Chapter Text
In days long gone, there were nine gods.
Long before the world had been truly forged, there was nothingness. From the aether, a series of figures began to emerge. They were embodiments of the elements, paragons of virtue and love determined to share it. The empty void that had once thrived even while hollow was quickly filled with more than anyone could ever hope to imagine. The entities would take many decades to be named and many more centuries to be properly written of by human hands, but they had a title that is still known now: gods.
The legends speak of eight primary figures who appeared to bring life and light to the death and darkness that had come before them. There may have been others who were forged by the stars, but their names were forgotten by time or erased from the pages of history. Even so, the truth of the world remained, and it endures to this very day.
The gods' first action together was to unite hand in hand and create their greatest blessing: the world. They built a universe from nothing and gave it all the care they possessed. Oceans parted, and the continents rose. The gods saw to the birth of many places that go by many names, and they smiled down upon all of them.
However, one continent rose above the rest as the favored of the gods. The continent was split in twain, and yet, it was united beneath a common banner in the eyes of its creators. To the east, snowy mountains gave way to towering peaks and sweeping greenery. To the west, deserts bled into forests, sandy seas, and vast rusty plains. In between, islands dotted the ocean, thriving with warmth and love. The ocean divided the halves of the land, and yet, it felt united. In the eyes of the gods, the two halves were one in the same. Two always returned to one.
The land of Solistia has lived on since long before there were humans present to give it the name it so desperately craved. However, texts of faith and history alike agree on the path that brought Solistia to its current glory. A continent as shining as Solistia could only have been forged by the gods, and the people would never dare to forget the kindness that had been granted to them by the powers that ruled above them.
Each of the gods blessed Solistia with a new gift to show their love and care. The world would not have existed without their generosity, and to this day, religious texts sing the praises of those who gave rise to the world known so many centuries later. Without the kindness of the gods, the world would be naught but void. Every life is owed to the eight gifts of the highest beings to ever draw breath within this universe.
Aelfric was the leader of the gods. He was the paragon of light and life, bringing a new glow to every step he took. With his staff in hand, Aelfric created the light of the world. He pressed his staff to the sky, and the heavens, once nothing but pitch darkness, began to spark to light with the birth of the sun. The beauty of the land was renewed beneath Aelfric's watchful eye, and his smile is said to live on in the stars that dot every night sky. Each one of them is a blessing from his staff, and whether near or far, they signify that the gods are always looking over the world they forged from nothing. Some priests even say that the stars are the twinkles from Aelfric's eye, and that each night there are stars in the heaven, Aelfric is looking down on Solistia with a smile on his face.
In these long gone days, Aelfric offered one other gift to the land: four silver fires. They burned bright and strong in the places they were needed most. The flames protected all who were close to them from the forces of darkness, offering safety and peace. The fires never extinguished, burning with the very power of light that Aelfric had provided to them. They would come to be known as the Sacred Flames in the days of humanity, the most important gifts the gods had ever granted to Solistia.
Aeber stood opposite Aelfric, a master of the darkness who thrived when there were no eyes to see. He was a god of chance, roaming the land in search of its greatest of treasures. He created the blessings humanity came to covet most, but his favorite of treasures was the moon in the night sky. Aeber tore apart the darkness with his dagger to bring the moon out of the shadows, and the world no longer had to fear the darkness that awaited them when the sun faded across the horizons. Aeber never asked for thanks for his act of generosity. Instead, he vanished into the shadows, always there with his brethren but never close enough to be seen. His presence was felt strongly, and the prince of thieves spent each night reaching up for the moon with pride that he could call it his.
Brand was the only one in the pantheon who stood the chance of covering the moon with the power of his domain: the heavens. Brand used his blade to create tempests in the sky, forging storms with the power he alone could wield. The weather followed his every command, but lightning always listened the closest. The skies would scream when he did, and clouds rolled across the atmosphere in peace when Brand laughed. From the clouds came rain, and the water brought new life to the land that threatened to dry out now that it was above the sea. When lightning roars now, it is said that Brand is trying to communicate with the mortals of Solistia. His messages are always vague, but they are always heard just the same.
