Gnosis
First Mark of Inavalti, Syna's Gnosis
Aestineos had been standing though he wasn't sure exactly where. All he could see was blur of color and light; swirls of both undulating all about, leaving him in a state of euphoria followed shortly by confusion. Something was not right and his mind was struggling to grasp what it was. The confusion grew and he found the reality that was his existence, quickly vanish. He already lost where he was and now could recall who he was or even, what he was. It was as if his sense of self-awareness had separated from whatever it was that anchored it to reality and then scattered in all directions to a distance unknown. He felt no physical pain though his mind struggled in chaos.
Unknown to Aestineos, the Valterrian was underway. He had died sometime before and was taken by Syna to exist in her divine presence. With the chaos and destruction reigning down upon Mizahar, even the Gods weren't safe nor were their closest followers. Everything, the mortal realm, the divine, even time itself was affected.
For Aestineos, his own chaos was all there was. He was lost, scattered with only slivers of consciousness remaining. When the chaos of the Valterrian passed, he found himself a fractured soul; broken into countless pieces with the largest ones lodged in a rift between the worlds of mortal and divine. Over five hundred years passed though time; also broken, passed by Aestineos in ways he could no longer comprehend. Memories, faded, blurry and broken, slowly returned to him though only a few at a time. After five hundred years, all he could remember were tiny pieces of a life long gone. It was a mortal life, filled with mortal experiences. Though he had experienced the divine light enveloping him at all times and in all ways, it was now lost to him.
Still splintered after five centuries, Aestineos suddenly found himself falling. The fall seemed eternal, much longer than the time spent broken and immobile. The fall however was at least something different, something new. Even that however began to fade away like a the dimming light of the sun giving way to the darkness of night. He held on to what memories had returned to him from his mortal past, yet he lost everything else, including his time spent in the rift between worlds. The only other thing he felt was the fall. Looking up, he could see the sun for the first time in longer than he could remember and it felt good. The sun however was growing more distant with every passing second. It was then that time began to flow once more for him and with it came the feeling of the free-fall. Still, all he could see was the sun and it was that which he focused on.
Moments later, there was a great impact though still no pain. Physical feelings flooded his senses as he found himself surrounded by water. He couldn't breath and it was cold and wet. Another sensation, one that sent shivers through his body and an inescapable desire to breath, forced him to flail about in an attempt to rise. Just before his lungs felt as though they would explode, he breached the surface. His eyes, for the first time in too long, were able to see. Blurry at first but becoming clearer, Aestineos could see that he was in the middle of a lake, surrounded by forest and overshadowed by mountains.
Fumbling a bit in the water, he realized that it wasn't all that deep; a small mountain lake. With some effort, he made his way to land. Crawling in the small, eroded rocks, he pulled himself away from the water and into the grass. Unconsciously, he looked up and there was the sun; its light filling him with warmth despite him being somewhere in the cold mountains of Mizahar. With the soothing light of the sun blanketing his naked form, Aestineos felt comfort.
As he slowly became accustomed to his body, he found that he appeared different than what his splintered memories could recall. He had horns, two of them extending outward from his forehead. His skin was golden and his eyes a brilliant green. Though it was Winter, the sun shown through broken clouds and the otherwise dry cold had little effect on his bare flesh. Something caught his attention out of the corner of his sight. Turning to investigate, he saw a pile of cloth and other small trinkets sitting on a nearby rock. He then remembered clothing and the need for it. He moved to retrieve the items while also wondering where they came from. A tickle in his mind caused him to look back to the sun, its otherwise blinding light when looking directly upon it dimmed enough in his eyes that he could see only beauty. He absently reached up to his left eye and caressed it; a stylized circle surrounded it and a single long ray extended down. As he touched the mark and looked upon the sun, understanding of sorts set in.
He had lived long ago and died. Taken by Syna, Goddess of the Sun, he existed as one of her own. Something happened, a terrible event that shattered reality and created a rift in the worlds which he slipped through. Lost in time and broken reality, he eventually fell through and landed back on Mizahar; the land he once inhabited as a mortal. Leaving divinity behind, a new life awaited him. It was a chance to continue life and create new experiences and new wonders to carry with him when he would one day return to Syna; the Goddess who marked him with her grace.
With something of a purpose in mind, Aestineos reached out to sun and was rewarded with a name; his name, Aestineos. What it meant was still beyond him but it felt right, it felt like a part of him. Now, with clothing and a name, he set out in search of a place to start his new life.