The Twelve Realms

Deep in the endless expanse, back when time was non-existent, there existed only the Allbeing.   Surrounded by infinite void, she yearned for creation. Matter. Existence to fill the space around her. She created two families of unimaginably powerful beings; celestial deities. The first was known as the Astrals. She created them carefully, fearing what power she may bring to the universe. They loved the Allbeing, and wished only to serve her wishes, and maintain the order and peace of the universe as it was when they were created. The second were the Cosmics. They were creatures of chaos and change. Something to show the Allbeing what would happen if she brought sudden change to the endless expanse of void.   The two families, however, clashed spectacularly. Their radically differing ideals for something so grand as the entire universe could not exist in harmony. As the Allbeing grew weak from expending so much of her strength in the creation of such powerful deities, the two families were quick to oppose one another in attempting to take rule of the universe. The Astrals vowed to protect the legacy of the Allbeing, who upon her death, transformed into a beautiful and powerful storm of stardust that formed countless stars throughout the expanse. The Cosmics, however, saw this as a chance to finally reform the universe in their own image.   The Cosmics turned to Nethra, the Astral of End, a being who knew all too well that everything, even the universe, must meet its final moment one day. The most devious of the Cosmics used their immense power to manipulate her mind, and convince her that it was the Allbeing's dying wish to have her bring about the end of the universe. Nethra tried to convince herself that the Allbeing could never want such a thing, but countless millennia of torturous manipulation upon her mind finally twisted her, and she realized it was her duty to do as the Allbeing demanded, no matter the request.   Illaron, the Astral of Conscious, found that his brother had discovered a curious side-effect of creation deep within the universe; mortal life. His brother, Sethsus, the Astral of Creation, had likely found it among the countless other creations thoughtlessly made and discarded by the Cosmics. However, Sethsus did not have the heart to destroy the creature as he knew he should. Illaron grew suspicious of his brother, and eventually found that Sethsus had begun creating realms of his own to harbor these mortal creatures. Illaron was furious, but Sethsus pleaded that Illaron spare his creations, claiming that the Allbeing, too, would have thought them beautiful.   Nethra, twisted and torn in her own mind, sought Illaron for help. She begged him to help her understand the conflict in her mind, and asked if the Allbeing would truly want such a thing as for the universe to meet its end. Illaron, finding this as an opportunity to end his brother's relentless creation of worlds, told her that the Allbeing simply wished for Nethra to put an end to Sethsus, who had forgotten his purpose of maintaining order within the universe. Trusting Illaron, Nethra seeked to destroy Sethsus once and for all.   Finding him deep in the universe, surrounded by his creations, Nethra challenged him. They clashed, and Sethsus watched as his countless realms were smashed to dust before his eyes by Nethra's might. Even Zainar, the Astral of Time, was horrified by the violent combat of the two Astrals. Zainar had seen the outcome of the battle for himself before it even began, and he warned Illaron that both Astrals would fall, and their deaths would cause such a surge of power throughout the universe that it would destroy it entirely.   Struck with guilt for his harshness, Illaron agreed to help put a stop to the conflict. Zainar stopped the very flow of time itself, but the Astrals' rage in war was so great that even Zainar could not halt them in time. Illaron watched as they both landed their final blows. Nethra drew her last breath as her form began to wither to stardust, and Sethsus' body fell limp as he let go of the last twelve realms he could protect from Nethra's purge.   With their power combined, Illaron and Zainar fused the two near-dead Astrals together, hoping they would have enough power left in each of them to keep them both alive. The ritual worked, and with a surge of power that burned even the Cosmics, Nethra and Sethsus, creation and end, were formed into a single being; Aalos. This newly born Astral had more power than any other deity since the Allbeing, but due to its injuries, it remained asleep. In its slumber to this very day, the Astrals watch over it, keeping Aalos safe from the Cosmics hiding throughout the universe.   As an apology to his brother, Illaron took the last twelve realms his brother ever created, and hid them in a pocket of the universe even the Cosmics could not find, hoping it would detour them from ever finding his brother's beloved creations.   That, is how the worlds of today were born.