Making of the Keys
Tinel the Great has always held that in exploring the mind, the mortal spirit can be uplifted to great heights. He believes that the individual is capable of wonders unachievable by the many, and encourages his worshipers to explore learning, science, and the study of magic over all else. Twice in the history of the mortal races has this doctrine shown its limitations, and twice has All-Knowing, All-Seeing Tinel determined the best way to mend the damage done.
So long ago that it is recorded by few and remembered by fewer, there came to be a council of fourteen wizards. These men and women of tremendous power determined that all knowledge had been laid bare before them and that there was no crevice, no niche into which they had yet to peer—but one. No living mortal had ever journeyed to Heaven for the express purpose of learning its secrets. Certainly, some of the faithful had been called before the throne of one god or another, and returned in a babbling religious rapture, but the wizards were people of knowledge, not faith, and were determined to make maps, surveys, and a full exploratory journal of Heaven.
Mustering the length and breadth of their skill, knowledge, and power, the mortals opened a series of portals, powerful and terrible, and through their thresholds lay the kingdom of Heaven. When the fourteen stepped into the holy home of the gods, the Lords of Heaven were outraged. Shalimyr moved to smite them for their pride, and few were prepared to gainsay him, but Imperious Tinel spoke: “Hold thy hand, Sea Father, for these are my folk, and they are precious to me. I have told them to seek knowledge, and they have come seeking the greatest knowledge: the faces of their gods.” For indeed, Tinel was overcome with the pride of a father for his children.
So it was that Magnificent Tinel came before these fourteen in the very halls of Heaven and showed them his glory. His face glowed with the light of one thousand fires. Each strand of his hair was a burning river of gold. In his hands power coiled, and on his brow shone the wisdom of all the ages. “Behold!” he declared to the fourteen, “Ye have come of my bidding, and I allow ye to walk in my halls, for I am Tinel, the Lord of Secrets!”
But the fourteen spoke among themselves and did not respond to him. And Tinel saw then that they made notes and drawings, and did not fall to their faces as he had expected.
In their pride, many of the mortals turned their backs and walked from the presence of Tinel the Whisperer; these began to map the vaulted halls of Heaven. When Tinel ordered the celestials of his hall to gather these mortals together before his majestic presence once more so that he might explain to them their relative unimportance in Heaven, the celestials moved to do so. But these mortals were as powerful as they were arrogant, and working terrible magic they chained the celestials to the ground.
“How dare ye strike my anointed?” Tinel the Great bellowed, but the mortals ignored him and continued their
exploration. When he took one into hand, a wizard called Mariliya the Red, and demanded an explanation for their impudence, the enchantress noted in her book: “It is capable of emotional response, raising its voice to demonstrate rage.”
It was then clear to Tinel that the unfettered quest for knowledge hid the potential for his destruction within it. For these wizards were so pleased with themselves and their conquest of all laws—natural, magical, and spiritual—that they saw Magnificent Tinel and the other gods as mere creatures: like ducks, men or fiery giants. Should they convince the rest of the mortal world that this falsehood was true, it might become so, for lies become true when the whole world believes them.
Such sorcerous power might defeat gods weakened by a faithless world. “I will not abide this,” the Lord of Secrets declared, and prepared to expel these mortals from Heaven, for there was still a father’s pride in him and he would not see them destroyed utterly.
The mortals had prepared for this eventuality, however, and with a shouted warning from Mariliya, they congregated in the winking of an eye. Together they worked grim spells and cast up mighty wards against Tinel, for their plan had been to lay low one of the Lords of Heaven to bring back to their tower and study. They intended to capture Anwyn, whom it was said was weakest of the gods, but they were confident in their abilities and believed they could hold Tinel at bay.
And Tinel looked at these wards with confusion, for though he is All-Knowing and All-Seeing, Lord of Secrets, and possesses many other names of might, it is possible for him to be surprised from time to time, and he could not discern what these mortals intended. They had prepared this assault in secret, weaving great spells to keep the Lords of Heaven from observing their work, and believed they would prevail.
