First Look: Elder God

Do you remember how, as young immortals, you first found yourselves on the floating platforms of Isola? You managed to discover ancient glyphs that date back to Aeli’s time and sent the data to Asterius. Time passed, but the chronicler was unable to learn anything about them. The project was put on hold, and the artifacts taken to a depository.

An immortal nicknamed Klutz was responsible for the transportation. The young man had never showed any interest in history or science. Which was why the researchers were surprised when the next day after delivering the package, Klutz burst into the laboratory with wide eyes. He was telling stories from Aeli’s times that even the elder gods knew nothing about!

It turned out that after dropping off the shipment, the man fell asleep right on top of one of the glyphs. After being in contact with a powerful ether body for a long time, the experience of Aeli himself stored in the glyphs was transferred to the courier in a vivid dream. It was like Klutz relieved the events from the Great God’s life. The memories recorded on the glyph were of Aeli’s transformation into an elder god.

Warning! The information told by the immortal contains spoilers. We recommend you refrain from reading if you have not completed the Mechanical Evil quest yet.

Once Aeli turned into a god and gained new powers, the well-being of his country became his main concern and focus. His order grew steadily, and pilgrims traveled far and wide. It soon became clear that there were other people like Aeli. The young man went on a journey to search for his brethren, but what Aeli saw astonished him. Many immortals were immersed in self-worship and sins, having no desire to use their powers for the good of all people. On the contrary, their power was founded on fear, and the tyrants drew faith from it.

One of such cruel gods was a ruler of a small mountain princedom, nicknamed “Old Butcher”. This villain used blood rituals to extend his life. Aeli tried to talk sense into the immortal, explaining the true nature of that gift. The ruler took it as an insult and attacked Aeli. Old Butcher was defeated, and then something unusual happened. Aeli absorbed the ether body of the immortal and became stronger. The people were happy to be free of the tyrant, and the god felt that it could take him to the next level of power.

Aeli had always been against killing, instead looking for friends and allies in other immortals. Nevertheless, he actively used other immortals on his path, and only after establishing his position did he become a promoter of true humanism.

Killing another immortal and absorbing their power became a crime. At first, Aeli would absorb the perpetrator himself, but that contradicted his ideas, so another solution was found. The culprit would be thrust into a makeshift prison: frozen in ice. The immortal would fall into a deep slumber for an infinitely long time. Over time, they would lose their powers, grow old, and die, like any mortal.

Remember Aeolus? The immortal that you found in the ice during the Mantides’ conspiracy? It turns out his fate was closely connected with Aeli.

Aeolus was mortal when Aeli became an elder god. Like many other mortals, he remembered that day well.

Aeli returned from his great journey, and a welcoming ceremony was held at the main square of the city. The welcoming group consisting of the worthiest and most important people was led by Oristar, Aeli’s father, who was quite old but still full of life.

When Aeli stepped into the square, hired assassins from the guild of immortals came out of the shadows. It was simple revenge exacted by the defeated tyrants’ allies: they slaughtered Aeli’s father and other people before Aeli’s eyes.
Aeli failed to save his father, but no killer escaped. The wrath that consumed Aeli was so terrible that he tore the killers apart and absorbed their ether bodies. That was when Aeolus saw that even the kindest and most humane god had a dark side.

When everything was over, Aeli crouched near his father’s body and wept. The god had already attempted to revive the dead and knew he would fail, but he had to try it - for the last time.
Aeli focused all his powers and suddenly felt like he was turning into something else; he assumed his divine form against his will, and then a giant ether entity leaped high above the city, covering half of the sky. People from all over the city witnessed it. They would tell their children the story of the day when Aeli became an elder god.

Aeli’s new, transformed ether body granted him incredible powers: he revived his father.
Since that day, Aeolus had dreamt of immortality. He wanted to be great and shape the world to his own desires, like he thought Aeli did. So when one day Aeolus came to himself on a battlefield, his joy knew no bounds.
But it turned out that Aeli had already kept a tight grip on the reigns of power. New immortals’ lives were heavily regulated by the Canon. To get a taste of that glory, Aeolus needed to become the best and find a way into Aeli’s own retinue. It happened rather quickly but brought him no joy. Aeolus knew he had been born for something greater than standing behind Aeli. That was when he formed the first secret cult of Aelion.

Even during the Golden Age, there were always discontented people, and Aeolus gained quite a few supporters, especially among immortals. He tricked them into sacrificing themselves for the common cause. Aeolus would absorb their ether bodies, growing stronger.

He covered his tracks well, so when Aeli became suspicious, it was almost too late. A fight broke out, and it turned out that the opponent was very strong. Only with the help of a few gods did Aeli manage to defeat and imprison him.
Aeolus became the most powerful immortal to ever be imprisoned in ice. That was why he made it to the present day. But even he was on the verge of death when he was freed.

Klutz was very impressed by what he had seen. As he spoke, he made sketches on a piece of paper. When he was finished, the immortal handed the piece to the scientist and promptly fell asleep right on the floor of the laboratory. The researcher was shocked, to put it mildly. You should see it for yourself.

Now that a way to read these glyphs has been discovered, our research will continue! We are certain that soon our scientists will be able to learn more about the Great God.