28.2.04
"6 times are the turnings of Coera"
Coera exists in both linear and circular time. The defeats of Lil and the successive catastrophes turn the Ages over. Coera is allowed to remain in this bubble of time as long as she needs to produce a viable force in Humanity, one which can, on its own, overcome Baod.
Other races on other planets may develop faster because of the direct intervention of their gods, but they are never allowed near to Coera - it is a forbidden zone.
Coera has seven ages:
1. The Underworld
At the birth of Coera, the lesser gods in the host of Patar-Ori come to live in Coera - they inhabit her labyrinthine halls and corridors, and bask in the glowing warmth of her innards. Many of these, because of her permanently physical form, take on permanent physical forms of their own. But Baod has traitors in Patar-Ori's ranks, and in time these traitors begin to convert more of Ori's ranks. And then there is war.
The war rages for countless time, and finally Patar-Ori puts an end to it by purging the depths of Coera with his soldiers, driving those who will remain to the surface. The surface world is bleak, but the godlings realize they can see their stars from there, and though the warmth of Coera is barely perceptable, they can now feel the warmth of Patar-Ori. The godlings bring with them many of the creatures of Coera they encountered in her depths, and find many more new beasts on her surface, but none of these are as great as the massive creatures and plants of the depth.
2. The Garden
The survivors of the war, those that escaped to the surface (there are rumors and even some examples of creatures that survived below the surface), made a garden of the surface world, and in one great valley, recreated some of their favorite places from the underworld. At Patar-Ori's bidding, they nourished and raised up the animals, encouraging them to be individually rational creatures, to spore off from the gaia of Coera, but even after they bred the animals to a close resemblance of the shape they had taken on (for by this time, the physical gods had settled to the shape of the Elves), they had no mind of their own. So Ori touched a male and female godling, yet incorporal, and bound their spirits to the bodies of a man and woman. These were named Adam and Lil.
But Baod had been waiting this moment; he had hidden to this time his continued connection with Coera, as she was but a part of him, and the last thread of their sameness had never been severed. Baod used this link to possess the least of creatures of Coera - the serpent - and seduces Lil to his cause. Though Baod cannot penetrate the boundaries around Coera, his presence can be summoned in, and this is just what Lil did. Baod urges Lil to keep his secret until both he and she are so far powerful that none can stand against them, but Adam discovers Lil's secret and reveals it, despite her arguments and seductions, causing a new war with the summoned Baod and his armies. Through the course of this war, many great and minor spirits are locked into matter like Coera - these become the planets, comets, etc. These are used to strengthen the barrier between Coera and the rest of the universe, and final blow is struck as Lil is turned to the moon. Patar-Ori plans to cast her out from Coera's sphere, but Mehr stirs to disallow this.
The Age turns as Eva is built to replace Lil, and the boundary is hardened. Those gods that choose to stay on Coera are trapped there until the boundary is broken, and those gods that choose to keep their physical form are trapped as Elves (or their other sundry shapes). The flight of the gods from Coera creates a vacuum that undoes much of the garden, it is though a blight passes over Coera.
3. The Patriarchs
With the guidance of the gods and elves, Adam and Eva raise a race of mindful humans, pushing back the children of Lil and Adam and the mindless humans. The humans build cities and expand rapidly, enough so that the friendship between humans and elves become strained as humans push them out of their territory. As the elves spend more and more time trapped in their bodies, they forget the past, and as they battle the sons of Adam and Lil, they begin to forget the difference between the sons of Lil and the sons of Eva. Again there is war.
But everyone has forgotten Lil, and have forgotten to pay attention to her. She slowly draws up power from Patar-Ori and from the gods who stray too close, including her forgotten guards. But mostly she learns from Couroth, the blind worm-god who hides in the shadow of Coera from Patar-Ori, devouring the souls of those who have died and were not escorted to Patar-Ori for safety before being reborn. She watches him take the shape of some that he's devoured in order to lure in others, and strikes an idea.
