The Dawn

Year Zero, The Dawn

Eigengrau always enjoyed this part of the kalpa. Vordea's Great Work was still underway, so she could simply relax. Time was not yet flowing, so there was nothing to observe. She was quite intrigued that 3 Inner Gods survived this time, usually it was only 1, so she turned their attention to them.

"Sargon, Zalas, Vaust, welcome to the new kalpa." She said,said smiling.flatly. "You have beat my expectations and survived until the end of time."

"Where are we right now?" Sargon asked. He looked around, but they were all floating in an inky black void.

"We are nowhere. The Great Work is quite hazardous to be around, and Vordea doesn't like to be watched." Eigengrau answered. 

"The Great Work?" Vaust asked. "What's that?"

"It is what Vordea calls the creation of the universe from the building blocks of Carcosa. It is only now, during the dawn, that she is fully on what will become the mortal plane. You are still all quite weak Gods, so to be faced with the amalgam that is Vordea's true form might be too much."

"So what do we do now?" Zalas asked.

"How about a story?" Eigengrau asked, dropping the monotone voice, and flatcracking voice,a smile, much to everyone's shock.

"Wait, that's just an act?" Vaust asked.

"Of course it is. The God of Death has to be serious, Vaust." Eigengrau said, smacking him on the back of the head. "As for the story, you'll like this one. The War in Heaven, a story of why we have so many rules. The real story behind Vordea's great white chains."

"The War in Heaven?" Sargon asked. "This sounds ominous."

"It shook the very foundations of the universe, resulted in the death of a Primal God, 12 Inner Gods, and ended up with the difficult decision being made to terminate a kalpa early." Eigengrau began, getting the rapt attention of the other 3. "I ended up taking Vordea's side in the conflict, of course."

"Why?" Vaust asked. "You two don't not get along, but you also don't get along either."

"Because without Vordea Ithere obtainis dominionno over creation. Trust me, you don't want that.universe." Eigengrau answered. "There is a phrase you should remember when it comes to the War in Heaven, a rotten world and a heart of guilt. The kalpa was truly rotten after the war, and couldn't be saved. We..." Eigengrau stopped. "We made it quick. They didn't suffer."

"A heart of guilt?"

"Vordea sat in an empty world for thousands of years, weeping." Eigengrau explained, a very sad look on her face. "Despite her personality, she deeply cares for the souls of every mortal. Taking on all the emotions of souls cut short before their time left a deep scar on her."

"So the chains..." Sargon began.

"It broke her. She spent the next 60 kalpas as Mira Frost while she healed."

"Mira Frost?" Zalas asked. "Isn't that..."

"The source of all of our power. The Last Lord of Carcosa. The Corpse King. Even Vordea tells me her power now is nothing compared to what Mira was capable of at the apex of her strength." Eigengrau said, shuddering slightly. "What do you suppose happened in those 60 kalpas?"

"Since you're asking, nothing good." Sargon answered.

"Correct. That was the true War in Heaven. Mira fully manifested is not a friend. She is your enemy, make no mistake. Minor Gods died by the millions, myself and Agbus barely withstood her onslaught. She was furious with us, and constantly hunted us. Outside of time remains the only place out of reach of her, so if she is ever allowed to surface again, you're on your own."

"Why was she so mad at you?" Sargon asked. "Surely she told you?"

"For being woken up." Eigengrau said, shrugging. "Mira's motivations are truly unknowable. Even so, the war eventually ended when Vordea reasserted her will, and locked Mira away again."

"So the chains." Sargon said, repeating himself.

"I'm getting to that." Eigengrau said dismissively. "There are times even now, hundreds of millions of years later, when I see flashes of Mira lurking just beneath the surface of Vordea's psyche, and it scares me."

"So what exactly is Mira capable of?" Vaust asked.

"Her purview, if you can call it that, is reality itself. She's a reality warper of the worst sort, uncontrolled change. Even as she would yell and argue with me reality would shift around us, changing based on her words, mood, and even altering our physical forms. Universal constants are wet clay in her hands."

