The Sundering
Scholars hold that the wildly
different visions of Pleroma were a major factor in the Sundering of Pleroma
during the Great Schism. An elven
scholar once stated “A leaf cannot be all green and all brown at the same time,”
and this seems as eloquent a way as any of stating that a thing is what it is,
and it cannot be two contradictory things at once. As angels coalesced around one shared vision
of Pleroma and the demons another, it’s thought that the very fabric of
existence began to tear.
What few records exist from the times of the Great Schism (most of which still predates recorded history) indicate that the Sundering was an action conceived of by the Seraph Maya, who was quickly becoming one of the most powerful angels in Pleroma. Using the differing visions of reality and augmented by power drawn from the Throne of God itself, the Seraphim combined their abilities and split the infinite realm of existence in half. The resulting division opened a hole into the nether,* and the lands under demonic control were hurled into a separate, parallel plane of existence.
The desolate lands experienced by the demons were already known as Hell. The demon prince Kaelus once told his angelic companions, Mikal and Raphael, that Mephistopheles had chosen the name based on the immortal word hel, which roughly translates to “the lower realm” or “underworld”. Kaelus claims the demon king was fostering the view among his early followers that they were perceived as less than the angels, deliberately stoking resentment and drawing them further under his power.
After the Sundering, the cloudlike landscape of the angels became known as Heaven, from the immortal word heven for “sky”. The name was first put forward by Maya, who claimed the name came to her as divine inspiration. Since no one came forward to gainsay or dispute her claim, and as none of them had felt any other such inclinations from God in opposition to this, her word as adopted and became universally recognized.
An unanticipated side-effect of the Sundering (to any but the minds of the divine, that is) was the Creation of the mortal realm. A new plane of existence, a place of pure corporeality, came into being, its existence centered around one particular celestial body that was somehow linked to both Heaven and Hell. Though few angels or demons paid any attention to this new realm for what is now believed to be millions of years (perhaps more), the central world of Lokka would eventually develop a new phenomenon that would draw the eyes of angels and demons alike: life.
What few records exist from the times of the Great Schism (most of which still predates recorded history) indicate that the Sundering was an action conceived of by the Seraph Maya, who was quickly becoming one of the most powerful angels in Pleroma. Using the differing visions of reality and augmented by power drawn from the Throne of God itself, the Seraphim combined their abilities and split the infinite realm of existence in half. The resulting division opened a hole into the nether,* and the lands under demonic control were hurled into a separate, parallel plane of existence.
The desolate lands experienced by the demons were already known as Hell. The demon prince Kaelus once told his angelic companions, Mikal and Raphael, that Mephistopheles had chosen the name based on the immortal word hel, which roughly translates to “the lower realm” or “underworld”. Kaelus claims the demon king was fostering the view among his early followers that they were perceived as less than the angels, deliberately stoking resentment and drawing them further under his power.
After the Sundering, the cloudlike landscape of the angels became known as Heaven, from the immortal word heven for “sky”. The name was first put forward by Maya, who claimed the name came to her as divine inspiration. Since no one came forward to gainsay or dispute her claim, and as none of them had felt any other such inclinations from God in opposition to this, her word as adopted and became universally recognized.
An unanticipated side-effect of the Sundering (to any but the minds of the divine, that is) was the Creation of the mortal realm. A new plane of existence, a place of pure corporeality, came into being, its existence centered around one particular celestial body that was somehow linked to both Heaven and Hell. Though few angels or demons paid any attention to this new realm for what is now believed to be millions of years (perhaps more), the central world of Lokka would eventually develop a new phenomenon that would draw the eyes of angels and demons alike: life.
* - The void between planes of existence.
