Rise Online


Creation

They understood that if Marduk appeared, they would perish. The demigods who ruled seven different planets created by the Nameless Creator had become so powerful that they forgot where they came from. They were arrogant, self-righteous, and ruthless. Living unaware of time and away from death, they became perverted. The anonymous Creator had created them in his own image and bestowed power on them, but what he saw did not make him happy. The demigods fought among themselves, and blood was shed. The Creator then commissioned his faithful helper, Marduk the Destroyer, to obliterate the seven planets and the superior beings living on them. The energy generated from the destruction was enormous. Anonymous Creator thought and decided to try again.

 

There would be death and life this time, and it would be painful. If the creatures wanted to survive, they would fight and should have deserved to live. At the Creator's behest, Marduk created Aarvad, which is far more challenging to inhabit than previous worlds, with storms and disasters. He put fire and water, mountains, and sky in it. The Creator was happy with the new world emerging. Death and life were both present. The Unnamed Creator roamed Aarvad throughout the day, witnessing what the day brings, and watching the sun and its effects on nature. Then he closed his eyes and created his son Arius, the God of Life and the Sun.

 

Then the night came. The Anonymous Creator roamed Aarvad during the night. He went into a forest, crossed mountains, and entered a cave where he closed his eyes. In his dream, he understood the origin of darkness. There, in his dream, he saw the Lady of the Night. His unborn daughter Naru.

 

She was there when he opened his eyes, beautiful as the stars. The Goddess of the Death and the Night. The Anonymous Creator bestowed his power upon his children and left Aarvad. To observe.

Life and Death

Arius, The God of Life, dreamed of fish swimming in the sea beneath a sunny sky, and his dream came true. Arius realized that his power was the ability to create. Life first emerged in the waters and then evolved onto land. Single-celled organisms, reptiles, mammals, and eventually humans appeared. Life was progressing rapidly, albeit in a primitive way.

 

Naru discovered her power was to control death when she guided the first soul that left its body to the afterlife. She realized that the souls that emerged after a living creature died had their eyes closed to the afterlife. Yet, poor souls were desperately trying to navigate Naru's realm's perpetual darkness, making it impossible to find their way.

 

The screams of lost souls overwhelmed Naru with sadness, and the goddess of death cried in her dark cave. The tears of the goddess solidified and began to grow into a crystal. The crystal pierced the ceiling of Naru's underground cave and continued to rise. When it stopped rising, the Narun Crystal began to emit a dark light that only spirits could see. Seeing this light, the souls were drawn towards the crystal and found Naru crying in her underground cave. In the darkness, they comforted her.

 

The souls who comforted Naru transformed and became Soul Collectors. Knowing their own suffering and how it tormented Naru, they made sure that the souls that followed them did not suffer. They led them to the crystalline light of their goddess.

 

Naru didn't know what to do with the souls in her possession. She decided to consult Arius. The God of the Sun and the Goddess of Darkness came to an agreement. If the spirits could atone for their actions in front of Naru while the goddess was present, they could leave Naru's cave and go to Arius. Thus, it happened. Naru allowed some souls to see the light of day again and sent them to Arius, and reincarnation began.

 

As the reborn souls continued to live in their new bodies, they remembered the mistakes they made in their previous lives and avoided repeating them. Thanks to this, they developed rapidly, and the civilization of these people, the glorious Protean Empire, was born.


Kaleb’s Grave

In the third week of his journey, Razu thinks that he heard a voice in his sleep towards the morning for the first time. He wakes up and looks around. There is no one. He collects his tent and continues his journey. He is unsettled. When he hears the sound again, this time, it is louder. Razu grasps his wand tightly, mumbling a protection spell. He keeps walking cautiously. After a while, he hears that sound again. Someone's whispering his name, "Razu."

 

Razu stops and listens. These whispers come from very deep, far away. Razu unwittingly begins to move toward the sound. It descends from narrow paths and steep slopes. Finally, he finds the entrance to a cave. This voice whispering its name has become unbearable now. Razu follows the sound and finds himself in a maze at the bottom of the cave. Whatever is hiding inside, the people who built this place wanted to keep it separate from the rest of the world.

 

Razu manages to find his way, overcome traps, and finally, he finds himself in front of a mausoleum sealed with magic. Kaleb's Dungeon has this strange effect. One can quickly lose track of time. He has no idea how long he has been there. He hears the whisper again. It comes from a grave. Razu listens, and the whisper commands him to break the seal. Razu seems to have no will, and he starts drawing complex symbols in the air while repeating an incantation.

 

Razu unleashes his power, breaks the seal, and opens the grave. After a while, Kaleb emerges into darkness. And for the first time in centuries, Naru's first guardian is finally free.