FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

One Last Opal, pt 1

comidacomida copyright 2023

Since their inception, mortals had always held true to three big misconceptions about gods. Most mortal philosophers believed that the deities were timeless beings, located somewhere beyond time; this was not the case. Many priests of the divine proposed that the Gods were capable of exhibiting grand powers and changing reality at the behest of their followers; while that may have once been the case, once the Ancients disappeared every one of the Gods became much more... specialized. Finally, Mortals had long held firm to the truth that there were three Deities; there were four.

Corwin had never questioned the fallibility of mortals and He never blamed them for their shortcomings. He knew that they were imperfect; even Gods had their weaknesses so how could He fault those who had no understanding of divinity? He considered it under His auspices to try and gently guide mortals into a better understanding of themselves, the world around them, and what it meant to be one with creation. He was not the God of Wisdom Insight, Knowledge, or Understanding; His position within the heavens was that of the God who asked "Why?". It was His task to question.

Mortals believed that the Gods had no sense of time; that was far from reality. In truth, Gods had a certain mastery over time that Mortals lacked. A century could pass in the blink of any eye or a minute could be as a thousand years. To Gods, time meant nothing beyond an understanding of what came before, what was 'now' and what was yet to be. For some, like De'anna, Goddess of Magic, Nature, and Prophecy, the flow of time did not even need to go in one direction; She could see that which was yet to happen well before it did.

The misunderstanding that Mortals had when it came to the unlimited power of Gods was one that Corwin never properly understood; if there was more than one God then how could they have limitless power? One being with limitless control would be a logical conclusion, but it would be illogical to have multiple ones because none would have control over another and that, at its base assessment, meant that there would be limits. There was a hierarchy among the Divine, that much was true, and Seir Kadan, the self-proclaimed "Father God", Deity of the Heavens and Bringer of the Sun was the uncontested director of divine activity but, despite what the overly-inflated God-Among-Gods would have His followers believe, He was not truly any more powerful than the others.

If Corwin were capable of frustration when it came to a lack of knowledge, the point of misunderstanding among Mortals that agitated Him the most was that they did not realize that there were more than the three Deities. Early on, not long after the Ancients left the world, Strove, God of Enlightenment, Insight, Creation, and Inspiration bestowed upon the thinking races the knowledge of civilization and society that the Ancients had desired for them. The exact purpose and design from the Ancients was unknown even to the Gods, but Strove was never one to let a lack of complete comprehension get in the way of advancement.

Around His inspiration, societies came into being; people formed communities and Mortals began to call ancient sites of creation home-- flocking to them to worship the Gods; THREE Gods to be specific, centered around the three Powers of the world: Faith, Magic, and Technology. Corwin was responsible for none of the three and so he was not needed when it came to guiding the Mortals... or so Strove led them to believe.

The first ten thousand years of existence resulted in many amazing changes to the World. The Mortal races prospered, spreading to all realms from the most desolate wastelands to the Maans-- the city-like engines of creation left by the Ancients. The Gods were active during those first 10 millennia, working from afar, but maintaining careful focus and guiding the Mortals with subtle hands, helping the various races to achieve greatness. Just like parents, the different Deities refused to admit that They had favorites... usually not even to Themselves.

In the end, Corwin watched as Seir Kadan, De'anna, and Strove did what they felt was necessary to help the races in what They considered to be a fair and even manner... but Gods were also not omniscient, and Corwin observed the scales began to tip unevenly due to errant oversights. He brought this up to His fellows, but His warnings fell on deaf ears. He watched idly as Their Divine interventions created great catastrophes. Ten great races once stood as equals, but the influence placed upon some caused others to atrophy and, in the end, the Gods didn't realize how right Corwin had been until that number became five; four races suffered so that their fellows could prosper, and one died out completely.

Having inadvertently favored Their chosen among the Humans, Feyonesti, Trekomanan, Wer, and Lizardfolk, the Gods caused great suffering among the Minotaurs, Jorn, Green Skins, Antlarin, and Beastfolk. The Humans, echoes of what the Ancients had one been, took on a special role within the world as inspiration and leaders of the other races, who turned to them for direction and guidance. The cat people known as the Feyonesti were well-blessed, as were the bird folk known as the Trekomanan. Although the Gods had not focused greatly on the Wer, the animal-peoples' natural aptitudes saw them through, and their generally close ties to the Humans ensured their survival. The Lizardfolk, survivors one and all, managed to endure with only peripheral attention from the divine.

Those races not so blessed with divine attention, nigh-impossible amounts of endurance, wit, or the favor of humanity suffered. The bull-like Minotaur's once stood proudly but their populations contracted over the course of several centuries, devolving into brutal, barbaric tribes. The Jorn, powerful, swift, and noble horse-like folk were required to flee far out into the wilds as some of the more powerful races forcefully pressed them into service, creating the first slaves seen within the world.

