The Song of First Light [Part I - Creation]

[The Order of Malin 93]

[!] By chance, or by your own dedicated labors, you have obtained the scroll rolled up before you. It smells of vermillion ink, the incense of candles and wax, a musty smell of moth riddle robes.  The parchment is weighted, expensive and thick - its container gilded ornately and decorated with all manner of strange elven iconography. Crowned Elven figures with great auras, intricately carved silver inlaid symbols of magic and religion- though no outward signs of magic are present by glance or examination. 

 

At this point you may choose to put the oddity away, stuffing it back into whatever source destiny provided it to you. Your life continues as it did before and you live no more or less happy from the experience.

 

 If you choose to unfurl the scroll, however….

 

The text is written entirely in Elven. It would be impossible to read if you don't understand the language.  If you are well versed in the language, you would see the scroll is lyrical - the Elven words are written like a song, and the scroll makes the most sense when read as such. An Elven Speaking bard would most easily be able to translate and understand what is written. 

 

 

'There are no skies for us to rise, no mountain stone to return, no peace in realms of spirits - ours is duty, to reign and protect over creation in this world' 

 

- Saneyir Melphestaus on conveying the 'Will of Malin' 

The Responsibility

There is nothing in death but dust.  Only in the apotheosis of the physical elven coil, the mending of the tripartite soul, and the ascension, may worthy souls serve in Malin'or.  To protect the descendant races. This is His will.

 

 

Creation 

In the beginning there was nothing, and within that nothingness dwelt a single being known as the Creator. For uncounted ages it existed in stillness, until at last awareness stirred within it. The Valah have named this being God, for it commanded the essence of all that was and all that would ever be, and the elements of existence moved at its will. Yet in time the Creator grew lonely, and from its boundless essence it shaped the first of its children, the Aenguls, and made for them a realm of light wherein they might dwell. The Aenguls, born of their maker’s longing for companionship, created realms and wonders of their own, but being wrought from the Creator’s desire for love, they could not act against his will. Their affection was a reflection, not a choice, and though the Creator cherished them, it knew that their love could never be freely given.

 

In sorrow and wrath the Creator brought forth the Daemons, and for them a realm of shadow was fashioned. They were the reflection of the Creator’s despair, the embodiment of doubt and ruin, and so their desire became destruction itself. Thus did the Creator strive endlessly to perfect its design, pouring its divine essence into countless planes both seen and unseen, each act of creation dimming its own eternal flame. From that fading light were born worlds beyond number, and in its final breath the Creator shaped the mortal realm, giving the last of its divine power to four sons, the first of the Descendants. Each was given a purpose, yet to Malin, the eldest, was entrusted the greatest charge: to guard the mortal realm and preserve the harmony of creation. For this sacred duty, he and his line were granted the gift denied to all others—immortality.

 

To Malin the Creator spoke its final prophecy, rendered in the ancient tongue of the Elves: “Rise, my firstborn, and stand as the Aegis of heaven and earth. Through thy line shall the light endure, and thy children shall be the heirs and saviors of creation.” With these words given, the Creator unraveled, and from its dying form unfurled the vast expanse of the Void, a realm of endless shadow and unbound power.

 

When the Creator’s guardianship was gone, the Daemons rose under Iblees, their great and terrible lord, seeking to unmake all that had been wrought. Yet though their legions tore across the planes, they could not undo the mortal realm, for the Aenguls and the Descendants stood together and drove them back into their cursed dominions. Still, Iblees could not be destroyed, and the Aenguls, bound by the Creator’s final will, revealed to Malin the secret of transcendence—that he might rise above flesh and safeguard the world forever.

 

Thus did Malin shed his mortal form and ascend, founding the divine city of Malin’or beyond the veil of the stars. There he raised Malin’s Mantle, a sacred barrier encircling the mortal realm, keeping the forces of the Aengudaemons and their servants at bay. From his endless soul flows the mana that sustains this veil, and by his will alone the realms are kept apart. Only through the invocation of mortal kind may beings of other planes cross between worlds, whether in wisdom or in folly.

 

Before his ascension, Malin revealed the Aenguls’ secret to his Princely Council, foretelling what was to come. Yet the touch of Iblees had already fallen upon his daughters, sundering their souls and binding them to mortality. The pure light of the Elven spirit was fractured into three parts: Ao, the void-touched shard born in the Golden Pools of mana; Io, the fae-touched shard born of the world-altars; and Eo, the soul-touched shard formed in the realm of spirits. Fragmented and weakened, the Elves could no longer fulfill the prophecy of their ascent. But in time, the lost mystery of the mending was revealed anew, as it had once been to Malin’s daughters. And through it, the path to wholeness and the long-sought return to divine Malin’or once again stands before his people.

