Fasma
Firekeeper
Firekeeper Fasma
The world is not a place that follows consistent rules. Yes, there are fundemental laws in the cosmos, things that will always stay the same no matter what. But that doesn't mean everything will follow those laws. Even the gods can mess up their creation and break their own rules. Mistakes are natural, why do you think mortals make them so often?
Above all other gods of Fabulae, one rules as its creator: Fasma, the Celestial Firekeeper. A divine entity that showed itself to the world a millennium ago. Worshipped by the Church of the Wandering Flame, she influences the events of the Cosmic Hourglass.
While her existence is shrouded in mystery, she painted enough of a picture for the world to know her. And even if she is not as active of a god as some might think, her work behind the scenes does show in the roots of all worlds.
Holy Books & Codes
- Codex Pyrus: A guide written by the Fire Maidens on how the Church of the Wandering Flame should function. Co-authored by Fasma, detailing everything from the hierarchy of the devout to the duties of the clergy.
- The Anthology of Worlds: A collection of stories that Fasma has told about the living world. From small factoids about what is out there to the forgotten history she remembers from the early days of Fabulae.
Tenets of Faith
The tenets of Fasma are neither plenty or complex, being built on top of a single question:
In the words of the Celestial herself, this is a question that has no definitive answer. The only way one can answer it is to ask themselves how they want to be remembered.
There is no right or wrong answer, as everyone has a different reason. One man wants to be a fond memory for their family, another the bane of history. From those only remembered amongst descendants to popular historical figures.
In the end, you decide how history will judge your actions. To get buried amongst the past, or live on as a story told across generations.
Holidays
- Week of Warmth: a 7-day holiday celebrating the turning of the calendar year. A moment of gifts, family and promises to be made.
- Festival of Flames: A summer festival that is a moment for spectacle and poetry. From theatre to fireworks, a time where any artistic soul can let themselves lose.
Divine Goals & Aspirations
It's unsure what the goal was for Fasma to create the Cosmic Hourglass. In some regards, there was never a clear goal. Many assume her reasoning for creating this world is to have a setting for her to tell stories in. That in some manner, she acted behind the scene to write history.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
In most interactions and depictions, Fasma appears as a redhaired woman in her mid-30s. Dressed in garbs similar to that of the Fire Maiden, with tattoos covering her body. Eyes glow a golden aura, and in some occasions even her hair being ablaze.
However, this is not her true self. Due to the nature of Celestials, her actual appearance is beyond the scope of the cosmos. Something that is incomprehensible in scale and form, or at least not intended to be understood by the mortal eye... If this isn't a delibrate choice of hers.
Special abilities
I'm not an all-knowing being. I create so many things that I lost track of what's out there. Haven't you ever forgotten something you wrote down?
As a Celestial, Fasma does not cohere to the laws of the universe but exists outside of it. Neither time nor space effect her, allowing her to move freely through both.
In fact, her powers are strong enough to influence both on a cosmic scale. A mere thought is enough for her to warp reality, with almost no known limitations. The only thing she can't do is remove or wipe something from existence. However, there are loopholes to this as well.
Another thing is that for as omnipotent her powers are, she is not omniscient. Even with as much knowledge she gathered over eons, she isn't aware of everything that happens in the universe.
Apparel & Accessories
In many incarnations, Fasma carries around two things:
- A black leather-bound book that holds the stories of the world, from everything in the past to potential future events. Anything that existed in its pages, according to Fasma.
- A silver torch staff holding a cyan flame. According to her, it is a piece of the First Flame.
Specialized Equipment
Although not known to be a fighter, Fasma does have training with both spears and swords. The only weapon she has ever used though is the spear Realmstroke.
There are no known records of her ever owning or even using a sword.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
The Rise and Fall of Titans
One day, Fasma decided to bring Fabulae into existence, to start a new existence. A simple primal world that would be the canvas for her creations.
To begin, she created the first landmasses and the first life to settle there. From simple lifeforms to more complex species. Two races were made that stood out for her: Titans, and Antomniae.
The Antomniae would act as the mortal race that became the basis of all sapient life. Several with sprinkled across the realm, forming small communities. Meanwhile, Titans would act as the world's gods, each imbued with a piece of her Celestial spark. And for a while, it seemed to go well enough for her to sit back and observe.
Things changed when one of the Titans began to cause rebellion amongst his brothers and sisters. With Fasma confronting him, the two duelled until his corpse lied on the ocean floor, sinking a whole region alongside it. Yet the damage was already done, and the Titans began a war amongst themselves and the Antomniae.
Knowing that dealing with each one one by one would be impossible, she thought of a new plan. With her Celestial powers, she made a third race in a new realm, the Fae and the Faelands. Each one would be imbued with the first forms of magic, to both teach the Antomniae and fight off the Titans in the progress. Once their purpose was clear, they got released onto the material, turning the tides of the Titan War.
Once the threat of the Titans died out, she put together a new form of divinity to look over. The Antomniae were given the ability to make gods out of faith, alongside keeping their gift of magic. The few Titans that did not rebel also got spared, allowing them to exist as long they didn't cause a ruckus. The Fae meanwhile could stay in the Faelands, which Fasma used to bring forth more wild ideas into existence that didn't fit Fabulae.
