EMPYREAN

A chronological summary of the major cosmic ages of the Universe of the Unfolding Dream and the most important events of each age. Click the Image above, or the following link to visit the post in the Unfolding Dream blog. Cosmic Ages of the Unfolding Dream .

We have moved all the (mostly mythological) material of the Unfolding Dream, which regards the rich background of the Aethons to its own Blog . This was done so that this blog will focus purely on material specific to Empyrean, including the lore of the world of Arandor. While Empyrean is a tale of two worlds, in some regards, because the incarnated Aethons may carry with them memories of past events, which may prove to be meaningful in the grand scheme of things, it is still, ultimately, not a persistent thing.

The greatest champion in all the legends of the Unfolding Dream was Caldonnas - the champion of dreams. He was the first of the Elu to stand steadfast against the horrors of the abyss, and against the depravity of Ulaheron, the Shadow God. Every demon, every devil, every creature of darkness and shadow trembles at the approach of Caldonnas, for his was the Ire of Akaon, the great maker - and unmaker - of dreams. Such was the power and valor of Caldonnas when he led the shining host of the Shanacan, that all darkness hid from the face of the dream, for they dreaded the fire of their unmaking that burned in the hearts of these stalwart warriors. But for all his power and glory, greater still was Caldonnas' punishment. The Vaenu, the deities of Fate feared the rise of Caldonnas and the Shanacan. They had become an unstoppable force, and wherever they went all horror and darkness was undone, scorched in their all-purging fire. The cosmic balance was disturbed. The Vaenu, alw...

Startled, Nyris cupped her palms around the flame protectively, fearing that it too would extinguish just as Akaon had vanished into stardust. Longingly, her starry eyes gazed into the flame, in search of any sign of Akaon within - but he was gone. Tears escaped her gaze then, and they were the most beautiful thing in all of creation. A silky voice broke from her mouth, carrying the unimaginable echo of her longing, and the voice intensified and echoed across the emptiness that surrounded her, as a lament, filled in equal part with love and sorrow, but infinitely beautiful. "Come back to me!" she whispered. "Come back to me!" she called. But only silence answered. And the echo of her voice. Stars woke in the aftermath of her lament, and some even tore themselves apart into bright novae, even as her song ensued, echoing across the cosmos, waking it into existence. When the song was over, the flame that became Yrion was surrounded by a myriad of woken sta...

The revelation of Nyris was a momentous event in Akaon's existence. Her presence placed everything in perspective. By gazing, bewildered, at Nyris, Akaon finally realized what he needed to do next. There was no doubt in his mind. As the winged goddess approached him, he approached her too, filled with purpose. Akaon raised the hand within which he bore the very fire of existence. The flame that could very well have once been his beating heart. Their meeting was momentous, and much of it is written in poems and hymns alike. For without it, there would be no Dream, and without the Dream, without the Flame of Yrion sustaining it, the universe would not be the same. Nyris approached and reached to touch the flame. Akaon gazed at her calmly, yet dazzled by the entirety of what had already happened, but also from the future that had been revealed to him alone. The flame of Eternity leaped from his hand to the embrace of Nyris, and just a moment before the two deities coul...

Akaon tried to channel the fire that burned within him, giving shape to the innummerable hopes and dreams contained within his being. He created perfection effortlessly, each creation better to the one before, and yet, it was all futile. For all his power, everything was to him as a passing plaything was to a child – an inconsequential triviality, whilst Akaon yearned for the profound, the unknown, that over which he had no mastery. So in his solitude, Akaon begun to despair, for what was to some the ultimate liberty, the ability to do all they willed, also became their prison. What meaning was there in existence if all was preordained in a certain manner, if all that came to pass was already perfect, or happened exactly as they willed it? And then the eternity that encompassed him acquired substance, and from nothing, something came to pass. A second impossibility occurred, one that had come to balance the first. A being unfolded from the darkness, a wondr...

In the beginning... there was nothingness. A silent womb of infinite unborn potential. In the midst of this vast nothingness a light shone. Light that was older than time. Existence that did not recollect its own birth. Infinite potential coalesced within a single point, its size irrelevant inside the infinity that surrounded it. A single fiery being stood ponderously in the embrace of naught. Unborn dreams lingered at the edge of his gaze. Dreams that he had dreamt before time itself. And this impossible being had a name that could not be true, and yet it was. Akaon. The Dragon. The Dreamer. The God. Akaon stood silent and motionless, but his entire being was ablaze with the desire and passion of creation. And in this utter silence Akaon thought he was alone. A lone god in an empty universe.