly lacking form or mass. It was a vortex of unrealized potential and raw possibility - a realm far beyond mortal comprehension.
Endless, silent nothingness...until something stirred at the boundary between darkness and light. Friction between these opposing forces ignited creation itself.
In these margins, order began to form. From the chaotic ether emerged structure: two jagged continents divided by vast, life-giving seas, encircled by an endless sky. This moment, the spark of evolution and the birth of the world’s shape, is what worshippers of the Allfather and the penitent of The One Faith revere as the Founding.
It is argued by some that the Elder Gods were also birthed during the Founding alongside time, matter, form, and life. Yggdrasil is said to have sprung from the newly forged land; Ouroboros from the sky, soil, and sea; Corvus from the darkness beyond; and eventually Herne the Hunter borne from the roots of Yggdrasil.
Life itself came into being during the Founding. From the depths of darkness rose the eternal Primordials—reptilian beings of immense power and boundless ambition. From the radiant light emerged the Monarchs—living embodiments of the elements: Light, Water, Earth, Fire, Steel, Adamantine, and Gemstone.
The first Giants were birthed from the soil, living in harmony with the Monarchs as stewards of the land. Primitive humans also emerged from the protean waters during this era, but their fate was far harsher. Enslaved by the Primordials, these early humans were subjugated and exploited, their labor and lands fueling the opulent lives of their reptilian overlords.
The Primordials depleted the resources of their homeland. They coveted the excesses available amongst the peaceful realm of the Giants and Monarchs, so the Primordials used the ancient magicks of undoing to shift their mainland, pivoting it across the great ocean, set upon a collision course with the territories of the Giants and Monarchs. When the landmasses collided, the War of Catastrophe began.
In a covert action, Giants freed the mortals enslaved by the Primordials. Mankind discovered how to forge iron instead of working solely in bronze, and the nearly immortal Primordials proved vulnerable to these weapons of iron.
The tide turned against the self-absorbed Primordials, shifted by the captives they once considered pathetically frail and weak. The Primordials who weren't utterly eradicated during mankind's insurrection were driven into exile, where they hibernated, and are now thought extinct... though some few live on as dragons of Kryllos.
Unfortunately, the damage done to the environment by prolonged warfare left scarcely any resources for the victorious Giants and mortals to subsist upon.
In a selfless act, the Monarchs sacrificed their lives to heal the war-ravaged, depleted world, ushering in the Age of Renewal. Their sacrifice breathed new life into Kryllos, reshaping the land, sea, and sky.
Among the stars created by the Light Monarch, the constellation Alcyptra (meaning "Her Gift") is the most celebrated. It stands as a luminous tribute to her sacrifice, with its brightest star, Heliandor symbolizing her enduring legacy. Heliandor is not only a memorial or memory, but also serves as a vital guide. Its stable position, less than 1° from the northern pole, makes it the perfect reference point for navigation on cloudless nights. Nestled within Alcyptra, this radiant star ensures that the Light Monarch’s sacrifice will forever illuminate and guide the lives of those who dwell in Kryllos.
As cultures began to form, people sought to make sense of the world around them, turning to their gods for guidance and meaning. Worship became central to daily life, giving rise to countless rituals and superstitions. Divine magic, manifesting in the form of miracles and otherworldly feats, was a dominant force, shaping the beliefs and practices of the time.
The Elder Gods recognized a need to express their wills more directly, and so brought forth a handful of Minor Gods - emanations of their own essences to act as envoys and tangible manifestations of their will. One Minor God widely worshipped during these times was Veremund. There are those, still to this day, who seek to bring about a return of the Era of the Old Gods, such as the sisterhood Veremund's Promise.
Most tribes at that time were polytheistic and theocratic, their leaders often doubling as warlords who wielded both temporal and spiritual authority. Deities actively communed with their followers and, on rare occasions, walked among mortals, leaving an indelible mark on the world and its people.
A fiery meteor streaked across the heavens, colliding with Kryllos with catastrophic force. The impact unleashed worldwide devastation, reshaping and forever altering the planet. This cataclysmic Starfall (Astral Descent) delivered a mysterious substance known as Witchrock and unlocked the secrets of High Magick, marking a pivotal moment in the world's history.
The collision's sheer force hurled massive, continent-sized fragments of land into the sky, where they remain suspended to this day, defying gravity. Beneath these aerial continents, the surface was transformed into a desolate Wasteland. The fallout and choking ash from the impact twisted the surface with chaotic magical energies, birthing grotesque mutations and giving rise to undead beyone counting.