She gains enough power to posess a willing body on earth, who at her bidding, finds her corpse and uses the life of others to re-animate it. Lil becomes the first vampire, the Lillich.
Lilith grows in power as she teaches her art of physical survival by drawing out the life of others to her new "children". The gods and elves are sought for support, but their power has waned, and they remember the pain of war more than the reasons for war, and few will take part in it. So it is up to Adam & Eva and their race to counter Lil. Adam and Eva are given special dispensation to have more children, though they are now incorporal, and they have these children as godlings corporeal, rather than as ignorant humans. Their first child is as naive as any other human, however, and he is quickly drafted to Lil's side. This is Cain.
As there is a law on Coera that the memories from one life may not be passed forward to the next until the barrier breaks, Eva skirts this issue by bringing her children back in time for their second reincarnation, thus passing back the memories. She concedes, however, that even this is dangerous, and so each son or daughter is only passed back the once before he is called back to Adam's Host.
And so a handful of these children of Adam and Eva are prodcued to to battle Lil. Famous among them is Able, whom Cain slew. The last of these patriarchs finally drives Lil from the earth, and Patar-Ori destroys Coera with ravaging beasts.
4. The Towers of the Gods.
The history of this shorter age is dominated by an Empire of the sea, and the last great domain of Coera Magic and of the Elves, Dwarves, and Prikies. Coera is destroyed by the strikes of meteors.
5. Dafyd's time.
This period is well described in David's section of the blog. After David has defeated Lil, the world is destroyed in a flood, and the most famous casualty is they great city At'alandis.
6. Modern times.
This is the age of Riel, the age of cities and technologies. This may have been the period when mankind broked the barrier out, but they were not ready for what waited beyond, so after Lil was pushed back to the moon, Heaven Descended for a reformative rule.
7. The space age.
The Angels prepared humanity to return to space almost immediately after they withdrew, and so the barrier around Coera was broken and the cycle of ages was ended, for it was forseen that this would bring about the new life, life created by humans but not dependent on a Gaia, a life in physical space but not bound by it, life that Baod could not conquer. In this age, Lil is not only driven back to the moon, but she and the moon are destroyed.
Other races on other planets may develop faster because of the direct intervention of their gods, but they are never allowed near to Coera - it is a forbidden zone.
Coera has seven ages:
1. The Underworld
At the birth of Coera, the lesser gods in the host of Patar-Ori come to live in Coera - they inhabit her labyrinthine halls and corridors, and bask in the glowing warmth of her innards. Many of these, because of her permanently physical form, take on permanent physical forms of their own. But Baod has traitors in Patar-Ori's ranks, and in time these traitors begin to convert more of Ori's ranks. And then there is war.
The war rages for countless time, and finally Patar-Ori puts an end to it by purging the depths of Coera with his soldiers, driving those who will remain to the surface. The surface world is bleak, but the godlings realize they can see their stars from there, and though the warmth of Coera is barely perceptable, they can now feel the warmth of Patar-Ori. The godlings bring with them many of the creatures of Coera they encountered in her depths, and find many more new beasts on her surface, but none of these are as great as the massive creatures and plants of the depth.
2. The Garden
The survivors of the war, those that escaped to the surface (there are rumors and even some examples of creatures that survived below the surface), made a garden of the surface world, and in one great valley, recreated some of their favorite places from the underworld. At Patar-Ori's bidding, they nourished and raised up the animals, encouraging them to be individually rational creatures, to spore off from the gaia of Coera, but even after they bred the animals to a close resemblance of the shape they had taken on (for by this time, the physical gods had settled to the shape of the Elves), they had no mind of their own. So Ori touched a male and female godling, yet incorporal, and bound their spirits to the bodies of a man and woman. These were named Adam and Lil.
