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Verse Overture
It is the Ten-Thousandth Year beneath the Supreme Hegemony. The Gods are dead, and the Grand War continues. Hail the Empress Vainglory.
Meta-Narrative:
Violent Hierarchy, referred to collectively as Gaia, is better referred to as an overarching setting rather than a series—It is not only constrained to the pages of a novel, but is instead meant to be experienced through numerous different mediums. While there are multiple projects in the works, such as the main serialization of Hierarchy Scripture being intended to begin release in Early 2025, Gaia is mostly intended for roleplaying purposes. The intention for this document (and of all future pages) is to equip those who enjoy my content with the capability of running and playing their own games in the setting, and to eventually formalize them all into a so-called Gaea Grimoire—a collective TTRPG setting guide, primarily focused exploring the World Itself as a Caster.
Verse Summary—
The World Itself—Planet Hydra is an incomprehensible hellscape, wherein all those who attempt to resist the subjugation of their peoples are culled—and brought to their most misfortunate end. It is impossible to escape the grasp of the World Government, that organization that orchestrates every event and tragedy throughout history—Much of the common people refer to this illimitable status, wherein factions beneath factions beneath factions, ad infinitum, place themselves higher and higher beyond that of the mundane as the “Violent Hierarchy Of Death.” It is unknown who precisely the True Ruler of the World Government is, yet there have been whispers throughout history of a Hierarch Sultanus, a being above that of even the World Sultans that rule over each and every country.
The World Sultans in particular are also referred to as Guildmasters, and their main governmental bodies as that of Guilds. The Guild System is an unorthodox and supposedly necessary systemic choice, wherein all peoples are invited to perform in a series of trials to become a ranked member of their society, and receive greater benefits than those who do not participate. Yet, it is the case that each Guild serves a different purpose, and the benefits vary wildly from the choices of their Guildmaster. Hence, Grand City was established at the centre of Null Island, a neutral territory that lies at the midpoint of the World Atlas, making it such that their organization—The Guild Association—was able to become responsible for intermediation between all Guilds. This was a decision that would have continuous effects on all societies, for the Grand War has continued to rage on.
The Grand War is the longest-running conflict in the history of the Universe, and is the reason the World Itself even exists. The purpose of it has nearly been lost to history, being an encapsulation and extension of previous conflicts throughout time and space. Yet, it appears that, in this so-called Final Hour, the Grand Works were created by the highest members of the Pantheon Ultima. If all were assembled, the Messiah would appear upon the World Itself, and save all those who were chosen by the Preeminent One and had never succumbed to their sins.
Summary
The Violent Hierarchy is an organization of organizations led by a totalitarian regime, and has completely overtaken the Universe with its logic. The Grand War continuously leads to massive amounts of in-fighting and the formalization of rebellions, and made it so that a higher-order Guild Association was required for the Guild System to function. The Grand Works, of which were created by the Pantheon, could theoretically be used to overtake the World Government. The only problem is—They’re aware of such.
Point of Origination—
In the original write up of the series, Gaia was incredibly simple—The "Lyrian Guild" and the "Church of Zephylle" were the primary factions that existed, and had engaged in warfare for ten-thousand years over the death / disappearance of their progenitors. Many of the characters that exist now and have a heavy prevalence in the series, most likely have their origins in this original draft, of which I uploaded chapters of inconsistently several years ago. Roughly, five or six, if I remember—Very, very poorly written chapters, alongside other projects that I had attempted (and likely did worse on than even Gaia at the time.)
However, Gaia actually received its origin almost ten years ago now. In 2015, I decided to buy RPG Maker and try creating a video game. I did not end up succeeding in this, but the start of this video game venture led to the first “design document” I had made—funnily enough, you could consider this one of such. (How many I’ve made, I have no idea…) I discovered at that point that there were plenty of people who did things similar to this, especially for tabletop games—which I had just learned about weeks prior—and also understood that I greatly enjoyed writing more than anything else at the time. And, so, the creation of a novel became the focus between 2016 and 2017, and I’ve been aiming for it since then.
I’ve gone through about ten iterations of the series since then, and many of the ideas I’ve stuck with overtime. However, what stands out from those versions—which I’ll refer to overall as Infdev—is that I did not approach them how I reasonably should have. I overcomplicated the processes, repeated the same documents multiple times, actively refused to write for periods on end, and had trouble dealing with perfectionism in spite of not really accomplishing anything. The current version of the series will be referred to as Pre-Alpha, and I expect this stage to only last until the start of 2025—where I’ll release the first draft of the series proper, marking it as Alpha. I plan to release an Open Beta for the TTRPG by the end of 2025.
Note
Prior to Infdev, you could argue that the series was originally a fanfiction, crossverse project between my friends and myself. I often don’t talk about this stage, but I suppose “Pre-Classic Gaia” was power scaling, trope-filled cringe slop that was only fun because I was a dumb teenager. Albeit… I sometimes miss the simplicity. Perhaps I’ll write fanfiction in the future.