Dohter took on every droplet of rain Brand left behind and created his own new gift: a fresh sense of life. The gods had created the basis of the world, but it had yet to truly thrive even beneath the richness of their combined power. Dohter's hands healed all they touched, and even the sickest of plants would return to life in an instant. The rich flora of Solistia always smiled when Dohter drew near. The god of healing maintained his power even when he was not near his creations as well. The roots he tended to developed healing properties that soon spread to every plant spread across the continent. The power to heal came from the world, and it was Dohter's blessing that made it so.
Draefendi partnered with Dohter to create a new sense of life: animals. The lush plant life of the world was powerful, but it would not be paradise without creatures there to enjoy everything Dohter had created with his powerful yet healing hands. Draefendi carved new life with her kind hands, and animals rose to occupy the land she had worked to create with her fellow gods. Each beast was different, but together, they all worked in concert to take care of their new home. No matter where the animals of Solistia lived, they would bow to Draefendi when she passed by. She came to be known as the goddess of the hunt many years later, but any hunter worth their salt would remember to treasure the same rites Draefendi had when she was forced to make prey of what she had once created.
Sealticge took to the coast lining the vast seas of Solistia, and she pressed her fingers into the air to create the dance that ruled nature. The wind swayed at her command, following her footsteps and twirls to create something beautiful. All the flora and fauna of Solistia found harmony at Sealticge's command. She danced each morning and night, and the world learned to follow in her lead to create something just as beautiful. Every piece of a dance was just as important as the others, and under Sealticge's smile, every fragment of Solistia found importance while working in peace with all that came around it. Sealticge's whispers are said to live on in the wind that blows across the seas in between the two continents. Outdoor theaters even thank her for her blessings by performing where the dancers know they will be seen by their patron goddess.
Bifelgan followed Sealticge's lead and strengthened the wind into something that could guide a creature anywhere they went. So long as they followed the path of Bifelgan's fortune, they would find tranquility at the end of the road they had selected. Many years in the future, Bifelgan's power would be used to ensure ships could bridge the gap between the two halves of the Solistian continent. Life was a matter of giving and taking, and Bifelgan's power ensured that no one gave or took more than they were able. There was balance to be found in the trade, and it reinforced the harmony that Sealticge had fought so hard to establish. The ocean came to be known as Bifelgan's home, a sign of the natural exchange that he enjoyed so greatly. Every coin was blessed by his power, and no merchant would ever forget the kindness of the god of trade.
Lastly, Alephan bestowed the world with the thing he treasured most: his knowledge. Wisdom and reason would govern all creatures, but they would not have had logic to follow without his power. Animals acted the way they did for a reason, and plants did what they had to in order to survive. There were rules to the natural world that every living thing understood without needing to be ask. The balance that had been established by the other gods would not be shattered so long as Alephan had something to say about it. The peace would endure at his command.
Alephan's blessing came with something new: the rise of magic. His gift of wisdom was initially where his generosity was slated to end, but he knew he would not be able to rest easily knowing that he had not given his creations all they deserved. Magic was something all creatures possessed in some form or another, and they could use to ensure their survival. There were six elements--fire, ice, lightning, wind, light, and darkness--all drawn from the holy source of his power. So long as a plant or animal understood its connection with the world, it could rely upon Alephan's blessing. Magic was not something set to belong exclusively to the gods, and Alephan eagerly awaited seeing what the new occupants of Solistia would do with this new power of theirs.
The eight gods united beneath a common banner to create the world, but they had much more to add before they could consider their work completed. A world was well and good, but it would not mean much if there was nothing within it. The gods had known little save for one another and the others who had bled out of the aether and into obscurity, and yet, they needed that to change.
The gods could not be alone in their universe, and so, they planned to create others who would be able to follow in their path. New life was pressed into the plants, and animals rose from the earth to inhabit every biome and every space. Humans were their greatest of creations, and the gods treasured them more than anything. Another of their highest loves came in the form of the beastlings. The beastlings walked the fine line between animal and human, evolving to create their own societies much as humans had as their neighbors. The humans and beastlings were not the work of any individual god. Instead, each of them had to give all their love and logic to their newest creations. Humanity was the true blessing of the world, and it was only made possible thanks to the gifts of eight that had come together to be one.
