A few hours later, after lunch, Aster found himself laying on his bed once more staring at the ceiling. He had quickly learned what was expected of him around the temple. His chores only took about 2 hours each day which he performed with some of the other Wards, as the orphans here were called, and was able to get it out of the way first thing this morning after another cleric had stopped by with some clean and mended clothes. After the meal he had just come back to his room since he had no other chore to do. He sighed to himself, “I’m bored.” He sat himself up, he had had enough resting and was slowly mentally adjusting to this new situation. Now it was time for him to figure out what he should do, “I have to get out of here, I’m not going to waste this life away.”

As he walked down the streets of the small village, taking in the sights all around him, he wondered if there was anyone willing to hire a 6 year old to work for them. While the temple had provided him with clothing, food and shelter, he had nothing else and no money to get anything extra with. He stopped in front of a mid-sized building when the sign hanging above caught his attention. It was emblazoned with an open book and Aster immediately knew what it was: a library. Aster suddenly knew exactly what he wanted to do for the rest of the day. ‘“Knowledge is power” is true in any life.’ He thought to himself.

He went inside and after a brief discussion with the librarian on duty he went and grabbed anything off the shelves that caught his interest. He found a table near a window to the bustling street outside and began to teach himself more about the world and its lore. He decided to start at the beginning.

In the beginning there was Nothing.

This endless vacuum of Space needed something to balance it, however.

So, from nothing, twin sparks burst forth.

These twins were the Sovereign and the Watcher.

The Sovereign created and ruled over all that which was not nothing, that which was touched with Spirit.

The Watcher measured the passing of events, remembered changes, and maintained balance for all Time.

The Sovereign first created the Child which brought pure Light to the emptiness of space. This being was innocent and brimming with happiness. The Sovereign next decided to create the Parent, so that they may watch over the Child and spawn more Life into the universe.

The Watcher saw that the Parent was incomplete though and that the light needed a balance, thus the Watcher created the Lover who clothed themselves in Darkness and gifted the Parent with intimacy.

Many new races and creatures were brought into the universes and different dimensions through the desires of the deities. To balance the wellspring of vibrancy and vitality brought forth by the pairings, the Watcher also created the Martyr who held dominion over Death which placed a finite amount of time on the life created by the Parent.

It wasn’t long before the Sovereign and Watcher’s creations pleaded for a home, a place to explore and enjoy. The Sovereign created the Warden, to protect and secure all who roamed upon and within the Earth and many new lands they created.

The Watcher responded with the Traveler, who separated the earth from the infinite space with Air and wandered with the wind to explore the different realms.

The Sovereign saw his creations shiver in the open chill air of night and created the Provider, who worked hard to stoke the Fire and warm the homes.

The Watcher saw this and brought forth the Sage, in their wisdom they calmed the raging flames with Water and soothed the souls of all.

The Sovereign observed the universe and decided to bring more order to the chaos. The Parent had also requested a divine playmate for the Child so that they might have activities and goals to strive for with peers so that they might grow. So the Sovereign gifted them with the Athlete, who brought the elements together with the force of Gravity, to create the planets and stars, granting every deity a body that they might run and frolic in playful competition together upon these new worlds.

Seeing the beauty created by the cohesion of elements, the Watcher gifted them with the Prankster who could bring forth Illusions of precious moments and memories, bringing the different races and deities together with friendship and laughter.

The Sovereign also liked the beauty and laughter shared by all and birthed the Artist from which many more ideas and wondrous creatures were imagined and immortalized in Song. That the various peoples might also find companionship with.

The Watcher saw them all racing and playing without rest and limited them by forcing them to tire and, as recompense, created the Socialite for them, that they may be mentaly engaged and brought together with Covenants, helping create relations between each other and the new creatures in the world.

The Watcher also believed there must be a limit to all creatures’ infinite energy and the beings soon knew hunger. The Warden and the Sage saw their siblings and niblings cry out and together confronted their creators for a way to renew their energy and stave off their cravings.

Thus, together, the Sovereign and the Watcher created the Cultivator, who planted trees of Wood , leaf and fruit that fed the beings.

However, with this new bounty, the deities began to quarrel over their portions, sparking conflict into the universe.

They brought their problems to their creators, demanding justice, and together the Sovereign and the Watcher created the Scholar, who began to research and discover solutions to their siblings' grievances and who harnessed the power of Lightning to spark innovation for new solutions. To support the creations the Scholar wished to make the Sovereign and Watcher birthed the Crafter who used the bounties of the various elements to forge Metal and provide their siblings with tools.

The races reveled in these new creations and possibilities that opened before them, but greed entered the hearts of many and the desire for control overcame some and, from these desires, violence and manipulation was birthed and from the Blood that was spilt, a deity was created in the form of the Maniac.

The Maniac infected the minds and hearts of not only the races but of many living creatures. They were twisted and changed into Monsters, ruled by their impulses and the desire to consume and gain power.