Tri-Realm War
Those two are...Well, I can't just kill them outright. They're not Titans, they are something worse. Much, much worse. The only thing I can hope is that they one day stop, but they'll probably destroy one another before that ever happens.
Once the issue got solved, Fasma sat back to consider what to do with Fabulae. However, her thoughts locked up, struggling what to consider next for the material plane. On one side, she wanted to start over, while at the same time she wanted to have more influence on everything.
Such lingering thoughts birthed two entities: the Crawling Chaos, and the Great Will. Unaware of their existence at first, the Celestial was shocked to find both trying to conquer Fabulae for themselves. And as both were such pure thoughts, stopping them was harder than imaginable.
Fasma pulled both away from one another, putting them at the edges of existence. Using parts of the primordial Faelands, she made four planes to act as pillars between both. Each one she turned into an elemental realm, forming the modern formation of the Cosmic Hourglass.
One she stabilised that issue, Fasma began only observing the world from afar.
Origins of the Wandering Flame's Church
Things took a particular turn around a millenium ago. When people migrated to Sichelan, they discovered the First Flame Crater. Amongst them was Iscah, who touched the meteorite and came in direct contact with the Celestial Realm.
When Fasma saw Iscah, she realised what happened and calmed down the girl. Sitting her down, the Celestial explained everything. From the origins of the First Flame to who she was. Although a lot to take in, Iscah understood it.
Before she went back to the material plane though, Fasma offered a deal. Iscah would return to the First Flame and report on what happened in Fabulae, and Fasma would use her divine powers to improve it. To help with that, she blessed Iscah, turning her into the first Fire Maiden.
What followed was a slow, but gradual method for her to improve Fabulae from behind the scenes. Every so often the Fire Maiden would report to Fasma, which she then used to shift things around to keep the world interesting. And as the Church of the Wandering Flame grew, her influence could spread further with each day.
As the decades passed, she helped establish proper rules for its clergy and the Fire Maidens. And with it also came her philosophy, the famous question of "How do you want to be remembered?" that became the basis of the belief.
The Age of Silence & Fasma's Return
Things took a turn for the worst when Fasma witnessed both the Blazing War and the Great Sangfroid War. Seeing the Sangfroid Family screw over Sichelan, it became constantly harder to fix their messes. And at the end of Caesar Sangfroid's reign, the collapse was inevitable.
Which such power vacuum having a massive ripple effect across the continent, she did not know how to fix it. It also didn't help with Wanesa, current Fire Maiden she was, arguing with the deity. The internal corruption of the church and the chaos of the world was too much to handle.
In a moment of utter desperation, Fasma snuffed the First Flame, cutting any ties with the Fire Maiden alongside it. Nobody could speak to her, nor could they reach the Celestial Realm. For several centuries, Fasma ceased to be, leaving the world behind.
That was until a few years ago when she resurfaced to Ori Santoro. Meeting the girl at the outskirts of her town, she offered her the role as the new Fire Maiden. Granting her blessings, Fasma helped Ori regain control of the Church and Luxaltar.
From there, major changes were done to the hierarchy and a new goal was set. To fix the issues of the world, she called out for adventurers to help her. And with it, the current age began.
Gender Identity
Social
Contacts & Relations
Although Fasma is well known across the material plane, her only real contact with it is through the Fire Maiden. For a few years, this is through Ori Santoro, the current Maiden.
Speech
Despite her divine nature, Fasma is surprisingly informal with the way she speaks. Even amongst moments with the Fire Maidens, she treats them more as friends than religious members.
In conversations she likes to compare things to writing or making up stories. Not as surprising she also likes to chat about her creations, or discuss the stories of others as well.
Relationships
Celestial of Creation
Deity of the Campfire
Firekeeper
Goddess of the Tale
Lorekeeper
Record Keeper
The Storyteller
The Wandering Flame
Traveller of the Stars
Writer of Worlds
So, I'm going to front this with the fact that I'm far too drunk to take my advice too seriously. Seriously, get a secondary voice here, I am untrustworthy. That out of the way, I love the idea of a mysterious creator with pseudo infinite power, lacking the vision to understand her whole creation. Especially, "Something that is incomprehensible in scale and form, or at least not intended to be understood by the mortal eye... If this isn't a deliberate choice of hers" Great stuff, especially with the subtle addition of other beings BETWEEN classifications, it feels a lot more natural. Let me be clear though, I think everything from 'Origins Of The Wandering Flame's Church' to 'The Age Of Silence & Fasma's Return' are beautiful. It just feels like like there is a bit too much capriciousness in the decision to bring reality into existence, (unless that is what you are going for in which by all means turn it up to eleven., An informal creator Deity is grand, Honestly I love the idea, but the world has to be the way it is for some reason. (*Maybe a secondary being tool the reigns, or an organization made some stuff up), But the world, any world, is the way it is because someone saw fit to design it that way, or at least insist it was that way. I admit I haven't explored the rest of this world the way it deserves to be explored, but SOMEONE undercut this deity to set up the physical rules of this world, and since Fasma isn't the one, I'd like to know who did. (Again, unless the mystery itself is your intention, in which case, I'm super interested in the answer and am excitedly waiting for the followup/)