Complete Lore of Albion

[The Cultivator]

CREATION to BIRTH OF THE PENTAELEMENTALS:

“Grey. Motionlessness, and not in the way one would hold their breathe, for it scuttled lamely upon the surface, trying to reach its mother sky, but how can it? The uncarved land lies as barren as a sheet of wood. There is no time here, not yet. No one bestowed even the experience of passing upon this land; it remains frozen, desolate even though the seeds of this land’s purpose might have been sown by a creator, long gone. While it is undeterminable why, it is abandoned; no war artifacts or even scars yet embedded in the land. The skies too are hollow, a  mirror of the crypt below it, a grave of some dream, some vision. But, there is a calm. Something lingers like the shadow of wisps upon the wind that keeps this grave from seeming as if its for mourning. No. There is hope here and it only takes someone with the eye to see it.”

“Something eventually found this land. By no knowable gender, The Cultivator, an entity of Elements, appeared unto this world with two companions, Void and Spirit. Spirit, a lively sylph, enjoyed giving, even if it did not receive anything in return.The other Sage, Void simply took; when Spirit gave too much, Void took it back, simply erasing it from existence. While neither were evil, they were entities that gave and took not for the sake of balance, but because that was who they were.”

“True to The Cultivator’s name, it carved into the earth and shaped the first Sage of the world--an Earth Sage Elemental. The Cultivator spat into its hand and from it drew a Water Sage Elemental. The Cultivator caught its very breath and wove an Air Sage. The Cultivator then created a sky, a dome full of holes, which we perceive as stars, but are simple fragments in the blanket that out Cultivator wove. Light seeped through through and from this warmth, The Cultivator drew from this light, pulled it forward, and created the Fire Sage Elemental who brightened and warmed their world. Earth moved rock and ground to slope, skim and cut: to bend, dive, and drop.  Air cleaned the skies, stirred up the earth and merely froliced, even tickled the water sage, causing the ripples and tides we see today. Water spilled her generosity upon the land and let the adaptability of her own rain and runoff make the land grow.”

“The Void and Spirit Sage began to set life into motion, for these were the only spirits that could perform the feat. Spirit, akin to water, let its arms envelope the shell of the world that the Other Sages filled, attempting to understand their duties and why they were created. Void did The opposite. What was weak or unusable, Void devoured--put its hand upon and ushered into its form, never to be seen again. Spirit stopped at once, feeling bits of itself being sucked away. Confronting Void, Spirit demanded Void to give back what it had stolen; while this had happened in the past, Void performed this on a worldly scale. Void replied

‘It is our duty to one another in check. If you created object that would not weaken our Cultivator’s world then I would not end then and cease their suffering for the present and future.’

“Offended by this near challenge, Spirit tore away from Void--thus becoming the time Spirit ever took someone away--their friendship.”

“The Other sages noted this interaction and began to do much of the same. Water grew mad at Fire for evaporating her waters and rose her levels, crushing life upon the earth, who lashed at Wind for misplacing his earth, creating mountains to cut Air, who became angry at water for  raising its levels, and forced its winds against her to spill out into an ocean, who angered fire for such gusts put him out and made him only attempt to burn brighter.”

“Void did not apologize, but decided that it should break from its own reason for existence since an imbalance occurred, thus becoming the first time Void gave; it gave a warning to The Cultivator:

‘There will be a day when you will have to take better charge of what you create, for what you create you are accountable for. If we remain divided as we are under no law, we will separate as other gods have simply broken from their pantheons, but if you take sides with your own creations and do not carve your own path--it is a fate worse than division.’

With that, Void left to deprive the world of its essences, for that was his duty, and chaos would otherwise ensue.”

“The Cultivator hurried to action, not wanting to lose its world. After retrieving Spirit with relative ease, It then drew upon the other Sages, and saw the horrors of imbalance: a scorched and torn earth, a turbulent hurricane of water and wind and a Sun so close it blackened the earth, Void stood in the Middle removing the scorched stains, the salt of the sea spray. Quickly, The Cultivator drew in upon the mess;

‘Void, Drain this sun and make it bearable; calm the water and the wind! Spirit, rise the earth full of your green and give the water back what it has lost.’

“Once all were pacified, the Cultivator let each understand their purpose; As a part of the whole, they were meant to live equally among each other. Each Sage was a specialized forced and were oracles of their elements. The Sages thought they understood and took their place beside the Cultivator as a protector and guardian of an element.”

