Geographical Changes

I've detailed the maps a little more and made a number of changes, the most tedious of which was a manual conversion of the scanned map into vector diagrams, click by click. There's probably a program out there that could have saved me several hundred clicks, but anyway, since the map is in digitized format now, it's much easier to modify, and when I get around to colouring it by climate, I hope it will be easier as well.

Meanwhile, I'd like to record my ideas about Eldwan's geographical history, ranging from the Age of Harmony to the Age of Rulers, with two major changes happening in between. In the Age of Harmony, all the lands are united in one supercontinent, and this is partly due to the fact that I wish to take the evidence for a supercontinent breakup into account for Eldwan.

Figure 1.1 - Supercontinent during the Age of Harmony

This is the rather hastily sketched supercontinent. I decided not to spend too much time designing it because it really doesn't feature that much in the story, save as a backdrop and to satisfy my desire for detail. I've been trying to devise a way that a creation story might possibly weave between the evidence and be consistent with both a creation mythos and apparent scientific evidence to the contrary in future. This is what I have come up with so far.

The major issues that have to be explained concern the following points : 

- The fossil records showing the distribution of species across now separate continents

- The geologic record of magnetic reversals in the seafloor

- The apparent age of the earth that a supercontinental division implies

The current sequence of events that I am toying with involves challenging one of the basic assumptions of science, that how the laws of the universe are now represents the laws of the universe in the past. Among the reasons why the earth has tectonic activity is the convection of the mantle, and the heat that drives the movement of the mantle comes from the leftover heat from the earth's formation, friction, gravity and most significantly, from radiation.

Since I do have the Yegül, who control the strong and weak nuclear forces, they effectively have control over radioactive decay. Thus, the following progression might just be workable. In the Age of Harmony, there would have been no tectonic activity, perhaps because the mantle was cooler, or there were regulated hot spots that helped to dissipate heat evenly. As a result, there would also have been no earthquakes or volcanism, two natural acts which are extremely destructive and don't befit a perfect world in my opinion.

The interior of the earth clearly cannot be dead cold, because that would imply a paralysis of the outer core and the absence of a protective magnetic field. So perhaps the interior of the earth was hot, but there were just stable ways of dissipating that heat. I'm not entirely sure if there's a way to balance these requirements of tectonic stability and a magnetic field - this calls for yet more research. 

At any rate, on the Day of Rebellion, as the Body of Eleyon destroys Baveris, Eleyon commands Unavo and Oleri to enforce a temporary change in the nuclear forces for a large spike in radioactive decay throughout the whole volume of the planet. This heats the mantle and forces the once stable crust to break up into mobile tectonic plates. The plates, propelled by the sudden increase in heat and convection of the mantle, cause the rapid break of the original supercontinent, and it results in the configuration shown in Figure 1.2

 Figure 1.2 - Divided Continents during the Age of Light

Part of why this has to occur is so that the High Elves can be given a separate continent from the Fallen, where they will be safe for a long era. I guess it makes thematic sense as well, what with a single unified continent fragmenting as the pristine order of Eldwan was fragmented by Rebellion. I have not yet named the continents since that is not really essential at the moment. 

The species distribution issue is resolved because they would have been distributed across the supercontinent during the Age of Harmony, and subsequently separated. It is perfectly possible that a great deal of fossilisation happened during this catastrophic event, and the Elves would have had to work to revive nature.

The magnetic alignment of the rocks would have been unstable given the sudden changes to the heating of the mantle and the outer core. There might have been rapid alternations during the upheaval. Lastly, the very nature of increased radioactive decay accounts for the apparent age of the earth, since our calculations are largely based on radiometric dating and massive backward extrapolation.

At this point, familiar tectonic features would affect the planet, quakes, volcanism, tsunamis, orogeny, seafloor spreading, and so on. The rate of continental drift would have decreased since the radiation burst would have ended and allowed the mantle to cool. Somewhat amusingly, this works very well with Romans 8:22 - 'We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.' I'll admit that was at the back of my mind while I was coming up with this.

Figure 1.3 - After the effects of the Deluge, for the Age of Water and Beyond

The next major modification to the geography of the planet comes with the Deluge at the end of the Age of Light, that leads to the end of Radiant civilisation and Alero's grand experiment. I haven't sorted out all the details of the Deluge just yet, but I do have some ideas in mind that I would like to record here. 

