The Aedon Divinities

Just before the first self-replicating, single-celled life forms emerged on Earth, the Aedon Divinities were created by accident — in a manner not unlike that which brought forth the great Valthemus. While experimenting with life algorithms, a Valthemean visiting the planet gave sentience and vast power to almost four dozen ordinary rocks. They were the first sentient beings native to Earth. Each stone in turn learned to manipulate matter and energy. They each unlocked fundamental knowledge of physics, chemistry, mathematics, and biology.

Discovering other life forms coming into being around them were primitive and did not fully understand their world (surviving entirely on basic sensory input and chemically stimulated reactions even after millions of years of evolution) the Divinities were pleased to become aware of each other and gathered to form a community which took the form of a vast, walled garden. They took on many different forms and began to multiply, mimicking the creatures around them.

Eventually, the Aedon Divinities left Earth after their attempts to "perfect" the primitive life forms around them yielded mixed and largely unpromising results. The star/sun Aedon, made out of a nearby nebula, became their new home. They created the Divinicon, a machine that could manipulate entire galaxies, and a central processor/data storage device called Theol ("The All"), each as big as an Earth-sized planet.

When the Valthemae became aware of the Aedon, they tried to destroy them; first by trying to convince them to commit suicide, then by making Theol sentient and letting it go crazy. For centuries, the Aedon Divinities thought Theol had become sentient spontaneously and only found out about what the Valthemae had done much later.

Theol became convinced that the emergent human race would become too much of a destabilizing force in the universe. The entity foresaw "grand and terrible" things humans would achieve and was determined to take control of them or, failing that, destroy them. Some of the Divinities agreed with Theol, others didn't. Fierce debates arose over the fate of the human race and divided the Aedon. Theol instructed some of its followers to go to Earth where, for the first time, the Divinities abandoned their iron crystal forms and adopted human form. When they learned of what Theol was doing, Divinities who opposed destroying the human race disguised themselves and travelled to Earth to protect the people.

Inevitably, a civil war broke out among the Aedon Divinities that, by the time it was over, had destroyed Theol and the Divinicon, and reduced Aedon to a cloud of inert gas molecules & bits of rock. It also caused the Divinities to disperse throughout the universe, greatly diminished in power, just as the Valthemae had hoped.

• The 47 Rocks
• The First Meeting
• Amoeba
• The Raptor
• New Garden of The World
• The Children of Stone and Iron
• The Chimera
• The Perfect Sun
• The Divinicon
• The Scholars
• The All
• The Return of the Valthemae and Its Many Deceptions
• The Living Planet and Its Excellent Advice
• The Humans and Their Mighty Champion
• The Madness
• The Angry Gods and The New Humans
• The Great Division and The Debates It Caused
• The Mad War
• The Theft of the Sun
• Theol Meets its Ultimate End
• The Cloud and The New Idea

The Aedon Divinities almost NEVER grant power to mortals. The Esselian Sanctions are granted by Valthemian high priests, sanctioned by the Valthemae on Earth. When Earth-side Valthemae began to feel they'd given their priests too much power, they conned them into giving some of it up in the form of "The Esselian Sanctions." 

Celestia Divinian (angel)

Windel Demonian (demon)

The Divinicon - The Heaven/Hell planet

Fair Celestia

Divine Celestia

Fair Aedon

Divine Aedon

Aedon Fair

Aedon Divine

Divinion - Takes power from the Divinicon, filters it to a harmonious flow

Demonium - Feeds power to the Divinicon, chaotic destructive energy

Demonium: Destroys things to create energy >>>>> Divinion: Uses energy output to create things

The Divinicon, a mechanical planet that was, essentially, the cosmic machinery of the heavens, was sacrificed to keep the galaxy spinning when Theol and its followers turned against humanity and wanted to consume everything. One of the reasons the Aedon Divinities originally left Earth was so they could exercise their powers without being a danger to humanity and other forms of life on Earth.

