"Among the few Great Mysteries of our world is this: from where did this place arise, and to where is it going, in the end?

What existed, if anything, before the Awakening of the First Generation? What will happen when the last of us close our eyes... if ever we do close our eyes?

Each of the Realms, and even some subcultures within each Realm, has its own answer - its own speculation... but, for me, the most interesting answer has always been the Gaean myth of Creation and Destruction - the story of the Godseed, the Cycle of the Chosen, and the Rise of the Fourth Realm.

— The Beginning & The End, by Tavit Kitelo
 

The Gaean Creation and Destruction Myth

The Passing of the Old World

There was, you know, a World before this World.... and in the Old World were the Elders - enormous elemental beings of unfathomable power - power inconceivable even to the strongest of the Seven in this day. It is unknown how long their era lasted, or whether there was a World before the Old as well. But what is known is that, in time, the Old World ended, and the Elders faded out of life, into eternity. They passed peacefully, or through war. They died, or else they went to sleep. Their consciousness survives, or it has dissipated. It is unknown, as are many great things. With the loss of the Elders, however, a new era was to begin.

In their passing, the Elders' bodies broke apart, collapsing into Godseeds that floated on the wind, each infused with a fraction of the Elders' power, and a fraction of their will. And, when the seeds came to rest on the dirt and in the sea, that power spiraled forth, recreating the land, rebuilding and reforming the ocean, mingling with the elements and infusing the world itself with a sliver of power - what we now call Void Energy.

The Making of Empirica Sin, built by the Godseeds from the remnants of the Old World.

And so the Old World gave way to the new, and Empirica Sin was Made.

The Rise of the Celestials.

The Birth of the First Realm

Still, the Godseeds continued their travels, circling the world itself, driven on by the whispers of dreams still clinging to their light. In time they coalesced once more, above the mountains of the northernmost regions of this new world.

There, the seeds rained life upon the world they had made and lo! Soon, the first hints of life could be found. Born from the last dreams of the Elders, the First Generation of Dei opened their eyes. Enormous they towered over the newborn trees, feeling our their existence, discovering their purpose, and how the world would react to their will, their demands. After the Dei came their lesser cousins, the Aurali and the Fey.

The Godseeds ran through their veins - they were so touched. But they had touched the Godseed, too, and now the seeds carried echoes of their essence of those they created - the image, the hearts, of the Caelestise as they made their way through the second cycle.

Thus was born the First Realm.

The Birth of the Second Realm

The cycle continued. The seeds floated southward, and eastward. With them they brought the dreams and images of their first children, and as they went, they filled the ground and water of what would be called Gaean.

Forests grew.

The Great Trees rose.

Again, the Godseed began to coalesce, the power of the Elders once more reaching from eternity and into the heart of the Land.

Soon, the first of the Mortals were birthed deep within the land - formed from the image of a species of beings made in the image of those who had been made in the image of the Elders. In time, they crawled up from the dirt to see the sliver of world they had inherited...

And so the Second Realm was born.

The first Mortals stumble forth into the light.

 

The Demons, born of hearts, minds, fears, virtues and vices.

The Birth of the Third Realm

The Cycle continued.

Southward, and East again. The Godseed, moved on, carrying the wisps of Immortal and Mortal both - their passions, their fears, their hopes and hates. Filled to bursting with dreams, and with nightmares.

In the dark lands that would be Incaendium, the seeds settled amongst the volcanic flows and in the valleys between mountain ranges. They came to rest inside the inland sea. In time, they coalesced once more, inside this land of dark Flora and volcano glass.

There, inside the obsidian and aether, those passions, fears, hopes and hates began to take form.

Soon, the Sura rose - beings formed from emotion and energy.

So, the Third Realm was born... and we arrive here, at the world we know.

The Danger of the Fourth Realm

The Third Realm, the world we know, had been fully born, each child race given the gifts needed to survive - a touch of Elements in their blood, a well of Od.

The Godseeds, however, act with impunity and without limitation. A new cycle. They continued to move - now carrying the essence of gods, men, and demons.

As each Realm had reflected the ones before - the Celestials born of the old world gods, the humans born of the Celestials' hearts and minds, and the Demons born from the hearts and minds of Celestial and Human alike - the souls of Empirica wondered...