One of the greatest unresolved issues with the Biblical Creation account is the 'water above the sky', which was separated from the 'water below the sky' on Day 2. It has been suggested that 'water above the sky' refers to some vapour canopy that blanketed the earth in a thick atmosphere. The hydrological cycle would have been different in the absence of precipitation. I have serious doubts about this suggestion. If the properties of water were so fundamentally different in antediluvian times that precipitation was impossible, I don't think water would have been suitable for life either. In fact, there is nothing that indicates there was no antediluvian rain. That notion comes from a misinterpretation of the verse Genesis 2:5b - 'For the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground.' Genesis 2 merely describes Day 6, and not anything between Day 6 and the Flood. If someone argues that the verse does imply a dearth of raindrops, they might as well argue that man did not till the ground until after the Flood as well.

Next, the creation account clearly states that water was above the sky, not within the sky, so it could not be referring to clouds. This led me to the idea that the water might be in low earth orbit, encased in rock since liquids would not be gravitationally stable. However this was vetoed by the description of Day 4, which stated that the sun, moon and stars were placed in the expanse of the sky, which would seem to imply that they were sandwiched between the water above the sky and the waters below. This spurred me on to the notion that perhaps it would be better if the water was not in low earth orbit, but rather in an ice belt orbiting the sun. Well the stars would not be within the sky, strictly speaking, but at least the sun and moon, the greater lights, are. Overanalysing the text, stars are only mentioned in a short additional phrase after the sun and moon, so perhaps a little leeway is permissible.

During the Deluge, the floodgates of heaven were opened. Just as the fragmentation of the supercontinent involved manipulation of fundamental forces, the Deluge has Ilvesu alter the gravitational balance of the ice belt and cause many of the ice pieces to fall in towards the Cradle. The impacts of the falling ice destroy the landscape of the Cradle and the encircling mountain range, and the augmented gravity also causes much of the land of the Cradle to sink lower than normal. As a result a large inland sea forms, as drawn in Figure 1.3, and this sea serves as my parallel Mediterranean as Alaris rises to power.

After these changes, only normal processes affect the landscape to any significant degree. Weathering, erosion, residual continental drift and volcanism for example. But the time of massive geographical alteration is over as magic is gradually removed from Eldwan, and from the Age of Water and onwards, the land masses remain essentially the same.

World Maps - Vectors on Projections

Time for more maps, this round, with the whole world map instead of the local area as it was in a previous post. I decided to use the Mollweide projection, but I admit that my estimation of vectors on the projection is simply, an estimation. I doubt they are very accurate. Why vectors for maps? Well forgive me for going overboard with the detail again, but I wanted to include tectonics in Eldwan's geography. In actual fact, I would say the tectonics helped, it made the generation of the map more procedural and less arbitrary.

I've got two drafts of Eldwan's map, the first was scrapped because it didn't account for a supercontinent breakup. 

1.0 - Tectonics of Eldwan, Draft 1

For the first draft, I began by drawing the tectonic plates, with no regard for surface geography at first. I simply started by marking out the divergent boundaries, where the crust spreads. From there I looked for convergent boundaries and marked out the general direction of each of the resulting plates. This was the step that had me terribly confused by vectors, particularly at the poles. I resorted to pencil drawing on my globe to visualise what would happen.

1.1 - Tectonics and Major Lands, Draft 1

After sorting out the tectonic plates, I proceeded to draw land masses, and added the consequent features of the tectonic map. The most straightforward were the mountain ranges, which would be at the converging boundaries of tectonic plates. There were also a couple of scattered volcanic islands.

 1.2 - Major Lands and Islands, Draft 1

I transferred the outline of the continents onto a fresh grid, to observe their form more easily and add details without the confusing subterranean tectonics. The inland seas are highlighted with a blue outline.

1.3 - Major Lands and Islands (C), Draft 1

And of course I coloured it in to see what the result would look like. The white circle is the location of the Cradle, the first home of the Evezhen in the Age of Harmony and the location of most of the stories in the Ages of Light and Water. After all this, I noticed that when the map is upside down, the central land mass looks like a strange ghostly creature with two antennae...

At any rate, it was soon apparent to me that the map did not reflect tectonics very well, despite how I had taken the plates into account. The land masses didn't appear to have any sort of relation to each other, in terms of their shape, to show their history. Hence I was prompted to redraw the map by a different process.

 2.0 - Age of Harmony Supercontinent, Draft 2

This time I began by drawing the supercontinent first, indicating the location of the Cradle by the circular mountain range. Some basic tectonic boundaries were drawn in order to break up the supercontinent in the required way. 

