Lore Q&A

Hey folks! Matt Colville coming at you like a beam, like a ray, like a laser!

This month's Q&A we thought we'd do something different and give y'all a chance to ask questions about the setting/lore. About Orden, the Timescape, the gods, ancestries, whatever you're curious about!

We can also use this as an opportunity to ask about writing in general. We'll be live at 4pm Pacific, this Thursday the 17th.

You can ask as many questions as you want, but we're probably going to pick one per person.

This is just a fun change of pace, if you have lore questions we don't get to, you can always come by a stream or just ask in the Timescape channel in the MCDM Discord! I hang out there all the time. Lore isn't treasure, we don't hoard it. And of course you'll get a lot more lore if we get to make more products.

To give you something to chew on, I thought it'd be fun to share Orden's creation myth, if myth it be. The answer to the question "Why do humans have so many gods?" is in here, although it may not be obvious. I'll explain the connection at the end of this post.

This information may not be in the core rules! I think of it as information for the Director, so it shouldn't go in the Heroes book and it feels out of place in the Monsters book so it'll probably end up in the Vasloria box set or something like that.

So this isn't 100% canon yet, it'll get revised and edited prior to ending up in a real Draw Steel product, this is just "what we think is true now."

A couple of points for context; This lore is obscure even in Orden. For reasons that will become clear, the Elder Gods decided it was best if humans did not know their true origins and obscuring that lore meant obscuring most of what you're about to read.

As a result, most people including elves and dwarves and orcs assume the gods created the world, they believe Ord was involved in some principle capacity because the dwarves keep banging on about it, but they assume all the gods were involved, including the human gods. Most people do not know the difference between the Elder Gods and the Innumerable Younger Gods of the humans.

Folks just accept that there are deathless like zombies and skeletons and assume it has always been like this.

Secondly, and lastly, the gods have no gender. But when people write about them, even people who know the gods transcend gender, they still ascribe gender roles to them, which says more about the people doing the writing than it does the gods.

On with the show....

The Creation of the World

In the beginning, there were only the gods. They spoke and debated and argued endlessly. About what, we cannot know.

At some point in the nothingness before everything the Gods Ord, Eth, Aan, and Kul said; "Enough talk! It is time to make our philosophies real!" And those four created the mundane world. The prime manifold.

Ord said; "Listen now. Strength and permanence are best." So he created the land, mountains, and stone.

Eth said, "Listen brother. Strength is good, but permanence is limiting. Change is best." She created the water, seas, oceans, and rain.

Aan said; "Brother and sister. Change is good, certainly! But strength is overrated. Subtlety is required!" So she created the air, winds and clouds and breezes and hurricanes.

Kul said; "Yes, this is all very well. But more than any of these things, action is required. Thoughts and philosophies alone are not enough." So he created fire, volcanoes, and magma.

The Gods Ord, Eth, Aan, and Kul made mountains and seas and skies and under them all, fire. And the world was perfect.

Lyl said to her brother and sisters; "But look here at what you have made. It is sterile. It does not grow or progress." These were concepts alien to the gods and they asked for explanation. Lyl thought for a moment and said; "There is no struggle." This, the gods understood. "Let me bring growth to your creation," Lyl offered politely, and the four gods accepted.

Lyl created life and placed it in the world. And life grew and multiplied, and Lyl created the first Law, the Law of Nature. Whether by the energy of sea or sun or fire, whether by muscle or thew, all that exists within the World must act according to the limits of physical being. Nothing can act by will alone. This was the first great limit on the creation of the four gods, and it would shape the history of the mundane world in ways none of the gods could anticipate.

Now the world surged with life and the living things fought and struggled and multiplied and the five gods were pleased with their creation.

Nyl, who had not been impressed with the world until there was life upon it, said "But look you, brothers and sisters; your life grows unchecked. Nothing ends. All which has a beginning must have an end." This was a concept alien to the gods and they asked for explanation. "Our creation should have value," Nyl said, and the gods nodded their agreement. "Let me make life precious, so all may love its sweetness," Nyl asked politely, and the five gods accepted.

