There are beings older than life itself. Anos, Ruler of Space, Tisyn, Ruler of Time, Alina, Ruler of Light, and Zora, Ruler of Darkness. The Great Four. Primordial deities, whose domains stretch across all planes. You may invoke their names in battle or call out for them in prayer, but they will not respond. After all, why should the Primordial Rulers concern themselves with such trivial mortal affairs?

No one knows where The Great Four came from. Some scholars say that even the gods themselves do not know. All we know is as follows.

At some point, Anos felt a fifth presence in the celestial plane. And from the intertwining of Tisyn and Alina came Cara, One of Love, the oldest of the Ancient Ones.

Many more followed after Cara. Tisyn and Alina begat Ilena, the One of Growth, Enera, the One of Emotion, Idon, the One of Justice, Odis and Otia, the Ones of Memory and Myth, and finally, Chaya, the One of Life.

Anos and Zora begat Igyn, the One of Knowledge, Evis, the One of Aesthetic, Anella and Azrena, the Ones of Freedom & Fate, and finally, Aklys, the One of Death.

As the Ancient Ones matured, so did their duties. How lonely must it be, divine existence with no worshippers? Ilena, the child of Tisyn and Alina, was the first of the Ancient Ones to be given the gift of creation. Out of the empty void of space, Ilena formed a planet of growth. Stalks of wood sorrels as high as mountains crowned the forests, and the fields bloomed with grasses and flowers so tall you could swim through them. From Ilena's divine spark came the Dryads. The first followers.

Soon, the gift of creation was handed to all the Ancient Ones, save for Chaya and Aklys, the youngest Ones. It was not yet their time.

But power corrupts. And creation is a dangerous power to wield. Azrena was the first to fall to this corruption. After all, with the gift of creation and the threads of fate in the palm of their hands, the temptation for more became too much to resist. The control they could exert, the stories they could tell. The lives they could wind and twist and knit — it was exhilarating.

After Azrena, Igyn fell. With the gift of creation and all the planes' knowledge in the palm of their hands, the temptation for more became too much to resist. The control they could exert, the battles they could win. The people they could teach and trick and fool — it was exhilarating.

After Igyn, Evis fell. With the gift of creation and all the beauty of the planes in the palm of their hands, the
temptation for more became too much to resist. The control they could exert, the masterpieces they could paint. The vanity and ugliness and disguise — it was exhilarating.

After Evis, Enera fell. With the gift of creation and all the emotions of the planes in the palm of their hands, the temptation for more became too much to resist. The control they could exert, the agony they could bestow. The fear and joy and hope — it was exhilarating.

Ilena was left unharmed, uncorrupted.

Idon was left unharmed, uncorrupted.

Odis was left unharmed, uncorrupted.

Otia was left unharmed, uncorrupted.

Anella was left unharmed, uncorrupted.

Cara was left unharmed.

While the others were corrupted, Chaya and Aklys found comfort in each other and soon fell in love.

With encouragement from Cara and the blessings of The Great Four, they were gifted a joint power of creation. Only with their partnership would this gift work. The Great Four hoped this union would protect the young Ones from corruption and save them from the fate of the others.

Together, Chaya and Aklys formed their own planet from the empty void of space. They called it “Ithea,” the Celestial word for “together.”

The pair saw how absolute power corrupted the others and knew they could not do the same. They breathed magic into every living thing on the planet so that a bit of the divine spark resided within everything and everyone. To celebrate their new relationship, the other Ancient Ones gave the happy couple some of their own divine spark so that their gifts could live on, uncorrupted and anew.