“With this in mind and peace around them, they created life in their image--The Wolf--the pack mentality to bind them together, the drive to protect each other, and the heart for the spark of life each wolf needed. Pleased, The Cultivator and Sages retreated through the holes, the stars that pierced through their blanket weave of a sky. In these heavens, each spirit has its own space for its element, and an area where they could collect. From the holes in their weave, the sages watched the wolves, their very beginnings”

“The land was peaceful enough and though it was not meant to be, it became divided quickly into the varying territories. The sages discovered that the wolves had a need for all elements. They needed Air to breathe, Fire to warm them, Water to drink, and Earth on which to sleep, run, dance, hunt and play. Earth was the most proud next to Water.”

“Perhaps in retaliation or maybe in sheer sport, Wind was the first Sage to bestow an Element--Air to the mortals, a mere prank maybe. When this occurred, The Mortals  first tried to understand it, and then when they learned it offered some advantages against others, began to use it accordingly. This did not go unnoticed by the other Sages, much to Wind’s dismay. They realized that while it was possible to remove the power from the wolves, it would not teach the mortals what they had learned--Balance. Thus the Sages put faith in their creations, their power over the Elements and The Cultivator watched on, vigilant against what Void prophesized.”

“Its exact fears were realized. Mortals broke out in wars and used the elements to their advantage, those with larger numbers seeming to win, some specialized wolves, generally small in numbers working together to survive--the first signs of unification. The Cultivator saw hope… but knew It had to set the example.”

“The Cultivator called a meeting. It stated that they weakened themselves by separating the elements and that unification was the only way to bring balance and strength back. While this would have deprived the mortals of their powers, it was a mere accident that they had received them in the first place, and the Sages generally agreed, the reluctance from both Void and Spirit. This plan would have worked… but Fate is a wicked mistress.”

“The Cultivator drew to What it had created while on the new world; Earth, Wind, Fire and Water and took the powers from its creations. Suddenly, the four sages perhaps with a loss of purpose or even self, disappeared and drew into The Cultivator. At once The Cultivator changed, instantly stronger in the stolen powers. It drew to its companions now, and looked between the two, waiting for one or the other to volunteer But they refused; Spirit Lashed:

‘I am going to give Void exactly what it wants--Nothing. You cannot have both Void and I together.’

and then Void too disagreed:

‘I may be devoid of all things bequeathing, I will give you something, Spirit-- An Enemy!’

Void lashed at Spirit, the two of them attacking one another with no success. The Cultivator looked at his two companions in horror and managed to jump between them. In both the pull of life and death they stimulated the sages powers from burst from its body. The fighting ceased but a Cultivator pleaded with Spirit and Void;

‘Don’t you understand! This is the only way this world can be perfect! This is the only way this world can achieve balance! Is this not what you want to achieve?’

“At this plead, the other Sages looked to one another in shock and awe, watching Void and Spirit. the Void and Spirit refused, for if the cultivator was so easily overpowered, they could rule themselves. To the Cultivator’s disbelief, it was thrown from the heavens of its own making, cast down to the mortal realm, banished.”

“Alone, the Cultivator decided upon one act. Not wanting to leave and hoping achieve balance, it intervened among the mortals.”

“Where small groups of specialized wolves resided, the Cultivator imparted a fraction of itself upon these wolves--luckily six at the time, enough to match the number of Sages. By doing this, it imparted its divine abilities, The Cultivator’s unification of the elements onto one wolf--an alpha. but the Cultivator’s unification was different that that of the real balance. Thus bore the first wolves who controlled only 5 of the 6 elements. Even on the mortal level, The Cultivator failed. No wolf had before controlled 5 elements, but 5 was not 6; even on a realm of mortals, Void would simply not coexist with Spirit, and Vice Versa. The Cultivator, separated from itself and its goal, faded into a distant memory, only remembered by those initially gifted with Pentaelemental Abilities who began to rise to power quickly.”

“Without a force to unify them, the Sages separated, following either Spirit or Void. Thus began the Divine Cataclysm; Water and Earth bound to Spirit as they were the most giving sages, while Fire and Air bound to Void. Separated and devoid of any law, Void found its fears realized; the land succumbed to a fate worse than even division, for they were godless, with a lonely rift between them.”

THE AGE OF PENTAELEMENTALS to PRESENT TIME:

“Amidst the Sages to departure and quarrels, the mortals dubbed the land Albion as the creator never had a chance to name its own world, not that they would know this, but they understood their namelessness. Without any gods to guide them, they simply forgot the need for them, some of the mortals--the Pentaelemental--seeming as gods themselves.”

“However, with the arrival of the divided Sages, such simplicity could only be dreamt. The Sages initially attempted to stay as far away from each other as they possibly could, deciding that they could maintain peace if they stayed away and did not interact. This would have been a sound plan if opposites did not attract in one form or another.”