Humanity made use of every present the gods had bestowed upon them. They needed the light of Aelfric to survive, sought to chase the glow of Aeber's moon, and looked after a world governed by the harmony of Sealticge. Brand's thunder cracked through the skies overhead, teaching them all to wonder. Humanity learned how to sail through the power of Bifelgan's guidance in the seas. Dohter's plants were used for countless new purposes, and Draefendi's animals found peace with humanity as the balance of nature expanded its meaning. Humans claimed Alephan's magic and used it however they could to chase a brighter drawn.
The world was as peaceful as it could have been. The people of Solistia wanted for nothing, and the gods looked down upon them fondly. The humans were so grateful to their patron deities that they vowed to mark all of their kind acts into the pages of history. Religions rose to pray to the eight gods, and shrines appeared across the continent. Every person offered their faith and joy to at least one of the gods, and in return, the god smiled upon them with a blessing. Solistia was happy, and all of its people could not have asked for a better place to live than the one that had been given to them.
But the eight gods of Solistia were not the only ones who emerged from the aether of the universe. There were others waiting just out of reach, others who had not reached down to touch the earth with their blessings. The humans, animals, and beastlings lived on in peace without a fear in the world that there could have been something else waiting for them. The gods did not realize anything was amiss either...
Not until it was too late.
The first day of the dark god's arrival was the most horrifying the land had ever seen. The people of Solistia prepared to face a new day, but the dawn never arrived. In the night, a dark figure had swept through the heavens, waging war on the gods and catching them all by surprise. The light was blocked out by the hellish god's malicious power, and the entire continent of Solistia was left stranded in shadow.
The animals all howled for the aid of the gods. The beastlings found the air suddenly detestable, overwhelmed with something rotten and foul. Humanity prayed for the gods to come and rescue them. They did not know what had happened, but they knew without a shadow of a doubt that the gods would save them from this dark power. The gods had always been able to rescue them before, and no one wanted to so much as entertain the idea that this would be the day the gods finally failed in their duties.
With the darkness came a new threat: wave after wave of monsters corrupted by shadow. Not even the strangest of beasts in Solistia could ever compare to the sickening sensation of seeing one of the shadowy monsters. They churned with deep amethyst ichor, raging in the darkness and growing stronger as the night went on. Many innocent lives were lost in the battles against them, and every fighter in Solistia had to be constantly prepared to fend off the assailants of shadow.
Far above the ground in the heavens, the gods fought off the initial attack of the dark god. Even once they managed to turn him away though, the sun did not rise as it should have. Something was deeply wrong, and it was stopping the dawn from ever arriving again. The entire continent was in a panic, and the gods searched for the source of the chaos. Despair reigned in those uncertain days, and the people feared all of their hopes for a new future's arrival would turn out to be for nothing.
But an answer soon came, though it was perhaps the most terrifying explanation anyone could have heard: the Sacred Flames had been doused. The dawn had been chased away because the guiding lights that protected the people of Solistia had been extinguished. Until the flames were relit, the dawn would never come again... But there was only one way to guarantee that the fires would never be put out again. The dark god would need to fall.
The gods told the people of their plight, and they finally gave a name to the figure of shadow that had stolen so much from so many. Vide. The single name struck fear into the hearts of all those who heard it. He was the one who had come into the heavens and fought the gods to distract them as other pieces of his foul body extinguished the Sacred Flames. The monsters of shadow were his creation, and they were just as determined to see the world brought to destruction. So long as he lived, the land of Solistia would never see peace again.
The gods learned of how Vide had come to be with time as well. Vide had been born from the same aether that they had emerged from, but he had chosen a different path. The eight gods of Solistia had sought peace and creation, but Vide was the opposite. He yearned to destroy what others had built, and he decided to set his sights on Solistia after destroying another realm and claiming it as his own. Vide was a god of darkness and death. All that he cast his power upon would fall to despair and destruction. His psychic powers were unmatched, and with enough dedication, he could make his way into the mind of anyone. Vide could ensure anyone gave up on their life and collapsed into the shadows he commanded.