To this day, shooting stars are regarded as ill omens of dire prophetic events (Shooting Star - Omen)
Starfall unleashed an immense surge of Arcane energy that rippled across Kryllos, severing the connection between mortals and their Gods (Elder and Minor.) Divine magic, once a cornerstone of daily life, began to fade. This sudden loss left many worshippers feeling forsaken, punished, or abandoned by their pantheon. Yet, in time, it also fostered a newfound independence as mortals learned to navigate and interpret their world without the constant presence of divine intervention.
The shockwaves of energy from Starfall lingers overhead to the present day, visible in the skies like a permanent echo of the catastrophe. Its presence is marked by shimmering arcs of pulsing light (much like an Aurora Borealis) and glowing rings encircling the planet (reminiscent of Saturn's Rings.) This glowing celestial display is a constant reminder of the day the divine was severed from the world.
The people of Kryllos believe the Elder Gods withdrew from the world entirely. Still, faint traces of the divine persist. Small miracles—subtle and unexplained—continue to occur across the lands. Hidden communities’ mystics keep the old traditions alive, offering prayers and wielding enigmatic magic tied to nature and the world's primal forces. Among the long-lived peoples, memories of the Elder Gods remain vivid, and their shapes are still seen in the mysteries and patterns of nature. Ancient, forgotten sanctuaries scattered throughout the world hold wonders beyond imagination, their secrets waiting to be rediscovered. And though faint, the divine has not vanished entirely; it whispers to those who have the clarity of mind and the openness of heart to listen.
As Kryllos emerged from the shadows of a Dark Age that followed the Astral Descent, the world entered a new era of enlightenment and progress—a Renaissance. Civilization flourished under the dominance of two principal powers: the Aetheria Dominion and the Skyfront Republic. These nations, through ingenuity and determination, became the vanguards of a new era of discovery, technology, and infrastructure. Settlements evolved into cities and the construction of roads, aqueducts, and cisterns to capture rainwater transformed the landscape, ensuring the sustainability and growth of these thriving civilizations.
Harnessing the natural forces around them, the people of Kryllos pioneered the use of the wind currents in the Expanse / Veil to sail aerial skyships on the updrafts, enabling them to establish trade routes between the two cloud-kingdoms (see Cloud Glider.)
At the heart of this Renaissance was the Age of Arcanum – the exploration and enhanced understanding of arcane magick, wizardry, and sourcery by the privileged few. Scholars, mages, and arcane researchers began experimenting with Witchrock, a mysterious and potent material that had long been a source of both awe and fear. The search for knowledge surrounding Witchrock—its properties, its potential, and its limitations—became a driving force of innovation and the development of new incantations and spells. This arcane awakening was accompanied by the founding of The Collegium in Wretinridge, a city that became the epicenter of magical research after a gathering of spellcasters saved the city from Hivedrax invasion forces in an event which came to be known as The Conjuring, which summoned the Mist Maelstom.
The Collegium’s stated purpose was to acquire, store, and share arcane knowledge where appropriate, ensuring that magical discoveries are passed to future generations. It was also charged with the responsibility of safeguarding arcane items and summoned beings that could pose a threat to civilization, thus balancing the pursuit of magical knowledge with the duty of protection.
As the relationship between the dominant nations of the world (the Aetheria Dominion and the Skyfront Republic) decayed into cold war, their focus on political infighting blinded them to the rise of The One Faith—a religious movement centered on the worship of the Allfather and his son, Nyseris Aralon, known as The Prophet. In an age where the Old Gods had fallen silent, their once-miraculous powers no longer responding to prayer, society was primed to turn toward a monotheistic belief system. This new faith taught that true virtue lay in governing one’s conduct in the present life, rejecting the material pleasures of the physical world as inherently evil.
The new faith spread, with missionaries like Saint Aelephan evangelizing and inspiring followers. Doctrine and scripture were published in the faith's holy book, the Canon of the Allfather.
People, desperate for meaning and a sense of purpose, flock to the religion, hungry for an understanding of life beyond death. According to the teachings of the One Faith, the Afterlife is a place where the soul is judged based on the life it led. The Measure of Worth is determined by one’s adherence to the faith’s virtues: Truth, Honor, Loyalty, Discipline, Hospitality, Industriousness, Self-Reliance, and Perseverance. Those who pass the judgment are taken to Hevalla, the paradise of eternal peace, while the unworthy are cast into Hel, an abyss of suffering and torment. As the faithful grow in number, their tithes swell the coffers of Mother Church, which becomes an influential cultural force.