What might a fourth Realm be like?

A Realm made of darkness and dreams, empowered by the remains of the Elders.

It is said that if this Realm is allowed to rise, the Elders will be reborn as monsters, corrupted by darkness.

And then they will tear the world itself apart and start again.

A Godseed continues to move, gathering the essences of all it has created with it.

 

The Chosen - A sacrificial lamb by whose body the world is sustained.

The Coming of the Chosen

However... in order to create the Fourth Realm, the power of the Godseeds must first coalesce.

When it does, great evils begin to rise to threaten the land... and each time, a Chosen One rises to defeat the danger and send the Godseed scattering throughout the world again - staving off the rise of the Fourth Realm.

The coming of the Time of Coalescence will be made evident to those with Prophetic sight. They, too, are given the power to find and identify the one person - one mortal - best able to confront the great danger of the Age.

This person is the Cycle's Chosen, born to save the world... for a time. Despite their great destiny, their fate remains a bittersweet one, as they inevitably perish in the final confrontation with the Danger.

As a tribute to each Cycle's Chosen, Gaean begins a new age in their name that stands until the next Chosen falls.

 

Themes

At base, this is an attempt to understand the creation and potential downfall of the world, while also tying these things into the cycle of the Chosen - something that they otherwise have no real explanation for. Relevant themes include:

 

All Things are Connected

As the death of the Elders gave rise to the Celestials, so the Celestial's hearts and minds were carried by the Godseed into Gaean to create the Mortals. From there the emotions of Celestials and Mortals together mixed with the Godseed to create the Demons. The Fourth - and seemingly final - Realm is the rebirth of the Elders, who are recreated using the hearts and minds of their own children. Thus all things, even the end of things, share a common origin.

Fallibility, Births & Destruction

The Godseed is shaped and reshaped by contact with the minds and hearts of the beings that they create. If the hypothetical the Fourth Realm rises, its inhabitants are a reflection of the previous realms. That being the case, a question comes to mind: If the downfall of the Three Realms arises from beings that embody Empirican nature, then have the people of Empirica Sin ultimately both caused and created their own downfall?

The Physical World is Shaped by the Inner World

Each Realm is born from the inner world of the previous Realms, with the Demons embodying those things in a literal way. Thus all the flaws and virtues of the world can be ultimately traced back to the flaws and virtues of the ones who inhabit it.

Sacrifice and the Power of Mortals

Each Chosen is born a sacrificial lamb - destined to confront the great evil of their age, and die during that confrontation. They are shields that holds back the oncoming night, if only for a short time. The Chosen is always a Gaean - a mortal - thus representing the significance in the world of these beings who are so often dismissed by the Immortals that surround them.

 

The World

Historical Basis

It's difficult to assess the accuracy of the story of the Old World and the Elders, as obviously no one remembers a time before they themselves came to exist. And, of course, the prophecy of the Fourth Realm cannot be confirmed, as it has yet to come.

That said, the First Generation is able to confirm at least some parts of the tale - the Awakening that they cannot explain, the subsequent rise of the Mortals, and the birth of the Demons from the passions of both Celestials and Mortals.

It is also objectively true that great threats come to threaten Empirica Sin every few centuries, and that these threats are seemingly always held back by the sacrifice of a single mortal.

So perhaps there is some truth to it, in the end.

It is unknown why it is always a mortal, or whether that is truly a necessary component of delaying the cycle.

The Arts

The myth of the Fourth Realm itself has been recounted in books related to or collecting prophecies or mythology, but has had few direct adaptations, as the story has no actual Characters. The stories of the various Chosen, however, have been extensively dramatized, adapted, and mythologized through numerous statues, novels, plays, operas, etc.

Most famously, the novelist Mara Rielech has made (and is making) an effort to adapt the stories of every known Chosen, which amounts to about 70 individuals. Each story in her "Chosen Cycle" series is told through a novel or novella and seemingly through the eyes of the Chosen themselves. This has proven slightly controversial as many believe it disrespectful to put words in the mouths of the Chosen. However, despite the criticism, the Living Book networks where Mara releases her work are extremely successful.