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Rabae looked up at the sky as he recalled Cindar's history. It was a time long before even he was born.
"This year marks the cindarian year 4B-253M-500T," Rabae stated. "It counts how many years since the first of our kind came into existence."
"Civilization has been here for over 4.2 billion years?" the gold one, Avarice he believed it was, inquired. Judging from their recent body-swapping debacle, he possessed a rapacious capacity for wealth, and his eyes revealed a particularly strong thirst for knowledge.
"4.2 billion years in whatever time they measure things in. Viraa says in Earth years, it's been over 8.4 billion years," the leader, Alissia, corrected. Rabae found her connection to Viraa intriguing, and her ability to tap into spatial cosmic energy could make her someone dangerous if she had not already reached her peak.
"Before pneumarians or klevonians came to be, Cindar was home to many powerful creatures governed by no one," Rabae continued steadily. "We refer to those beings as Ancient Beasts. According to history, unsurprisingly, in such a lawless land, there was often chaos among the beasts, but three creatures sought peace and stability: the Chimera, the Phoenix, and the Sphinx."
"Due to their common ideologies, those three became friends of sorts. Sphinx was said to have always been curious about everything," Rabae told them. "His thirst for knowledge even drove him to attempt to uncover who or what created the universe."
"Sounds like someone we know," the one with the arm of fire, Za'Fia, remarked. Admittedly, she was stunning even if she was a klevonian. From what he could tell, she was highly temperamental. Likely due to whatever 'earthly aspect' was mentioned earlier...
"Perhaps he's a Sphinx," Rabae joked, realizing he hadn't had the opportunity to see that one's transformation. Judging from the snickers and 'goblin' whispers, Rabae grasped which creature he was tied to.
"I cannot say that he did learn who created our universe," Rabae continued, "still, Sphinx's intelligence was said to be unrivaled. Sphinx was so smart that within 5 years of researching the unknown, he discovered each Ancient Beast had a special energy with them – an energy Sphinx dubbed a spiritual force, or spirit energy if you will. He consulted with Chimera and Phoenix, telling them they could use their innate power to create peace between the other beasts, but without proof, they were skeptical to believe his bold claims."
"That's understandable," the dark one, Tymon commented, listening intently. From what Rabae could tell, he was the second-in-command of Alissia's team. He knew when to be silent and observe, making it easy to forget he was there sometimes. And his ability to decay matter could make him a more significant threat than his power suggested. For unsuspecting material lifeforms, at least.
"Yes," Rabae said in agreement. "So, within the following 4 years, Sphinx learned how to masterfully manipulate his spirit energy before making the suggestion again. After quickly guiding them through sensing and discerning energy and witnessing his power, Chimera and Phoenix became believers. They asked him how he accomplished such things, so he showed them."
"Within one year," Rabae said, holding up a finger, "under his guidance, Chimera and Phoenix became masters of their spirit energy as well. The three of them went on to establish peace as deities among the other beasts. They quickly took up students, teaching some other creatures how to use their spirit energy as well."
"That couldn't have ended well," Tymon remarked, crossing his arms as he hovered in place.
"It ultimately did not," Rabae affirmed. "But for 50 years, there was peace until the more volatile creatures – the lycans, demons, ghouls, nosferatu, and other unsavory kinds – banned together and revolted against the Sphinx, Chimera, and Phoenix's peaceful reign. They massacred the weaker beasts until most were killed. This enraged Chimera and Phoenix into destroying everyone who revolted, leaving only 18 other beasts to survive the conflict."
"That's..." Alissia said, likely trying to think of an appropriate word to match her feelings. From what Rabae could tell, she was a compassionate soul. Trusting. Wanting to do the right thing. He laughed internally, wondering what her instincts would drive her to do once she learned the true state of Cindar.
"Frightening," Rabae suggested. "Most of those that remained had already been taught how to manipulate their energy and would eventually go on to show those who did not, but none used their power to incite a war like those before them. However, all were mentally affected by the war. The carnage, losing loved ones...it left permanent scars on many of their psyches."
"I can only imagine..." the quiet, light one, Michael, muttered. He stared down with a look as if he could feel the grief they must have felt. Rabae assumed he was going through something internally. A piece of his attention seemed to be elsewhere.
"Sphinx had gone mad after witnessing the annihilation of 98% of the planet's lifeforms. He spent over 250 years searching for a way to repent for his sins – to somehow create a balance for all the lives he was responsible for being lost. A way to create never-ending life, one capable of being all forms of life."
"He created the first pneumarians..." Alissia summed up.
"Yes. Finally, after retrieving samples from thousands of life forms throughout the galaxy and using all of his spirit energy, he managed to create a being capable of being most races he'd discovered and impervious to death. A being that, to him, symbolized all life...."
Rabae paused as his appreciation for his species resonated within him.
"Unfortunately, the process transferred all his power to his creation, draining him of everything. He knew he would die in less than a week as his remaining spirit energy left him. He used the time to show Chimera, Phoenix, and each of the other Ancient Beasts, all of which had been miserable since the eradication long before, how to do it as well. According to some, he used Soulstrom as his testing grounds, where each Ancient Beast also formed their creations. Though it has never been proven. After each created their own being, they were dubbed cindarians but would later be changed to the Primeval Pneumarians, each possessing an overwhelming EQN of at least 1 billion. Their different new species' title and power distinguished them from the rest of the pneumarians after klevonians came to be. Cindarian became more of a general term for those whose original bloodline is pneumarian or klevonian."
"1 billion!? That's insane..." Za'Fia exclaimed. "Here I was thinking your 660 million was too much."
"My power is moderate at best compared to those with real power," Rabae laughed.
"You mentioned earlier that Hantu is part of your Crest," Tymon said in thought.
"The Hydra Crest, yes," Rabae replied, giving him time to assemble things.
"I'm assuming a hydra was one of the 21 Ancient Beasts that made a Primeval Pneumarian?"
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