Amaranth (Cosmoria)
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The death of infinity was not a particularly spectacular event. The series of events leading up to it, the Ultimate End, were, but the aftermath was surely anticlimactic. It represented the sole purpose of Ambrosia and, after it was achieved, the actors in the deterministic play that was Ambrosia were left to their own devices. The story was finished, the universe had no reason to continue to exist. The dilapidation set in quickly, the various omnipotent powers that kept Ambrosia in check began grinding to a halt. Even seconds after the Ultimate End was achieved, Ambrosia was already dying.
Perhaps it was painless for the uncountably many souls that called Ambrosia home. Most of it was surely destroyed within the blink of an eye. Certain pockets could have persisted, and may still persist even after Ambrosia has faded away. The only way to have survived the end of Ambrosia was with the force of Amaranth, the only lasting legacy of Ambrosia. This infinite concept was etched into what it meant to exist, thus making it impossible to destroy. In truth, so was its creator, Imagindarium, an even more potent force of creation that transcends even infinity. However, Imagindarium's story was finished, leaving Amaranth alone in the void it left behind.
Like a director abandoning a set of actors, props, and a stage after a play, the universe still technically existed. The story was over, closing the reality it represented, but there was a more base reality that continued on. The medium on which the story was told, usually referred to as the "Stage," was not empty. Imagindarium left behind nearly a vast amount of potential. There was no energy in this system, but there was potential for change to take place.
Over the eons, Amaranth idly stood by. As the first true particle, The Monad, came into existence, it created an entire universe in its solitary dance on the stage. Playing the role of every particle at the same time, The Monad caused Cosmoria to leap into existence. With an entire new universe to interface with, familiar concepts like space and time caused Amaranth to finally begin interfering once more.
Creation
In the first few moments of Cosmoria's existence, Amaranth split into Evil and Good. Perhaps it was imitating the quantum field that was Cosmoria, or perhaps it was in fact breaking down without Imagindarium to guide it. Either way, these two forces would have a lasting impact on Cosmoria. Regardless they remained inert. Good and evil, while not objective in Cosmoria, are better described as the names for Amaranth's two fundamental halves. Evil and Good would remain separate and mostly inert for nearly the rest of Cosmoria's history.
As the fire of Cosmoria's creation settled down, the Ambrosian Remnants precipitated out of the primordial plasma of Cosmoria. The Remnants ranged in size from specs of dust to an entire planet and in form from amorphous blobs to ancient weapons. These remnants exhibited exotic properties that would normally be impossible in Cosmoria. They evenly spread themselves throughout most of Cosmoria long before life began.
Discovery
A theory that included Amaranth was a holy grail for scientists in Cosmoria. For millennia, a theory of everything that included the quantum, gravity, and the Noosphere, had been the standard view. It was the most successful theory of all time, launching technological development forward everywhere it was discovered. Accurately predicting the behavior of particles a quadrillion times to one, it was truly a theory of everything. Much to the dismay of philosophers, it swallowed the field of metaphysics, converting it into a field of science with definitive answers and testable hypotheses.
When scientists began exploring the exceptions, they noticed a common trend. The stray particle that defied their theories, for only nanoseconds at a time, had only null properties. For example, metaphors such as "spin" and "color" are often used for quantum particles to describe their utterly alien behavior. When the particles got out of line, these properties were measured to be null.
As the quantum physicists petitioned governments to build ever-larger particle colliders, serious advancement in the field slowed to a halt. As they looked closer, it only confirmed their existing theory. When they found the exceptions, these so-called "Null Behavior Particles," no matter how high the energies involved were, behaved the same.
As the physicists were stumped by the complex phenomenon, an emerging field would prove most useful in explaining these phenomena. The field of Anomalistics was seen as an unserious discipline beset by pseudoscience, unfalsifiable claims, and ludicrous explanations. In the Providence Union, then the center of scientific advancement, Anomalists could hardly find the funding to conduct planetary-scale quantum research. Within the Triumvirate Civilization, however, the theocratic government was looking for any esoteric reason to declare their faith as superior to the much more prevalent faiths of the day. The Triumvirate showered the field with large amounts of funding, even going so far as to have primitive species under their control research it as well. Anomalists from the Providence Union were welcomed with open arms and emigrated to the Triumvirate in large numbers to pursue their research or, more often, become tremendously rich while doing little.
As the centuries went on, Anomalists from across the Triumvirate rediscovered the Ambrosian Remnants. When studied, they proved to be made up almost entirely of Null Behavior Particles. Due to their relevance in Aeternalism, these once legendary artifacts caused the particles to be renamed to "Amaranth-Touched Particles."
Throughout the history of the Triumvirate, it gathered most of the Ambrosian Remnants in Cosmoria, only for its collapse to scatter them once more. Collectors, religious fanatics, and governments bought up many of them.
The Great Amaranth Heist
The Remnants would change hands dozens of times in history, but, by 85,000 CE, they would end up firmly within the coffers of the nation of Sedrua. The Aeternalist state considered them to be holy objects that were to be protected at all costs. While there were other holders of remnants, such as the Cabal of Amaranth Truth and the Occult Galaxy Project, Sedrua possessed over 95%.
During the War of the Ancients, Sedrua moved all of its Remnants to the Lux Aeterna. There, they would be protected by Father Zaphenim, one of the oldest intelligent beings in Cosmoria and also one of its most Thaumically powerful. He spent much of his time studying them, but his focus usually returned to two of the most interesting artifacts—the Amaranth Knight and the Antiwraith. The former, an indestructible living suit of armor, and the latter, a violently boiling mass of liquid, had legends told about them since before the Common Era. They represented both the good and evil portions of Amaranth respectively. While a small contingent of archeologists had been looking for them for millennia, they were located in Zaphenim's Mansion since he found them at the turn of the Common Era. This building, located in the center of Cosmoria and shrouded by the clouds of the Lux Aeterna, was inaccessible for most.