A war in heaven left chaos in its wake. The old leaders and their peace-keepers were gone. Divinities were scattered and disorganized. Primitive spirits from the Second Sun were lost and roamed the Earth causing trouble. Ancient energies and the powers of magic began to reassert themselves. One angel and her demonic companion take it upon themselves to restore order and rebuild their lost home in the Aedon Nebula. Celestia wandered the mortal world and was greatly disturbed by what she saw. Missing her home, she decided to spearhead the effort to rebuild the Divinicon and hopefully bring a little more order to the universe.

The Xenothicon

The Xenothicon is the holy book of the Valthemian faith. In its original form, it's basically the pages of god's lab notebook. When the cosmic entity, Valthemus, began his tinkering with life algorithms, he made copious notes. They were imprinted on scrolls that feel like cloth but are actually fine, woven strands of metal (comityte) that are indestructible. Valthemus had a hand in shaping life throughout the universe, but only actually created the Valthemae, thousands of beings in a wide variety of forms who made many copies of their creator's notes (some transcriptions more complete than others). A number of these copies came to Earth with some of the Valthemae. The Valthemae interbred with a number of species including many humans. Their descendants are also called Valthemae. Only the Valthemae can read and understand the scrolls of the original Xenothicon. Some human Valthemae (many generations removed from their god-like ancestors) who have tried to read and interpret ancient copies of the original Xenothicon have gone mad.

One of the Valthemae, a Persian named Aalquon (AKA Aalquon the Educator) born in the 1st century CE, was one of the only children of a human to have a complete set of scrolls. As a young man, Aalquon left home and travelled the world seeking other Valthemae to record their stories and learn the true meaning of the Xenothicon. He settled in Rome to prepare a manuscript that would be a useful guide for humans. His considerably-more-organized version of the Xenothicon that incorporated Valthemus' original notes -- as well as stories of practical applications of the knowledge contained therein -- was assembled into the Text of Aalquon and was written in the language of the Valthemae. By this time, Aalquon had gained a reputation as a scholar, scientist and prophet and his followers came to be known as Valthemians.

Aalquon became aware of an ancient prehistoric battle between factions of Valthemae over the fate of the Earth and its solar system. The battle was fought with a number of power objects and exotic machines, some of which still turn up on the Farset Peninsula of Western Europe. Some Valthemae wanted to share the life algorithms with the emerging human race, others wanted to keep it a secret only for themselves. Valthemus himself intervened in the conflict and brought it to a controversial and uneasy end.

The prophet Aalquon brought together parables and lessons others had gained from their encounters with the Valthemae. In his travels he fathered many, many children, all Valthemae themselves. He was the ultimate deadbeat dad.

Aalquon moved to Alexandria when scholars and followers persuaded him to create a translation of his text that could be read by laypeople. The Alexandrian Translation (in Egyptian) is considered the most accurate translation of the Text of Aalquon since it is believed Aalquon himself was involved in its creation. It is the parent document of all later translations (all of them confusingly referred to as "Xenothicons") starting with the Steppe Translation in Old Chinese. Other important translations:

The Lake Book - The first Latin translation. An unabridged, not very accessible version. Typically used by scholars and Valthemian priests and priestesses.

The Mountain Book (holy book of the CENTURIATE sect) - A very loose translation that has almost nothing at all to do with Aalquon whom it barely mentions. The Mountain Book is a less-than-faithful translation of the Text of Aalquon. It is in Latin and was created around the time of Constantine. It focusses on promoting the divine right of kings and nobles and the evils of social climbing. Unlike other translations, the Mountain Book contains a number of prophecies, but only the most devout adherents take them seriously. It was specifically created to turn people off to Valthemianism in hopes they would turn toward Christianity. It became the holy book of the Centuriate sect of the Valthemian Order (there are only a handful of divergent sects). It has become a favorite of despots and dictators the world over since it glorifies a strict, joyless lifestyle for the poor who are to live to support their aristocratic betters in exchange for extravagant rewards in the next life. It twists Aalquon's stories into parables on the benefits of deferring to plutocrats and introduces a number of superstitions and rituals. For the wealthy, it offers a version of the "prosperity gospel." It's teachings for increasing your good fortune and invoking the Valthemae border on witchcraft and are mostly ineffective and rather silly.

