World Building: Genesis According to the Magi

Where should world building start? Many writers would tell you that the world that surrounds your characters should be one that feels immersive, plausible to a degree, and is well lived in. Those same writers would caution you against spending to much time building the history, cultures, religions, etc.

While I agree with this to a certain degree, what I found in my writing process is that I was unable to place characters in realistic situations without having a great amount of that backstory work done. So the correct answer is for you to take as much time building your world as you need.

So where did I start? Well, let me show you...

Creation of the Universe According to the Magi

Before time began, there was only one eternal being, the Dark. With the dark was a power that was too great for the dark to possess on it's own. From that power, came the Light.

At first, the light was a small, tiny thing that the Dark was able to consume and control. As the eons went on, however, the Light grew stronger and spread itself far and wide. The Dark allowed this at first because it was still all consuming--the beginning and the end. But as light continued to spread, it began to embody much of the power that the Dark horded for itself. The Light, being a proponent of propagation, warmth, and excitement used this power to bring forth into existence a world.

Each culture has it's own name for it, but in the common tongue, it's known as Evelyn. At first the world was filled with light. Shadows, night, and darkness was not something that the early world knew and because of this, the Light's first attempts to fill the world with life failed. Eventually it came to pass, that the Light allowed the Dark to come into the world and inhabit it in a limited fashion. They shared the time of day, and for where the light was present, the dark would be present in the form of shadow.

The energy produced by the achievement of balance between the Dark and the Light brought forth what the magi call the spark. From this spark came all of the living things in the world. However, the Dark was not pleased with this. While this living things strived for happiness, achievement, and procreation, the Dark was determined to fill the world with all of the things that oppose these forces. And so, the Dark began to corrupt life in the world. Thus, for every living thing where there is a remnant of a spark, there is also a shadow of darkness. Though the animals and creatures of the world were not yet able to understand this, eventually life grew something unexpected--intelligence. From the bejorn, to the djinn, to the tengu and the fen, life began to seek something more. Something called progress, and the darkness within them hindered this but only just. It wasn't until the rise of men, where the Dark found its greatest and chiefest of servants.

Because this world has many cultures and religions, this is but one version of how one group of people believe the world as they experience it came to be. Let me know what you think about the Genesis of Evelyn as taught by the Magi in the comments below!

Want to hear more about a specific part of my world? Shoot me an email at jdnighthammer@outlook.com or follow my on Social Media! Also, don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter so that you can be notified of every new post and subscriber exclusive content!