Deviant and Proud (13 Realms of Eternity explained)

The first brave souls to claim Earth as their own.

The mundanes of Earth have come to believe in lies that confirm their delusions, but they were not the first to achieve consciousness. When life emerged on Earth, it took time and struggled to adapt and evolve. When insects eventually took form, a cunning deity watching the creatures incapable of providing faith with more interest than one of her kind often would, because of her precarious predicament. Theiya, goddess of the moon, inspired an awakening amongst the most innocuous living creatures at first. Transmission of self awareness and the habitation of a soul within the fledgeling deviants didn’t go entirely according to plan, as Theiya’s divine intent had to contend with the absolute authority of Eiya, the ancient dragon hiding within the young planet Earth.

Hives and colonies were not always driven by a new and alien mind, although some species saw greater success than others. Another strain of deviancy was simultaneously established among the emerging animals, incompatible with that of insects, but equal. Untold years of the Earth’s maturation continued without revealing these young and cunning creatures to the angels and demons that waged war at their divine creators’ will. Theiya would one day benefit from the seeds of grace she’d planted in the world, but her creations were wild and knew they would need all of their instincts simply to survive. There were deviants among the many great beasts of the old world, even before the extinction of the dinosaurs. In theory, some of them may even be living to this day, as not all deviants identify as mortal. What stories might such creatures horde as treasured secrets?

When humans eventually crawled their way out of their humble mud, other strange creatures waited to groom and cultivate the innocent. Angels waged war on instinct and orchestrated much of the civilization, even if through human intermediaries. Demons lurked on the fringe of the rising cities, and found the wilderness teeming with their bestial cousins. Not even such powerful creatures could distinguish all of the hidden deviants, lurking among their less enlightened kin, as most insects and animals were not of deviant heritage, regardless of how fecund both were.

The ascent of humanity inspired rapid mutation in the flexible genetics of the deviants. Some had been able to change their shape even before the mundanes were born, but in time every deviant adapted to slip into the skin and shape of a human. Many developed forms between that of their wild origin and the clumsy hairless monkeys, shapes with more savage power and lethal capabilities. These forms of war were in response to the aggression of those that played at being civilized, hunting and preying upon those already inhabiting the wild lands of the world. In time, as the minds of men were filled with lies and dreams, the deviants borrowed their fears and myths, turning fantasy into reality.

Whether shifting shape and skin to blend in or stand up for themselves, the deviants weren’t attracted to the idea of living in the tangled webs of the cities initially. Their birth packs provided them comprehension of their nature and that of the world, although many deviant parents were of a different breed than their progeny with no clear rhyme or reason to the chaos. Mythical breeds stood at the apex of their loose society, able to intermix with either or both insect and beast. Many deviants choose to remain isolated or in small groups rather than banding together in formal organizations, with the exception of the most pure and ancient – the hives and colonies that survive to this day. Although unnatural, the cities can serve as a passable hollowed out tree in the jungle of man’s new society, affording the sufficiently cunning and ruthless to do far more than merely blend in with the masses. The fantasy of a young and brash dragon may seem fearsome, but how much more terrifying is ten thousand souls unified in purpose and intent, with a long memory and the means to subvert society from within?

Theiya’s seeds have grown and borne fruit, hanging ripe in the garden given to man. The serpents whisper to all that wander, and the moon keeps her eye on the ancient theatre of Earth. Whether slanderous propaganda or proverbial wisdom, the innocent mundanes have failed to recognize the true inheritors of the world – those that survive.