The Creation of Esthia

In the beginning, there was everything.

The untamed forces of nature spiralled and twisted through the vastness of the universe with no order or thought to guide them. As giant clouds of pure energy and potential, they floated, and for billions of years, this was so.

As these vast shapes of crackling energy moved, they began to drift apart, revealing the inky black spaces between them. Like a great beast lurking at the edges of the campfire light, the nothingness between the forces began to shift and stir.

It twisted between the motes and trails of the other powers, cutting them off from the main bulk. This snatching of power reduced the other forces and fed the darkness, leading it to become aware of its actions and thirst for more. 

However, this glutinous feasting on the other powers was to be its undoing. For, where excess had awakened the darkness, so did loss awaken the light.

In the dwindling light, Iphenia, the first of the Verdarna opened her eyes. 

Upon seeing the injustice of this separation of the elemental fabric of the universe, she pushed back at the darkness with blazing power of her own.

As if by instinct, she formed a shield, creating a barrier of light that caused the darkness to relent in its feeding.

Within the space she had created, what remained of the other forces began to mingle together once more. 

In their reduced state, they were able to come into much closer contact than they had before. 

For a time, they warred. As Iphenia fought the enemy beyond, they clashed and clawed at each other. As they battled, a champion awakened in each of the masses of pure energy. The Jördarna, sovereigns of the Rhoki, began to emerge: Raun, fiery core of the Inferno; Feldin, he who has harnessed the Storm; and Drantha, inescapable maiden of the Pull.

After millennia of conflict, no single force was able to gain the upper hand. The powers had become like ink swirling in water, drifting around each other in an almost playful dance, and their rulers too had calmed.

This new, closer intermingling of the major Rhoki caused strange vibrations. As they brushed against each other, the spark and resonances of their essences began to coalesce. New, hitherto unseen wells of power were formed as the subtle Rhoki were created.

The Pull calmed the churning effects of the Storm, giving rise to the Rhoki of Water. The Inferno boiled away the Storm, leaving behind the Rhoki of Air, and the Pull compacted the raging fires of the Inferno into the Rhoki of Stone. 

The subtle Rhoki too, called into being those responsible for each domain’s rule: Udanmir, the Deeplord of the Oceans; Vintha, she who dances on the wind; and Rothall, carver of mountains. 

Each of the Jördarna now held dominion over their own power. In the place where those powers aligned in perfect harmony, our world of Esthia was born.  

Each of the Jördana sought to immediately leave their mark on Esthia, creating the seas, the mountains, the deserts, and the freezing snows in testament to their own power.

Esthia became a place where no single force was stronger than any other. A point of pure balance where the ebb and flow of the Rhoki found equilibrium with each other. 

This final balancing of powers gave rise to perhaps the most precious Rhoki of them all. The Rhoki of Life, where every other Rhoki aligns. With it came Hesh, the mother of all.

Hesh saw the beautiful world forged by the elder Jördarna. Wielding her newly forged powers, she created all of the peoples, creatures, and plants of our world. What the Jördarna had wrought could now be loved and worshipped by beings other than themselves.

However, these beings and their passions also ushered another family of minor gods known as the Litdarna into existence. These Litdarna awoke in response to the wants and needs of the people of Esthia.

Among the Litdarna are such figures as: Sothar, the Lord of merchants, son of Raun and Drantha; Ves, goddess of love, given form by Hesh from the stolen glances and fervent whispers of those whose heart aches for another; and Nishtae, enigmatic governor of the Rhoki, they who’s laws and influence allow humans to access the powers of the Rhoki themselves. 

Seeing what she had created, Iphenia was in awe. That such beauty could come from absolute chaos moved her. She vowed then to protect Esthia with all of her being.

Knowing that she could not stand against the darkness at all times, she forged the stars from her very being. These tiny aspects of herself would act as her soldiers.

Placing them as thousands upon thousands of sparkling sentinels against the creeping night, she then forged the moon, Suuri, to act as her General and companion. Together they would wage war against the darkness without.

Exhausted by that final act and content in the knowledge that Esthia would remain protected, she lay down to rest until she was needed once again.

Now her brilliant armour shines down each day as she passes overhead. At night, she entrusts the protection of Esthia to Suuri and her soldiers. All standing guard and ever ready to fend off the darkness that would claim Esthia for itself.

But not all powers are so benevolent. As deities have arisen to embody desires for love, health, and prosperity, so have they arisen to exemplify greed, pain, and wickedness.

The most nefarious of these beings is Refia, Queen of shadows and knives in the dark. Her whispers permeate history, and devotees of Refia have often stood at the heart of revolts, assassinations, and more. 

What dark designs she and her ilk may have for Esthia can only be hitherto guessed at by those outside of her shadowed fold. 

Since its creation, Esthia has weathered assaults from without thanks to the protection of the Sleeping Maiden Iphenia. Though the darkness is ever searching for a way through her shield, she, her general, and her soldiers keep watch at all times. 

However, how are they to keep watch for eternity when the very people they protect so easily invite darkness into their own hearts?