Nyl created the second law, the Law of Death. All that lives must die. Now the struggle for survival was all the fiercer, for life was precious, and the six gods were pleased with their creation.

Then Ket looked upon the world and frowned. This wondrous creation lacked understanding. The gods could appreciate it, but it could not appreciate itself. He looked at his brothers and sisters congratulating themselves on their creation, and he knew they would not understand. So, working alone, he created life that could know and understand. Life that could appreciate the work of the gods. Ket made the first speaking people. The elder dragons. Draco Nobilis. Using his own essence he formed the magnificent beasts and gave them minds. He placed the dragons within the world.

Because each dragon was formed from Ket's essence, the elder dragons bent the laws of creation around themselves. They did not obey the law of nature, using their will to create and affect the world directly. They did not die, though they occasionally grew bored and rejoined themselves with Ket. They spent all their time in contemplation. They sought neither to create or destroy. They were the ultimate creation within the mundane world, able to look upon it and appreciate its majesty.

This creation was deemed impolite by the gods, though some believed the dragons to be magnificent creatures. Ket had not asked permission, and some of the gods were vexed by his actions. Because the dragons were made from Ket's power, they knew Ket. They shared his thoughts and knew his mind and he could see through their eyes. They loved Ket, and Ket loved them in return. Ket was so absorbed in his love for his children that he did not notice the other god's disapproval.

Val, seeing what Ket had done, thought the creation had been marred by imperfection. The dragons fawned over Ket, and this Val thought unseemly. Thinking he could do better, and no longer feeling constrained by the need to be polite, Val created the celestials and placed them within the world without permission. They were beautiful and powerful but unlike the dragons, while they were made from Val's power, they had no link to him. They did not know their creator the way the dragons did. In the absence of this perfect knowledge of their god, they invented art and music and poetry. Val was very proud and felt his folk were chief among the creations of the world. The dragons and the celestials, being the only two speaking peoples, traded thoughts and culture and lived in peace.

Some of the gods argued that the world was no longer perfect and the time had come to begin again with a new world. Some said the world was better without life, some said without death, and many said without dragons or celestials.

Meanwhile Ord thought things were getting out of hand. His creation was now populated by creatures that could think and know, but did not know the creators of the world. Worst of all, the other gods were now speaking openly about unmaking his creation! Ord contemplated this a while, and came upon a solution. The elementals. The Children of Ord.

Placing the elementals in the world, Ord created a new law, the Law of Time. Nothing that is done, can be undone. Nothing that is made can be unmade. No thought can be unthought, a word said cannot be unspoken. Every cause must now have an effect. The world, their creation, could not be unmade.

Ket objected. Val objected. Their creations should not be hampered by such limitations. They should be free to act and change using Will alone!

"Would that not be a violation of the law of nature?" Lyl asked pointedly. Some gods agreed, some disagreed, and the gods fell into bickering.

Meanwhile Cyn saw the creations of Val and Ket and Ord, and felt the gods were cheating. Of course their creations were marvelous! Each carried with it the power of a god! Each reflected the merits and temperaments of its creator. How could they be proud of their creations? These things achieved nothing but through use of the power of their creators. Cyn thought it unseemly for a god to take pride in his children, when his children were just extensions of the god.

Cyn wanted life that could know the world and truly belong to it. Was a part of it. So he created the terrans. And instead of giving them a part of his power, he bound them inextricably to the Laws of Nature, Time, and Death. They would be short lived, and they would achieve nothing through will alone, but would have to marry their will to action. They would die in their own course and live out their span of years in an orderly manner, each day following the day previous, with no exceptions.

Not knowing their creator, the terrans named themselves. "Humans. "

While the other gods argued amongst each other, Cyn placed his creations in the world, on the earth, and whispered to them; "Go forth, little humans, and live life by your own measure, and not the will of the gods."