 2.1 - Tectonics and Major Lands, Draft 2

Next, I redrew the map after the breakup of the supercontinent, first by marking out the tectonic boundaries from the previous map. Here, the divergent boundaries are in red, and the convergent boundaries are in blue. One thing I should work out in a little more detail would be which plate subducts under the other at the convergent boundaries. That would determine the appearance of volcanic islands and so on more procedurally.

2.2 - Major Lands and Islands, Draft 2

Again, I transferred the outlines of the land masses onto a fresh map without the tectonic boundaries, then added more details. This step will probably be redone in draft 3, because I'm not really satisfied by the location of the islands and shape of the land in general.

2.3 - Major Lands and Islands (C), Draft 2

The map of 2.2, coloured in with simple blue and green. I hope to rework this map once again, then I should be able to proceed to name the major continents. I would also like to add in ocean surface currents, ice caps, precipitation pattens and rivers. Once those are in place, it'll be easy to generate climates based on temperature and precipitation. There is lots more to be done, but this framework will suffice for now. The Far Continent mentioned in the posts on the Elves is the land mass to the left, while the 'Old World' is the area with the Cradle of the Evezhen. So this map helps me to visualise the broad movements of history and I should be able to work on the actual writing for now. When I start looking at the Age of Rulers, then the varied climates will become important factors in the story.

Elves : The Ward Elves

The Ward Elves, whom I formerly named the Guardians, are similar to the High Elves in terms of their biology, manner of ascension, access to magic and close fellowship with Eleyon. However, they made the fateful decision to remain among the Fallen instead of removing themselves into bliss.

Those who made the decision to become Ward Elves did so out of a genuine concern for the wellbeing of the Fallen. When they heard the judgements proclaimed on the Fallen, their hearts were moved to sympathy and they grew concerned for how the Fallen would survive under so harsh a ban. These Elves had hope, hope for the goodness that remained in the Fallen, hope for the image of Eleyon that still existed, albeit distorted, in their disgraced kin.

The hope that the Ward Elves had was hard to justify, for it becomes increasingly evident that the Fallen as a whole, increasingly turn away from the will of Eleyon. But, there was beauty in what remained intact while all else crumbled. Courage in spite of adversity, generosity in spite of poverty, hope in spite of suffering. For whatever virtues remained within the Fallen became brilliant sparks in the deepening darkness. In seeing those virtues, the Ward Elves were encouraged, but as time wore on, fewer and fewer of those virtues remained intact.

In the Age of Light, the Ward Elves lived among the Remnant of the Fallen, who were still faithful to Eleyon. And they dwelt in the forested city of Ilvaris. The Ward Elves played the role of arbiter and judge among the people of Ilvaris, because they could hear the prompting of Eleyon when they made decisions. In addition, their ability to sense emotions and thoughts, while vague when trying to understand the Fallen, was still a significant advantage in discerning the truth. Among the Ward Elves, they could sense each other's thoughts and emotions clearly, but the higher senses were clouded when it came to the darkened minds of the Fallen.

The Ward Elves had children of their own, which sometimes proved problematic when the younger Elves did not share the same temperament as their parents, wishing instead to be removed to the cities of the High Elves. So it was that a path was made for these elves, and it wound its way westward out of the Cradle and over the mountains. It was not open to the Fallen, for when it reached the mountainside, there were gates sealed by magic, which only the elves, who had magical skill, could open.

Those who left dwelt near the Cradle, to the west, and cared for the land there as they had long desired, raising it into natural beauty. However, the lands around the Cradle never equaled the full prime of the High Elvish dominions of the Far Continent. This was mostly due to the limited time with which the Ward Elves were able to bless the land before the arrival of the Fallen in the Age of Water.

By the end of the Age of Light, the Ward Elves had all departed and renamed themselves the Grief Elves, for most of their hope in the ways of the Fallen was disappointed and they suffered much in the wars between the Radiant and the Zealots. After the Deluge, some remained behind to repair the damage to the land, but most of the Ward Elves sought out their High Elf siblings. Since there were High Elven cities towards the south, many headed there and mingled with the High Elves until their long years of toil were but a memory. After a short rest in these lands, many headed east, over the sea, to reach the Far Continent and dwelt their in bliss. They rested, drank of the Spirit Cup and waited until their call for ascension.