Green Skins, all but abandoned by the Gods instead took up their own cultures built around savagery in which might made right and the strongest ruled, often causing pain, harm, and death to those who opposed them; in return for their savage ways, the world imposed penalties upon them, twisting the Green Skins into more monstrous forms-- such was the way for those who opposed the Ancients' plans of morality and peace. The Deer, Elk, Moose and Caribou known collectively as the Antlarin suffered a vastly different fate; they were always drawn to the wilds, and so, when enough years passed by, they failed to keep up with the settled races and, as cultures blended and coexisted among the others, the Antlarin were all but forgotten, left on the outskirts and not taken into account or consulted as the cities grew and the cultures changed.

Affected the most by the changing world caused by inconsistent and unequal Divine Intervention were the Beastfolk-- The Yeti, Wendigo, and Sasquach did not survive the changes in the world, each meeting their end in ways left forgotten by the mortals and, in fact, within a few thousand years, the Beastfolk transitioned from history to legend... all except for the Jibi, hyena-like Humanoids who, despite the hardships of facing a world changing to benefit the other races, still managed to find a way to survive, even if they never quite got back to the point of thriving.

The entire collapse of the Beastfolk races was the shock required for the Triumvirate to awaken from Their egotistical power trip; Corwin was too reserved and too patient to point out that He had warned them-- instead, He suggested an accord to be agreed upon by all of the Gods that They would never again influence the world from afar without first gaining an understanding of what it is Their changes would accomplish... and that meant seeing things from the point of view of mortals. What Corwin suggested was the creation of Avatars-- a deity would have to imbue a mortal shell with Their power and walk among those They proposed affecting with Their miracles.

While initially was no small amount of push back from the Triumvirate, an accord was finally struck: the Gods could only intervene in the world when pressed by followers; They could imbue the truly faithful with a small portion of Their power to act on their behalf; or They could take an Avatar form. The pact was sealed, though Strove reminded Corwin that He had no followers... would He be able to adhere to the agreement as well? Corwin patiently reminded Strove that He, unlike They, did not have a problem interacting with the World. Seir Kadan and De'anna entered into the conversation, pointing out that Corwin would be at a disadvantage under the arrangement and that would create further unbalance.

After more discussion, each of the Triumvirate agreed to provide Corwin with a lesser seed of Their power. Corwin would be able to choose a power that He could provide to a mortal if ever he elected to create an Avatar-- it would be His only option since HE had no followers to act on His behalf. Despite lacking the power of prophecy, Corwin had anticipated this gesture from His compatriots, and already knew what he would request. From Seir Kadan, Corwin requested the divine aura of devotion; mortals would be well disposed to Him and acknowledge His power, even if they did not know why. De'anna gave to Him at His request the power of Prophecy and, while He could inspire mortals with foresight, as a God, He lacked the ability Himself.

When the time came to make a request of Strove, Corwin showed his Humility, informing the God of Inspiration that He was not prone to such insightful strikes of creativity and that he would need some time to consider His request; there was no time frame set for it, but the agreement was made and all four Gods acknowledged the pact. After ten thousand years of attempting to make the world a better place, the thing that ultimately succeeded in bringing it about was the Gods taking a step back and letting the World handle itself.

* * * * * *

Few things remained consistent throughout the passage of time. For as immutable as mortals believed Gods to be, the Deities did indeed change, albeit, not as often or as in overt a way as those who had only a limited time for existence. The world itself also changed-- not in ways that most lived long enough to notice or even measure, but there were some constants. The consistent Rules created by the Ancients were immutable, and inescapable... but they weren't without exceptions.

Sitting in a place that was not a place, Corwin pondered the ten millennia since the Deities made their agreement. All four had held true to Their promise; Corwin, since He had no way to affect the World as He had no followers, and the rest by influencing the world THROUGH Their followers-- sometimes in ways They planned, and sometimes in ways that resulted from mortal intervention; Corwin often laughed at Their expense, pointing out that nothing pure survived passing through the mortal lens. He expected that They probably tired at His laughing but he had no issue with reminding them that the mortal will was a wonderful thing, and could complicate even the simplest of visions.

Corwin was not surprised at the difficulties faced by His fellows-- specifically because the most effective way to understand mortals was to be among them. In the ten thousand years since their arrangement, not a one of them had elected to imbue Their power into a mortal vessel; none of Them had bothered with creating an Avatar. In that moment (or perhaps month, or year, or decade), Corwin reclined, gazing at the wonderful, pure white stone that He held between his fingers, the unknown God made up his mind. For all His considerations of laws, rules, orders and edicts set by the Ancients, He knew innately that none was greater than the Rule of Good... and, in His grasp was its one exception.

When the Ancients created the whole of existence, including the Gods, they designed a system in which all thinking, feeling, knowing beings would be beholden to the ideal that Good was always greater than Evil-- that what one put out into the world ultimately came back upon ones self; that balance would be kept by encouraging all living, thinking, feeling, choosing actors would elect to be goodly. In order to ensure this, the Ancients created a power that would maintain balance without judgment, consideration, or prejudice. It was not a God that determined the actions of those with the will to make decisions; it was a force known as Karma; it was an innate effect-- a law of the world as sure as gravity, and it was as real as the deities... and Corwin hated it with a passion.