Humans were frightened and confused, they had no understanding of the world, except that which they could reason. They were superstitious and quarreled amongst each other. And Cyn was afraid. Had he made a mistake? But then some humans mastered their fear, and others sought knowledge, and yet others sought peace. And Cyn believed his creation the greatest of all that walked or crawled or flew. Not because they had courage, and knowledge and wisdom, but because they had fear, and ignorance, and hate...and mastered them. All without the aid of the gods. Cyn came to see fear, and ignorance, and strife as necessary to creation, because without them there could be no courage, nor knowledge, nor wisdom.

But then humans began to fight the other peoples. Cyn frowned. The elementals, the celestials, and the dragons never fought amongst themselves much less each other. And now the terrans were audacious enough, hostile enough, to fight anything and everything around them. Humans fought the other speaking folk. Humans fought nature. Humans fought time. And humans fought death.

The other gods were astonished that war had come to their world. Some were horrified, some were fascinated. When humans began to fight dragons, Ket, the First Father, was furious. He ordered his dragons to destroy the terrans. Many gods supported Ket, others opposed him. Some said he had no right to compel the dragons, nothing more than extensions of himself, to destroy the terrans who had nothing except their own wits and skill. Cyn, feeling the support of many of his brothers and sisters...lashed out. He tried to destroy the dragons.

But this proved impossible. Lyl, the Goddess of Life, had created the Law of Nature. And the law of nature forbade anything in the mundane world from acting by will alone. The gods, lacking any substance apart from will, could not directly affect the world. Lyl's Law forbade them.

Ord and Kul tried to directly interfere on behalf of their elementals...and found they could not.

Val tried to interfere on behalf of the celestials...and found he could not.

Cyn, seeing his creation being destroyed by the dragons, unable to aid them directly, found a way around the Laws of Nature, Time, and Death. He created Worship.

He granted his creation access to his own essence, if they obeyed certain rules. Thus, by requiring action on their part, he could grant them power. Almost completely destroyed, and far outmatched by the dragons in every manner, the terrans worshiped their god and with his power they could fight back, battle the dragons…and win. They were not divine, but they could wield divine power.

In time, they almost completely destroyed the dragons. For humans proved far more cunning and savage, supremely adapt at this new concept: War. Willing to do things no civilized people would.

This near genocide drove Ket into a rage. In his anger, he did the unthinkable.

He attacked Cyn.

The war between the gods cannot be said to have been short, or long, for it took place outside the Law of Time. That it happened at all is astonishing. In later ages of the world, Cyn would be portrayed as being alone against the rest, but in fact many gods sided with Cyn and considered him in the right, and Ket in the wrong.

Cyn struck back. He lashed out with his power, Nyl saw Ket was defenseless. Nyl took the blow meant for his brother. And Cyn slew Nyl.

The God of Death was dead.

Cyn created war. Cyn created worship. Cyn slew his brother. The gods were unanimous. Cyn must be censored.

Cyn was banished and forbidden from contacting his creation. The other peoples were given a mandate; Humans must never know their creator. The Inexorables were created to serve this mandate. They proved so effective, the gods expanded their function to enforce all the laws.

The god of death was dead. The god of humans was censored. With Nyl gone, the law of death was no more, and the deathless rose in the land. Death became a surmountable obstacle.

In mourning for his destroyed children, in mourning for his dead brother, Ket created the Law of Magic. In opposition to worship, Ket granted access to his essence and power to any being who obeyed his esoteric rules. Who learned the secrets of the first language, the speech of his dead children. 

Good, evil, these concepts had no meaning to Ket. He did not desire worship from any source. Those who used his power would never know him, never know his mind. But by using his power, he would be dimly reminded of his children, and their lost connection to him.

Why So Many Gods?

That's the story of the creation of world, and though it doesn't directly state why humans have so many gods, it sets up the explanation.

Because one of the elder gods was killed, there's a lot of "ambient god energy" floating around Orden. When enough humans believe someone is divine--like Adun and Cavall, once two mortal humans--their worship makes those people immortal gods through the unconscious use of this Dead God Energy. It is not something the humans are aware of, it just happens.

This is also why, like here in the real world, the gods humans worship tend to be expressions of their own culture, mores and folkways.

That's it folks! See you Thursday!