But Baod had been waiting this moment; he had hidden to this time his continued connection with Coera, as she was but a part of him, and the last thread of their sameness had never been severed. Baod used this link to possess the least of creatures of Coera - the serpent - and seduces Lil to his cause. Though Baod cannot penetrate the boundaries around Coera, his presence can be summoned in, and this is just what Lil did. Baod urges Lil to keep his secret until both he and she are so far powerful that none can stand against them, but Adam discovers Lil's secret and reveals it, despite her arguments and seductions, causing a new war with the summoned Baod and his armies. Through the course of this war, many great and minor spirits are locked into matter like Coera - these become the planets, comets, etc. These are used to strengthen the barrier between Coera and the rest of the universe, and final blow is struck as Lil is turned to the moon. Patar-Ori plans to cast her out from Coera's sphere, but Mehr stirs to disallow this.
The Age turns as Eva is built to replace Lil, and the boundary is hardened. Those gods that choose to stay on Coera are trapped there until the boundary is broken, and those gods that choose to keep their physical form are trapped as Elves (or their other sundry shapes). The flight of the gods from Coera creates a vacuum that undoes much of the garden, it is though a blight passes over Coera.
3. The Patriarchs
With the guidance of the gods and elves, Adam and Eva raise a race of mindful humans, pushing back the children of Lil and Adam and the mindless humans. The humans build cities and expand rapidly, enough so that the friendship between humans and elves become strained as humans push them out of their territory. As the elves spend more and more time trapped in their bodies, they forget the past, and as they battle the sons of Adam and Lil, they begin to forget the difference between the sons of Lil and the sons of Eva. Again there is war.
But everyone has forgotten Lil, and have forgotten to pay attention to her. She slowly draws up power from Patar-Ori and from the gods who stray too close, including her forgotten guards. But mostly she learns from Couroth, the blind worm-god who hides in the shadow of Coera from Patar-Ori, devouring the souls of those who have died and were not escorted to Patar-Ori for safety before being reborn. She watches him take the shape of some that he's devoured in order to lure in others, and strikes an idea.
She gains enough power to posess a willing body on earth, who at her bidding, finds her corpse and uses the life of others to re-animate it. Lil becomes the first vampire, the Lillich.
Lilith grows in power as she teaches her art of physical survival by drawing out the life of others to her new "children". The gods and elves are sought for support, but their power has waned, and they remember the pain of war more than the reasons for war, and few will take part in it. So it is up to Adam & Eva and their race to counter Lil. Adam and Eva are given special dispensation to have more children, though they are now incorporal, and they have these children as godlings corporeal, rather than as ignorant humans. Their first child is as naive as any other human, however, and he is quickly drafted to Lil's side. This is Cain.
As there is a law on Coera that the memories from one life may not be passed forward to the next until the barrier breaks, Eva skirts this issue by bringing her children back in time for their second reincarnation, thus passing back the memories. She concedes, however, that even this is dangerous, and so each son or daughter is only passed back the once before he is called back to Adam's Host.
And so a handful of these children of Adam and Eva are prodcued to to battle Lil. Famous among them is Able, whom Cain slew. The last of these patriarchs finally drives Lil from the earth, and Patar-Ori destroys Coera with ravaging beasts.
4. The Towers of the Gods.
The history of this shorter age is dominated by an Empire of the sea, and the last great domain of Coera Magic and of the Elves, Dwarves, and Prikies. Coera is destroyed by the strikes of meteors.
5. Dafyd's time.
This period is well described in David's section of the blog. After David has defeated Lil, the world is destroyed in a flood, and the most famous casualty is they great city At'alandis.
6. Modern times.
This is the age of Riel, the age of cities and technologies. This may have been the period when mankind broked the barrier out, but they were not ready for what waited beyond, so after Lil was pushed back to the moon, Heaven Descended for a reformative rule.
7. The space age.
The Angels prepared humanity to return to space almost immediately after they withdrew, and so the barrier around Coera was broken and the cycle of ages was ended, for it was forseen that this would bring about the new life, life created by humans but not dependent on a Gaia, a life in physical space but not bound by it, life that Baod could not conquer. In this age, Lil is not only driven back to the moon, but she and the moon are destroyed.
// posted by Wray Davis @ 7:59 PM 