As the One Faith accumulates wealth and influence, newfound power stirs ambitions within the Church, leading to an Inquisition to secure and expand its influence. Inquisitors are called upon to root out heresy wherever found. Heretics—those who reject the One Faith, those who worship false gods, or anyone who practices pagan rites—are relentlessly hunted and publicly burned at the stake. The Church deems these individuals to be threats to the sanctity of the faith (“poisoning the hearts of the faithful”) and the very order of the world.
But the Inquisition's reach, the effort to “cleanse the land of impurity”, is not limited to open dissenters. It casts a darker shadow of suspicion when it calls upon a hunt for “the worst type of heretic - those hidden amongst us, professing our true faith, but corrupting us from within.” The Inquisition's zealous agents seek them out, convinced that purging the Church of these internal traitors is essential for the survival of the faith.
The Skyfront Republic, seeing an opportunity to tilt the balance of power in its cold war with the Aetherian Dominion, swiftly aligns itself with the Church and its Inquisition. The Republic’s leaders understand the Church’s rising influence and seek to wield it as a weapon in their ongoing struggle, hoping that their support of the One Faith will grant them an edge in their power struggle. In doing so, they strengthen the Church’s position, creating an unholy alliance between religion and state that begins to shape the fate of the world.
Kryllos has endured epochs of exploration, strife, and rebirth, shaping it into the world as known today. What follows is the creation myth and eras of Kryllos—an account more complete than even the most learned scholars could ever compile:
The Founding
Before the world took shape, there was only a boundless, formless, primordial void - wild and unpredictable in nature. It was a tumultuous place of pure chaos, divided only into light and darkness, but utterly lacking form or mass. It was a vortex of unrealized potential and raw possibility - a realm far beyond mortal comprehension.
Endless, silent nothingness...until something stirred at the boundary between darkness and light. Friction between these opposing forces ignited creation itself.
In these margins, order began to form. From the chaotic ether emerged structure: two jagged continents divided by vast, life-giving seas, encircled by an endless sky. This moment, the spark of evolution and the birth of the world’s shape, is what worshippers of the Allfather and the penitent of The One Faith revere as the Founding.
It is argued by some that the Elder Gods were also birthed during the Founding alongside time, matter, form, and life. Yggdrasil is said to have sprung from the newly forged land; Ouroboros from the sky, soil, and sea; Corvus from the darkness beyond; and eventually Herne the Hunter borne from the roots of Yggdrasil.
Life itself came into being during the Founding. From the depths of darkness rose the eternal Primordials—reptilian beings of immense power and boundless ambition. From the radiant light emerged the Monarchs—living embodiments of the elements: Light, Water, Earth, Fire, Steel, Adamantine, and Gemstone.
The first Giants were birthed from the soil, living in harmony with the Monarchs as stewards of the land. Primitive humans also emerged from the protean waters during this era, but their fate was far harsher. Enslaved by the Primordials, these early humans were subjugated and exploited, their labor and lands fueling the opulent lives of their reptilian overlords.
War of Catastrophe
The Primordials depleted the resources of their homeland. They coveted the excesses available amongst the peaceful realm of the Giants and Monarchs, so the Primordials used the ancient magicks of undoing to shift their mainland, pivoting it across the great ocean, set upon a collision course with the territories of the Giants and Monarchs. When the landmasses collided, the War of Catastrophe began.
In a covert action, Giants freed the mortals enslaved by the Primordials. Mankind discovered how to forge iron instead of working solely in bronze, and the nearly immortal Primordials proved vulnerable to these weapons of iron.
The tide turned against the self-absorbed Primordials, shifted by the captives they once considered pathetically frail and weak. The Primordials who weren't utterly eradicated during mankind's insurrection were driven into exile, where they hibernated, and are now thought extinct... though some few live on as dragons of Kryllos.
Unfortunately, the damage done to the environment by prolonged warfare left scarcely any resources for the victorious Giants and mortals to subsist upon.
Age of Renewal
In a selfless act, the Monarchs sacrificed their lives to heal the war-ravaged, depleted world, ushering in the Age of Renewal. Their sacrifice breathed new life into Kryllos, reshaping the land, sea, and sky.
- The Water Monarch revitalized the oceans, giving rise to new marine life and crafting fresh lakes and rivers.