 

 

Authors depiction of Malin'or, home of the Elven Pantheon of Gods as revealed in a vision

 

The Way of Malin 

 

The Tripartite Soul 

Each Elf is born incomplete, bearing but a single fragment of the soul’s triune whole, and from this fragment flows the pattern of their mind, body, and spirit. The remaining shards lie dormant within, silent echoes of what was once entire. Each fragment carries its own vices, shadows that bind the Elf to mortal weakness, and only through the Five Instructions of Malin may these be subdued. By the guidance of discipline, by self-mastery or by the hand of a mentor, the Elf learns to temper the flaws of their fragment and awaken what lies hidden. When the vices are overcome and the soul made ready, a sacred mending may be wrought, kindling a latent shard and granting the Elf new trials, new strengths, and a step nearer to the perfection once lost to their kind.

 

 

 

 

Birth - The Hope

In ages untold, rare was the birth of an Elven child. For their souls, long sundered by ancient sorrow, seldom found rest enough for life to take root within the mortal womb.
Yet when such a birth came to pass, it was hailed as a sign of the divine — for the child was granted the first gift upon the endless path: immortality. Then descended Aeriel, the Radiant, who bound the newborn’s soul in light, and within that bond kindled a spark of hope for all who walk beneath the stars. But as the blessing was sealed, so too did the shadow awaken. The Daemon’s mark, ever patient, took its hold — shattering the soul, and shaping it anew from the ruin. Thus was the Elfchild made whole and broken in a single breath: crowned with eternity yet burdened with the silence of a soul unknown. And so began the long tale of the Firstborn - a people divided by light and shadow, yet destined ever to walk between the two.

 

 

Adolescent Elves

In the first stirrings of youth, the Elves awaken to the truth of their own division. For the veil is lifted, and the fracture of the soul is revealed to them, a moment of turmoil and wonder, when light and shadow wrestle within the heart. Then rise the tempests of the spirit: pride unbridled, sorrow without name, and anger born of the void. Each youth must face these storms, for such is the trial of awakening. In that season, they are called to the path of discipline, to discern the fragment of their being with which they were born, and to walk henceforth upon the sacred way of Malin. For only through knowing the shard within may the Elf begin the long return the journey toward wholeness, and the echo of the divine once lost.

 

Disciples: Adult Elves

Most Elves will spend the span of their long lives as disciples of Malin, whether they know it or not. Some walk openly within the Temple of Malin, others practice quietly as laymen, yet all are bound in the same inner struggle—a ceaseless war of spirit against the self. The search for wholeness may take centuries, and for many it is never complete. The path of their devotion is set forth in the 'The Way of Malin', the sacred philosophy that shapes the conduct and discipline of the Elven kind, guiding them toward the ascent their Father ordained. When an Elf at last masters the harmony of their soul, they stand ready for the second step upon the divine path, the sacred act of Soul Mending. In this calling, disciples also serve to nurture the newly awakened Numen, guiding them toward the fullness of their power, and when darkness rises, they bear the burden of ending the torment of a Shade born from failed Apotheosis

 

 

Soul-Mending 

Mending takes a different form for every Elf, yet certain sacred elements remain in all. The three realms that hold claim over the Elven soul—the Void, the Fae, and the Ancestral—must each release their grasp, whether by supplication or by force. Through a solemn rite of great peril, these powers are invoked and bound, their magics entwined to restore the sundered soul. The ritual calls upon the deepest forces of creation, and death walks ever near its circle, for only the worthy may endure its fire. Should the soul prove frail or impure, it is unmade in an instant, scattered into the endless void from whence all weakness returns.

 

Prophets of Malin: Enlightened Elves

And in the fullness of time, there arise the Mended — those whose souls have been made whole once more. Peace dwelleth within them, and the fire of wisdom burneth bright.
For in their hearts dawns the hope of all descendant kind, and their light shineth beyond the measure of mortal flame. They behold the world as through a veil now lifted,
seeing above the quarrels of kings and the fleeting tides of nation and age. Before them the path to the heavens lies unveiled, clear as starlight upon still water.
Yet to ascend, the body must be tempered as the soul,for mastery of flesh and spirit alike is the price of apotheosis. Great is the gift of the Mended:
to heal the broken souls of others, and to discern the fragment each Elf beareth from birth.Thus are they set as guides among their kin, shepherds of light and keepers of remembrance.

 

But not all who are made whole seek the road of divinity. Many, content within the mortal form, choose to remain servants between realms, voices of concord
who commune with the Pantheon and bind the fate of flesh to the will of the divine.

 

Apotheosis 

For those who perish un-mended, there is no after. The unbound soul of the Elf is but a frail ember, and when torn from the vessel of flesh, it is scattered to the winds of oblivion.
No echo endures, no dream remains there is only the stillness of the void. But it is not so for the Mended. Through the sacred death of Apotheosis, they pass beyond the veil by chosen will. The mortal shell is cast aside, and the spirit stands bare before the Eternal. If the will be steadfast, if the flame command its own light, then shall the Elf be reborn as one of the Numen —a fledgling god, radiant and unchained.

