“The Four Divine Races are, in a word, powerful. All four are different, and to understand what they are, we must start with their names.

  “Dragons, the Star Surfing Terrors.

  “Titans, the Commanders of All Mana.

  “Leviathans, the Living Worlds Below.

  “And The Mother, Mind of the Monsters.

  “It is the Leviathans with which you now are connected, but we will get there soon. Instead, I will start with why they are called the Primordial Children in general. Though it seems to be a mouthful, many do not dare to shorthand it by saying they are Primordials, as it is considered wildly bad luck. All four Races are different, but the one thing they agree upon is that none of them are Primordials, and get quite angry if someone calls them that. Supposedly, at the beginning of time, there was only one Primordial. The Primordial. We have no records of what it looked like, what it did, or anything of the sort as the Primordial Children refuse to speak of it other than in the most basic of aspects.

  “We know from their quiet talks that The Primordial started all life, and that it could have annihilated it just as easily. The Primordial Children say that they are the broken up aspects of this once amazing being, and that none have ever reached its heights. There are even some Primordial Children alive today that claim to have spoken with it, but none dare say what they spoke of.

  “Now, the first of the Primordial Children we speak of will be the Dragons. The Dragons are large, four legged lizards with massive wings. Their sizes vary in many stories, but they are always known to be large. The smallest ever recorded was the size of a medium-sized city, the largest was said to blanket several landmasses.

  “Dragons are the most well-known, because they are the commanders of the material plane. All of the Children command a plane, and it is said that the System modeled its stats based on these plains. Dragons represent the Physical stat, as their muscular power knows no bounds. Despite their size, they fly not using magic, but sheer force from their wings. Once upon a time, it is said that they ruled the world, but supposedly a draconic civil war nearly split Avium in two.“

  Dei was confused for half a second before realizing that Avium was the name of the planet he was currently on. For some reason, that was not included in the language packet, but he figured it out from context clues.

  “The strongest Dragon to ever live is known as ‘The Champion,’ and he dubbed his own race too dangerous to interact with, banishing them from their home planet. He told them that Dragons held all the abilities to see the stars, and had long outgrown their little rock, so he commanded them all away. The Champion now sits within the heart of the sun and watches over Avium, guarding against interfering Primordial Children or other apocalypses. Since then, only the occasional visit of Dragons have been spotted, and always accompanied by The Champion.

  “Next of the Primordial Children are the Titans. The Titans are said to hold mastery over every affinity of mana, and have even integrated themselves into the force of it all. This is also where things get a bit complicated as I try to explain where they are to you. You see, all Primordial Children have their own planes of existence. The Dragons exist within the Physical Plane because that is their plane of existence. It would be better to say that we don’t currently live in the Physical Plane, but the draconic plane. The Titans, on the other hand, exist within the Magical plane of existence. They are beings of pure mana, holding no physical form at all.

  “Supposedly, they are huge though, easily the largest of all Primordial Children. Some theorize that they once had physical bodies, but they became so large that nothing could hold their weight, so they transcended themselves and turned into pure magic, creating their own realm to live within. Not much is known about Titans, as they are a very reclusive bunch, but the few interactions people have had with them say that they are very eccentric, with explosive personalities. That's the only universal fact agreed upon with them, because it's hard to get a read on conceptual beings, but that’s something that stuck out in everyone's mind, because it’s odd for such great beings to act in such a way… I digress. Point is, they’re big, command magic, and not much is known of them.

  “The Leviathans are second only in size to the Titans. They are large as well, but for different reasons. Myths say that the Titans expanded their size so drastically to better accommodate the swirling storms of mana within them, while the Leviathans grew to the size of planets in order to accommodate new life. The Dragons have their physical strength and Titans their magical strength. Within the Leviathans lies a strength of souls. Leviathans hold dominion over every soul that comes in contact with them, freely able to change or even revoke the souls of those they desire. Luckily, they tend not to do that last part though, as it is said they consider the soul sacred, not something to haphazardly command. They grow their bodies and form their planets because they love caring for new life, they love crafting new souls. They are akin to gardeners, peaceful slumbering giants which play the role of creators for entire civilizations of people.

  “A bit more is known of Leviathans, because their spawn interact far more with those in the physical world than the Titan spawn do- though we will get into that later. Leviathans, when they breach into the physical world, are said to take the shape of large, blue, oval-ish creatures with mouths along their entire front and trailing comets of soulstuff behind their bodies to serve as a tail.”

