Divinity of The One, Part II

The Divine Nature of the One God and His creation, continued.

THE FIRST PANTHEON: And though Creation itself had been willed into existence, the One God yet needed to define the multitude of worlds that were. He needed a force to shape the Divine Fire and mold it from things-that-could-be into things-that-was. And so the Maker formed the First Pantheon, the oldest of lesser Gods; these were the the very first embodiments of Life and Death, of Chaos and Order, of Chance and of Knowledge, and all other forces worshipped by the mortal races. They were the mediators of His will, the buffer between Creation itself and the One, and they moved along the perimeter of the material and filtered the His boundlessness into more discrete forms.

In the Dawn of Dawns, the world itself was richer and more layered, still vibrant and suffused with the lingering touch of the One God. The roaring flames of a bonfire were not only the release of warmth, the threat of danger, or the consumption of oxygen and and wood, but at the same time a symphony of instruments: the crackles and sputters as stray sparks shot skywards, the fearless roar of the inferno, and entrancing dance of flickering flames. Everything is said to have been more real, more absolute and radiant with the One God's love. The mortal races saw this splendour and they felt God's love in their souls as clearly as they felt the rain upon their skin or the wind through the hair.

THE GREAT BEYOND: Greatest of all His bountiful gifts was the gift of life, and second to that was the gift of death. For when the physical body failed, the immortal soul - the thing of pure Divine perfection we all still possess - is returned to the One. The soul is that which is still immaculate, the one and only thing amidst a plenitude of worlds that the Maker of All may still touch without diminishing Himself. And so upon that return, each soul is weighed and judged by His eternal gaze; those that are found worthy are guided to the Great Beyond to a fate unknown, while the others simple cease to be. It is thought not so much to be an annihilation of the soul as an assimilation, absorbed back into the One's infinite being.

But as eons passed, the residue of the moment of Creation began to fade. The First Gods faded into obscurity, extinguished, superseded, or simply withdrawn from the world. Other beings took their place, and then others after them. The mortal races began drifting apart, forgetting the virtues and sense of kinship they had shared in the beginning of time itself -- they had all been children of the One, united by His grace mercy. Only a handful remained true to His ways, while the world grew more crude and simplistic, static in a way it had not been before. And the souls shepherded back unto the One upon the release of death grew ever more disfigured, mutilated by the evils enacted in their mortal lives.

With each departed soul lost to sinful ways, Creation itself became a little more corroded, a little less pure. The One God remains the One God - almighty, perfect, immortal, and eternal - but this very world we live in, the undisputed jewel of His making, may very well become a perversion of His original intent. This is the essential truth I have found, the revelation which reverberates in my soul with every breath I draw: the destruction of wicked men forever condemns their souls to oblivion, while redemption offers salvation to them and this world alike.

And thus begins a new crusade, more arduous and pressing than any before. Its champions shall bring salvation to the sinners, mercy to the transgressors, and shelter to the destitute. Praise be unto the One God, and may His eternal love shine eternal and bright. May it scatter the darkness that holds this world in despair.

Originally scribed by

Leilana Sunrose Executioner of the Order