"The Almighty Primordial was of the same ilk as Allmer and Abaddon: born directly from the carcass of the Creator. As such, "He" possessed the greatest raw power out of all the Gods in the 2nd Era. However, "He" is believed her have been weaker than "His" predecessors, due to "His" Authorities. For while the Almighty Primordial proclaimed "Himself" the successor to Allmer, "He" lacked several of Allmer's Authorities."
"Allmer was the embodiment of all that was Good and Holy, pure white that could never stand anything else. But the Almighty was the embodiment of Divinity and Humanity, which shared some correlation, but were still distinctly different. The Almighty is also unique in that "He" is the only God in the history of Orvonia to hold as much power a s "He" did and still retain sentience. While Allmer was driven purely by what made "Him" up, the Almighty could act freely and go against "His" own foundations if necessary."
"It is believed that by being the embodiment of "Humanity", the Almighty also gained the power of free will. This allowed "Him" to resist the dominion the Creator held over "Him" and gain true independence. And with this freedom, the Almighty could do what no other God was able to do at the time: pick "His" own side.
"The Almighty convinced Giant King Aurgelmir to supporting "Him" by playing on the hatred between Dragons and Giants. With two Gods already dead, Aurgelmir could sense the changing tides and was desperate for aid. So the Almighty was granted a domain to rule over, and was tasked with waging war against the other Gods. The war eventually ended with Aurgelmir and Morduch both perishing, the former to the latter and the latter to the Almighty. From that point on, the Almighty Primordial was the hegemon of Orvonia, and Humanity walked into the limelight."
"The 3rd Era saw the rise of several new and important Gods under the patronage of the Almighty: second-generation Gods, beings who manually Ascended through Levelling rather than being directly born into Divinity. With Humanity as the dominant force, the other Races were forced to either bend the knee or flee to the furthest corners of the world. Several Races, such as Fairies and Giants, chose the latter. The Almighty had twenty-two subordinates under "Him, some Divine and others Sacred."
"The most prominent Gods of this time were Sol, Gaia, Nyx, Zephylte, Xerxes, Calypso, Jester and Fallacy. These eight Gods were the closest to the Almighty's throne and served as "His" direct subordinates for much of the Era. But like all good things, the Golden Days of Humanity eventually came to an end. Three new Gods crawled out of the Abyss and sought to usurp and destroy the Almighty. "They" were Aenrys, Navruavati and Seraphic and "They" were in reincarnations of the long-deceased Abaddon."
"These three Evil Gods tempted subordinates of the Almighty, such as Jester and Fallacy, into switching sides. Tricking the Almighty, the Evil Gods and "Their" new followers cowardly ambushed the Almighty and murdered "Him". The aftermath of "Their" battle annihilated the Neriea Continent, which is still toxic and uninhabitable today."
Mr Durnoff turned back to look at his students, who had all been staring raptly at the board, and the words he wrote on it. He took in the passionate gazes of Altair and Elizabeth, the staidness of Zeze and Gordan, the indifference of Alexander and Nephelae, and the quiet attention of Nezra and Ophelia. Satisfied by his students desire to learn, Mr Durnoff turned back and resumed writing.
"Everything up this point is based on myths and tales, fiction with facts as an adjacent rather than the main prop. But from here onwards, from the 4th Era onwards, history solidifies and becomes clearer. The aftermath of the Almighty's death caused fracture to spread amongst "His" court, with many figures either perishing or Ascending in the chaos."
"Sol, Gaia, Zephylte, Nyx, Xerxes, Calypso, Fallacy and Jester ultimately gained from the aftermath and the first six established "Themselves" as the modern-day Orthodox Gods. Fallacy and Jester also achieved true Godhood and supported Seraphic in this period, who had turned against "His" fellow Evil Gods at this point. Several figures managed to Ascend to Godhood in this Era with help from either the Orthodox or Secret Gods, such as Daemon, Chanteur and Polydorus."
"When war swept the globe once again, it provided the chance for a further six Gods to rise: Tiamat, Dendron, Weaver, Metallus, Ingrid and Consus. These nascent Gods joined different sides and formed partnerships with "Their" elders, some founding a Church while others working in the shadows."
"Tiamat, Metallus and Consus allied with the Orthodox Gods while Daemon, Polydorus, Ingrid and Chanteur refused to associate with "Them", thus becoming Secret Gods. Daemon and Polydorus ended up following Seraphic, while Chanteur and Ingrid stayed independent. With that, the 4th Era came to a close and twenty spots had been filled: two less than the God count in the Third Era."