Soon afterward, a new truth came to light--that human souls had been sacrificed by Vide to douse the Sacred Flames. Vide was repelled by their power, but if he killed humans and offered them up to the fires, they would go out in an instant. Before he struck, Vide allured a few despairing humans to the darkness with his dark promises. He told them the world would end along with their suffering so long as they were willing to help him. Vide promised complete destruction and death to those who had come to crave it as pockets of despair within the paradise of Solistia.
The humans who believed in the gods fell to chaos and fear upon hearing of this news. Humans just like them had turned against the gods that had protected them for so long in order to side with a dark entity. Vide would not have been able to bring Solistia to ruin without the power of treacherous humans by his side. Innocent people had to die in order to destroy Solistia and douse the Sacred Flames. Any one of them could have been next.
The gods, however, would not let this fear rule the land for long. They declared that so long as there was life in Solistia, there would be hope. It may not have looked like it, but there was positivity to be found in every situation. The people who still believed in the gods yet lived on in a world without light. They would be there to see the new dawn upon Vide's defeat. There would be another day for them to enjoy, and their futures would be theirs to enjoy.
To ensure the people stayed safe, the gods granted the people of Solistia with weapons of the divine. Should Vide come for them again, they would be able to protect themselves. There were six sacred weapons, each of them fused with the power of light meant to defeat Vide and fight away his power. The weapons finally turned the tides of the war, giving humanity the edge over the dark monsters Vide had summoned when he came to life. The humans oversaw the first few battles and found that their people were performing well and would be able to defend themselves for a short while. With that, the gods wished all of their creations well and departed for their final battle.
The gods charged off to face Vide in his new domain. Vide had built a castle in the land he had conquered before Solistia and morphed it into his new domain: an island he named Vidania. Vide waited for the gods, and when they arrived, he struck. The battle was long and trying, and Vide was far stronger than the gods could have ever imagined. Vide fed off the despair of Solistia's people to grow even more powerful. The eight gods had told the people to have hope, but fear still ran rampant, and that was all Vide needed. He fused this new strength with all the power he had gained from the endless night, and a battle of eight against one turned out to be an even playing field. Either side could win, and uncertainty followed each interaction of combat.
The battle, however, began to crumble in but a single instant: Vide struck down Bifelgan, and the god of trade collapsed to the ground of Vidania. He was still alive, but only barely, and his consciousness would not return to him regardless of how many times the others attempt to rouse him. Vide could not kill the gods himself, but he had come incredibly close, and Bifelgan was the first to see the full force of Vide's power.
After Bifelgan fell, the rest of the gods felt their hope begin to wane. Aeber was struck down in a moment of weakness and fear when he thought they may truly have been outmatched. Draefendi held strong for as long as she could, but a single blow in her darkest moment sent her hurtling to the earth as well. Brand's blade fell from his hand when Vide slashed across his chest. Sealticge was skilled at evading Vide's attacks, but her defenses were fragile, and when he got through them with a lucky hit, she stood no chance of returning to her former strength. Alephan's magic pierced the heavens, brightening the shadowed skies with light and hope for the first time since the eternal night began. However, his strength began to wane as the battle raged on, and he could only cast so many spells before his power faded entirely and his body gave way beneath the pressure.
Soon enough, the only two who remained were Dohter and Aelfric. Dohter fell to his knees first, and he pleaded with Aelfric to go on and stop Vide. His final wish before his consciousness abandoned him was that Aelfric would find a way to win the war and bring light to this eternal night. Only one of the original eight yet remained, and yet, it seemed as if he stood no chance when placed before the raw horror of Vide's despair.
But Aelfric refused to give up. He ascended the stairs leading to the top of Vide's palace one final time, and he faced the churning darkness of his foe. Vide mocked Aelfric for daring to stand against him, but Aelfric did not let Vide's taunts get the best of him. The rest of his fellow gods had sacrificed themselves in the name of this war, and it could not end in failure after he had come so far.
When all hope seemed lost, Aelfric felt new power surge through him. He recognized it immediately; the people of Solistia had realized what was happening, and they gave him the power he needed to keep fighting. They had seen the lights in the distance to signify that the gods had taken the battle against Vide to Vidania. The light was the first glow of true hope that any of them had seen since the beginning of the eternal night. If there was light after all this time, then there must have truly been hope that all of this would come to an end as they had prayed for so long.
