Enderal:The Cycle

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< Enderal

You want to know if what threatens you threatens other realities, too. And yes, it does. The Cycle is a logical consequence born from the right circumstances... and these are not limited to your branch.

— Veiled Woman, during All the Dead Souls

The Cycle is an ongoing process in Vyn whose iterations are characterized by the end of a blossomed civilization due to the Cleansing. The number of iterations is unknown, but thousands or more civilizations have already fallen within the Cycle, as seen by the Black Guardian. The Cycle happens in all the parallel realities.

Origin

It is unclear when exactly the Cycle started. The Black Guardian believes it might be a trial, a cosmic game devised by incomprehensible powers.

The book Kadath explains that the Veiled Woman is responsible for the start of the Cycle. She had created a civilization that only knew pleasure and no death, causing the people to fall into despair as they were without meaning in life. When the Veiled Woman realized her mistake, she created suffering, hatred, pride, and fear in contrast to the brief moments of happiness that humans experience. She created the Cycle as a way to give hope to mankind.

The Cycle is maintained by the High Ones, beings without a physical shape who are present everywhere. Each of them came into existence through the harvesting of the collective consciousness of a civilization at the end of an iteration of the Cycle. The High Ones manipulate civilizations to ensure that the Cleansing will occur at the end of an iteration of the Cycle.

The Pattern

In order to make sure that the Cycle continues, and, therefore, that new High Ones continue being created, the High Ones employ the same pattern, known to work, in every iteration, by indirectly influencing people into doing their work for them. They have perfected this, and every iteration is an almost perfect carbon copy of the other, down to the phrases uttered by certain key characters. The pattern, as experienced by the Pyrians, can be seen in the Echo of the Future by the Prophet.

Phase 1

In the first step of the Cycle, life forms itself out of nothing. From that life, humans evolve and start populating Vyn.

Phase 1 of the Cycle

Phase 2

A first civilization arises and blossoms. Despite their greatness, this civilization always falls, usually in a grand catastrophe. For the latest iteration of the Cycle, this was Asâtoron’s reign of the Aeterna, which collapsed after the Starfall.

Phase 2 of the Cycle

Phase 3

A second civilization rises after the first one falls, which is reigned over by a few who proclaim themselves gods. In the Pyrean realm, these were the Sunpriests. In the latest iteration of the Cycle, it were the Light-Born who ruled.

Phase 3 of the Cycle

Phase 4

The fourth step is the downfall of the rulers. In the Pyrean Age, it was the general Jakal, a member of one of the reigning castes himself, who turned against both castes and killed them. In the current age, it was the Shadow God and Narathzul Arantheal who killed the Light-Born.

Phase 4 of the Cycle

Phase 5

In the fifth step, the death of the rulers plunges the world into chaos and civil wars. The High Ones appear, and with them, the Red Madness. Around that time, Emissaries start to appear, projections of specific deceased people who are manipulated by the High Ones.

The Emperor (such as Grandmaster Tealor Arantheal‏‎) appears, an Emissary that leads the theocracy and denies the death of their gods to the people, in order to prevent chaos in their own country. The Emperor learns about the Cycle and the Cleansing, and intends to stop them. That's when the Prophet appears (such as The Prophet), someone with incredible powers that aids the Emperor into getting a Beacon and its Black Stones to banish the High Ones. This leads to the creation of another Emissary, the Messiah, that opposes the Emperor and fanatically wages war on religion (such as Taranor Coarek).

Backed by traitors inside the Emperor's own realm, the Messiah pressures the Emperor and Prophet into venturing to gather a Numinos, the core of the Beacon which causes it to focus its energy on the High Ones. The gathering of this Numinos always fails. The Emperor, driven by desperation and with armies on their doorstep, decides to light the Beacon without a core. They believe that this will cause an explosion that will destroy the Messiah and their armies. Unbeknown to the Emperor, they have just initiated what they sought to stop from the very beginning: the Cleansing.

Phase 5 of the Cycle

Phase 6

The final step of the Cycle is the Cleansing. When the Emperor activates the Beacon without a Numinos, the Cleansing is initiated. It starts as a bright light from the heart of the Beacon which opens a hole in the sky. Within hours, it spreads throughout the world, and every living being feels a fire burning from within, a white light that breaks through their flesh. Mankind dies and the collective consciousness of the civilization ascends skywards and forms a new High One, thus ending that iteration of the Cycle.

Phase 6 of the Cycle

Ending the Cycle in favor of mankind

The Cycle can be ended in favor of mankind when a civilization successfully acquires a Numinos with the essence of a High One. When the Numinos is placed within the Beacon and the Beacon is lit, this will banish the High Ones once and for all. However, in the thousands of iterations of the Cycle, no civilization has ever been successful in obtaining a filled Numinos. No civilization has been aware of the true nature of the Beacon and its potential to cause the Cleansing. Due to their continuous search for an enemy who was responsible for their misery, civilizations keep playing into the hands of the High Ones, every time resulting in the Cleansing.