Among those who remained were, ironically enough, were the first Elves to depart from the Cradle. They had dwelt long in the land west of the Cradle and had grown to love it. Wishing to see it restored, they remained to reestablish the forests. Other than that, the original Ward Elves who had survived also remained. However, they were soon faced with the first arrivals of the Scattered from the Cradle. The Scattered were the Fallen who did not heed the call of Alaris, and became the first wave of Fallen humans to leave the Cradle. They were not very aggressive peoples, and dwelt beside the Elves and aided them in their labours for a time. But the Grief Elves never again mingled and stayed in the same cities as the Scattered, for they were wary of the Fallen.

At the end of the Age of Water, the Elves could no longer remain a significant presence in the lands around the Cradle. Their rule of the land had to give way to the Alarians in the second wave of dispersal of the Fallen. Unlike the people of the first wave, the Alarians were proud and aggressive, and they wished to seize the land for themselves. The pacifist Elves yielded to the violent Alarians, and many more departed over the sea to the Far Continent in this time. Soon, there were no more permanent Elvish dwellings to be found in the lands near the Cradle.

Now the only Elves who remained mostly consisted of the original Ward Elves a few more of the younger Elves who also felt the call to aid the Fallen in their struggle. They became wanderers, traveling wisemen who were the source of myths about wizards and witches. For in the ignorance of the Age of Rulers, the Fallen forgot who the Elves were and could not discern their benevolent intent. But as the Age of Rulers progressed, the Wanderers became fewer and fewer in number. They were lost to violence, or departed over the sea, and a few were called to ascension after finding a secluded hermitage to rest. They ascended despite never having drank of the Spirit Cup, because grace was given to them to find rest from their long labours. Some persisted in outlying lands until the Age of the Church, even longer than the High Elvish dominions, but not for much longer than that. And so the influence of the Elves in Eldwan was finally ends and the whole earth was given over to the Fallen.

Those Elves who were unfortunate enough to suffer a physical death were simply allowed to transit straight into the Realm of the Soul, for their spirits were still pure. Their only problem was that they were less prepared for the Realm of the Soul than the Elves who matured through the whole process to reach typical ascension. The Elves who arrived prematurely had to be given special provision to acclimatise themselves to their new medium of existence, and this was not without some degree of mental anguish. But when they completed their transition, they were honoured by Eleyon, Ilvesu and the host of the Wevel for giving the ultimate sacrifice in their service.

Elves : The High Elves

Time for a little elaboration on the nature of the Elves of Eldwan. This has changed quite a bit from their original design, and it is likely to continue its metamorphosis in the future. Whatever it is, I'll record what I understand of them now. After all, that's what a developmental diary is for.

One element of the identity of the Elves that has remained essential is the idea that the Elves are humans who did not partake of the original rebellion. As a result, they are not subject to spiritual death or bearers of a sinful nature. Their pure hearts are not easily tempted by the lies of Alero, for they hear Eleyon's will strongly and fear to disobey Eleyon's instruction, particularly after seeing the consequences that came to their siblings who rebelled.

I've come up with a reverse etymology for the word Elves, which need not be known to enjoy the story, but gives me a good excuse to call them Elves instead of coming up with another default name for them. 'ves' has been delegated the meaning of a being, an independent will. Elves is simply a combination of 'el', the descriptor of Eleyon, and 'ves'. On that note, it would be perfectly valid to call the Radiant the 'Alves', and the Fallen who repent the 'Ilves'. They are the people of Eleyon, Alero and Ilvesu respectively. A final point on the name of the Elves - it would be more accurate to pronounce the word el - ves, as two distinct syllables, instead of elvz, as you would probably be accustomed to.

The High Elves are the greater of the two groups of the Elves that result from the events of the Rebellion. They are the untarnished people who chose to leave with the Garden instead of remaining to assist the Fallen in their struggles and suffering. Because of this, their purity is the best preserved, for they have neither sin within their own hearts, or observe the consequences of sin first hand. On the other hand, the Ward Elves made the decision to stay with the Fallen out of their compassion. This second group was fewer in number, but courageous and wise beyond the average Elf, and Eleyon was pleased by their concerned love for the Fallen.

The High Elves were transported to the Far Continent, removed from the immediate reach of the Fallen. At the time of the Rebellion, the lands that were once all united as a supercontinent were struck apart, and the Far Continent was in the opposite hemisphere from the continent around the Cradle, where the Fallen dwelt.