 

Yet peril abideth even in this divine ascent. Should the soul falter, pride or doubt consuming its core, it may descend instead into shadow as a vengeful wraith, hungering for what was lost. And if mercy touch it not, the spirit is rent once more, its fragments scattered as dust upon the winds, to drift forever in the silent gulf of the void.

 

Numen: Ascending Elves

 

Thus rise the Numen, radiant souls upon the threshold of divinity, their essence forged yet unfulfilled. Though they may hear the prayers of mortals and lend strength to their faithful, their light is not yet strong enough to uphold the Mantle of Malin. Between realms they dwell, half in shadow and half in glory, guided and tended by the Temple of Malin, which raises shrines in their honor, sanctifies relics for their touch, and labors that they might grow in power. The Saneyir, who communes with Malin himself, discerns which among them are ready for the higher path and which must yet abide in waiting. For before the gates of Malin’or may open, each Numen must pass through the three sacred stages of ascension, the trials by which the soul is tempered and made worthy of the crown immortal. 

 

I.Wandering Spirit. The first stage of ascension is known as the Wandering Spirit, when the Numen is weakened from the trials of Apotheosis and drifts between remembrance and forgetting. In this state, they may not know who they once were nor why they have changed. It is the sacred duty of disciples to seek out the Wandering Spirit, to offer them familiar relics, to raise a Shrine in their name, and to kindle their worship so the soul may find its bearing once more. In time, the Spirit must claim its place among the Heavens, choosing a portfolio through which its essence may be known. Often this calling reflects the life once lived, that harmony might temper the confusion of rebirth, though not all follow the same design. Yet the faith of mortals shapes the divine, and thus a Spirit of kindness, if worshiped as wrathful, may grow fierce beneath the weight of belief. In this tender hour of awakening, the disciples aid their patron in discerning their deific form, teaching them how they shall appear to mortal eyes, and crafting sacred symbols to guide the hearts of those who pray.

 

II. Sanctified Spirit. When a Numen has grown in strength and learned the ways of its divine nature, it enters the second stage of ascension as a Sanctified Spirit. In this state, the Spirit communes freely with its followers through the sacred shrines built in its name, choosing the months and lunar cycles in which it may be called upon. Its presence becomes a blessing to those who walk the Way, for it grants gifts to the faithful and guards them in times of trial. The Sanctified Spirit is both teacher and protector, guiding mortals toward the harmony of soul and creation. When the light of its essence shines without shadow and Malin himself deems it worthy, the Spirit is received into Malin’or and ascends beyond all bounds, taking its place among the true Deities of the heavens.

 

III. Shade. The Shade rises as a thing of dread, a numen warped by failed Apotheosis, by the cruel shaping of fervent worship, or by the judgement of Malin turned aside, and in its wake it breeds violence and sorrow; such spirits hunger for ruin, their voice a poison that bends devotees toward wrath, and they become a scourge upon the living, for whom Sanctified Spirits and devoted disciples must labor to end their pitiful yet perilous existence, for oft the root of the Shade lies not only in the spirit itself but in the cult that nourished it, and only by uprooting those dark worships as well may the Shade be truly undone. 

 

 

Authors Depiction of Malin, protecting the mortal realm. 

 

The Ascended: An Elven God in Malin'or

 

Upon ascension, the Elf joins Malin in the radiant halls of heavenly Malin’or, taking their place among the divine as a Prince, bearing both name and portfolio as is their right. From that moment forth, they are bound to eternity, upholding Malin’s Mantle and lending their strength to sustain its sacred veil. In their appointed month and under their chosen lunar cycle, they hear the prayers of the faithful and answer through the sanctified shrines raised in their honor, forever guiding the descendants from the heights of the heavens.

 

The Path to Malin’or is not for the unworthy….

Hear then the call that echoes through the ages, the summons of the divine road to Malin’or. Many have sought its light and faltered, their souls broken upon the path they could not master. Those who bargain their essence, who harbor doubt, or whose hearts are unworthy shall never ascend, for such as these are denied the thrones of the Princely Council and the grace of our Father and King. Yet to the steadfast, to those whose will burns brighter than despair, the gates of Malin’or shall open. They shall rise as Gods among descendant kind, bearing the sacred mantle and the burden of eternity, to guard, to guide, and to fulfill the divine command set forth by Malin himself.


This verse has ended, but not the last of this song - did it provide what you hoped when you unfurled it?  A quick glimpse at the next few pages showed expanded, detailed documentation to elaborate on some topics written here. This was a song, however, for another time - perhaps take the time to truly understand what you just read.

[CONTINUE SINGING THE SONG ON THE NEXT VERSE]

 

Edited October 13, 2025 by The Order of Malin

[RyuTheCoolest 177]

"The Malinites have put down to paper some concepts the philosopher alfs of that Bronze Polis Sulianpoli have been long speaking of their race. That they can continue on after death, their end just a gateway to further life. With their shrines and rituals they speal to the honored dead. I say bless them! For my race has place eternal in the open sky" a tall hat wearing horse nomad rolls the scroll up