Origins

Alkebulan, the Immortal Realm of the Gods, a tranquil, infinite darkness lit by twinkling orbs of universes crafted by Gods. The realm for eternities long had been quiet and peaceful and all its inhabitants resigning themselves to leisurely tending to their most precious creations. Well… most of them.

A new god was born, appearing in a blooming golden lotus of light and all of the realm witnessed its birth. New gods were extremely rare, so all the gods in Alkebulan came to gather around its birthplace and watch. A beautiful god with golden hair and shining bright eyes to match appeared. Their skin, a warm bronze perfectly contrasting the gold jewelry that adorned their lithe form. Their avatar only emphasized the brilliance of their godhood. All the gods in Alkebulan welcomed the beautiful new god, introducing themselves and inviting it to their realms.

This god, like any youth, sought to experience everything they could. They had no domains or universes of their own so they would explore all of the other gods' creations like a child would run around a playground. Until this point, none of the gods knew of the newborn gods power, then one day it became clear.

The New Born God had decided to visit one of the most powerful of gods domains. This god, unlike the rest, had a terribly quick temper and held incredible power so many gods actively stayed out of their way as to not incite their wrath. This was the Silver God Diran, God of Domination and Order.

The New Born God entered Diran's domain and asked for them to give this new god an experience to remember. Diran sat on his crescent throne, long silver strands of hair falling over his pale form like a fine silk curtain. His iridescent eyes looked down at the new god with mild interest.

A sly smirk crossed Diran's lips as he spoke, "You wish to seek an experience from me? Sure you are quite the interesting visitor, however this is quite the request for a mere stranger. What do I gain from this?"

The New Born God with their insignificant experience hadn't seen this coming as the rest of the gods they've visited have been more than happy to oblige them. Despite Diran's outwardly uninterested and cold demeanor, the New Born God could see that this god too sought an experience, though that itself they were uncertain of.

The god Diran understood what the young god was thinking and smiled, "How about a game? It will be a test of power and that way we both will set the experience we desire."

The New Born God's eyes gleamed with excitement at the thought and immediately agreed with a nod. Diran enjoyed this new gods eager and fiery eyes.

Diran smiled slightly in amusement, "Well, then let's settle some ground rules for the game. But first… It has been quite inconvenient to just call you new god. Do you happen to have a name?"

The New Born God seemed to pause at that and after a moment they shook their heads no. This actually surprised Diran since most newborn gods tend to come with the knowledge of at least their own name. He pondered for a moment before an idea popped into his head, "Well, since this is quite inconvenient, I shall offer you a name if you'd desire it. Would you like a name?"

"Yes!" The New Born God accepted excitedly.

The New Born God's eyes shone with an even brighter fire than before, Diran could almost feel a physical heat from just that look.

Diran chuckled at the quite childish god, "Alright, then your name shall be…" Diran paused for a moment, assessing the New Born God before continuing, "Auriel, the Golden God. Some of my subjects from a universe I created came up with this name and I think it's quite befitting of you."

The New Born God tested their new name, "Auriel… Auriel…" They smiled quite enjoying it.

"I see you've come to find this name suitable for you?" Diran said as if it was an unquestionable fact, everything he did was perfect after all.

The New Born God, now Auriel, nodded in agreement, "This name is perfect for me. I thank you for this gift."

Diran waved his hand dismissively, as if it meant very little to do such a task, however, Auriel could tell Diran was enjoying the praise.

Diran then regained his composure and spoke, "Alright, here's the game I propose." He folded his hands together and uncrossed his knees, his form expressing a powerful and confident aura. As Diran unfolded his hands, light suddenly appeared between them slowly revealing a universe of his own design. "This universe I have become bored with, it has constantly been at war for many eons. However, this is also the best universe to use as our game." Diran slowly stood from his throne and with a wave of his hand the setting changed from a throne room to a gathering room. The room had one long oval table with two plush chairs on either side.

