Aeor - Blog Posts

• Iris, the newly fallen Ruler and often seen dictator of the Following. Power hunger and righteousness became her untimely downfall, along with anyone on her side and her very own child.

• Ivy, prisoner of the Following. Saving her from imprisonment became an ultimate goal. Her own sister locked her away in claims of containing a so called corruption that fueled Ivy's veins.

• The "Lotus Eaters": groups of lost and convinced cultists found themselves in bliss and over-indulgence as they found the island of mindless fruits.

• Additional monsters of the Codfather's island: while the other entities of the island were prone to belittle and tease the disfigured cod, they were still intent to protect him. They don't tend to be too fond of false alarms, however.

• The man-eaters: this story's Laestrygonians, Queen Lizzie created an entirely new species of seemingly mutated fish creatures, most in resemblance to Axolotls. They are hungry for any unfortunate soul who falls into their waters.

The Underworld

• Will & Eddie: two souls who miss their friends and loved ones dearly. Each were happy to see those they cherish on their journey through the Underworld. Though brief, they did what they could to give the remaining crew some sense of comfort and love they once were so overabunted in giving.

• Michela & Redd: two souls filled with bitterness and resentment. While they could find themselves forgiving their friends for foolish choices & careless disregards, wounds are too fresh for them to have a clear mind. Floods of their friends have come in, screaming their tragedies and fueling more hatred among plenty of them towards the unfortunate survivors.

Monsters

• A reflection shown to a captain long in need of a wake up call

• Scylla: a monsterous amalgamation of history's corruptions. She takes on her most recent host's appearence. From that of convincing fae, to fungal viruses that took over their hosts minds, Scylla hungers and she will feed.

Alt. Gods

• Aeor: a more casual, human esque appearence. He takes on this look for those He typically doesn't expect to live long enough to remember. He takes on this look to make sure any mortal will hear what He has to say.

• Exor: a more casual, friendly appearence. Years have passed and they wish to appear approachable as they can manage as they approach the son of someone they would once and wish to call their friend.

• Sausage, the island of paradise. He just wants to go home. He just wants to feel home.

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Pt.1 || Pt. 2 || Pt. 3 || Pt. 4 || Pt. 5 [Here]

Okay I cannot physically think of anymore characters or important appearances I need to add. I am crossing my fingers that this will finally be the end of the sketches.

The looks are rushed cos I did all these sketches today in hopes of getting a post out before the end of the month so here we are.

This project is bringing me so much joy I won't lie.

The wisdom Saga is also making me Feel Things /pos

I'm not sure about you, but having a crown pressured into your possession by a God making you fight its war just seems like a rather heavy burden.

Inktober Day 16: Angel

Extra thingies under cut, yk how it is

I could go on a very long tirade on my thoughts on Aeor, Exor, & the debilitating affects religion had on Rivendell & its descendents but maybe that's the religious trauma talking idk <3

Totes don't have a parallel post for tomorrow nope notta chance

Coin Flip

Aoer is for lovers

There won't be another Aeor now, because Aeor was a very specific kind of tragedy, wherein the gods prioritized their own survival over the survival of huge swathes of mortals. They had choice after choice after choice where they could have diverted to a more merciful path. Even in the very last moments, they could have just destroyed the Factorum Malleus and spared the rest of the city, and found another way to deal with the knowledge that had been disseminated. But they chose their own immediate security over the lives of every regular person in Aeor, every refugee and civilian and child. The Primes may love mortals, may work to protect them, but when it comes down to it, they will choose themselves (and their Betrayer kin!) every time. It is love with a very big caveat.

Two thirds of the world's population died in the Calamity because the Betrayers were initially banished, not destroyed. The gods say they cannot let any of the Betrayers die because they might need them if a bigger threat arises, but what good does that potential possible protection do Exandria if their warring wipes the world out now? Why should anyone, god or mortal, expect that the Betrayers would help fend off such a threat anyway, when they very clearly want the Primes and all mortals dead? There was so much emphasis in Downfall on how, despite it all, the Primes and Betrayers are family and the Primes cannot let that go. It's hard to take Ayden at face value when he says that they need the Betrayers, in the light of that. SILAHA says "That's all our problem. It's all about ourselves. At least I have the, well, confidence to actually accept it." And that's the truth of their motivation that their actions indicate in Downfall.

The Arch Heart and the Matron explicitly told the Hells that the world was on the cusp of another Calamity. Except for those two, when confronted with the possibility of Predathos, the gods wanted to chose, once again, to sacrifice the lives of countless mortals in order to protect themselves. The Divine Gate is meant to stop another Calamity, but now we know that they are willing to tear it down to save themselves. So Calamity is the threat that hangs over the world much more immediately than potential cosmic horrors.

I don't think anyone is out here saying that this plan with the gods becoming mortal means that there will never be any danger to Exandria again. There ARE terrible threats that exist, like the Chained Oblivion and there are almost certainly more that exist out is the cosmos that are currently unknown. Predathos might eat those or it might not, we don't actually know. There absolutely will be more evil mortals, just as there will be mortal heroes to stop them, as they always have. This is not the creation of utopia. It's the aversion of another apocalypse.

But something that struck me, at least, about Aeor, something that I think often get lost underneath all the other debate, under the focus on hubris, is the stark fact that mortal understanding grew to the point where they could create a weapon that could kill a god. That's incredible. If the gods saw mortal understanding reach so far and instead of saying "you are children and cannot comprehend and so we will strike your knowledge from the world because it is too dangerous for you," said "you are our children and you are growing up, perhaps we should help you understand" what might mortal innovation have accomplished? What solutions would mortal creativity come up with that might have surprised their creators? If the gods chose to treat mortal attempts to understand with encouragement instead of condescension, what might the Cassida Previns of the world built?

You say that level of power has to exist to fight off the next eldritch horror that arrives. Why does that power have to be concentrated in a small handful of gods above any sort of accountability? Why can't it be power distributed amongst a larger number of mortals, defending themselves? Why can't it be mortals, no longer children to be shielded but instead come into their ascendancy to fully inherit the world and its responsibilities? Why can't mortals be equal to the gods, not in the sense sought by those power-hungry mages, but as a collective, with the gods reborn among them and treating them, as it were, as adults, who might come to understand?

In the final narration for Downfall, Brennan says:

"In short, brief life can even the infinite change, realize, recognize, commit to something new, singular. To move forward on the paths of destiny and fate, changed."

And I think this choice being given to the gods to become mortal again, beyond just giving them the ability to survive at the cost of their power, is also offering them the chance to learn and grow the way mortals do again. Being mortal in their quest to destroy Aeor, ending even as it did in something horrific, did actually change them enough that they created the Divine Gate. That was a sacrifice and it was better than what was before it. But it was not enough and now that the flaws in that approach have become clear, it's time to look for another path. Mortality offers that. And I think seeing how mortality could change them further will be a hell of a story, and I'm looking forward to it.

Anyway, I don't particularly think this is going to convince you or anything, you seem pretty mad, but it's fun to talk about this stuff, and you gave me an excuse, so thanks.