Cosmology
Before the beginning, there was nothing. In the very center of nothing, was everything. Everything opened its singular eye and beheld its opposite. It was a mighty creature and within itself, it contained every variation of every single possible moment, all at once. It was the mighty Worldbeast. But after eons of staring into the nothingness, its eye became bloodshot and the first crimson flower of madness began to bloom. In its fury eternity clawed at itself, finally tearing its eye asunder and fashioning the first god out of its most desperate wish, that it and every creature would one day die. The first god, the god of death took pity and struck, ending the life of the worldbeast. The nothing seeped into the gash in the corpse and ate every continuum except one. Thus it became that reality collapsed into a singular existence, moving forward an instant at a time.
Over the centuries life evolved. As souls went through countless animalistic lives, they began to become sentient, and when they were severed from their forms they would cycle anew to the next form. But this was not without consequence, for a soul cast asunder will always seek the strongest source of power, and no power in all the lands can equal that of the discarded iris of the worldbeast, known as the iris of eternity. As the souls of the many races began to flow through the iris they left groves in the shape of their greatest feelings. Their fear, their hopes, and their desires. The weight of their narratives. Thus it became so that the godhead was formed, creating a pantheon of creatures embodying the strongest passions of the living. Each one of these creatures, termed gods, devils, and fae possess the infinite power of the iris, but can only act in accordance with the stories and ideas that spawned them.
Over time these gods started to interact with mortals, changing their lives and themselves with it, and entering contracts with their worshipers, by imbedding parts of their power within the core of their souls. But opening your soul to a god is not without consequences. The more of a god is anchored to your soul, the more of their power you can wield yes, but the less of you that remains. One of the most famous paladins of light got to the point where he would do nothing in between battles but stare at the wall of the king’s throne room, unmoving and unmovable.
Seeking freedom from this bargain and the whims of the often fickle gods, the first king sought a new power that might be wielded by the kingdom of man. He found it in a small peasant child brought to his throne with a strange ailment. The child could see things that weren’t there, not an uncommon phenomenon, but he could also bring them here, although he couldn’t keep them here for long. After decades of studying, the kingdom had discovered the power of in-potentia. For when the worldbeast died, the alternative moments did not disappear, they simply stopped existing. Those with power in their soul could reach into the void and pull forth objects and forces from these alternate times, as long as they can figure out how these things would happen. It became known that the key to wielding in-potenia is that everything that doesn’t exist, doesn’t exist somewhere, all a mage had to do is find where.
For a time, this was good, but then the first of the mages entered the throne room and slew the first king in a fit of madness. The exposure to so much information all the time had warped his mind, allowed him to see further than his mind could handle, and he had snapped under the pressure. The first prince ordered all the mages killed, but they saw this coming and fled the kingdom.
In modern times it is understood that the practice of magic, the wielding of in-potentia is a part of the world. Mages receive training, and often call forth mundane materials for the townspeople, shaping the economy of modern societies. The mages are taught the magi’s virtues: Insight or the ability to understand the world and figure out how to pull what’s needed from in-potentia, Power or the ability to pull large objects or significant powers from the void, and fortitude or the ability to withstand the effects of magic on your mind and body.
Like in human bodies, the decaying of the worldbeast creates gasses. But unlike humans, the worldbeast’s corpse creates beautiful music. The majority of people can not hear it, however those with significant insight or power can almost make out the melody. Only those lost to madness or about to die can hear the lyrics.
Worldbeast Axioms
Like most settings, the worldbeast follows some general narrative rules for every story set inside it.
- The world is an overwhelmingly dangerous place, the more you understand about it, the more you understand how fragile and insignificant you are.
- Mind control and other magical methods of mental coercion do not work. Every person in the worldbeast must make their own decisions, for better or worse.
- Every character will inevitably die. Resurrection is not possible, though things like litchdom are.
- Acts of in-potentia are inherently dangerous. There is no such thing as a safe spell or a sane magi.
- Insight is the seeing of things that are real and true or could become so. If they are not, then it is not insight.
- Gods in any form are dangerous and fickle, and the powers they offer have domain-related downsides. A fire god will offer powers that will burn the user if they are not careful for example.
- Saints are self-destructive and unstable. There is no such thing as a truly useful saint.
- In-potentia requires training, it can not be used on instinct, though it can be guided or directed in its raw state inside someone.
- The god of death is never met and never speaks.
- Eyes, music, and stories are important symbology and are never invoked lightly.