Preface : Back Story

Gods were created when a need for them appeared. People cry out for their needs to the void when they have nothing left. The essence of existence: war, peace, love, lust, space and time. Through worship or fear, the idea of a being that had control over these realms brought about an era of fabricated mythological gods that ruled reality.

These gods wielded tremendous power, and their power was fed by worship or fear. The gods who relied on worship were deemed angels. The gods that were feared were deemed demons. 

Having this necessity of worship or fear made for the relationship between gods and their subjects to be an interesting dynamic. Every realm, every possibility of anything, has a god.

There are gods of hunger, gluttony, heat, cold, art, abstraction, cultivation, and even waste (or poop); just to name a few. The power of a god depends solely on the amount of worship or fear they receive.

One could imagine that being the god of shit would not make them popular or a powerful adversary to other gods. 

Gods who ruled over realms of absolute constants such as love and war had an abundance of fear and worship; however, other gods that ruled over lesser realms always felt a need to strengthen their power.

For this reason, the lesser gods created a compromise. A covenant between a god and their subjects would grant the subject's abilities related to the god; enticing other followers and bringing more people to fear or worship that god.

These subjects who formed a covenant were called vessels. Each vessel was marked with a unique symbol. A branding left by the gods who claimed them. 

The angelic gods left their marks hidden, branded in parts of the body that were covered; commonly on the torso. The demonic gods were boastful in their vessels and preferred to embroider them in places that would frequent glances such as the forehead and hand.

Angelic vessels with the smallest mark were the most sought after, and were regarded with a higher status. These elite members of society would act as a beacon for their god.

Either by striking terror into the hearts of others with their powers or by curating worship from others; they did whatever necessary to honor the covenant.

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Small strips of scattered mountains with valleys that descend to the earth's core make up the polarizing sight of the Noro Kingdom. Soaring above the peaks of the gargantuan mountains are glittering floating islands, tethered together by hanging crystalis bridges.

The sight of the celestial glass city's levitating amidst the clouds would make one's eyes water from the glare and stomach flutter in excitement. One glance at what's far below that city could easily make anyone barf out their stomachs contents out of fear and disgust.

The deep dark valleys of the mountains emanate a sinister crimson hue and are covered in a bleak dark green fog. Where the ocean or seas used to cover the earth's nakedness, only deep dark pits of that treacherous fog remained.

The only remaining bodies of water were streams and rivers fed by springs; trickling down the mountains and disappearing into the abyss below. 

The depths of what's beyond the fog is unknown, but many believe it leads to the core, the heart of earth where the spawn of demon creatures dwell. The deeper into the abyss you go, the more horrid the creatures. This region of the Noro Kingdom was called the abyssal reef.

The shore where the abyssal fog meets the edge of the valleys is called the hellcoast. The area above the valleys including the glamorous floating islands are called the unblemished peaks. People who dwelled in these regions despised anyone who was not from their region.

A degrading slang for where people came from was commonly used to mock each other: the hellspawn reefers, the lowly coastals, and the posh prick peakies.

The hierarchy of society was determined by the elevation away from the dreaded abyssal reef. The markings differentiated each class of how elite of a vessel one was. The higher vessels were known to oppress lower vessels and non vessels. Only the area of the peaks were guarded by vessels to fend off the hellspawn creatures that wreaked havoc on the coast.

For eons the outcasts of the peaks would hopelessly dwell on the coast, living a life of constantly being hunted and slaughtered by the ghouls that emerged from the reef; all until a hero arrived. 

Jude Viktor, a fearsome vessel warrior with muscles of twisted steel and the heart of a brazen beast, arrived among the people of the coast; shielding them from the horrors of the abyssal ghouls. Every night when the creatures emerged from the depths of hell, he too would allow his menacing power to emerge from his soul; wiping out any ghoul that dared cross his omnipotence.

He became the coastal people's protector and leader. Guiding them to the gods powers they could possess from fearing or worshiping them. Jude even found a beautiful wife, starting a family while continuing to guide and protect his new found people. After several years of peace among this region, the story of this hero reached the ears of the elites above.

Droves of inquisitors were sent to capture this hero. Jude fought back ferociously but eventually was overwhelmed and snatched away from his people.

The coast was once again being haunted by the abyss, yearning for the return of their hero or the emergence of a new one.

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