The Era of Creation

For five hundred years, chaos reigned in Galactus as the deities waged a celestial war across the planet. Very little mortal life survived the conflict as continents were torn asunder, mountains uprooted and entire oceans transplanted.

The Era of Creation took place during the first five centuries of Galactus's existence, from its initial creation until the chaining of the Abyss.

Peaceful Beginnings

The Era of Creation began when Galactus was formed by Althea. At this time, there was no battling, as the Abyss took no notice of the small thing growing inside of it. Althea, her children, and the other deities born in their various ways peacefully set about populating the world with an idyllic culture. Civilization, though primitive, fluorished at first, as the deities were focused on pampering their creations and maintaining their own balance as much as possible. This peace only lasted a short time, however, as the corrupting force of the Abyss took one of Althea's own.

The Shadows Spread

Iartus, the deity of shadows, became quite enamored with the Abyss. Indeed, while mortals shunned him out of fear of the dark and the other deities ignored him in favor of such mortals, the Abyss welcomed what the light could not touch. It offered him a place of belonging and produced for him a wife, Tixan, the deity of vengeance and greed who further corrupted him. The three beings, known as the Dark Three, began to wage war with the other deities. Some of the more neutral deities, such as the Jackdaw Lord and Iva, tried to stay out of the conflict, but were soon swept into the battling because of their ties to other deities.

As more deities joined forces with Althea and her offspring, the Abyss and its companions began to grow desperate. Although the power of the Abyss was strong, there were too many deities to contend with. Iartus and Tixan conspired to create children themselves, offspring who would join their forces and push back the light. Unfortunately for them, their children, Yena and Xonnir, were not interested in evil and left their parents. Yena joined the Light while Xonnir vanished below the waves to avoid the conflict entirely.

A World in Chaos

The longer the war lasted, the more destruction the mortal world of Galactus faced. The deities did not curb their power, and used whole mountains and continents as weapons of destruction against one another. A single blow from the Abyss could erase whole swathes of the planet, taking with it entire civilizations. Recognizing the plight of the mortals, Vitalis and Vytos retreated from battle to protect them. This shifted the balance of the world in favor of the Abyss, causing more destruction. The Jackdaw Lord was almost destroyed, the first major injury of a deity on either side. By the time the world reached its three-hundredth year, it was unrecognizable. By this time, Xonnir and newly-created Pyara appeared, joining Althea and adding the oceans to the mounting chaos. Tixan vanished for a few decades, vaporized by her son and revitalized by the Abyss.

The Chaining of the Abyss

In the world's five-hundredth year, the deities of Light began to formulate a plan, a final stand to bring the Dark powers to their knees. Xitos and Iva began to forge the strongest chains imaginable, made of an alloy of steel, tungsten, and titanium, and imbued with such potent magic as to make them nearly unbreakable. Many of the deities' weapons could dent the chains, especially Metsli's sickle, as it contained the source of the moon deity's power and had the potential to break the chains. However, each deity swore an oath under the Jackdaw Lord himself to never raise a weapon against the chains when they held back evil. As the other deities began to push the Abyss on all sides, forcing it to draw into itself, Iva and Xitos threw the chains around it, sealing the ends with magic and holy fire. With the Abyss contained, the deities of Light quickly subdued Tixan and Iartus, forcing them to surrender and swear under oath to never release the Abyss.

Era in Finem

A truce made, and with the Abyss safely stowed in a hidden location, the deities began to fix the world. They brought the land and seas to rest, allowing mortals to once again populate the continents. Recognizing that they had been partly to blame for the disaster by focusing too much on mortal affairs, many deities withdrew from the mortals they had once pampered. The mortals were left to develop on their own, and the deities began to focus on their divine domains and the prevention of another disaster of such large scale.

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  The Era of Creation