In the twenty-plus millennia of His existence, Corwin often waxed philosophical with His fellows, telling the other Gods time and time again that the mortals should be left to develop their own decisions and truly pick their own paths. In His mind, artificially punishing mortals for making a choice in order to provide some kind of misdirected cosmic correction was an affront to the concept of free will. Further, in his mind, it was a sign that the Ancients were far more haughty, self-assured, and narcissistic than they were given credit for... and that was saying a lot when it came to people that abandoned their creation without a single explanation.

Invariably the other Gods would counter with something condescending or berating; who was He to challenge the words of the Ancients? Who was He to think that He knew better than their creators? Each time, Corwin was forced to remind Them that who He was happened to be the God of Questions-- it was His entire purpose. On that day, however, Corwin sat in the place that was not a place, gazing at the little white stone in between His fingers, admiring the pearly white hue that was an Opal; the one exception to Karma.

Few mortals understood the mystic power of minerals, but those who did were familiar with the purity of silver, the divine influsion found in gold, or the magic nullifying power of cold iron, but even fewer knew of the way that Opals could affect Karma; Opals were, in fact, the one and only substance in all of Creation that could halt Karma-- no matter how wicked, self-serving, harmful, spiteful, or 'Evil' one could be, so long as one had an Opal in their possession, all of the dark Karma inflicted upon them by their deeds would instead be transferred to the Opal.

It was during His consideration of the mineral held between His two fingers that Corwin made up His mind. The world had been in existence for over 20,000 years; for half of that time the Gods had withdrawn, touching Creation only irregularly with their power and never direction. Since inception no God had set foot upon the creation of the Ancients. Corwin decided then and there that it was time for a change. Opal in hand, he did just that: rather than questioning with words, however, Corwin decided it was time to create understanding through action instead.

* * * * *

When the world was first created it was not done in a single day, or even a week or a month; the whole of creation took an amount of time unknown to any but the Ancients. At the conclusion of their work, the Creators crafted the Gods. Just as a technician might operate a tech transport, or an engineer might operate a threshing machine, so to could some rare individuals utilize the creation crafted by the Ancients like a specialized operator control any other piece of technology-- it was only poetic to name these rare 'engineers of reality' Operators. Mortals did not know this about reality: Operators could change creation-- the more powerful and knowledgeable the Operator, the greater changes they could make.

Another things mortals didn't know about Operators was that, in order to use their ability to make changes to the world, they had to have access to one of the incredibly powerful machines hidden within the Ancients' creation. Fortunately, the Gods knew of the location of the devices, known as HAVENs. Even more fortuitous for Corwin, many of the HAVENs were also disguised as mighty cities, known as Maans, or Metropoli by the mortals. As an Operator and a God, Corwin chose to bring His Avatar into being within a Maan. Considering there was only one at the center of a continent, His choice was made: Corwin was the first deity to manifest in the world, and He did so in Maan Ellis.

The effort required to create His Avatar was significant, and the limited nature of his existence weighed heavily upon Corwin, but the actual modifications to the Maan were surprisingly simple; all Gods had been assigned an Operator Number, an indicator involving two sets of three letters and two digits identifying them as holding sway over creation; Corwin's was CorMus07.

Utilizing those powers, Corwin gave his Avatar meaning and significance with the Metropolis; Corwin Muscroft became a powerful business magnate, and was the first step in a lengthy plan was complete. The power of a God had little regard for certain aspects of reality such as Continuity, and, coupled with the abilities of an Operator, Corwin was able to make enough changes to Maan Ellis that his plans could start in earnest. He took possession of an empty plot of land within the northern segment of Maan Ellis and founded Estate 07, selecting that as the place for Muscroft Manor. He then set about working through his second objective: he created his Avatar, and second, he would create real change.

In the place that was not a place the Gods had near infinite power and it was nothing to do as They pleased; in the real world things were much more complicated and Corwin couldn't simply create an Opal because He wanted one. Over the course of the next few years, the God-Taken-Mortal-Form expanded the industrial capacity of the Maan, investing huge sums of wealth into buying up warehouses, machines, factories and, most importantly, enough workers to create a veritable army of miners.

During those years Corwin selected his employees carefully. The hearts and minds of his workers were far more important to him than their strengths or skills. Choosing his followers from the disenfranchised, the ignored, the belittled, and the impoverished, Corwin elected to spend his time and effort championing those who were never given a chance to succeed, then then used his considerable wealth to make up for what they lacked. It was not long before he had become the saving grace of those who would have otherwise been left with nothing.

Corwin rapidly grew in power within Maan Ellis and his name was spoken with reverence among those who he had helped rise up from beneath the heel of others. More and more followers flocked to Corwin, some insisting that he had been given unto them as a gift from the Gods; he always accepted the words with humble smiles and never bothered correcting them that his presence was due to the will of a single Deity... one whose name they had never learned until he stood before them.

Once Corwin had the support he needed, the Avatar then put the next phase of his plan into motion. The Egnol Ellis plains extended around the metropolis for over a hundred million acres and that meant there was a lot of ground to cover-- even with his veritable army of followers it would take time to find what he sought. He knew that the rolling hills around Maan Ellis were full of Opals, and he would need them all for what was to come.