This here is the prologue to a long-term project I've started working on recently. I'll be updating it more or less often, it really depends on how much people like it.
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“Creation is the process of turning chaos into order. Art, music, writing; all are made by taking the raw, infinite potential of the mind and compressing it into a definite form. Until the very moment that a word is written, or a note composed, or a drop of paint placed on the canvas, that most basic unit of a work still could take any shape. There is no way of knowing for certain what the result may be: the very definition of chaos.
“By forcing that building block into a defined state, all other possibilities are instantly eliminated. No longer can any range be possible, for that word, or note, or splash of paint has been determined to have exact, unvarying qualities. Consider any work of literature; any given word will never be spontaneously rewritten, just as a painting will never change colors or a musical score rearrange its notes.
“So it is with our creations as well. Though what we make is not art, but rather something more physical, the process is the same. The Void is chaos; when we manipulate it, we could in theory create anything from its energy. However, although we do make something, we cannot make everything; therefore, we must compress its infinite possibilities into the singular form that we choose.”
“Master, we know this already. We have known this for years.”
The master raised his head slowly, turning in the direction of his outspoken student. “Indeed you have,” he said. “If you had not known this, you could hardly have undergone my training.”
“So with all due respect, master, why are you telling us this again?”
“Because, Ailit, the nature of creation will soon become far more important to Anahire than ever before. As I’m sure you know, we and all the men of Anahire walk the line between chaos and order. On our right are the balagan, and on the left is… what?”
The room was silent. The students snuck glances out of the corners of their eyes, as if hopeful that the answer would be written on the faces of their peers. Apparently it was not, because none of the eleven raised their voices to answer.
“Nothing,” the master breathed. “The balagan have no opposites in this world. Chaos has an easy dominance over Anahire. All you need to do in order to see this is look around- not now, nestled as we are in our cocoon of creation, but outside. So much of the world is Void, and so little is matter. But that, I feel, is about to change.
“Several hours ago, on one of the many aimless paths, a man appeared, seemingly from nowhere. This man is not of Anahire. He is of a different world, a world where order has all but driven chaos to extinction. It is he who stands on our left, who is the paragon of order.”
“The balagan will not be happy about that,” one of the students muttered.
“No, indeed,” replied the master. “And they will be right to be unhappy, for I believe that he will bring balance to Anahire. But he will yet be unaccustomed to our world; doubtless to one as used to order as himself, feeling the Void on all sides will be a, shall we say, startling sensation. The balagan will, naturally, wish to take advantage of this before he is able to muster the power that he, as a creature of order, doubtless contains. We cannot let this happen.”
The master peered around the small room, his eyes passing over each student in turn. Finally, they settled upon one. “Shan,” he said. “Stand up.”
The selected student rose to his feet.
“I have chosen you,” the master continued, “to lead this man back to the Temple. His safety is of the utmost priority; little doubt the balagan will be doing all in their considerable power to keep him away. Of secondary importance is that he discovers what power he has in this world. I may be able to better instruct him myself when the time comes, but he must begin to learn sooner than I can teach.”
“Yes, master,” the student murmured, head down.
“Good.” The master nodded slowly, pensively. “Go now, Shan. He will answer to the name of Aaron Hall.”
