The Second History is a History within the realm of Fansus 1. A history of empires and magical advancement. The History of Origin of The Architeuthian and blessed heavily by The Apple-of-the-Eye, the History has always been blessed and favored by the more "refined" Hours. However, with this blessing came hubris, and near the time of The Segmenting of the Serpent, a group of mortals conspired with the aviform Hours of The Keys to free the Dead from the Hall of Silence. A blasphemous undertaking that unleashed the Blight of Undeath upon the Second History, which has persisted to this day.
Contents
Summary
The Early Days
The Second History was smiled upon by the Hours, whom chose to be more involved in its development than the Third. So favored was it the occult was more powerful and more openly embraced than the Third and most certainly the Sixth. Perhaps the Hours hoped that by taking a more direct approach in the development of humanity, the History would not fall into the self destructive chaos and anarchy as humans were not to when bereft of supervision. The Apple of the Eye gave the history blessing of beauty and knowledge. the FNORD blessed their FNORDS
The Rise of the King
Early in this History, a great Kingdom rose in the lands known as the Levant. Powerful and rich in natural resources, it quickly established itself as a great kingdom. From these people rose a king unlike any other, whose wisdom and justice was matched only by the wrath he visited upon his people's enemies, uncommon for the Second History. He established a mighty dynasty that saw the repelling of all would-be foreign conquerors and catapulted the kingdom to the status of one of the greatest empires of the Second.
Studious and intuitive, the King was a scholar as well as a warrior, and took great care to learn the Higher Mysteries of the Invisible Arts using what he learned to better the lives of his people. But only those of great might and wit were permitted to share in his knowledge, for he strongly believed that only the worthy were deserving of these blessings, lest they fall into gluttony and indolence.
But no king reigns forever. Eventually, the King, having grown mighty in the Invisible Arts, undertook a great journey westward towards what he thought was the location of the Realm of the Gods, taking with him a retinue of his closest followers. This journey would not end well, as the fleet would be lost at sea, taking the King and all his men with him.
But although he drowned, his story did not end there. Through his own indomitable will and significant power in the occult, he resisted the pull of The Ferryman and ascended to the Sea-Dragon's Palace. He rose stronger, forever changed. The King became the Architeuthian, the Dweller in Depths who rules over forbidden knowledge and survival of the fittest.
The Golden Age of Progress
The Empire was beyond distraught to learn that their beloved King had perished at sea. But for many this sorrow became rejoicing when the priests proclaimed that their King was not Dead, but merely ascended to the realm of the gods to take a seat amongst the pantheon. This news assuaged the fears of many, but not all. A land of scholars and intellectuals, many skeptics took this merely to mean that the King was simply dead, and was certainly never coming back. Debate raged in the high halls of learning as to the whereabouts and status of the King's soul, but at this point in time it was widely accepted that the King was still watching over them from above.
Fears that the Kingdom would fall to invaders or petty infighting as empires of the time were not to do when suddenly bereft of their charismatic ruler proved unfounded, for the King had been just and wise in his dealings and affairs of state. He had surrounded himself with men and magi of great character and wisdom, only those who had proven themselves in battle and possessing strong spirit had been permitted to attain office. He knew that those who had fought for their power and for the peace they all enjoyed would be able to appreciate the value of it, and would not allow their baser natures to get the better of them, no matter the whispers of certain tempting, ruinous powers.
These wise men ensured that the kingdom did not become weakened by enemies within and without. They established a ruling class of wizards and magi who would guide the Kingdom into a golden age of order and prosperity that would last for generations to come. New spells and modes of thinking were invented there long before they were anywhere else in the world.
Although the golden age had outlived the king that planted its seeds, the Architeuthian was pleased by what he saw as he looked down from above.
Degradation
For many years following the passing of the King and the establishment of the regime of magi, the Kingdom remained a bastion of progress and development in a growing world. The original followers of the King were wise, and passed on their secrets and offices to men of similar wisdom and character. These good men would be sure to share their gifts with their people, raising the quality of living for all.
The Kingdom became a melting pot of churches and schools of thought, all intermingling with each other and comparing their ideas peacefully. Schools of higher learning and spellcraft, rich with history became commonplace. It became difficult to find a citizen that had not received some form of learning. If the Sixth History was home to pioneers in the way of technological advancement, then the Second was the leader in higher learning and spirituality.