- The Earth Monarch enriched the soil, split the continents, and raised towering mountains from the fractured earth.
- The Air Monarch purified the skies and brought forth new avian species to soar across the heavens.
- The Fire Monarch, restoring the planet from the brink of an unrecoverable Ice Age, imbued the land with warmth once more.
- The Steel, Adamantine, and Gemstone Monarchs scattered their souls across the mountains, infusing them with precious minerals and ores to sustain mortal races.
- Finally, the Light Monarch dispersed her essence across the night sky, forming the stars to guide and inspire future generations. Some scholars argue that the Monarchs’ self-sacrifice, permitting a rebirth of Kryllos, was the catalyst that gave birth to the Elder Gods – placing their emergence here and not during the earlier Founding from chaos.
Among the stars created by the Light Monarch, the constellation Alcyptra (meaning "Her Gift") is the most celebrated. It stands as a luminous tribute to her sacrifice, with its brightest star, Heliandor symbolizing her enduring legacy. Heliandor is not only a memorial or memory, but also serves as a vital guide. Its stable position, less than 1° from the northern pole, makes it the perfect reference point for navigation on cloudless nights. Nestled within Alcyptra, this radiant star ensures that the Light Monarch’s sacrifice will forever illuminate and guide the lives of those who dwell in Kryllos.
Communion: Era of the Old Gods
As cultures began to form, people sought to make sense of the world around them, turning to their gods for guidance and meaning. Worship became central to daily life, giving rise to countless rituals and superstitions. Divine magic, manifesting in the form of miracles and otherworldly feats, was a dominant force, shaping the beliefs and practices of the time.
The Elder Gods recognized a need to express their wills more directly, and so brought forth a handful of Minor Gods - emanations of their own essences to act as envoys and tangible manifestations of their will. One Minor God widely worshipped during these times was Veremund. There are those, still to this day, who seek to bring about a return of the Era of the Old Gods, such as the sisterhood Veremund's Promise.
Most tribes at that time were polytheistic and theocratic, their leaders often doubling as warlords who wielded both temporal and spiritual authority. Deities actively communed with their followers and, on rare occasions, walked among mortals, leaving an indelible mark on the world and its people.
The Cataclysm
A fiery meteor streaked across the heavens, colliding with Kryllos with catastrophic force. The impact unleashed worldwide devastation, reshaping and forever altering the planet. This cataclysmic Starfall (Astral Descent) delivered a mysterious substance known as Witchrock and unlocked the secrets of High Magick, marking a pivotal moment in the world's history.
The collision's sheer force hurled massive, continent-sized fragments of land into the sky, where they remain suspended to this day, defying gravity. Beneath these aerial continents, the surface was transformed into a desolate Wasteland. The fallout and choking ash from the impact twisted the surface with chaotic magical energies, birthing grotesque mutations and giving rise to undead beyone counting.
To this day, shooting stars are regarded as ill omens of dire prophetic events (Shooting Star - Omen)
The Sundering: Echoes of Silence
Starfall unleashed an immense surge of Arcane energy that rippled across Kryllos, severing the connection between mortals and their Gods (Elder and Minor.) Divine magic, once a cornerstone of daily life, began to fade. This sudden loss left many worshippers feeling forsaken, punished, or abandoned by their pantheon. Yet, in time, it also fostered a newfound independence as mortals learned to navigate and interpret their world without the constant presence of divine intervention.
The shockwaves of energy from Starfall lingers overhead to the present day, visible in the skies like a permanent echo of the catastrophe. Its presence is marked by shimmering arcs of pulsing light (much like an Aurora Borealis) and glowing rings encircling the planet (reminiscent of Saturn's Rings.) This glowing celestial display is a constant reminder of the day the divine was severed from the world.
The people of Kryllos believe the Elder Gods withdrew from the world entirely. Still, faint traces of the divine persist. Small miracles—subtle and unexplained—continue to occur across the lands. Hidden communities’ mystics keep the old traditions alive, offering prayers and wielding enigmatic magic tied to nature and the world's primal forces. Among the long-lived peoples, memories of the Elder Gods remain vivid, and their shapes are still seen in the mysteries and patterns of nature. Ancient, forgotten sanctuaries scattered throughout the world hold wonders beyond imagination, their secrets waiting to be rediscovered. And though faint, the divine has not vanished entirely; it whispers to those who have the clarity of mind and the openness of heart to listen.
