Alter Aeon The Great Library

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Note - as with any topic, researchers should question the reliability
and veracity of these texts.  The library's aim is to preserve
documents, not verify accuracy.

AABN:  31850
Title: a book titled "Of the Olympians"

Long ago, there was Primordial Chaos. Time passed in the long dark, and
things stirred. Nebulous beings, semi-conscious, came into being - Dark and
Light, Love and Hatred, Hope and Fear. These forces mingled one with
another, and they bore a seed, which blossomed into the first tree, the
Tree of Sentience.

The Tree grew, and bore fruit. From its fruits arose the aalfs, the faerie
lords of grace and beauty. From its fallen leaves came the dragons, great
masters of the elements. Lastly, from its roots, sprouted the titans,
beings of strength and dominating will.

The dragons kept aloof, but titan and aalf strove together. They carved out
holdings in the Otherworld, on the borders of Chaos and Reality. They
fought many forgotten wars in a young world. From them, new races of elves
and giants were born, servants of their forefathers. And at times, an aalf
and a titan knew love, and were joined together.

Cronus the Titan and Rhea the High Aalf wed, and she bore many children. As
each was born, Cronus would swallow the child. This he did to hide his
shame from his fellows, for the titans believed any children borne between
them and the aalves would rise against them. At last, sorrowing greatly,
Rhea conspired with the earth to cheat her husband. She exchanged her last
child, Zeus, with a great stone and gave it to Cronus to swallow. Rhea hid
her son away with her people.

The child grew in stature and prowess. Of a new breed he was, wedding the
fair form of aalvenkind with the might and power of the titans. He trained
in arms, and was clad in the rainment of his mother's people. He made a
bargain with the dragons, who taught him the art of calling lightning.
Armed with this dreadful new weapon, Zeus challenged his father Cronus for
command of the Otherworld.

Cronus was overmastered by the lightning of his son. He fell without laying
a hand on upon him. Vanquished, he vomited forth his children, Zeus's elder
brothers and sisters. Poseidon, Hera, Demeter, Hades and Hestia, full-grown
and full-armed, sprang forth and humbled their father.

Thus began the Titanomachy. Though newly born, Zeus's siblings scattered
the titans, banishing them from the Otherworld. They claimed the realm for
their own, divided it between them. Zeus and Hera claimed Olympus, the
great mountain that was mirrored in the mortal realm. Hestia vowed to
remain unmarried, and became their hearth-tender. Poseidon claimed the sea,
Demeter tended the green fields of the Otherworld and gloomy Hades took
mastery of the Underworld, the dark realms beneath the Otherworld.