Themes & Purpose—
During the process of writing those versions of Infdev, I believed myself to have an understanding of my series, on a thematic and personal level—This was not true, and that is generally still the case.
A conclusion I have come to in writing so heavily is that one does not have to be consciously aware of the themes, symbolism and workings that they actively portray—This is often where the misunderstanding of talent and skill are conflated. Where a skillful person is capable of orchestrating their intentions into a proper work of art, and can explain much of their reasonings behind such existing, a talented person that lacks skill often can replicate much of this—but still fail to know why. I believe myself to lack technical skill and admit I am woefully talentless, but specifically—I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I believe the purpose of my series is to help myself know who it is that I am, as a way to process the emotions and thoughts that overwhelm me on a daily basis. It really is the case that I, frequently, will have a “Eureka!” moment, where I am convinced that I have discovered an epiphany that would naturally lead me to accomplish all of my goals, fixing all of my problems, et cetera. However, that isn’t really true, and so I’ve decided to instead put all of my energy and time into writing these things as narratives—as a way to cope, most likely, and yet such has led me to being able to explain my thoughts properly.
It is truly the case that Gaia is the distilled essence of myself. I have no idea why that is, but all that I put into it—every thought, every idea, every feeling—is something that I understand to be necessary. Even if I can’t explain it currently, I believe finishing the work would lead to something called an Emergent Theme, wherein all those hidden motifs and thought processes culminate into a proper thematic implementation, giving context to the meaningless absurdity of all those things before it.
Tip
All I’m saying is that I just think that I don’t know myself, and can’t know myself without writing Gaia. That, I won’t be holding back any further, and that I’m aiming to distill everything that makes me whole into my series. I don’t plan to ever stop writing this. Gaia will continue until the day I die. I don't recommend anyone else to do something like this.
Danger
SPOILERS AHEAD. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
Current Circumstances:
There are numerous eras that have elapsed since the First Years, that time in which the World Government was in its infancy. From them, the characteristics of the Grand War would change, and the general philosophies of all humankind would adapt and alter the state and condition of their nations. It is believed that the current circumstances of the Grand War—alongside several key prophetic figures and signs from amongst the stars—have caused a new era to begin, that of Rebirth. Such is disputed by the Government, who proclaim that the status quo has not been altered.
In truth, the only reason circumstances change whatsoever is due to the presence of Mythos Books. Such an item, of which one each belongs to a World Sultan, allows for the manipulation and implementation of Dogma—an irrevocable and immutable law that binds itself to the hearts of all those subjects beneath such a Sultan. The only way to act independently of Dogma is to hit certain triggers that would allow for one to break free of their conditioning, which generally leads to the ability of Spellcasting.
The Everlasting Masquerade—
The Logic of Preeminence is the preliminary force that supersedes all others, being an all-encompassing point of causation that leads to the formalization of those things we call “Gods.” Referred to collectively as the Pantheon Ultima, those higher-order beings directed their abilities towards the manifestation of the Universe, as directed by the Preeminent One, the direct spawn of the Logic of Preeminence. The Everlasting Masquerade are the chieftain of the Pantheon Ultima, possessing objects known as “Grand Souls” that mark them as being of a hypostatic union, being simultaneously mortal and divine. These Grand Souls power their Grand Works, which are objects that — once collected — lead to the appearance of the Messiah. The World Itself was created to harbour these items, being known as the Garden of Eden in Times of Olde, and the Planet Hydra as of the modern day.
Much of the Everlasting Masquerade remains unknown by that of the common people. However, much of their societies and civilizations partly derive their foundation and construction from such beings. They are a source of adoration, of worship and veneration, of praise and higher operation. However, is an agreed upon understanding of all such members, those signs of their appearances. Firstly, each member is a Mask-Bearer, making it such that their faces are hidden from the World Itself, as revealing their presence would assuredly bring existence beneath their authority. Secondly, each member is connected directly to a specific Genealogy. These are bloodlines that converge to the Great Ones, those sixteen tribes that directly descended from Adam and Eve, and made their homes in Mount Kadath—of which the Banquet Hall is held, wherein mortals and divine alike can convene and parlay with the Masquerade. And, of course, they have that of their Grand Works.
It is believed that the Hierarch Sultanus is deeply afraid of the Grand Works, for they "possess the power that lies outside of everything." Hence, the Everlasting Masquerade should be equivalent to such, and are arguably rivals to the World Government. Though, there have been rumours that the Hierarch often participates in such banquets...
The Supreme Hegemony—
The Supreme Hegemony is the proper term for that of the Violent Hierarchy and the aforementioned Guild Systems. The World Government is merely a term that has been adopted by such powers as a tool to enforce their dogmatic truths deeper, operating on a fear-and-hate basis. But, if it is impossible for a person to resist them, and their goals are eventually going to be accomplished, why is it that the World Government continues to exist? Why do they take their time, and why do they not simply end the world—here and now?
Because they can't.