This was not to last forever, however. For while the magi and their successors, and even their successor's successors were decent men and women of exceptional character, they over time began to neglect one of the tenets of the King's philosophy: of survival of the fittest and helping only the worthy.
In their eagerness to help others and improve the lives of their countrymen, they had been generous in sharing the advanced knowledge they had accumulated over generations of deep thought and communion with the Hours. Perhaps too generous. It was the King's way that all should have to work and struggle for their power, so that only the worthy would possess it, and would not take it for granted. And as knowledge and power over the course of generations was freely shared more and more, that was what began to happen. What was once considered to be a luxury became a common convenience, an knowledge once considered to be sacred mystery to be learned only by the greatest of sages became common knowledge.
The Great Heresy
Decadence, like a Red stain, began to seep into a spread through the bedrock of society. What started as just pride in their heritage and ancestral achievements became arrogance, and a inherent sense of superiority over the rest of the world.
"Look at them, these lesser people. They are not favored by the Hours as we are. What divine blood do they trace their heritage back to? Why should we be bound to the same rules as they? Why shouldn't we carry ourselves as their inherent superiors, their rightful rulers? What could they possibly do to stop us?"
This perverse, selfish mindset like a cancer ate at the foundations of the Kingdom and wormed its way into the minds of even a number of members of the ruling class.
And with complacency and abundance, optimism and dreams of a brighter future faded, replaced with contentment with the present. And in their ideological stagnation, form of cynical and misanthropic forms of thinking began to spread.
Did the King, the beloved pioneer of their glorious empire, truly ascend to godhood? How could they know for sure, for most citizens while aware of higher powers' existence were not adept in the ways of the Invisible Arts, which were attained only through great fortitude of spirit and a relationship of mutual respect with the beings of the Mansus, and fortitude and respect were traits that became less and less common in the Kingdom as convenience continued to become more and more widespread.
Had they all understood the volatility of what they were dealing with, perhaps the Blight they would bring upon them all could have been averted.
Heretical notions, of the King's mortality and powerlessness in the Mansus, of the Hours' impotence and the destiny of the magi to inherit the world and therefore need no longer be bound by the rules and boundaries considered sacred by their forbears gained traction in halls of government and higher learning. Where once these profane notions would have never been entertained, they now gained traction as the children of children who had never known hardship could find no reason as to why the power they had always remembered having should be treated with respect.
As more boundaries began to be pushed and more sacred rules broken, they at last came to the one rule that all men were bound by:
No man can live forever, and the Dead cannot return to life.
And in their hubris, the magi responded to this Truth with a question: "Why not?"
Crime of the Sky
FNORD
Summary
While the other Hours fought for ever greater influence over the rest of histories the second was left mostly untouched by the great wars for power that waged between The Anaconda and the Snake Tail with Appendages. There was some otherworldly pressure, however, as sometime in the 15th century there arose a great statesman in the Italian provinces of the Holy Roman Empire. He soon outshone his patrons in popularity with the people, inciting uprising and taking their place as prince. As ruler he exerted his authority over all Italy, hastening the secession of the northern principalities from their imperial overlord, and the southern from their Iberian one. The Prince then formed the Italian Confederation under his shadowy and beguiling rule.
Buddhist beliefs had quickly spread through Japan, outpacing both Taoism and Shintoism in popularity. In particular, Bishamonten had received extraordinary reverence from the populace, both as a guardian and as a generous and gilded god. Behind the mask of Bishamon, as always, hides an Hour - the Apple-of-the-Eye, the vain God-from-Light, the Hour of distance and beauty. Veneration of the god Bishamonten was cited by the Japanese government at several points as the reason for: The construction of several public sculptures of incomparable intricacy, undeniable beauty and intimidating costs; The complete closure of Japan’s borders; The beginning and continuation of the Russo-Japanese War; The establishment of a great many Buddhist temples; A series of increases of taxes upon all the industries.
The Stargazing Society, that loosely-tied company of ambitious astronomers dedicated to the distant and enthralling Hours: The Glorious Lie, the Watcher in the Window, the Ferryman, the Star. In the Third History, they suffered a schism and eventual division as Edward Pierce, one of their more outspoken members, began to espouse worship of the Elder Sister, with whom he believed the company shared a common goal. Only one Stargazing Society remains today, but they acknowledge their dead twin with idolless shrines and thorough records of their theories.