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During this time, the Great Serpent would take on a Name. A young woman, originally counted among the flock of the Butterfly Hatching, grew weary of her miserable mortal existence and chose to Ascend. Shedding both her identity as well as her humanity, she became [[The Anaconda]].
But his kingdom's prosperity was not due just to his leadership alone. His mentor, Merlin, was a wizard of incredible power and wisdom. While Arthur saw to the public side of running a kingdom, it was his trusted vizier that saw to the running of the day-to-day and protected the realm from otherworldly threats. Mansus-spirits bolstered the kingdom's armies or drove enemy generals mad in their sleep. Those who sought to challenge Arthur's rule simply... ''disappeared'', and few who knew them could barely even recall they had existed in the first place, let alone what horrible fate had befallen them.
To prove his worth to the Great Serpent, he committed the very same betrayal he had executed countless others for attempting. He betrayed and murdered Arthur, to show fealty to his new liege. His pledge was accepted by the Great Serpent, and he became [[The Vizier]], the majordomo of the House. But while the Vizier acquired the power and authority he'd coveted, to his horror he learned that it had all been for naught. With the king dead and the vizier missing, Albion was unable to effectively govern itself, let alone control its subordinate territories across the continent. The kingdom fell into anarchy and rebellion, a dark age that would last a thousand years.
Sometime during this period, the Mansus was stunned as something unprecedented occurred. A Hour... simply appeared. A new Door appeared inside [[The Kiln of Progress]] as if it had always been there. From this Door emerged the [[The Silver Owl]], who knew not where she came from. The Hours wondered how this could be, for all of [[The Trinity]] denied creating her. The Owl, curiously enough, didn't seem able to even ''perceive'' [[The Sixth History]]. Some Hours argued the Owl was an invader that should be destroyed.
The next Hour to rise to the Mansus would come from [[The Second History]]. Another great king would arise from men, one who was both occultist and warrior. His name was Adonibaal, and his unparalleled battle prowess paired with his incredible magical power allowed him to defend his homeland from all would-be invaders. Under his leadership, his country unified the Levant into a mighty empire, [[The Empire of Bayal]].
Meanwhile, the Cuckoo was enacting a plot to rise to power in the Mansus. Weaving a great web of deceit, she gathered many religious sects to herself, throughout the histories. Through her lies, she convinced them they were praying to a Hour of love and joy, one that would watch over them forever. With a twisted, Butterfly-backed ritual, the cults all tore holes in reality simultaneously and rushed through, convinced they would be united with their god forever. But the only thing waiting for them on the other side of the portals were claws, beaks, and serrated teeth. To a man they were slaughtered, butchered so that their faith could be harvested.
For the Cuckoo sought not their worship, but the ''object'' of their worship. She wished to create a beautiful new Hour, so she could steal its power for herself and escape her wretched state. High above the Wood, the Gate of Crowns ''screamed'' in pained acknowledgement of a new Hour's twisted birth.The blood of the Dead and dying called out for a savior. And, finding no savior, formed one. And so the first of the [[Gods-From-Blood]], [[The Peacock]], was formed: The Hour of Love, Life, and Excess. The Cuckoo attacked the Peacock, in an effort to devour it alive. Despite being torn asunder and collapsing, the Cuckoo was shocked when, midway through her meal, the Peacock sprung back up and fled into the Wood, reforming as he went. The newborn Hour lacked any memories or identity of his own beyond his purpose. He was never human, but neither did he have the benefit of spending millennia exploring the House. To better understand humans, he observed the Histories. Upon laying Eyes upon the prosperity of the Second History, the Bird chose to become one of the patrons of Bayal, so that he might learn from the mortals as the mortals learned from him. Bayal, meanwhile, began to stagnate. With everyday citizens regularly practicing magic and occultism, Bayal became a superpower its neighbors and rivals could not hope to match. However, with that sense of superiority came complacency and excess, just as Adonibaal predicted. The Bayali civilization's cultural development screeched to a halt, too focused on their own pleasure to focus on anything else. No longer entirely himself, Adonibaal could only look on in shame as his descendants gave in fully to the Grail. To Hours like the Peacock and the Ferryman they gave all they had to give for tastier food, finer wine, inspiration for more profane works of "art". Many of Bayal's advances became lost, their inventors trading the very ''idea'' of them to the Ferryman, so that they could never again be learned. As the Bayali lost their reason to excess, the Peacock "learned" more and more about humanity's desires. To this day the argument of whether the Peacock corrupted the Bayali or the Bayali corrupted the Peacock. Even the council of magi were not immune to the corruption, and as the years went by the original members passed into the Mansus, they were replaced by a loose-knit cabal of hedonists and jingoistic patriots. This group and their followers made up the composition of a movement calling itself [[The Church of the Second Flood]]. They believed that as they shared the same blood as a now-diving being, it was their right to do whatever they pleased. Why, then, should they be bound to the covenant that their foolish ancestors made a thousand years ago? In their arrogance, they turned against the Ferryman in a bid to steal eternal life back from death itself. They were joined in this venture by [[The Peacock]], [[The Caladrius]], and [[The Silver Owl]]