Diran walked up to the middle of the table and set the universe within equal distance of each of the chairs. He then walked to one side of the table and settled comfortably in a chair. Auriel followed suit and came up to the chair on the other side sitting at the other side. The universe expanded a little so it was easier to observe life within.

Auriel was obviously impressed and Diran smirked with pride. He let Auriel observe for a while before moving along, "Alright, let us start our game. To explain the objective, we are to end this war between the factions in a planet called Endo. There are four Kingdoms but we will be picking one to influence in the war. There are two different opposing sides in this war to choose from since each kingdom has an ally. There is the Kingdom of Glendale who has allied with the Kingdom of Valdosta and the Empire of Sarasota who allies with the Kokomo Federation."

Diran brought his hand up and made a gentle fist. When he revealed his palm there was a two sided coin, one silver and one gold. "With this coin, we will determine who's side we each will take." Holding the coin up between his middle and index finger he showed the gold side to Auriel. "This gold side of the coin is your side, and the silver side is mine. This will determine which alliance we will be backing, as well as who gets first strike. The one who comes out victorious in this is the winner and for this game there will be no prize. Let us both just have an enjoyable game of war." When Diran finished, he placed the coin on the table and sat back, folding his hands in his lap.

Auriel took in everything that was said, their excitement growing with each passing second. Diran hid his smile behind his hand, he couldn't wait to crush that enthusiasm Auriel seems to be overflowing with and dominate them.

Diran recovered and spoke, "Now then, do you understand?"

"Yes." Auriel eagerly responded.

"Great. Then let the game begin!"

…

Diran lost.

Diran couldn't believe that he lost to a new born god. Auriel was especially proud at their victory and huffed cockily as they crossed their arms. Diran was still stuck in shock at what had just unfolded before him.

Diran had flipped the coin for choosing an alliance, Diran ending up with the Empire of Sarasota and the Kokomo Federation and Auriel with the Kingdom of Glendale and the Kingdom of Valdosta. The war in the mortal world took five years to come to a conclusion. The first three years Diran had beaten Auriel back into corner after corner, dominating as was in his nature. Then in the fourth year something changed. Auriels forces suddenly gained a tidal wave of strength, their minds unwavering as they charged into battles that sided unfavorably against them. Diran was pushed back further than he ever expected and before he figured out what was happening the fifth year came.

The two alliances Diran had sided with had fallen and surrendered. Everything he had built up for their success had crumbled to dust, even once thought unshakable foundations within had been wiped out all in a matter of minutes in the gods perspective. What an incredible power this new god has.

Auriel then stood from their seat causing Diran to awaken from his thoughts. When Diran met Auriels eyes, he noticed the new god smiling down at him kindly, "Thank you God Diran for this experience. I will forever reflect on this moment with fondness."

Auriel then turned to leave but Diran jumped out of his seat and grabbed Auriels arm. They paused, turning to Diran who looked to have many questions circling his mind. Diran furrowed his brows, his pride had been shattered and humbled like he's never felt before. It was embarrassing but that wasn't what prompted him to grab Auriel. Diran's body pulsed with wave after wave of euphoria, the fact that there was someone in Alkebulan that rivaled him, possibly even surpassed him…

Diran raised his head to meet Auriel's eyes once more with a new perspective on this new born god. "We will fight again." The words slipped from Diran's mouth easily exposing his aching desire.

Auriel blinked at the sudden personality switch in Diran but met it with a dazzling of their own. Diran's body pulsed again at the fierce gaze. Auriel turned fully to Diran and spoke, "I look forward to next time then."

Diran released Auriel and let the new god leave. As Diran watched Auriel walk out of his domain, Diran's face morphed into a euphoric grin, "Auriel, the Golden God of Victory. I hope to one day bring you to your knees."

From that day forward, Diran became obsessed with Auriel, wanting nothing but complete submission from the God of Victory. As the God of Domination, he wanted to cage Auriel and have them only for himself. Like a moon forever eclipsing the sun, he wished to be the one to concur Auriel's light.