The Creation of Polemos

Like our own world, there are many contradicting beliefs and stories about how Polemos came to exist. They can vary wildly by culture and history, though some are more believable than others (Polemos likely does not ride on an infinite column of ever-enlarging turtles). Detailed here are but a few of the more common creation stories:

At first, there was nothing. Not darkness, nothing; grey primordial ooze. Inhabiting this universe were eleven gods. Through their interactions, they soon aligned to two opposite ideals. On one side were the four gods who stood for good. They wanted peace, warmth, light, and love. Opposed to them were the four gods of evil, who wanted darkness, greed, chaos, and sorrow. Three gods individually stayed neutral, wanting ideals separate from the others. Tensions grew between the gods of good and evil, and naturally a battle soon ensued. The neutral gods, caught in the middle, agreed to do something to take the battle away from them so they could be at peace. Thus they went to each side and had one member appointed who would create a physical world for the sides to battle on. The side of good chose the god Chronos, while the evil side chose the goddess Perifania. Working together like the pact stated, Chronos and Perifania created a physical world, a world they called Polemos. While Chronos gave the world a spirit, called “Psychi”, Perifania gave the spirit a wild and chaotic streak. Good created life on top of the surface and under its waves: grass, trees, birds, and beasts. Evil gave it resources to be exploited and horded, gold, silver, mines, and quarries. Tired of having to cooperate with Good, Perifania created Evil’s ideal world, Kakos, as a moon that would orbit Polemos, so Evil could always watch down on the battle. Chronos responded by making a second moon, Kathreftis. This moon would follow Kakos, and would also reflect the state of Psychi so that Good could tell what Evil was doing on Polemos.

With Polemos complete, and as a prelude to their cosmic battle, the neutral goddess Eleytheria created man. Man was in balance with good and evil, and had complete free will.

Both sides made bets as to how humanity would go, and all promised to not try to affect humanity. Both sides quickly began to affect humanity, however, though very secretly as to not lose face. At first, Good gave man clothing and farming. Evil gave man pain and fear, and tried to lord over them. Humanity resented this, and sided with good. Soon, however, humanity wavered and warfare between divided nations engulfed the world. Thus began the many Ages of Man. Peril and peace, chaos and calm, hedonism and heroism, and all the colors of the human spirit are strewn upon the canvas of this world- Polemos, the battlefield.

Used by the Orthodoxy and it's precursors.

Before anything there was naught but the Creator - and He spoke: “Let Us create, so that others might know Me. Let there be a beginning, filled with light and void to be filled by it.” And it was so. The Creator then made shapes to fill the void and contain the light. He created the land and divided it from the sky. He caused the living things to spring up from the deep, and it was Good.

And the Creator said, “Let Us create man, and let him be made like Me - able to speak words and create ideas.” He created them, male and female. He bound man to the world, and gave him dominion over its fate. He shared with Man all that He had created, and showed him many words. And they were Good. The Creator rested.

And the Creator said to man, “Thou shalt live and speak words with Us forever, you will be my people and I will be your God. Thou must not deny Me, or you will surely be destroyed and turned to dust.” Now in those times man had spoken many words, and the Creator had given them all life in the great shapeless heavens below. One of those words came to man in the form of a serpent and said, “As you have created us, so the Creator made you. Why do you not cast down the Creator, and thus take the world completely for yourself?” Man answered the spirit, “God would surely destroy us. He has spoken it.”

“Surely you will not be destroyed,” said the spirit, “the Creator fears that you will know too much, and become as powerful as He.” And one man believed the spirit, and spoke words against God. He suddenly came to know Evil, and was afraid. He had others deny the Creator with him, and destroyed all those that would not.

God came to the man and said, “You have betrayed us, and are Evil in my sight. All of creation is cursed by you; it is no longer Good. You will turn to dust in days short numbered, and I will then destroy all the rest with fire.” He cast them down out of the world and onto the land.

Then God said, “I turn against you four curses you have spoken - Doubt, Envy, Fear, and Pain. They will torment and crush you; your evil will end. And behold with four more words spoken - Fate, Thought, Freedom, and Uncertainty. They will frustrate and divide you; your evil will not reign. And behold four final words We have spoken- Faith, Grace, Peace, and Love. They will keep you from destruction until Salvation finds you and the Wind brings you back to me. Thus we will make the world anew. Go across the land, and bear Good fruit and multiply, for the world to come you will be more numerous than the stars.”

God placed a great fire around the world to destroy all Evil, and set the four Holy Words at the fire to keep Him from destroying the land. He set the other words upon the shapeless heavens below, where a great battle began to rage. Thus the land became the battlefield. There was night, and there was morning - the First Age.