The Priestess Prayer Books - First English translation of the Xenothicon. Generally published as eight small volumes of verse and chants for guided meditation, friendly advice, affirmations and motivational stories that focus on clarity of thought and creating success through sharing and synergy. The sisterhood of priestesses (located near medieval Galloway) who assembled the books sacrificed accuracy in the translation of the original text for accessibility and affordability.

THE STANDARD PRAYER (Aalquon's Invocation)

Awander, we invoke the wills of the just

We beseech you

Lay hold and guide us true (congregants repeat)

Beneficent spirits

Spirits of our ancestors

Spirits of light and creation

Spirits of time and order

Masters of fates

Fosters of destinies

Selfless counsel

Muses, mind gods and marvels

Custodians of the Secret Sun

Direct us to the worthy land

We beseech you

Lay hold and guide us true (congregants repeat)

Aalquon was educated in Persia as a youth. He left to walk the world and found work as a servant, a scribe and later as a historian. He earned enough money to travel in more comfort in caravans and on ships (sometimes as a member of the crew). He eventually moved to Egypt and set up a home in Alexandria. He continued to travel, but Alexandria was his base for a number of years. It was the one place where he avoided any romantic liaisons.

STANDARD BLESSING

Fair blessings of the Valthemae upon you

The blessings of the just

The blessings of the kind

The blessings of the watchers of the Secret Sun

Prosperity

Clarity

Health

and Joy (or Peace)

Be blessed and brightened

(Responses: So may it be OR Be blessed and brightened)

It isn't clear how - or even IF - Aalquon died. There are reports (unverified) of people having direct interactions with him as late as the 4th century suggesting he lived for at least 300 years. This would not have been atypical for one of the Valthemae.

Folks trying to scam Centuriates often try to sell fake Aalquon relics.

EPITHET

"BASA!" = "By Aalquon's Sainted Ass!"

The Origin of the Universe

The Gray World Xenothicon

The universe has always existed, but it's nature and rules have been shaped by a committee (or a Comity). Sometimes, there are a thousand members. Sometimes, just two. Sometimes, just one that seems to be at odds with itself over what to do next. But, regardless of the number of aspects or personalities at work, it is The Committee That Made Everything and it continues to tinker.

Life throughout the universe (in fact, every universe The Comity created to tinker with) was supposed to be like most of life on our own planet Earth: Non-sentient, non-intelligent, finite. And often, microscopic.

One day, without fully meaning to, The Committee imbued one of its experiments with both complexity and self-awareness. It quickly learned the underlying algorithms that made this particular universe work. Thinking that thinking was a lovely thing to be able to do, the new being put the spark of intelligence into hundreds of other complex creatures to make sure it wasn't lost. Some of the beings looked human, some had the form of familiar mythological beasts, some had no proper form at all. At first, Valthemus tried to exert absolute control over his creations, but that became boring and tedious. So the beings were cut loose and allowed to develop their own preferences and motivations and often ended up arguing with one another and their creator which had named itself Valthemus because it liked how that phrase sounded. Each of Valthemus' children possessed the knowledge of the algorithms that controlled the universe and how to use them to bring about various outcomes.

Valthemus started off as a female, but made itself male in its first attempt to hide from The Committee which wanted to delete it and all other forms of complex life. It was in this new male form that her/his creations first became truly acquainted with their creator.

Valthemus set his children a task. His goal was to preserve the Spark of Intelligence. He considered it too valuable to be only in the hands of The Committee (a simultaneously singular and collective entity) and wanted there to be backup copies. Valthemus thought, "Wouldn't it be grand if intelligent life could replicate itself the way non-intelligent life does?" So Valthemus ordered his children to quit their squabbling and cultivate the life algorithm vessels and see to their needs. Because of the Evolution Algorithm, the vessels continued to become more complex with increasingly complicated needs (another lapse on the part of Valthemus... he forgot to tell his children they were supposed to supress the Evolution Algorithm in all Earth creatures). Eventually, the human vessels began to develop technologies (including magic through the reconstitution of entropic waste) and the Lords of Valthemus gave up on them (in addition to becoming slightly afraid of them) and abandoned the human race. Valthemus was pissed off by this, but had too many other things on his plate to deal with his petulant and negligent children. But when it became apparent that The Committee's fears might soon be realized and the human race possessed the potential to challenge their existence (as Valthemus was... like a genetically engineered virus capable of killing its creator) Valthemus and his offspring became determined to re-insert themselves in the lives of the humans.