The other deities approached their creators claiming that the worlds were too dangerous now that monsters were attacking and spreading their influence across the worlds and they proposed the creation of another sibling to fight back the unopposed dangers. Thus, together the Sovereign and the Watcher created the Soldier whose emotions were as Ice so as not to falter in battle.

The Soldier built up their army and fought to protect the children of their siblings when the Scholar could find no solution to a quarrel but in doing so many of the Soldier’s children fell to the Martyr.

Many eons passed, and the Watcher recorded many new creations to counter the infinite nothing beyond it. From these 20 deities many more creatures were birthed and brought new experiences, personalities, and cultures into the worlds. Some species and lands were results of collaborations between the supreme beings and others as solo projects. Some were favored and others rejected.

Of all the worlds, their favorite became our world and they bestowed their Blessings on many that roamed its myriad of environments. Some Blessings were bestowed out of a duty to the Watcher to help maintain the balance between everything but some of the strongest and most varied Blessings were gifted to their favorite mortals and those who showed the greatest potential.

Aster paused for a moment, reflecting on this world’s creation story. He compared it to some of the ones on Earth and wasn’t sure which he thought it might resemble more. As he glanced back down at the book to continue reading he noticed a small blinking pink dot in the corner of his vision. He rubbed his eyes a bit and when he was sure it was still there no matter where he looked or even if his eyes were open he focused on the dot and it shifted into a little message box in front of him.

Congratulations!

Skill Acquired: Reading (Beginner 0, 10%)

You have shown that you grasp the basic concepts of deciphering the written word.

Your Intelligence increased by 1.

Skill Acquired: Lore (Selesolan) (Beginner 0, 10%)

You have shown an interest in the lore of the world.

Your Intelligence increased by 1.

Aster grinned broadly. He had gained his first skill and it looks like they came with attribute points! Sure it seemed like an easy skill to gain but at least he had one now. It also meant that there were other ways he could advance without magic.

Aster continued reading for hours, mostly about the lore of the deities here and the history of the world itself. It was full of magic and creatures that reminded him of most fantasy worlds he read about in his last life. The reclusive and aloof Elves, the hard working and rough Dwarves, the peaceful Halflings, the curious Merfolk, the wide variety of Beastkin and a few other races that he had never heard about before. Astralings that seemed to be Arcane creatures with no genders or social hierarchy, they were purveyors of knowledge and seemed the most alien-like to him but he found them extremely interesting. There were also Phantasmen, which Aster interpreted as a kind of shadow-person. There wasn’t much information on them really which made them all the more mysterious. The Werekin and Hoovekin seemed to be variants of Beastkin but there was enough distinction between them to warrant separate classifications. The Celestialings and Abyssalings though gave him pause as he reflected on the idea surrounding Heaven and Hell and if those were a reality here or if they were just something similar, like the Abyssal and Celestial realms of other fantasy worlds. Their descriptions seemed to confirm the idea though as he mentally labeled Celestialings as Half-Angel and Abyssalings as Half-Demon.

There was another key piece of information though that he gained: aside from all the fantasy creatures like dragons and unicorns, it seemed that every animal, even the most mundane, were also given Blessings. There were lightning dogs, wind cats and water deer, abyss, there were even fire mice. Even a lowly mouse had more magic than he did!

It wasn’t until the sun began to set did he notice how much time had passed. He glanced at the window where his diminishing light had been coming from and thought he noticed a strange movement beyond the glass pane. He shook his head blaming the shifting light for his paranoia before returning the books from where he first retrieved them so that he might be able to quickly locate them again should the need arise. He checked his notifications again and was pleased that he had gained a level in Reading. That seemed to be going rather quick to him but perhaps that was just due to it being the beginner levels.

As he walked out of the building he noticed a few kids around the window he had peered out of before. They quickly scattered as his attention fell onto them but he managed to notice a young elfling girl blush brightly before dashing away.

Aster shrugged to himself and shook his head. It was to be expected, the town wasn’t very large and he was basically the new kid here, not to mention that his tan skin, which he assumed was from his unknown father, set him apart from the pale skinned Winter Elves. While he wasn’t really familiar first-hand with racial disparities from his old life, he had been a part of a minority group due to his orientation and identity; so if people acted odd around him it wouldn’t be the first time.

Splash! Aster looked down to see his foot ankle deep in a puddle of water. He removed it then looked up at the now cleared sky and muttered, “Just my luck.”

He made it back to the temple before dinner had finished but got scolded for the wet boot making a mess. He ate quickly before retiring to his plain room and bed, though he hoped he would be able to decorate it soon enough. Perhaps he would get a plant and try cultivating some Wood magic. He had no idea if cultivating magic was even a thing in this world though and decided to do more studying tomorrow on the different magics and specifically if there seemed to be a way to gain some. He was determined now to improve as much as possible and see just how far he could go.