Mr Durnoff drew a table and slotted in all the Gods and "Their" alliances. Gaia and Dendron, Sol and Zephylte, Aenrys and Navruavati, Fallacy and Jester, Seraphic, Daemon and Polydorus...The rest of the Gods were independent or only had loose allegiances to each other. Altair was surprised that he didn't put Seraphic with Fallacy and Jester too, but his doubt was answered shortly after Mr Durnoff finished writing.
"Some of you may have noticed that Seraphic, Jester and Fallacy are not connected, despite my mentioning of "Their" cooperation in the Fourth Era. And this is because the three Gods have since broken up and gone "Their" separate ways. The reason behind this split is still unknown, but it is likely Fallacy and Jester simply got tired of Seraphic and left, as "They" are renowned for being spontaneous, bizarre and frankly, quite unhinged." Mr Durnoff explained.
Silence fell in the room as all eight students diligently took notes; even Alexander and Nephelae. Altair went over everything he just learned as he formulated his own hypothesises on the matter.
'So the old Gods naturally came into being or forcefully jumped the queue, and went mad as the result. The Almighty Primordial is claimed to have been the only sane first-generation God, but that's highly debatable due to "His" position as the patron God of Humanity as a whole. No doubt "His" actual power and accomplishments would have been falsified to some extent, if only to boast to the other Races about...'
'But still, there must be some truth behind "His" uniqueness. And "He" certainly wasn't weak, if "He" managed to outlast the Dragons, Giants, Devils and the Angels during their peak. And it's also interesting how the Almighty claims to be the embodiment of Benevolence and Divinity. The former is a classical claim for a God, but the latter raises a lot of problems. From what I have gathered, lying about your Titles and Honorific Names results in a serious backlash from Orvonia itself, so does that mean the Almighty was telling the truth? That would put him past a king of Gods, and more like a God amongst Gods...'
Once Mr Durnoff saw everyone had finished writing, he cleared the board and wrote up a new title "I will now go into more detail about how the Churches operate in our world, and the Gaia Continent in particular. The religions with the most presence are the Church of Gaia, Zephylte and Sol. Nyx and Dendron have a secondary presence presence too, though the former has no cathedral established and instead operates through politics and Noble Houses."
Mr Durnoff's gaze lingered on Alexander as he said that, before turning back to the board and resuming his writing. "On the other side, the Secret Gods with the strongest presence are Chanteur, Ingrid and Navruavati. Fallacy has a slight following here too, though "His" believers are few and far between on all Continents anyway."
"Our closest neighbour, the Borealis Continent, mainly has Metallus and Consus as the predominant faith. Xerxes and Tiamat are a slightly smaller but still notable grasp over there too. The Secret Gods are Daemon and Jester, with a tinge of Polydorus in the mix. Borealis also has the largest remnant faiths in Orvonia. This means a moderate portion of the population worship the Ancient Gods still. Worship of Aurgelmir and Volanna has been confirmed to still take place in the more isolated regions."
"Tartarus is overrun by Evil Gods and "Their" followers, though there is some presence of others. Aenrys, Seraphic and Navruavati have divided the Continent amongst "Themselves", though Seraphic has the smallest chunk. Xerxes and Nyx are the only Orthodox Gods openly worshipped on the Tartarus Continent."
"Ouranos is a relatively stable Continent. The main religions are Tiamat, Calypso, Polydorus and Chanteur. It is the only Continent where Secret Gods are allowed to preach openly, but this favour is naturally only extended towards pacifistic Gods. Despite "Their" usual conflict, Polydorus and Calypso have agreed to peacefully split the Continent."
"Astoria is unique in that all Gods, excluding the three Evil Gods, have a say in how the Continent is run. It serves as the neutral central hub of Orvonia, and the Angels ruthlessly maintain this status. Surprisingly, Fallacy and Consus have the largest sway on Astorian politics, despite the former having very few believers."
"And finally we have Neriea, the 'Forsaken Land', as some call it. Neriea is also unique in that only a single God is worshipped there, or so we believe: Seraphic. While we have no proof since not even other Gods can endure the toxicity of Neriea, Seraphic can freely roam the destroyed land and uses it as "His" headquarters. If there are any survivors in Neriea, it is likely they pray to Seraphic. Fallacy, Daemon and Jester are also theorised to have a minor presence in Neriea since "They" were quite close to Seraphic in the Third and Fourth Era, but of course this is unconfirmed."
No sooner had Mr Durnoff finish speaking then the school bell rang, symbolising the end of the class. Altair snapped out of the daze he had unknowingly entered, disappointed the lecture had ended so soon. He had greatly enjoyed what was being thought, as he looked at the teacher with budding favourability.
"Alright class, that's all for today. Pack up and be on your way to lunch. And if any of you are interested in learning more by yourself I heavily recommend you head to the Sky Cross library located in the main building. Good day to you all."