The Age of Arcanum
As Kryllos emerged from the shadows of a Dark Age that followed the Astral Descent, the world entered a new era of enlightenment and progress—a Renaissance. Civilization flourished under the dominance of two principal powers: the Aetheria Dominion and the Skyfront Republic. These nations, through ingenuity and determination, became the vanguards of a new era of discovery, technology, and infrastructure. Settlements evolved into cities and the construction of roads, aqueducts, and cisterns to capture rainwater transformed the landscape, ensuring the sustainability and growth of these thriving civilizations.
Harnessing the natural forces around them, the people of Kryllos pioneered the use of the wind currents in the Expanse / Veil to sail aerial skyships on the updrafts, enabling them to establish trade routes between the two cloud-kingdoms (see Cloud Glider.)
At the heart of this Renaissance was the Age of Arcanum – the exploration and enhanced understanding of arcane magick, wizardry, and sourcery by the privileged few. Scholars, mages, and arcane researchers began experimenting with Witchrock, a mysterious and potent material that had long been a source of both awe and fear. The search for knowledge surrounding Witchrock—its properties, its potential, and its limitations—became a driving force of innovation and the development of new incantations and spells. This arcane awakening was accompanied by the founding of The Collegium in Wretinridge, a city that became the epicenter of magical research after a gathering of spellcasters saved the city from Hivedrax invasion forces in an event which came to be known as The Conjuring, which summoned the Mist Maelstom.
The Collegium’s stated purpose was to acquire, store, and share arcane knowledge where appropriate, ensuring that magical discoveries are passed to future generations. It was also charged with the responsibility of safeguarding arcane items and summoned beings that could pose a threat to civilization, thus balancing the pursuit of magical knowledge with the duty of protection.
Dawn of the One Faith
As the relationship between the dominant nations of the world (the Aetheria Dominion and the Skyfront Republic) decayed into cold war, their focus on political infighting blinded them to the rise of The One Faith—a religious movement centered on the worship of the Allfather and his son, Nyseris Aralon, known as The Prophet. In an age where the Old Gods had fallen silent, their once-miraculous powers no longer responding to prayer, society was primed to turn toward a monotheistic belief system. This new faith taught that true virtue lay in governing one’s conduct in the present life, rejecting the material pleasures of the physical world as inherently evil.
The new faith spread, with missionaries like Saint Aelephan evangelizing and inspiring followers. Doctrine and scripture were published in the faith's holy book, the Canon of the Allfather.
People, desperate for meaning and a sense of purpose, flock to the religion, hungry for an understanding of life beyond death. According to the teachings of the One Faith, the Afterlife is a place where the soul is judged based on the life it led. The Measure of Worth is determined by one’s adherence to the faith’s virtues: Truth, Honor, Loyalty, Discipline, Hospitality, Industriousness, Self-Reliance, and Perseverance. Those who pass the judgment are taken to Hevalla, the paradise of eternal peace, while the unworthy are cast into Hel, an abyss of suffering and torment. As the faithful grow in number, their tithes swell the coffers of Mother Church, which becomes an influential cultural force.
The Age of Purity
As the One Faith accumulates wealth and influence, newfound power stirs ambitions within the Church, leading to an Inquisition to secure and expand its influence. Inquisitors are called upon to root out heresy wherever found. Heretics—those who reject the One Faith, those who worship false gods, or anyone who practices pagan rites—are relentlessly hunted and publicly burned at the stake. The Church deems these individuals to be threats to the sanctity of the faith (“poisoning the hearts of the faithful”) and the very order of the world.
But the Inquisition's reach, the effort to “cleanse the land of impurity”, is not limited to open dissenters. It casts a darker shadow of suspicion when it calls upon a hunt for “the worst type of heretic - those hidden amongst us, professing our true faith, but corrupting us from within.” The Inquisition's zealous agents seek them out, convinced that purging the Church of these internal traitors is essential for the survival of the faith.
The Skyfront Republic, seeing an opportunity to tilt the balance of power in its cold war with the Aetherian Dominion, swiftly aligns itself with the Church and its Inquisition. The Republic’s leaders understand the Church’s rising influence and seek to wield it as a weapon in their ongoing struggle, hoping that their support of the One Faith will grant them an edge in their power struggle. In doing so, they strengthen the Church’s position, creating an unholy alliance between religion and state that begins to shape the fate of the world.
“Of the Darkness and the Light, nothing is written. Only what is said."
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