Thief of Time
Did we create the gods or did they create us? This long forbidden question can now be asked openly in these enlightened times.
Did the pale protector of our twilight sky watch over a frightened and vulnerable flock as they traversed the darkness? Did her scorned sister capture and corrupt those who dared venture out into a moonless night? Or did early people's fears and hopes sire these great and terrible spirits we now call our gods? Are our deities, simply put, concept given form and persona through collective belief?
An exemplar of this dilemma is the Thief of Time, one of the oldest eternals and long-time rivals of the elves' Premiere. Earliest mentions of the Thief appear in elf lore where he is blamed for the loss of their agelessness to fuel his own immortality. However, most depictions describe a cloaked shadow with outstretched claw lurking by the beds of the dying or puppeteering poorly made decisions of haste. He was feared by all but followed by none.
The Thief's most notable account is his last. Manifesting in the mortal world only to be defeated during the Collapse, the Thief of Time was ultimately struck down by Alisona Caith’loral. This act ended his existence but solidified the young elf as Premiere's champion, initiating the current Dynasty with Alis as its first queen. The ancient Thief's last act became a legacy to build our new age.
Unlike fellow fallen such as the Dreamer, whose rituals and followers were quickly captured by his protege the Great Whiskered One, or Silence, whose small but loyal band of disciples gravitated to a well-established Transition, the Thief of Time lacked proponents or religious structure. That incarnation of anxiety and impatience vanished without anyone to mourn his loss, yet the collective beliefs remained. No mortal suddenly gained immortality due to the Thief's demise. The Premiere's children did not recover their legendary agelessness. People still bemoaned shortened lives and panicked acts. They still believed their time was being stolen. Yet no god returned to embody their belief. Instead, fear, betrayal, and envy became their fixation.
The Thief of Time's legend tells us that the answer to our "who came first" question might be "it doesn't matter". The ancient fears and hopes that embody our gods existed long before any immortal beings dared intrude onto our reality, and those emotions and ideas exist still long after their demise.
-Excerpt from On the Classification of Deities, Reeno Bailbruk's last work before being executed for heresy.
