This outline was created in early September, 2024. It covers some of the essential cosmological points, unto which the Tales are told. An outline 15 years in the making, subject to change for the needs of the story.
[[Áeia]] is the name which is given by The River People to the highest power in this universe. It is at once associated with a realm, a collection of divinities, of potencies, of forces and powers which live, Timeless and Formless, at the heart of all things.
[[Áeia]] is imagined as an indescribably-vivifying force, the energetic power behind every Sun, every force of nature, the power that moves and sustains the atomic world. [[Áeia]] is imagined as a unity which is made of endlessly-unique divinities, each with powers and potencies which spill into one another, but each form a Realm of their own. To each is given a name, or many names, and many stories have been told regarding those known to The River People.
[[Áeia]] is considered the homeland of the universe, and the ground upon which the deeds that led to the creation of Gondōlla, the galaxy in which The River People are but a small part, and to the creation of all the universe, of Space, of Time, of the atomic world, and of the macrocosm.
Within [[Áeia]] occurred an event, brought about by a group of divinities which The River People have names and stories for: [[Māta]] the Being of Form, crafted a type of energy that would hold the very Force of Light which was Aeia and all the divinities. and Míro, the Being of Freedom, worked together to create a type of energy that was capable of holding its own form, which would not dissolve and be reshaped as the rest of Aeia did, a material capable of standing "on its own". Thus, the creation called [[The Átma]] was brought into being.
It is then said that these divinities used [[The Átma]] to craft dwellings, fashion for themselves bodies, and give form to their Realms. The creations of The Atma were made of a force called [[Ádmata]], thus the realm is called.
But unto the dweling place of [[Míro]], a terrible destruction began. For [[Míro]] wished for a private Realm by which no other divinity could see, nor touch. Míro tinkered with [[The Átma]], and through their experiments, created [[Shaddāh]], Primeval Shadow. [[Shaddāh]] was an unstable force, and immediately turned every creation of Admata into a frozen, lifeless shadow.
Shaddáh spread out across all of the Realms of Admata, until finally naught was left unfrozen.
The only remaining force in the universe untouched by Shaddáh... was The Atma itself.
It was [[Selína]], Being of Compassion, whose gaze was turned toward The Atma, and was illuminated by its power, and revivified. However, the Shaddáh thus infected her again, and froze her back into stasis. She looked across the shadows, where naught could be seen, but within her, Aeia still dwelt, though each divinity and their creations were now locked away from one another by the cage of Shaddáh, and into the darkness, she could sense another Being of Aeia, her own brother Aúryn, Being of Courage. Thus Selena toiled, and toiled, over and over again, to revivify herself amidst the shadow, and reach her brother, hoping he also could be revified. With every movement, enlivened Shaddáh was transformed into a form of Lesser Light, and her striving gave birth to the first creation of Gondōlla: The Broken Moon. Finally reaching her brother, she held his hand and brought it to his great sword. With a mighty call, they both sacrificed their Admátic forms in order to create a swirling force of enlivened Shaddáh, whose center was The Admáta, and established the force which The River People call... The Aeon.
The Aeon is the Force of Time, a seat of power which brings Aeia through Shaddáh and holds together a Realm of Light that is capable of sustaining the divinities amidst endless shadow. Thus the period of time immediately following this event is called The First Aeon.
Aeons are characterized by periods of Gondolla's "breathing": an Aeon begins with a period of expansion, where Light is poured out and begins to revivify Shaddáh into a form capable of sustaining divine life; the midpoint of an Aeon is signalled by a recession of Light, a "Harvest", wherein the divinities nurtured by Gondōlla and reclaimed from Shaddáh must venture to the center of Gondōlla, which is a journey across Time and Space, and return to Eia until the next Aeon begins.
Each Aeon is separated by a period of darkness, in which Shaddáh reclaims ownership of all that was not returned to Eia. It is a period wherein the safe places of Gondōlla are under attack from material forces attempting to transform all back into shadow. This continues until a new Aeon begins, and Gondōlla expands again to encompass a great part of Shaddáh.
Thus the Aeons have repeated nine times thence, and The River People consider their time to be among The Tenth Aeon, born in the realm called [[Gōndë - Land of Light and Shadow]].
Eia can be reached by The Adani, the word given by The River People to humans; it means roughly: those whose body, born in Gōndë contains the opportunity to grow a form of Spirit capable of traveling between worlds and making the journey back to Eia.
Every Aeon has brought new deeds and powerful creations into the universe; The Adani are one such creation, which required numerous deeds of divinity to finally bring about. Their progenitors, The Vándra, translated into our cosmic picture as The Angels, lived an existence through The Ninth Aeon similar but wholly different than The Adani, and are now like shepherds to The Adani, participating in their deeds, seen by those who have the eyes that can see beyond Material Light, into the realm of Lesser Light. Progenitors to The Vándra are The Ánavandra, The Arch Angels, whose birth occurred during The Eighth Aeon. Previous Aeons birthed forth The Suns, The Moons, The Planets, and other galaxies beyond Gondōlla farther than any eye could see.
Thus, now in the Tenth Aeon, The Adàni begin their awakening, and prepare for their journey to reach The Heart of Gondōlla, The First Galaxy...
But the forces of Míro have other plans for The Adáni...