Seth’s Rebellion
Axtin Seth, who had long been a judge in the Empyrean Corporation’s courts, became the “God of Justice” over the world of Ymir at the start of the Genesis II project. Despite Seth’s personal spiritual beliefs, his friend Dr. Nebo convinced him that doing so would allow him to guide the people of Ymir to a bright future. “Just think of what you could do with so many minds to mold! You know what justice is. To them, you truly will be as a higher being imparting your knowledge to them. Would you not call that divine?”
With this and similar arguments in mind, Seth presided over the courthouses of Ymir for thousands of years in the First Age. It was during that time that he became romantically involved with Lady Jynna Ashtoreth, who had been made Emyprean’s “Goddess of Love.” Many heroic souls of Ymir dedicated themselves to Seth’s service and passed on the teachings of his holy texts.
However, over the course of those millennia, he started to take issue with certain aspects of the project. During one of several purges of fiend settlements, he witnessed a mother fiend shielding an infant with her own body. At first, he thought this a fluke, and second-guessed what he saw. Unable to rest, he sent his avatar, disguised as a fiend, to spend some time among the lowly creatures. Through this, he discovered that these creatures were capable of compassion and morality.
With this information in mind, he confronted Dr. Nebo, demanding to know why the genetic engineer had not made the fiends as monsters of pure evil. Dr. Nebo responded that he knew of no genetic code that could make any creation wholly wicked. This caused a major crisis of conscience for Seth, who barely ate or slept for weeks. Even Lady Ashtoreth was not able to improve his mood.
During that first age, a certain archon named Lugal became the object of worship by many people on Ymir. This archon had declared himself Enlil’s Heir, destined to take up the mantle of the Father of All. Countless multitudes from among the people of Ymir, and even many of the other archons, flocked to his new temple to worship him. Many declared that he was Enlil come back from the dead. Most of the adonium that had once been paid to the gods went to Lugal instead. From these new stores, he had his faithful construct the Everlasting Tower. This twisting spire was not merely a testament to his power, but rather made him formidable even to the gods of Empyrean.
For stealing their followers and their precious adonium, the false gods led an attack on Lugal and his faithful. Their starships unleashed such firepower on the world of Ymir that by the time it was done, only a tenth of the world’s population remained. The “Everlasting Tower,” it seemed, would not live up to its name, and Lugal was lost in the apocalyptic fires.
Following the planet-wide massacre, Dr. Nyx assigned Dr. Nebo to immediately begin replenishing the population. This was the last straw for Seth. In his mind, the project was a failure, and they should have cut their losses. Instead, they were doubling down. This time, he confronted Dr. Nyx.
“After all that we’ve done, all that we’ve seen, how can we continue to pretend to be gods to these people?” Seth asked.
Dr. Nyx smirked at him. “Pretend? Axtin, haven’t you realized by now? We created them and crafted their world. When they prayed to us, we answered their prayers. And when they turned on us, we ended their world. My friend, we’re not pretending at all. We are their gods!”
Only the strongest willpower that Seth could muster prevented him from attacking his employer in that moment. He left that day knowing what he had to do. He had to tell the people of Ymir the truth.
Yet, by the time Seth traveled to the surface in person, the other gods had already spread word of a betrayal. The people ran and hid at his presence, for they had been told he was a fallen deity. A god of chaos.
Unable to convince the human population of Ymir that he was not the enemy, and with only a third of the archons under his command ready to join his side, he turned to the fiends. It was for their sake, after all, that he’d first begin to question what Empyrean was doing. Having long been told that they were simply born wicked, and that their creator was dead, the fiends were all too ready to believe something else.
Thus, Seth’s Rebellion was born at the start of the Second Age.