The Universe is an inescapable nightmare, and the World Government themselves are responsible for such an existence. In truth, there is no explicit way for the World Itself to cease existing—wherein it will continuously be reborn, infinitely recursive throughout all of reality—due to the presence of the Ouroboros. Such a being is responsible for the existence of dichotomies, making it such that the World Itself continuously will live and die, where it will continue to needlessly be altered and destroyed, where all things within it have their own counterparts and inevitably destroy each other. ADAM and EVE were considered to be the "head" and "tail" of such a being, but what of its infinite scales...?
Essentially, the World Government is attempting to formalize the potential of elevating the Hierarch beyond that of the Ouroboros—to force an evolution of the totality of all things, to wherein simple distinctions of "life" and "death" become meaningless, and all things become trapped in that of an Infinite Worldscape beneath the Hierarch. Such requires many, many conditions, and it has taken trillions of iterations of the World Itself to accomplish so. But first, the True End must be reached, in order to ascend to that of After Story.
Important Organizations:
There are many organizations and factions that are part of the Supreme Hegemony. Of them, there are only a select few that are not directly hierarchical, wherein they follow a structural pattern with a chain of command. However, all things in the World Itself are bound by the Hierarch, and as such, inevitably are subservient and subjugated beneath their systems. The World Government itself has numerous branches and subdivisions within such, of which delegate their powers to that of the Officer Troupes. From there, the Government Officers influence those of lesser factions, while their superiors and higher commanders orchestrate those of greater authority. Inevitably, the World Sultans lead the nations, and the Hierarch Sultanus that of the World Sultans.
The Guild Association—
The Guild Association is the primary driving force behind the Grand War, a battle that is orchestrated purposefully by the Hierarch and World Sultans. The Guild Association has a ranking system of its own, dictated by Chess Pieces to signify "power", by Titles to signify "ability" and by Ranks to signify "class." As an example, the Nameless Queen is referred to as the Great Observer, and has many titles dedicated to them; In particular, their most notable rank is that of High Messenger, a position in the Messenger Corps. that allows for mental communication between all of the World Sultans.
The Guild Association primarily is the intermediary point between all World Sultans, existing within the prestigious and esteemed Grand City of Null Island. It is the place that all adventurers must first come to, in order to participate in a series of trials that determine the Guildsmen they are to find apprenticeship under, and to mark the country in which they should serve. The Military Council is held between all major guild-factions every ten years, wherein the Hierarch makes the decision on what specific countries should be destroyed, impoverished, assisted, or elevated to higher stature in the next stage of the Grand War.
In the end, it is the case that the Guild Association is indeed a puppet-state of the World Government, but such hasn't stopped rebellions from occurring from within, nor has it stopped others from attempting to climb the ranks to tear down the system.
The Church of Divinity—
The Church of Divinity is the immediate enemy of the Guild Association, stemming from events in the long since passed Golden Age. Believing the World Government to be harbouring the Unholy Spirit, and holding them responsible for the appearance of the Original Sin and the apparent Death of God and the Pantheon Erasure, the Church believes that all those beings that possess a Divine Spark can become capable of reforming the Logic of Preeminence and creating their own Grand Works. In order to directly combat that of the World Government, the Church of Divinity welcomes all those beings of any faith, whether it be aligned with order, chaos, life, death, or anything else. It is believed that any individual faith system is wholly divine.
They do not accept blasphemy and demonolatry, nor the propagation of a False Messiah.
The Slayer Corporation—
The Slayer Corporation is the largest rebellious faction in that of the World Itself, that is specifically misaligned and directly against the Supreme Hegemony. It is believed to have been formed by the Great Evils, the one-hundred most prolific murders in all of history, and is ultimately spearheaded by that of Ghoul, a being that reset the military operations of the World Government seven years ago through the usage of necrotic explosives. It is unclear where their operations are, and it is dubious on whether they exist (besides that of Ghoul). However, it is believed that they appear as an anti-tyrant force, with many countries as such retaliating by adding safeguards and protections against them, even if they haven't appeared apparently so in almost a decade.
Miscellaneous Information:
On Magick and Technology—Magick is an excessively complicated subject, being simultaneously an artistic practice, an occult theological and philosophical construct, a scientific field of study, and generally a series of actions. However, what should be understood, is that all those who are aware of Magick consider it to be both illimitable, undeniable, and equally impossible to exist. It is, of course, the act of imposing Anti-Impossibilities. Technology, however, varies greatly depending on location, and I mean that sincerely.
The People & Places of the Planet Hydra—The environment of Planet Hydra is deeply chaotic and without much basis in reality, being entirely informed and shaped by Magick rather than any specific metrics of Earth-like conditions. It isn't even possible to determine the specific size of the Planet Hydra, as it appears to change randomly and fluctuates depending on certain quandaries. The people are just as varied, with there being at least sixteen kingdoms of species, several subsets of such, and many more races that can have been determined.
The Endless Possibilities—Meta-textually, the Universe is a kitchen-sink of every idea I can think of, so I've built this Universe to handle anything you want—That means, once the Open Beta is out, your characters can be anything you desire! Just, uh, make sure it's original, okay?!
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
Yet to be written...