Good and evil are products of perception. Existing at different locations in the spectrum of life will teach you that lesson in reality. One man's god is another man's demon no matter the dominance of a faith. A problem in this perception are the rifts in knowledge and communications. The impact of these rifts fuels the flames of conflict.
These words couldn't be clearer as Adam, aeon of Caelum's ruler, spoke them to his son hundreds of years after Adam's birth.
Immortality
Tangible information doesn't exist between the corporeal and ethereal. In this space, entropy and preservation rule. The energies that exist here are chaotic and everlasting.
The point between these two states exists in violence and transition. When transitioning from solid matter to energy, it is a state of becoming. You spend decades, or longer, becoming aware of the universe at large. Once your vessel completes its journey through time it normally ceases to exist. For those chosen few however, the change occurs during consciousness.
As this change occurs the congealed energy of the flesh gets released. Thoughts are ephemeral during this period as the consciousness of the being transitioning expands almost infinitely.
You can't see and understand the transformation that occurs. Such understanding isn't possible. Even if it did, neither side wishes to know it as such knowledge reminds them of their frailty. You only know that in an instant, your perceptions change from one extreme to another. There is no better, or worse frame, of existence.
Exiting on the side of the ethereal leaves you mind open to the infinite.
The Garden
The host of Caelum required a testing platform for their products. They had succeeded in every endeavor imagined save one. They did not yet produce a species that could sustain them adequately.
Faith provided the most delectable energy to their pallet, but the laws of the universe had very strict requirements to follow. For instance, only the best animals with the following traits would do:
- Sentience
- Strength
- Reasoning
- Free Will
Of these requirements, reasoning was most difficult to alter. They were not concerned with free will as it was the most malleable attribute. The species they create needs to be able to solve problems, but it could not be so advanced as to recognize itself as a sentient being capable of transcendence. For if they did, then it may spell doom for the host.
However, this was new ground. For the first time, they were attempting to create a species that could provide sustenance through blind devotion. Such a thing was possible, but many iterations of species would be required to get things just right.
They were creating new food in their followers to be. Developing it within their own lands was out of the question. Their environment would allow for no foreign impurities. The host needed a safe place as they watched their abominations grow.
#POB-WOTW Season 3 Challenge Round
Contest Times
Start: (Monday @ midnight) 27/09/21
Stop: (Monday @ midnight) 11/10/21
Contest Rules
- Be Creative
- Write an article that uses all of the following four words: Hive, Discord, Malicious, and Frailty.
- Do not write about the Hive blockchain.
- Do not commit plagiarism.
- Use the #POB-WOTW tag if you are participating in the contest.
Please include the use of the hashtag(#) when using the #POB-WOTW tag inside of your article. It keeps this contest viewable in the trending tags. Also, only use the #POB-WOTW tag if you're participating in the contest. For example, if you write a POB-Daily post that has nothing to do with the contest, then you're article won't be counted.
Including all the words in the title of the article, and then not using it within the article, is not the intent of any word-related contest. Challenge yourself. Have fun with it. Engage yourself. Speaking of engagement:
Engagement Grading
You can receive bonus points as high as 2 or as low as -1 for engagement within your posts. If you post an article, but don't engage with any commenters on that article, then you may fall behind in the rankings.
Here is the grading criteria:
| Points | Title | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| (-1) | No author engagement | Users engage in the conversation, but the author does not participate in the discussions (at least one full logical sentence of engagement from the author should exist). "Hey, thanks." - doesn't count |
| (0) | No engagement | No quality engagement exists in the contest articles (one to two word comments don't count). Spamming and automated responses do not count. |
| (+1) | Engagement exists | Author responds to commentators in a normal conversation in their own post. |
| (+2) | Engagement flows | Authors and commentators fully engage in meaningful conversation that addresses contest articles and raises the overall quality of the author's work. |
Contest Rewards
- Place first: 300 POB
- Place second: 100 POB
- Place third: 65 POB
- Place fourth: 35 POB
- Delegations may or may not be given.
Current #POB-WOTW Entries
Thank you all for participating. In some cases, either the article is not counted. For instance, I don't count articles written by myself and 
In another case, people did not follow the rules and were disqualified. The results of the grading will be publicly available at the end of the week. I won't discuss the details of the grading until the contest closes for the week.
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Aeon Adave
He did what no other being had done before in this universe. A perfect being he did create. Perfect in the required ratios needed to bring forth the energies the host desired. Eventually, the progeny of Adave would be legion and the hosts' desires sated from the blind and loving faith of its cattle.
Adave was born fully grown into that reality, but was not yet aware of all that existed. The God passed the aeon on to subordinates to receive instruction. In the beginning, all was as it should be. Eventually, Adave saw the intent the lessons provided, but felt that there was so much more. The aeon couldn't pinpoint the problem at first.
To aeon Adave, it seemed like there was so much missing. It was as if the teachers were blind to the colors of a rainbow in a class about colors. Her teachers thought they knew it all, but couldn't they didn't appear to understand what they were teaching.
Courteous, respectful, and humble, Adave began explaining her views to the host and how it was different than what they taught. Her words resonated harmoniously with the collective. They understood the error of their ways. They wished to change their approach to follow her guidance and walk a better path. A discord that seemed to be a part of life began to heal. The heavenly cost began to sing of Adave's wisdom and kindness.
It was a song that brought forth malice in the heart of their God. For, if the aeon could bring the collective together, then the creation was greater than its master.
To Severe
A deity is not omnipotent or omniscient. Perception is the key. Mortals should understand this before worship. The God of Caelum knows not of the infinite or everlasting. The God simply knows how to survive in a cold and calculating universe. And in this universe, the Hive mind is key to the next day. One mind, one voice, and one people together in unity to stave off the chaos that precedes entropy.
The existence of aeon Adave now posed a problem. The knowledge this being possessed could cause a schism in the host. The schism would be no less threatening than that brought about by the Light Bringer during the dawn of their arrival in this plane.
Thoughts about the Light Bringer brought tears to the God. He recalled their philosophical discussions about morality and existence in their former home. He was a true friend to the host. And yet, their people needed to survive. Despite their power and knowledge the host learned their society could be as frail as those within the corporeal realm.
In the end, you fight to survive or your die. Only one option has ever existed for the God of Caelum.
Gladius Victoriae
The Lord Almighty approached Adave during one of the aeon's lectures with the host. He admired the care Adave took with explanations. It showed a compassion that reminded him of his brother before the first war.
With righteousness, fury, and care the Lord lifted the aeon and cleaved its being in two with his power.
The Lord of Caelum made his choice. He would not lead his people into oblivion. They would survive until the next day. In splitting Adave, the Lord created two lesser forms that he called Adam and Eve.
Their power now fell below that of the host. Reduced to two beings, God reshaped their energies to end their lives after an allowable period of time. The new humans and the society they would create could still transcend above the power of the host. However, they would now have to work at it just like the rest of them. Humanity would now begin their lessons of fear and slavery to sustain the gods that rule them.
In Closing
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
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