“In the beginning of this age, the Pentaelemetnals kept their territory and accumulated power jealously, loathing the threat of those with equal power.The most concerning matter seemed to be the loss of power that happened to Pentaelementals who did not inbreed, for while the Pentaelemental powers transferred through their bloodline, what once came innately now had to be learned. Paranoia grew over the years, and what started as border skirmishes turned into raids which turned into anxiety driven carnage. Whole armies of Wolves hoped to eliminate the other so that they might live in peace. The Pentaelemental Alphas that grew weak did not last not, for they were extinguished--slaughtered or enslaved. Such was the mentality of that age.”

“The moment Sages appeared, The weaker generations of Pentaelementals appealed to them and asked to be taught how to use their powers--finding themselves between the exact division the Sages faced: Void, Fire, Air versus Spirit, Earth, and Water. The Pentaelementals did not split evenly as one might hope, more drawn to the generosity of the giving elements, than not. Those who turned to Void found themselves within their own inner battles and the weak were quickly disposed of, consumed. While morality remained, the two simply abided by their nature--Call it evil or good.”

“Of the Six total Pentaelemental packs, four sided with Spirit, and two sided with Void. The only factor that made these odds fair was that some of  the Pentaelementals had mated with Unielementals, thus deteriorating the purity of this gift from The Cultivator, if one could call it that. The First Creator was simply a dying memory, and so were its gifts.”

“The Sages recognized the Cultivator’s remnants in these Alphas, and that is what truly bound them to the mortal’s cause--to extinguish what remained, or even use it against the other trio of sages. Thus, war ensued, and the Sages met in battle year after year, generation after generation, the Cultivators magic slowly fading from existence. And the exact opposite of their intended goal began to unfurl; Void and Spirit did not know what would happen to them if the Cultivator’s essence disappeared entirely. Would it mean that the Sages would all suddenly unify, remain divided under separate leadership, or disappear? This question burdened them immensely as they began to succumb to fear of perhaps the ultimate consequence for their rebellion.”

“As the Age of the Pentaelementals closed, hardly a pack remained on either side, only the alphas and a few other wolves loyal to them remaining. the last of these Alphas resided at the end of their abilities, the gift, and both Void and Spirit feared for their existence. In their own time, Void and Spirit proposed what seemed to be a selfish act. They proposed to strengthen the powers of the Alphas, and asked for nothing in return. Both Pentaelementals were among the last of their kind with hardly any power left except one, as per the norm, and saw no reason to decline.”

“Noticing the devastation they caused not only to the land, but to their own kind, the Alphas resigned from war, and turned to their Sages in their time of need, for the preservation of themselves, and their children that would follow. The Alphas wanted their children to have the ability to rule a pack as the Old Pentaelementals had, and while the Sages would comply, they wanted to continue forever without the tyranny of The Cultivator. The Cultivator had left only 5 powers that a mortal could control and Void or Spirit felt they could influence the powers to be akin to their own.”

“The Alphas, keen on their continuation of their line, allowed the sages to tamper the gift of their next child. Thus Spirit unified with Earth and Water, becoming a new entity entirely--Caimath, while Void, Air, and Fire merged into Kaura. These named entities preceded like gods over their 3 elements and drew forth the gift from the Pentaelemental alpha causing an odd sort of reaction. Kaura and Caimath dove into the Cultivator’s gift, but instead of powering all elements, they only powered those Caimath and Kaura represented, 3 elements each. Sucked into the fragment of the Cultivator, Kaura and Caimath merged not only with the gift, but with the Pentaelemental themselves, Vanishing. It is unknown if The Cultivator lingered in these gifts enough to rob the sages of their existence, or if such was the cost of powering the gift once again.

“Whatever the case, the Unified trio of Sages--Caimath and Kaura receded, the powers they bestowed upon the pups flowing strong and radiant; these pups grew to inherit their own pack, named after the blessed sages that gave them back their gifts as the new Pentaelementals --Nimue of Caimath, born on the side of Spirit, and Marthinick of Kaura, born on the side of Void.”

“Now fully grown, their pasts their own, Marthinick and Nimue have settled far and yet somehow near to one another--perhaps the curse of the opposite powers that linger inside them.
Pentaelemental Nimue of Pack Caimath, presides over and protects Earth and Water elemental wolves , controlling the abundant powers of Spirit.  
Pentaelemental Marthinick of Pack Kaura, reigns and guards Fire and Air elemental wolves, controlling the abyssal claws of Void.”

“Now, Loner, Rouge, and future Pack Member, the story now turns to you. Your power, your element has landed you among either Marthinick and Nimue, and your story begins. What say you, traveler?
Will you begin within the maw of Void, Fire and Wind, or have you been summoned by Spirit, Earth and Water?

“Who calls to you, Wanderer?”

© Alpha Marthinick