Creation of the Universe
Oenu looked upon a vast, limitless darkness that surrounded it in every direction. There were no stars, no deviations, and no distractions in what laid before it. The darkness was absolute. Oenu could tell no difference in its reality from where it sat upon an omnipotent throne.
Oenu began to feel sensations that interrupted the drone of his existence. An innumerable number of points scattered about him with a vastness similar to, though not exceeding, the darkness. Each point was unique but identical – blank canvases. Oenu was able to focus on one and seemingly enter that point.
The point was cold, a new sensation. Oenu could not understand how it was experiencing the sensation. It felt weaker than it was before entering the point. It also felt more limited. The connections to the other points and his ability to sense the never-ending darkness slowly fizzled.
There was also the sense of time passing. Oenu could feel opportunities open and close with each second. It was as if the longer he spent in one point, the less he could do with another.
Oenu forced itself out of the point and its faculties slowly recovered as it returned to its omnipotent throne. However, something was different. The points all felt the same except for one, the one it had entered. It was unique but no longer a clone of the surrounding points. The point was brighter than anything else and it brought Oenu a new sensation— joy.
After that, Oenu began entering and experiencing the various points. Each one was a new experience that introduced Oenu to different sensation, though the concept of time passing continue throughout. The more time Oenu spent in a particular point, the brighter the point shined after he returned to his omnipotent throne. It also brought him other emotions like contentment, gratitude, and excitement. Along with the amount of time Oenu spent in a point, the particular emotion Oenu was feeling upon entry also altered the point after it left.
As Oenu returned to its omnipotent throne, it gazed upon a rainbow of different colors, each point smaller than a thimble, that shone brightly in the surrounding darkness. While it observed, Oenu noticed that the points changed color without its intervention. Some even merged into one, then split into three or four. The points molded and evolved without Oenu having to intervene. His garden of colors bloomed brightly and formed patterns that Oenu could never have devised alone. However, one point didn’t.
It was the first point Oenu inhabited. That point had changed in a way that made Oenu uneasy. As Oenu observed, the point turned dimmer, and the color faded.
This was the first time Oenu experienced fear. Oenu quickly entered the point and felt cold again. It also felt the same negative emotion that the point exuded— pain. Unfortunately, Oenu quickly realized that this cold and pain signaled that time was ending for this point. It would grow ever dimmer and continuously suffer. Oenu tried all it could to restore brilliance to the point. However, its efforts were quickly wiped away by the point’s own decay and the point’s end continued to approach. Inside was growing dimmer to an extent that even Oenu struggled to see. Filled with what we would recognize as sorrow, Oenu fled back to its omnipotent throne and stared at the first point. Oenu pondered what it could do, but it came up with no idea.
It was then that Oenu decided what it had to do, though it detested the idea. Oenu focused on the point, blinked, and the point vanished. Small particles drifted from the point and settled nearby, affecting its neighboring points. All of the remaining points were unaffected and continued on in their bliss.
Unfortunately, Oenu could not move on or forget. It often stared at the original point, the source of Oenu’s first interaction with the world it created. That point was gone, and nothing occupied it. No matter how much Oenu tried, the point was forever dark. As the remaining points continued to grow and multiply, it was harder to notice, but Oenu could never stop itself from seeing it.
Death was what Oenu decided to name it. Despite Oenu’s fiercest attempts, it could not stop death from occurring. More and more points continued to die and in faster intervals. Some points died at the same time. Each time Oenu ended the point’s suffering, it was more and more distraught. It knew that the points could no longer exist, and they would partially live on among the remaining points they had affected. Even knowing that Oenu eased the points’ suffering, its internal anguish did not dissipate.
Oenu began entering points again. A bit of time in each right after new points were formed, which took the most amount of time. As the points became more stable, Oenu helped them grow to their maximum potential. As the points finalized their paths, Oenu joined them in reflecting on what they enjoyed and what brought them sorrow. Lastly, Oenu would end their suffering when their time had come.
The points became innumerable and Oenu had to limit the time it spent with each to nanoseconds. Oenu could no longer learn about each point, which was unfair to them for they could not reach their maximum potential, though it eased the pain Oenu felt when he ended their suffering. Oenu found it easier to end a life when it had not grown attached to it in the first place.
It began to wonder if the points were dying faster and if so, were they dying faster because Oenu was not helping them grow? Or did he end points before their time? Each time Oenu reflected on what it had done and what it could not do, its internal anguish grew more powerful.
The points continued multiplying to the point where he could no longer spend any time fostering them. Every instant Oenu ended the suffering of one point, another had reached its time. Then hundreds would reach their time, and by time Oenu helped them along, thousands more would have reached their time.
Oenu hated what this had become. The once beautiful garden that brought Oenu happiness was now nothing more than a colorful and brightly illuminated graveyard. Oenu no longer had time to interact with the points at all and could only see their suffering. It could no longer see the birth of new colors, the formation of new points, or experience any of the emotions the points felt during their lifetimes. If Oenu tried to live alongside them, thousands of points suffered in pain.
Each decision was selfish. Oenu created the world and had an obligation to guide it to its optimal point. Afterall, they were its children. Nevertheless, Oenu also had an obligation to stop suffering and release points when they had reached their time.
Eventually, it became too much. Oenu trembled upon its omnipotent throne as guilt filled its consciousness. Its essence began to turn tangible and pull in four different directions. Part of his essence yearned to help with the formation of new points. Another part heeded the call of helping points develop and grow. Another part helped the developed points enjoy the lives they built and reflect on what they had done. The final, and most powerful part of Oenu, existed to end the suffering of points. Each part of Oenu pulled until Oenu itself tore apart, resulting in four new beings unlike anything else in the universe.
Birth. Growth. Reflection. Death. The Four Aspects.
Oenu was no more. The Four Aspects acknowledged each other and knew they were also formed from the same point. Birth, Growth and Reflection interacted with each other often and learned to detest Death, for Death destroyed everything they tended to. Death, knowing it was the final and most powerful, cared not and remained steadfast to what it thought was best for the universe. Ending suffering.
The universe continued to grow. Birth, Growth and Reflection helped the points create the world, and then the earth, and then everything that existed on it. Points merged to form new beings called Oenall, intelligent beings, which we would know as firians, elves and orcs. Other points formed the Shenu, unintelligent beings, which we know as plants, bugs and animals.
The four aspects of Oenu soon realized that even with their infinite power, life was growing too rapidly for them to maintain it. Birth created the Noda, small spirits in the shape of birds, but with the fur and claws of a bear. Growth created humans, modeled after the Oenall that Growth favored the most. Reflection created wise nymphs and dryads, to observe and help the Oenall and Shenu prepare the next generation. Death created demons to harvest the souls of the Oenu and Shenu. However, it was only Death that ended their suffering.
That was how the world developed into the Premanor you will soon learn of. All four aspects of Oenu working to keep the world balanced. For a time, things were balanced until one of the Four Aspects fell in love. However, that story is for another day.
