In which we will learn of many things, of gods and demons, of dragons, Fae, and humankind, and of how the worlds of Earth and Talmain became linked together.
Of Gods and Demons
In the beginning there was the Void. Eternal darkness, eternal stillness. The Great Spirit, the All-Mother, dwelt in the Void and she was the Void, but she desired Light and Life. And so, she created the Universe, the stars and the suns, and she created her children, the gods, who have had many names, and who in turn created life in all its many forms. They are aspects of the Great Spirit, and once walked freely upon the worlds.
But in the act of creating the Universe, another force was unleashed, a force of destruction and chaos, the dark twin of the All-Mother. This entity created her own children, the Demon Lords, who are sometimes known as Death, Famine, War and Pestilence. Some see them as the enemies of life, while others see them as a necessary balance. But if the Demon Lords should go unchecked, then Light and Life will be extinguished, leaving only the Void.
by Jagoush on Shutterstock
The forces of creation and destruction have clashed at many times. On our own planet, these battles have resulted in mass extinction events, the most well-known being the extinction of the dinosaurs. We are currently in the middle of another such battle. But so far, the forces of creation have won, and life goes on.
In ancient times, when mankind was young, the Great Spirit banished the Demon Lords to the Underworld, where they have dwelt ever since. Their powers were diminished, but they grow in strength, and they desire freedom to walk upon the worlds again. They created
Demons to do their will on Earth, Talmain, and other worlds.
Of Humans and Fae
The Fae existed long before humanity. They are elemental creatures, spirits of nature, and can appear in many forms.
The Great Spirit loved all of her creations, but she favoured humanity over all others. The gods saw humans as their children and their greatest achievement, because of their endless ability to invent and create themselves and their world anew.
At the end of the Age of Innocence, when humanity was reaching maturity, the Great Spirit gathered the lesser gods into the One, leaving the inhabited worlds for mortal feet alone.
Of the Worm-Lord, Dragons, and Prophecies
One of the Great Spirit's children, the Worm-god, Crom, defied the Great Spirit and desired to remain below. For that and for his greed, which had become too great for the worlds to sustain and threatened to destroy the Creation, the Great Spirit removed his god status. She sent Luth the Champion, god of Light, to castigate him. Luth used his flaming spear, Oinos, to banish Crom into a deep slumber, far below the surface of Talmain. Crom was now a demon, the mightiest of demons, god-like in his powers—but as a demon, he could be summoned and made to obey someone who was powerful enough. Someone like
The Shadowman.
The Worm-Lord still receives his tribute every second of every day somewhere upon the inhabited worlds, for he consumes the dead and turns them into mud even as he sleeps. Awake, his hunger knows no bounds.
Before his banishment, Crom’s proudest achievement was his creation of the
Great Dragons - the Old Ones, also known as the Great Worms. Some say they were related to the dinosaurs, others that they were another species entirely. But the Old Ones were a destructive species, and they too, were sent into a deep slumber by Luth and his spear Oinos. (Their distant cousins, the
Lesser dragons still freely roam Talmain).
Prophecy tells that another great battle between the forces of creation and destruction will occur at the End of Times. Then the the Worm-lord Crom and the Old Ones--the great dragons—will awaken. Some will join forces with the Demon Lords, though others may fight for the continuation of Life and Light.
Of Earth and Talmain
In ancient times, when gods and dragons still walked among humankind, the walls between worlds were thin.
Of all those worlds, Earth and her sister, Talmain, were the most closely linked. Long ago, there were places on every continent where animals, humans, and Fae could cross with ease between worlds. The ancients often built their monuments at these crossing points.
But as time went on, the worlds drifted further apart and passing between them became more difficult, less frequent. Only those with knowledge or power could make the crossing. And so, the worlds diverged, Earth becoming the world we know today, a world where humanity believes itself supreme, where the wilderness is disappearing, where magic and the Fae are driven underground, and science, industry, and commerce are the new gods.
Talmain took a different path. More sparsely populated, its people retained their belief in the old gods, and magic was revered and cultivated. In a world where magic exists, there is no need for scientific inquiry, and so the humans of Talmain are less technologically advanced than the humans of Earth.
Though all of that may soon change. The Purges of recent years led to the destruction of the great schools of magic, and the slaughter of thousands of men and women of power. Magic is now seen as evil, its few remaining practitioners reviled and persecuted.
The links between Earth and Talmain are many and their destinies are entwined.
This is the background to the stories related in the
Merlin’s Children series, coming soon. To read an excerpt, follow this link: [url:https://rprawnsley.com/merlins-children-excerpt-introducing-tess-and-cale/]
Comments