The War of the Ancients, however, motivated soldiers from the Dominion of Astraeus to find a way to break into the mansion. It is well-known that Magi are the only individuals capable of entering the Lux Aeterna. Thus, the Dominion sent its most potent magi, lead by empress Jezebel Drusus. During a protracted battle between Jezebel and Father Zaphenim, soldiers from the Dominion were able to secure the Amaranth Knight but failed to extract the Antiwraith. The soldiers fled with most of the other artifacts.
The Amaranth Knight would go on to kill Jezebel as she attempted to fully eliminate the limited democracy in the Dominion of Astraeus. Her crusade to secure power for the aristocracy, called Jezebel's War, largely ended with her death.
Aylathiya's Ignominy
The Antiwraith played a great role in the coup attempt known as Aylathiya's Ignominy. After Zaphenim was forced to surrender, he spent nearly all of his time plotting against the newly-created Greater Martial Consilium. He often paced through the now-empty halls of his mansion, waiting for the best opportunity to strike. He spent the most amount of time with an ampule that contained the Antiwraith. Being the manifestation of all of the objective evil that Amaranth contained, Zaphenim became slowly influenced by its whispers of power.
Under its influence, Zaphenim began planning a coup. When Mother Ohko, his subordinate, took power within the Consilium, she refused to surrender her position to him. He recklessly attacked the Consilium, resulting in a great battle. During the coup, an entity known as The Administrator seized the Antiwraith for itself. Unlike Zaphenim, who had never been exposed to it directly, The Administrator directly contacted the Antiwraith after it was freed from Zaphenim's mansion. Within seconds of escaping, it disappeared. As The Administrator recovered from the attack, thanks to the Antiwraith's power, it began its plan to harness Amaranth's infinite power.
Penultimate End
In the year 110,340 CE, detection of Amaranth-Touched particles increased massively. As governments the universe over were notified of this phenomenon, a one billion percent increase that was still invisible on a macroscopic scale, the Antiwraith and Amaranth Knight met on the planet Amarent. On this exoplanet, far from most of Cosmoria, they engaged in the single most impressive battle in history. Azurade, the first and most powerful intelligent being in all of Cosmoria, attempted to prevent the battle from taking place, only to be sabotaged by The Administrator.
The planet was vaporized instantly. Intense gamma-ray bursts, reminiscent of antimatter annihilation, bathed the galaxy in dangerous radiation. Good and evil explosively collided, the result of Amaranth being divided for so long. The amount of energy released sterilized over half the galaxy.
In the aftermath, surviving governments, militaries, and independent organizations began warring over the remains. Were it not for The Administrator's meddling, Cosmoria as well as Azurade would have been destroyed instantly. All of existence would have been subsumed in Amaranth fire and made anew in a fashion not too dissimilar to Cosmoria's initial creation. The Administrator held on to a small piece of the Antiwraith. Using this minuscule fraction, it slowly dragged the Antiwraith out of the unified Amaranth, absorbing it into itself one piece at a time.
After nearly a millennium, evil had been expunged from Amaranth and absorbed into The Administrator. Its first act was to imprison Azurade. The power of the evil portion of Amaranth, while not infinite, was far in excess of hers. It is in the nature of absolute evil to destroy good, causing The Administrator to pursue the Amaranth Knight throughout Cosmoria.
A warlord who went by the name of Uriel, had come to purchase the Amaranth Knight. Oblivious to the cosmic battle that was taking place, and even oblivious to the ancient history of Cosmoria, he desired to use it as a weapon. When it became obvious that using the embodiment of pure good as a weapon was impossible, Uriel attempted to get rid of it. This proved infeasible as the Knight intelligently resisted any attempt to destroy it. It would eventually, through indirect means as it was mute, explain to Uriel what was happening.
Uriel would learn about the history of Cosmoria, in particular the great rulers of old known as the Imperators. They derived their abilities from Mars, which at this point, was believed to be the creator of the universe. While no deity, Mars contained within it unrivaled power. Uriel managed to contain Mars within his soul. Using the abilities it granted him, he would quickly create a name for himself. The power Mars had was contingent on the collective will of all of its subjects, which, at this point, were the inhabitants of a handful of islands on the Eos megastructure.
As Uriel motivated, through force or otherwise, the survivors of Cosmoria to unite in common cause against The Administrator, Mars' will became increasingly crystalized. The Amaranth Knight finally bowed to Uriel, allowing him to don the normally hollow suit of armor. The final battle, now with the entirety of good facing the entirety of evil, took place in 120,348 CE. The battle resulted in the eventual defeat of the Administrator, freeing the Antiwraith from it. At once, the Amaranth Knight and Antiwraith attempted to unite once again.
Azurade stepped in, hellbent on preventing these forces from unifying. Following the Administrator's example, however, she decided to absorb them into herself. First good, then evil, she absorbed both and allowed them to collide within her. She managed to survive as well as protect the universe which she loved. However, Cosmoria had a lifespan. The Monad had reached the 6-billion year time limit that it created for itself. As the various particles of the Monad began annihilating with one another, Cosmoria simply faded away.
Azurade, being made up of pure Amaranth at this point, had become Amaranth-Azurade and was able to usher in the new era known as Galvyria.