The world was formed out of Chaos.
Everything was fluid. Nothing existed except for potential, which means that everything existed. Form existed only as long as it proved useful, then it was discarded for something else. It wasn’t until consciousness developed and started defining itself did any kind of permanence begin to develop. Humans were the first to become self-aware, and therefore self-defining. Curiosity and loneliness was the initial form of reproduction. With the world’s potential as fluid as it was, a strong desire could directly lead to an act of creation. That ability faded as they became more and more static in their formalization of themselves. But it wasn’t long before they turned their attention away from themselves, and started seeking to fix the ambiguity of the world around them.
Try as they might, humans couldn’t do much about stabilizing the Chaos around them. Even in the small groups they formed, their abilities were quite limited. This is because the first humans saw this ocean of Chaos everywhere they looked, and were intimidated by it. Their fear convinced them they were powerless against it, and since they were designing their own imprints (though they did not know this on any conscious level), they gave up whatever power they might have had in this regard. The best they could do was provide some kind of static environment in their immediate surroundings. An individual couldn’t muster this level of will; it was something only groups of them could do.
Tribes of humans in small villages started dotting the ever-shifting landscape. But their relation to each other was just as unpredictable as the rest of the world. Some days, one could walk to a neighboring village, and at other times each village would truly be isolated. On rare occasions, two tribes would find themselves close enough to each other that their combined influence locked them together. These rare bubbles became larger villages, and even small towns. But they were hardly safe.
Not knowing what hides immediately outside is quite a fearful prospect. Especially when you know it could literally be anything and that it could change in the merest of moments. Humans were pretty well defined by this point, and lived in fear of everything outside of their own little villages and towns. Further cases of two settlements merging became more and more rare, as people became ever more suspicious about anything outside of their defined environments. A neighboring village was something to be feared, just like any monster.
Danger was everywhere. Outside of these bubbles of defined reality, anything could be found… or could find you! Creatures of every possible description existed in these seas of potential. These monsters were also not in any way cut off from the humans’ villages. People lived in a near-constant state of terror. Their existence, despite how developed they’d become and the accomplishments they’d achieved, was by no means a guarantee. They were in danger of extinction at any time.
Remember that humans were the first beings to be able to define themselves and their surroundings, but by excercising that ability (albeit unconsciously), they took it away from themselves. So what would people in this terrifying situation do? Turn to their gods, of course. Which gods? The ones they were about to create. The ones they would give their own power to. Needing another force to impose order on their world, people began to pray. Their subconscious desire still had power in the world, and so many of them praying to gods had the effect of creating those gods. Being as self-centered as they are, however, humans could not create a god without limitations, and the many different groups with different ideas of what their god is like led to the creation of several lesser beings of a more demigod-like status. They created the Synlath.
The Synlath (same plural and singular) came into the world in forms chosen for them by their human creators-made-worshippers. Each came into being in one of the larger settlements of humans and almost instantly began deciding what the world should be like according to their whims. It was very slow going. Generations of people lived and died as each Synlath slowly built the world around them.
It was only a matter of time before the Synlath came into contact with each other. It’s unknown if they knew of each other beforehand or not, but they seemed to recognize something in each other. That doesn’t mean they got along. They seemed to have some kind of rivalry with each other, though one that only rarely manifested as violence between them. Their followers were a lot more willing to fight on their behalfs.
As the Synlath expanded their realms of reality, the world became more fixed and stable. Soon, one could reliably journey from one town to another by following the same route on any given day. With this solidarity of the world, the humans grew in their courage. More settlements were founded, some by followers of the Synlath, some by those who decided to strike out on their own. They formed their own villages, towns, cities, kingdoms, and nations. Some stood against the Synlath. Some stood against each other. Some collapsed from within. Many clashed, many fell.
Creatures and monsters from the chaotic times before still roamed the countryside, now locked in their forms and forced to follow the rules of the reality they were now confined to. Some of them thrived and spawned and spread. Much of the world is no longer fluid. Order has replaced Chaos in many places. But there are many more still waiting to be mapped and defined.
This is roughly the default setting for Turmoil, and a time of legend for Ethereal. This was written after idle brainstorming for the last day, and written entirely off the top of my head. Further details will be added, aspects will be smoothed out, and it will probably be rewritten entirely a couple more times before its finished version.