"Surely she wasn't angry all of the time?" Sargon asked. "Even the greatest rage simmers over time."

"No, when she was being reasonable she was quite intriguing. She was the one to suggest the great chains actually, near the end." Eigengrau said idly.

"She what?" Vaust asked, raising his eyebrows. "So you're telling me Mira herself asked to be bound?"

"I must confess my surprise as well, Eigen." Sargon added.

"That makes three of us." Zalas chimed in.

"Make it four." Eigengrau finished, laughing. "The War in Heaven was started by Vordea, so once I managed to explain the entire situation to Mira over the course of 60 kalpas-"

"It took that long?" Sargon interrupted, incredulous.

"You try explaining something to someone trying to kill you." Eigengrau shot back, glaring at Sargon. "She suggested the binding spell, complete with an unbinding spell, to prevent a repeat. It's worked for 830 kalpas so far. Only during the dawn can Vordea access her full power, and only until time begins to flow linearly. Once time begins, the white chains bind her until the end of the kalpa."

"I heard the words unbinding spell." Zalas said, a look of concern on his face.

"Of course. In case a problem so great arose that only the Goddess of Creation herself could fix." Eigengrau answered. "Inverse reality anchors, and reversing the constant mana drain of Orenmir, in order for the Primordial Goddess to access her infinite energies once more. You've seen a glimpse of Vordea's power during the chaos of the end of time of the last kalpa."

"Surely you exaggerate, no power is infinite." Zalas stated.

"Zalas, you need to realize Vordea isn't just another God like the rest of you. Vordea is the universe observing itself. We draw our power from Mira Frost's reality warping and Carcosa. Vordea is Carcosa. Actually, there's someone else who can explain it even better than me. I'll be right back."

With those words, Eigengrau blinked out of sight, leaving the three of them alone in an inky void. Before they could ponder for too long, Eigengrau returned with another woman.

"Mira, could you explain Vordea's infinite power to them please?" Eigengrau asked.

"Oh, new weakling Gods?" Mira asked, eyeing them. "From the way they're looking at me, you told them about The War in Heaven, didn't you?"

"Of course." Eigengrau answered with a small chuckle. "Gentlemen, don't be so scared. This is a memory of Mira, from Vordea's subconscious."

"Is this what Mira actually looks like?" Sargon asked.

"No." Mira responded. "Nobody knows what my base form looks like, and if Mira ever did, she forgot a long time ago. Now, as for Vordea's power."

"So what's so special about it? Infinite seems impossible, even considering where we are right now." Vaust asked, looking around in the inky void.

"Let's start smaller. A human mage." Mira began, conjuring up an image of a wizard. "Where does he get his power from?"

"From mana." Sargon answered.

"And what is mana?" Mira asked.

"That's easy it's-" Sargon began, then paused. "Hmmm. What is mana?"

Mira may or may not be completely bullshitting beyond this point, I haven't decided yet

"I'll answer that for you. Mana is the ability to cause small scale reality warping." Mira explained, as the image of the wizard shot a fireball. "Here's the big secret: Magic doesn't exist. It's actually the ability to tap into Mira Frost's dead but dreaming mind, and rewrite reality for the small task you ask. The more mana a wizard possesses, the larger the break in reality can be."

Sargon, Vaust, and Zalas didn't know what to say, and simply stared in shock.

"Now, as you know, Gods draw their power from Carcosa. What do you suppose you're drawing your power from?"

"Mira's reality warping." Sargon answered, shaking his head.

"You're beginning to understand. If Mira's power is so strong it can do all of this, even Eigengrau's time bending powers which even Mira herself cannot do, what do you suppose someone closer to the source can do?" Mira asked, grinning manically.

"I would like to add that I experience time non-linearly." Eigengrau pointed out. "Even Mira couldn't comprehend that."

"So, the infinite power?" Zalas asked, trying to get the conversation back on track.

"Vordea is Mira's dream." Mira answered. "Vordea doesn't ask Mira for power, she is Mira, well, almost. What Vordea desires, Mira provides."