There, they dwelt in bliss, continuing to abide by Eleyon's will and eventually reaching a level of maturity that allowed them to safely drink of the Spirit Cup, the very item that was so central in the Rebellion. The Spirit Cup was remade for the Elves because the first was tainted by the deadly dust of Ilvesu's designing. As the Elves fulfilled Eleyon's design for their lives, they become the earliest fully awakened humans who attain the state the Eleyon intended for them in the first place. This state is one where humans, while not equal to Eleyon, are like Eleyon in glory and can dwell in communion with Him while His majesty is unveiled. This is the state wherein humans are higher than the Wevel and even the Cilzhen Yel, or as we know them, the angels.

The High Elves represent society as it was meant to be. They were peaceful, harmonious, in tune with nature and most importantly, in pure fellowship with Eleyon. Free of the daily labour that the Fallen are subject to, they pursue all the higher arts of life : music, poetry, dance, worship, and care of plants and animals. Taking a cue of Genesis, the Elves were vegetarian, and in the lands under their dominion, there were no beasts or birds that devoured the flesh of another. The High Elves spread out from the Garden and out over the other lands of Eldwan during the Age of Light and the Age of Water. Under their care, the land flourishes, with all manner of animals and plants. Their cities were integrated into the natural structures of habitats they encountered, and functioned by a delicate balance of symbiotic relationships. They were the true stewards of the earth, for a guardianship of nature was one of the tasks Eleyon assigned the Evezhen, and the Elves remained true to it.

Magic is freely available to the High Elves, and this is what reduces much of the need for manual labour, and also eliminates the need for tools. Ambitious as it may be, this allows me to use the High Elves as a potential source of hominid fossils found elsewhere on the globe which are not strictly Homo sapiens. As they used magic instead of tools, it would be expected that what tools they did make which were not magical in nature were rather primitive. When the High Elves departed, they would not have left any enduring remnants of what we would recognise as advanced technology. Most of their technological genius would have been embodied in biological systems or in their magical repertoire, which would have faded without the presence of the High Elves.

The Elves do not die, at least not in the conventional sense. Their bodies are not subject to the same biological degradation of their Fallen counterparts. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the Elves have 24 pairs of chromosomes instead of 23, and perhaps as a result of these additional genes, they do not grow feeble with the long count of years. Additionally their metabolism would find the fruits and seeds of plants sufficient for their nutritional needs. They would remain, in appearance and health, at an age of about 20 to 30 by normal human standards.

Nonetheless, the Elves do depart from the physical realm. As part of their progression and growth in their comprehension of the world, the Elves are given sight and control of the higher realms of energy and eventually ether. This is not a collective revelation, but rather an individual step, taken when Eleyon deems each person ready. In general, the older Elves are more advanced in their progression, but age and maturity, just as with ourselves, are not directly related. At some point, an Elf will undergo a transformation known as ascension. In this process, the primary realm of the individual changes from the realm of the body to the realm of the soul and their awareness and presence undergoes a major shift. The body of the Elf appears to die, but the soul leaves in a bright glow of light. After this, the Elf may still manifest itself in the physical realm, just as the Wevel can, but they rarely do so.

The Yegül, Oleri and Uleva, are the guardians of the Elves, while Alero and Ilvesu have their fates bound to the Fallen. As such, Oleri and Uleva largely fade out of the main course of human history, but they continued to guide the High Elves until the end of the Elvish dominions. Incidentally, this is how I'm resolving the fact that Oleri and Uleva don't appear too much in the central stories of the Ages of Light and Water.

The time of the High Elvish dominions comes to an end eventually, to give way to the dominion of the Fallen. In the Age of Rulers after the Age of Water, the Fallen are truly scattered and almost seem to swarm out over the face of Eldwan. The Elves, as pacifists, have no choice, and are commanded by Eleyon, to depart from their dominions and return to the Garden, and eventually just about all the Elves ascend and leave the physical planet of Eldwan in the care of the Fallen. The Elves had no history of violence and quite possibly, some die brutal deaths at the hands of the war-mongering Fallen.

Thus it was that as sinful humans spread out over the face of the earth, the dominions of the Elves fell and were lost, region by region, and many mass extinctions followed in the wake of this succession. The Fallen had forgotten their task as stewards of nature, and so the intricate systems that the Elves had designed quickly spun out of balance and were ended.

This conception of the High Elves helps me deal with the disappearance of other hominids, anthropogenic extinction events, and the lack of apparently advanced early technology. They represent an ideal society, not communist, not a democracy, not a monarchy, but a theocracy.

Swaths of History

I've been trying to sort out a broad timeline, or movements of the history of Eldwan, in an attempt to describe the scale of this fantasy universe. Its collective heritage should play a large role in the cultural mindsets of societies in later ages. Each Age has a distinct mood to it, but they all form a single progression, and I hope to write stories within the Ages of Light, Water and Rulers at least. After that time, history becomes to familiar and well defined for imagination to manoeuvre liberally.