Seeing the Heavenly Archmage so amazed, the fourteen pressed their advantage and brought forth their mighty staves. Crafted in solitude over long years with the most powerful runes ever etched by mortal hands, forged in fires of pure magic and cooled in the blood of titans, each was, in its own right, one of the greatest wizards’ staves ever made. Together they shaped awesome power, and their light was seen in Heaven, on earth, and even in Hell, as they attacked Tinel the Great. It was not until the magic from their mighty wizard’s lances crashed down upon him that Tinel at last understood what it was that these mortals meant to do. In that terrible moment, he reckoned the fullness of their plan, though he still could not believe it. For one terrible moment, the mortals believed they had conquered a god. For one terrible moment, the hosts of Hell cheered at the light they believed signaled the downfall of Heaven, whose hosts quailed. But it was only a moment. With the wave of the Heavenly Archmage’s great hand, the fourteen staves were sundered. With one utterance that sounded like one word but also every word ever spoken by mortal tongues, the wizards were reduced to ash, and their spirits were caught in his palm. He placed them in a jewel, and this jewel he placed on his brow, so that for all eternity they could observe what he observed, and know they were fools. However, their folly stayed with him in more than the jewel, for he had seen that mortals might believe themselves his equal. It did not sit well with him. Since that time many mortals have called him aloof, for he has never again shown a father’s pride in their seeking of secrets. It is whispered in dark places that one of the demons of the Abyss now shows that pride in Tinel’s place, encouraging mortals to seek out forbidden knowledge. This wicked prince of the Abyss, called Astaroth by his followers, has thus won many weak hearts from Heaven. Having seen that the quest for knowledge must lead all mortals powerful enough to walk the planes to seek out Heaven, Tinel grew grave and despondent. First, with a wave of his mighty hand, he stripped magic from the mortal races. For some years, there was no arcane magic to be worked by even the mightiest wizard. That done, the Heavenly Archmage called upon his nephew, Korak. Together, Tinel and the King of the Crucible forged the locks of Heaven and their countless keys. These locks they scattered about the great sphere in a pattern, powerful in its weaving, known only to Tinel of the Countless Locks. No one who is not summoned by the gods may enter Heaven without coming to one of the locks and presenting unto it one of the true keys. And should one open one of these locks and seek entrance into the holy realm, he would encounter Uriel the Archangel, guardian of Heaven. Tinel is the Keeper of the Keys, and he has not once surrendered them to any mortal; none but those summoned have come to Heaven since the forging of the locks and keys. From that day forward, the realm of the gods was locked away from uninvited mortals, even those powerful enough to walk the planes. It is said to this very day that any mortal who believes his knowledge makes him equal to the gods is visited by Tinel the Whisperer, and the Lord of Secrets speaks to the proud fool, warning him from the path he walks. Should the mortal persist in his beliefs, he is placed in the jewel on Tinel’s brow, and heard from nevermore.
Seeing the Heavenly Archmage so amazed, the fourteen pressed their advantage and brought forth their mighty staves. Crafted in solitude over long years with the most powerful runes ever etched by mortal hands, forged in fires of pure magic and cooled in the blood of titans, each was, in its own right, one of the greatest wizards’ staves ever made. Together they shaped awesome power, and their light was seen in Heaven, on earth, and even in Hell, as they attacked Tinel the Great. It was not until the magic from their mighty wizard’s lances crashed down upon him that Tinel at last understood what it was that these mortals meant to do. In that terrible moment, he reckoned the fullness of their plan, though he still could not believe it. For one terrible moment, the mortals believed they had conquered a god. For one terrible moment, the hosts of Hell cheered at the light they believed signaled the downfall of Heaven, whose hosts quailed. But it was only a moment. With the wave of the Heavenly Archmage’s great hand, the fourteen staves were sundered. With one utterance that sounded like one word but also every word ever spoken by mortal tongues, the wizards were reduced to ash, and their spirits were caught in his palm. He placed them in a jewel, and this jewel he placed on his brow, so that for all eternity they could observe what he observed, and know they were fools. However, their folly stayed with him in more than the jewel, for he had seen that mortals might believe themselves his equal. It did not sit well with him. Since that time many mortals have called him aloof, for he has never again shown a father’s pride in their seeking of secrets. It is whispered in dark places that one of the demons of the Abyss now shows that pride in Tinel’s place, encouraging mortals to seek out forbidden knowledge. This wicked prince of the Abyss, called Astaroth by his followers, has thus won many weak hearts from Heaven. Having seen that the quest for knowledge must lead all mortals powerful enough to walk the planes to seek out Heaven, Tinel grew grave and despondent. First, with a wave of his mighty hand, he stripped magic from the mortal races. For some years, there was no arcane magic to be worked by even the mightiest wizard. That done, the Heavenly Archmage called upon his nephew, Korak. Together, Tinel and the King of the Crucible forged the locks of Heaven and their countless keys. These locks they scattered about the great sphere in a pattern, powerful in its weaving, known only to Tinel of the Countless Locks. No one who is not summoned by the gods may enter Heaven without coming to one of the locks and presenting unto it one of the true keys. And should one open one of these locks and seek entrance into the holy realm, he would encounter Uriel the Archangel, guardian of Heaven. Tinel is the Keeper of the Keys, and he has not once surrendered them to any mortal; none but those summoned have come to Heaven since the forging of the locks and keys. From that day forward, the realm of the gods was locked away from uninvited mortals, even those powerful enough to walk the planes. It is said to this very day that any mortal who believes his knowledge makes him equal to the gods is visited by Tinel the Whisperer, and the Lord of Secrets speaks to the proud fool, warning him from the path he walks. Should the mortal persist in his beliefs, he is placed in the jewel on Tinel’s brow, and heard from nevermore.
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