With renewed vigor, Aelfric struck back against Vide once more. The dark god stood no chance, and thanks to Aelfric's power, Vide was sealed away once and for all. The island of Vidania shook from the force of the blows, and it disappeared into the sea. Aelfric retrieved the bodies of the rest of the gods and retreated as quickly as he could, only barely managing to escape before he would have been plunged into the oceanic blue below.
However, the fight had exhausted Aelfric far more than he originally anticipated. By the time he arrived on solid land again, he was too tired to press on. Vide had nearly killed him, and Aelfric would not be able to live on if he did not rest. Even so, he could not rest just yet. The people of Solistia were still living in the darkness because of the lack of the Sacred Flames. Aelfric needed to give them the hope that had saved his life, but it seemed that he did not have enough strength to return the light to their lives.
Aelfric and the rest of the gods eventually settled down with one another in pairs. Their bodies were exhausted after the fight with Vide, and they could not reliably maintain their living forms for any longer. Instead, their spirits would have to suffice in looking after Solistia. With Vide gone, the people were safe and would not need any more direct intervention for quite some time. The gods' consciences were heavy, but they knew they had no other choice if the world was to ever find peace again.
Draefendi and Dohter laid down to rest together, and their bodies morphed into statues that guarded one of the old braziers of the Sacred Flame. Silver light sparked to life where they had once been, and the dawn grew closer. Elsewhere, Alephan and Bifelgan rested together, following in their fellow gods' leads of creating new light. Brand and Sealticge partnered off next, leaving Aeber and Aelfric as the final pair. Eight statues stood where the gods wished they could have been...
But more importantly, the silver flames of hope danced in between the statues. The morning after the gods laid themselves down once and for all, the sun began to rise on the horizon. After an eternity of nothing but darkness, light had returned to Solistia. The people cheered and celebrated like they never had before, and they embraced the new joy they had spent so long seeking. The gods had made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of saving their creations, but their brave actions would not be in vain. The people of Solistia would remember what they had done forever, and they would honor the gods who had given them the chance to live on. No matter how dark the night looked, the people knew there would be light at the end of it all.
The faith of Solistia grew stronger after the gods laid themselves to rest. The Church of the Sacred Flame rose to look after the people however it could, honoring the Sacred Flame said to contain Aelfric's soul. The people were happy and at peace, protected by their gods and the faith that had risen from them. With time, the history of the endless night faded away into little more than legend. Most did not believe it, and those who did were few and far between. The gods did not ask for any recognition of what they had done though. They knew they had made the right choice, and they would never dare to regret it.
Many centuries have come and gone since the initial battle against Vide. The name of the dark god is used only scripture now, and the true terror of the endless night has been forgotten. No shadow like Vide has come to visit Solistia again. The gods still watch over the continent, but they do not have the power to intervene as they once did. Even so, they believe the people to be in good hands. If they are willing to have hope, then there will be a brighter dawn waiting for them at the end of each night. They simply needed to dream of it, and soon enough, it would come.
Every once in a while though, a few cracks of Vide's power would slip in. When the darkness grew to be too strong, Vide's magic would thrive. The dark god never emerged from his prison at the bottom of the Solistian sea, but his fingers still reached toward the moon on nights when it would not threaten his power. The attacks upon the land were never bold or grave enough to merit true fear across the continent though. Solistia was as safe as it could have been, and everyone was glad for it.
But that prolonged peace was about to come to an end. Vide's power had been growing in the many centuries he had been trapped in the husk of Vidania at the bottom of the ocean. Soon, he would look to reach up once more to try and exact his vengeance. He had failed to take Solistia for himself during his last time on the land, but he would not fail a second time... Or so he swore into the darkness of the ocean. One way or another, Vide would have his revenge against the land and the gods that had done so much to try and seal him away. He would not be forgotten forever. His legend was real, and he would prove it.
When the day came for Vide to strike back though, he was destined to fail. The gods had left humanity in its own hands, and it had been perhaps the greatest choice they could have made... Since the light of hope would burn on within them always.
So long as humans yet lived, the dawn would come, and Vide's dusk would remain shrouded in shadowed despair.