The Age of Harmony - Uncounted Years

The Age of Harmony begins with the creation, as told in Cil Eldawach. This age is characterised by unity between all of creation and its Creator, Eleyon. Everything proceeds within the guidelines of Eleyon's will, and there is no strife or suffering. It ends with the Rebellion of Alero and those who follow him, as ld in Asegüel. The passage of time was not marked with great concern during this age, for umankind had no fear of death.

The Rebellion divides humanity into the Elves, the Alves and the Ilves.

The Days of Fear - Unnumbered

This interim period between the Ages of Harmony and Light lasts between the Day or Rebellion and Elinrise, or the departure of the Garden and the High Elves. Humanity and creation reorganises itself after the destructive effects of the Rebellion.

The Age of Light - 1768 Years

This Age is the time given by Eleyon to Alero to guide the Alves to achieve godhood. So this age is dominated by the growth and technological development of the Radiant. The Fallen and the Guardians still dwell within the Cradle, but the High Elves in the Far Lands spread out over the land and live in harmony with nature there. It is ended by the Deluge that breaks the mountains of the Cradle and all but destroys the Radiant cities of Alaris and Eleris. The Guardians, or the Elves who chose to remain and help the Ilves, stay with the Faithful in Ilveris.

The Age of Water - 733 Years

The Age of Water lasts from the Deluge to the Confusion. During this time, the maritime empire of Alaris grows by the instruction of the ghosts of the transcorporists. The transcorporists summon the scattered people of the coasts and some respond. They found a new kingdom on the bones of the ancient city.

This represents humanity's attempt to reach godhood for themselves, without the aid of Alero or any other power. They reject Alero's offer of help, and Alero hates the Alarians ever after. Nonetheless, when the Alarians attempt to recreate a spirit portal, Eleyon sends the confusion and divides their languages. The Alarians are dispersed and carry their technology and wisdom to the scattered peoples on the coasts.

The High Elves continue to prosper in this age, and the Grief Elves, the remainder of the Guardians, have left the lands of the cradle to nurse the lands around it that were harmed by the Deluge. In some places, the High Elves meet the Grief Elves and they work to bring a brief flowering of the land.

The Age of Rulers - 2209 Years

In this age, the dispersion of humanity begins in earnest and they flood out over the lands of Eldwan. The time of the Elvish dominions is over, as they retreat back to the Far Lands and eventually all undergo ascension. Kingdoms and empires rise and fall as human societies grow increasingly complex. Yet, they exist in ignorance and descend into superstition. Much of the knowledge of earlier ages is lost, and some societies turn to worship the Wevel and turn to evil ways. Yet all through this time, Eleyon has reserved a people for His purposes, and Ilvesu watches them from the shadows as they dwell on the earth. Some of the Grief Elves remain in the land, as healers, wisemen, sages. Trying to alleviate the suffering of humans and stem the general tide of evil. But the wisemen fade, and their number dwindles over the long count of years.

After the Age of Rulers, history gets quite familiar. The salvation plan takes action and the Age of the Church begins. This leads till present day, and eventually the Last Battle happens and all is concluded. However I don't feel too inclined to write about the central dramas of the Age of Rules or the Age of the Church, for risk of being too stifled by the real history I know. Perhaps that will change, but for now, I have plenty to work on in the Age of Light and Water.

Vignette : Release

Still, isolated, quiet. Dim. Flickering, connected but disconnected, the promise of a chat, but everyone else passes by in virtual ignorance. Wouldn't it be easier not to have any expectations of them? Their empty promises cannot fulfill the heart's perceived contract.

Breaking, away from it all. The world can spin on, pirouetting to some unseen finality, aimless in its cyclical nihilism. Everyone, saying they'll be there when the weight presses, not realising that they add to the weight instead. Their ghosts stand beside while their reality moves on, and the memories of former solidarity turn to mockery.

It was easier. It was easier when no one offered their support, before the soul was tied to an image that vanished as a phantom and the heart left to drown in the open waters. But the ties cannot be so easily cut once formed, disentangling risks destruction.

The higher realms beckon, out of the stagnant, opaque ocean. Called once again to liberated thought, without concern for the comprehension of others. Flying into the oblivion of discovery, into increasingly esoteric paths of the labyrinth. The silent, glacial sea can subsume the spectres.