Between Chaos and Order

There was a place, in between the voidal eternity of the Schismic Plane and the comforting warmth of the Celestial Fields, a place between crushing madness and never-ending peace, a place right in the center of all existence where the influences of chaos and order collided to create The Grey. For millennia, that place was static, motionless and quiet. The peace that exists in the absence of life, which would soon dissipate like warm breath into frigid air, floated softly on voidal tides in that place for that moment that was also an eternity. Across the cosmos, empty places of astronomical possibility are a scarce and precious commodity and in the vastness of the universe, almost impossible to seek out. As with every story worth telling, this story has, at it’s basest of roots, an impossibility come to fruition. The Grey, singular in it’s potential for an uncountable distance in all conceptions of direction, is stumbled upon, quite by accident, by The Thirteen.

Thirteen individuals, operating separately in the cosmos, unknown to each other, all stumbled upon this nexus of potential in between the planes, and fate like an avalanche cascaded upon them, and they were all struck with the same inspiration; creation. Chaos dictates that such circumstances are rare and exquisite in their opportunity, so such coincidence should not be wasted. Order and fate dictate that these specific individuals were supposed to meet at this time, in this place, and why if not to do something of cosmic importance, and who dares to defy fate? Whether by chaos or fate, luck or summoning, chance or design, Thirteen were presented with the opportunity for creation, and so they set about the task of building a world.

The unspoken joining of minds, wills, souls, and dreams brought forth first warmth and light, then cold and darkness. Next was earth and soil, air and sky, seas and tides, stone and jewel. With this there was structure and form to their creation and through this form, and the potential of things to come, the impossible occurred again, and The Thirteen created something they had no cognitive intention to create. Observing the beautiful potential of what could be, the unlimited possibilities of what was once The Grey, caused this collection of creators to instill in this new world something hitherto unseen in the cosmos, hope.

Descending onto their creation, each of The Thirteen went about the task of sculpting. Painting the world with vegetation and beasts, shaping the form and function of the untamed lands and seas and skies of their new world. Pulling stone from deep within the soil, carving winding channels into the surface of the planet, mountains and rivers were formed. They took this world and gave it motion, spinning and spiraling through the cosmos, bringing cyclical change to the landscapes of their creation. From the breath in their lungs, One of The Thirteen gave motion to the air, and the ability of flight to some of the beasts. Another of The Thirteen placed a moon within the heavens, to move in counter with the planet, and motion was instilled into the seas. Another saw the docility of the beasts and instilled within them competition, territoriality, and hierarchy in an attempt to structure this creation. Another, in seeing the volatility of these new beasts, instilled in their creation, to varying degrees, community, family, and affection. Through these gifts, the planet was brought into balance and motion, a dance of connection, birth, death, and resurrection, and The Thirteen gathered to observe their good works.

Many of The Thirteen looked upon the planet and saw a vacuum, a void where something unknown ought to be but wasn’t. The Thirteen palavered over what might consume that void, and the first notion of instilling some life with sentience was voiced. After all, life is entropic, and without growth, advancement, evolution, or achievement, what is life but a gallows march? Some felt that the natural order, predator and prey, would be enough to keep this world from collapsing. Others felt as though they themselves, The Thirteen creators of this world, ought to wield supreme influence over this planet and the life upon it. Ultimately, but not without dispute and compromise, it was decided that this place that was once The Grey, ought to be ruled and maintained by something of it’s own, so The Thirteen went about the process of instilling some of the life upon the planet with sentient thought, with insight and clarity, and to imbue them with souls.

The Thirteen agreed on a basic form, an upright creature of simple make and endless possibility, and each then ventured into their world to seek out life representative of the values and qualities they held most dear. With the intention of instilling this world with a variety of life, vast and differing cultures, and unique creations, each of The Thirteen would combine aspects of this basic form, and a creature possessing traits, skills, flaws, and desires that they thought beautiful, and valuable. One by one they brought forth their conceptions, dreams, and goals, and one by one the sentient species of their creation were formed, given a soul, and brought to existence upon the planet.

Once twelve of The Thirteen had made their mark on imbuing their world with sentient life, there remained only only one left to participate. Since the moment of chaos or destiny that brought The Thirteen together to create, all but one had presented themselves in physical form, all but one had made clear their intentions for the world they helped build. It was that mysterious entity that had yet to impart their will upon the sentient life of the world they’d created. It looked upon the sentient life forms, each unique in shape and skill and function. Each form newly discovering the world they were created to tame, and each form lacking something profound and fundamental, something that would give each life upon the planet meaning, purpose, and significance; finality.