The First Ethyri Pact
Woven at the End of The Creation, Before the First Age
Context
As the cosmos came into being, shaped by the love and opposition of Almariel, Lady of Light and Vorthar, The Dark Weaver, their four children, the Aevari, were born from the union of light and shadow. Together, this divine family crafted the elemental planes and the mortal realm of Eldara, the Shimmering Veil, a world meant to be a canvas for growth, balance, and wonder.
Yet even in those early moments, tension arose. Almariel sought to nurture and protect, while Vorthar longed to control and reshape. Their conflicting visions for Eldara began to ripple through the very fabric of creation. The Aevari, young and full of vision, were torn between their parents’ whispers and intentions. Conflict began to rise even before time had meaning.
To prevent open war and protect the fragile new world, Almariel and Vorthar forged an unbreakable pact, binding themselves to the Weave and placing limits upon their own divine reach.
The First Terms of the Pact
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No Divine Touch Upon Eldara
The Ethyri shall not directly act upon the Material Plane. They may not shape terrain, bestow power, create new life, or manifest avatars within the realm of mortals. Eldara belongs to the Aevari. -
The Aevari Hold Dominion Over the Material Plane
All creation, evolution, and stewardship of life on Eldara falls to the Aevari. The Ethyri may offer wisdom to their children in dreams or omens, but never command them. -
No Mortal May Bear the Direct Will of the Ethyri
The Ethyri may not speak directly to any being born of Eldara. Their influence must be interpreted, not received. Divine visions may come through dreams, symbols, or the echoes of magic, but never as commands or voices.
The Second Ethyri Pact
Woven at the Genesis of Humanity, After the Pantheon Wars, Mark of the Dawn of the First Age
Context
Following the creation of The Alorama and The Nyx, the cosmic tension between Almariel, Lady of Light and Vorthar, The Dark Weaver reached a new crescendo. Their opposing influences, now channeled through competing pantheons, began to polarize mortal existence in ways that neither had foreseen. As races gravitated toward increasingly rigid alignments, the Ethyri observed the emergence of an independent spirit—a consciousness born not from their individual wills, but from the creative friction between their opposing natures.
This balanced spirit sought physical form, carrying within it the potential for both transcendent good and terrible evil, both profound wisdom and dangerous folly. Recognizing that this being represented what their eternal conflict could create rather than destroy, Almariel and Vorthar forged a final pact—one that would complete their withdrawal from direct influence over reality while granting this unique consciousness the vessel it deserved.
The Second Pact represented not just an agreement, but a fundamental transformation of the Ethyri’s nature, elevating them from active participants in creation to the essential spiritual forces that give existence its meaning.
The Final Terms of the Pact
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Complete Withdrawal from Physical Manifestation
The Ethyri shall relinquish all capacity for physical form, avatar creation, or direct material presence in any realm. They become pure essence—Almariel existing as the eternal principle of illumination and growth, Vorthar as the fundamental force of depth and challenge. -
Transformation to Cosmic Anchors
The Ethyri bind themselves to the The Aetheric Weave (Magic) itself, becoming the spiritual foundations that give light and shadow their essential meaning. They shall exist as the forces that define these concepts rather than wielders of them. -
The Final Collaboration
As their last joint act of creation, the Ethyri shall combine their life force to create The Ythraewyn—a divine vessel that will birth the balanced spirit into physical form, giving rise to humanity as the living embodiment of their eternal tension made creative. -
The Gift of Unpredictability
Humanity shall carry within their very nature the balanced essence of both Ethyri, granting them true free will—the capacity for choices that neither light nor shadow can predict or control. They shall serve as proof that opposing forces can create beauty through synthesis rather than destruction through conflict. -
The Eternal Witness
The Ethyri shall observe but never again directly influence the cosmos they have shaped. Their presence will be felt only through the fundamental forces they have become—light that illuminates, shadow that gives depth, the creative tension that drives all growth and change.
Consequences and Implications
For the Ethyri:
- Almariel becomes the spiritual essence of all illumination, growth, hope, and revelation across the cosmos
- Vorthar becomes the fundamental principle of depth, challenge, mystery, and the wisdom found through struggle
- Neither can ever again take individual action, but their eternal dance continues as the cosmic forces that define existence itself
For Humanity:
- Born as the only race carrying perfect balance between light and shadow
- Granted true unpredictability—capable of both transcendent heroism and terrible evil
- Naturally suited to serve as bridges between opposing forces and mediators between different philosophies
- Unbound by the divine connections that tie other races to specific pantheons or elemental forces
For the Universe:
- The age of direct divine intervention ends permanently
- All future divine influence must work through minor gods, avatars, and mortal choice
- The cosmos achieves dynamic equilibrium through the eternal tension between its founding principles
- Mortal free will becomes the driving force of cosmic development