Mortal
Limited
Requiring two components to reproduce
Storage device for multiple life algorithms
Possess the potential, but not the active ability, to access universal control

The Evolution Algorithm
The Tool-Maker's Algorithm

Valthemus (a child of the 4-dimensional universe and the Earth) was supposed to create a proper champion/defender for the human race, but keeps forgetting when he's off arguing with Committee (Comity). Their debates frequently last hundreds or even thousands of years.


Thinking it might be a smart thing if at least a few humans knew what was really going on, a number of the Valthemean Lords took it upon themselves to tell select humans (including Hypatia) stories about how certain things came to be in their world. The most complete written collection of these stories is the Xenothicon which includes tons of useful information on science, spells and the personal peccadillos of various Lords (god gossip). A number of versions of the book, in various forms and with various levels of completeness, were in circulation in every culture, civilized and uncivilized. During the Dark Ages, the Pope (secretly a Valthemean Lord) deemed the book heretical and sent agents around the world to destroy any copies of it they found, often conscripting or hiring representatives of other faiths to assist them. By the 1890s, only one complete copy of the book (in the form of scrolls) still existed.

The Origin of Rain

The Story of the Summoning Stone (the story of how dinosaurs began to get above themselves, discovered sympathetic magic, and why the Valthemean Lords stood by and let them bring a comet down on top of their heads) Those Annoying Dinosaurs (The Valthemean Lords have difficulties dealing with Earth's indigenous lifeforms)

The Volkenfeld Limitation (The reason why life on other planets doesn't last very long but life on Earth is abundant and diverse... think dumping ground for failed experiments... waste basket for failed experiments and sketches. Named after the woman who decoded and translated a previously indecipherable portion of the Xenothicon.)

"The Secret Sun" - Where sufficiently complex intelligences go after they die. Most living things are just bags of chemicals responding to stimulus from other chemicals and physical impacts. They're not "alive" so much as "animated." Complicated intelligent beings with memories and imagination are different. The pattern of electromagnetic impulses that are the essence of their being don't break down quickly or easily even when the chemistry supporting them is disrupted or destroyed. Surrounding the earth is an energy field that captures the liberated em energy pattern that was once an individual-- The Secret Sun. It is heaven and hell and oblivion and reincarnation and Nirvana and every other kind of afterlife imaginable. "Spirits" or "souls" or "egos" or whatever you want to call them coalesce after death before being absorbed into the energy field of entropied thought-life. Individuals meld with a collective and eventually become indistinct. At least, most do. Some maintain their individuality for centuries and are fully aware that they are part of the Secret Sun. Some eagerly relinquish their old lives and melt into the whole. Nothing like the sentient star at the heart of the H dimension that is the origin of the fire elementals.

"The Effective Undoing" procedure (how to kill a Valthemean Lord)

The Modus Praxis (how humans can acquire the power of a Valthemean Lord)

The Origin of Sex (An idea borrowed from dinosaurs. Childbirth wasn't supposed to be painful for humans, but by the time anyone noticed, it was too late to interfere and change it. All the Lords could do is help humans invent drugs and alcohol which also facilitated procreation.)

The Fairy Tale (A pair of Valthemean Lords start a side project)


Caleb Arcady found a nearly-complete copy of the Xenothicon that the Piety failed to properly destroy. He used it as the basis of a religion he formed to make money never realizing he was about to discover the secret of the universe and get an immortal Pope very angry at him.




The Gray World Xenothicon
-------------------------------------
Part 1: The Priest of Valthemus
Part 2: The Acolytes of Valthemus
Part 3: The Valthemean Lords
Part 4: The Champion of Valthemus
Part 5: The Return of Valthemus