  Aloran was not all that good at describing the Leviathans, but Dei had already seen what he believed was a representation of one: big stingray.

  “They keep themselves flat,” Aloran said, “to allow for the lives upon their backs. One thing we know of Leviathans, which is contested by the other three races, is their heritage. The Leviathans claim to be the closest related to the original Primordial, either in shape or power it is unclear, but the other three do not acknowledge them as so, denying any particularly special bond. Personally, in my unprofessional opinion, I think Leviathans are onto something. They can create true life easily with how they craft souls, so it would make sense for the Primordial to do such a thing as well. As to why the others contest this? I’m not entirely sure, but it can be anything from jealousy to the preference of keeping secrets.

  “Last of all, The Mother. The Mother is, hands-down, the strongest being known in existence, simply for the fact that the other three Primordial Children have power encompassed by race, while The Mother is only a single entity. She is one creature, yet she stands equal to the entire Dragon, Leviathan, or Titan race separately. Some debate that she is even more powerful than the others, because she had to be sealed away with the help of the other three.

  “You see, The Mother is called such because she was able to continuously create her children. These children had no minds of their own and were commanded directly by her, but they were terribly powerful and endless. The story goes that in the beginning of time, shortly after The Primordial left its children to their own devices, The Mother created an endless army in an attempt to slay all other life. Working in tandem, the other three Children managed to infiltrate The Mother’s domain, placing locks on her power and stopping her from ever producing any more children.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  “Some of her spawn are still alive today, still producing more children, but none are as fast or endless as her army once was.

  “Now, she is sealed within the center of our planet. This is known, because you can still visit her body today. The reports state that she is a gargantuan worm-like creature curled into a ball at the center of the Avium. Her skin is made of rough, impenetrable, spiky brown scales, and she is locked within an eternal slumber. Still, despite that, her mind is active. She once commanded an endless army of monsters, and she still does so today indirectly. You see, once she became limited in children and with who she could link to, her mind began to wander and invade the minds of others. It was too grand to seal completely, but those she affected did not fully fall under her spell. Over the millenia she has supposedly mellowed out from the conqueror she once was. Instead of commanding her spawn to end all life, she now works together with the System to give monsters their own paths to power, better suited to keep them on equal terms with Sapient Races. Now, she is a guide for all monsters, coining the nickname The Mother. It’s not actually her name, though she refuses to share her actual one, and the other Primordial Children respect this wish.

  “With a general overview of the four, it’s time to go a bit more in depth to each. Let's start with something I touched on briefly: where they are. The Draconic Plane, also known as the Physical Plane, is where we currently reside, and they are out amongst the stars, a concept which should be easier for you to understand as you’ve been to multiple planets, foreign knowledge to many. There are many-”

  Aloran then went on to describe outer space, and Dei didn’t cut him off just in case he accidentally missed something different. Nope, the Dragons had taken to the skies and beyond, going to visit other stars and planets, ruling over life if they ran into it, though they sometimes came back to visit Avium as it was their home planet.

  “Next for the Titans. I touched briefly upon it, but the Titans have their own plane, called either the Titanic Plane or the Magical Plane. This is where things start getting complicated as well.

  “You see, there are spaces between each of the big four planes of existence in which other planes exist. Between the Physical plane and Magical plane, are the Conceptual planes of existence. This is where the affinities reside as well, with partial creatures of magic living within them.

  “I’m going to keep saying the word plane, and you’ll be tired of it soon, but there’s no other way to really describe them.

  “Anyways. Between the Physical Plane and the Spiritual Plane- the place where the Leviathans live- should actually be familiar to you, as it is known as the Spirit Realm, and I’ve seen you use a Skill which would grant you access to this space. As you dive deeper into the Spirit Realm, you bring yourself closer and closer to the homeland of Leviathans.

  “Last is The Mother, with the Mental plane of existence. Hers is reliant on the combined minds of all monsters, linking them all and forming a space within their subconscious which gives birth to odd life that have minds, but no bodies, and cannot be seen or exist unless specifically searched for. You might think that this is reliant on the Physical Plane of existence, but you’d be wrong. Supposedly, The Mother has linked with other variants of herself in other timelines, creating a massive web which transcends space.”

  Confused, Dei asked “Wait, I talked to Clever earlier, and he said that there is no such thing as parallel timelines? That when he used his Time affinity to look through them, he could see that every timeline was reliant on his existence?”

  Aloran laughed. “Yes, he does not have parallel selves that exist in a true sense, but he is no Primordial Child. All of the Primordial Children have access to every universe, in some sense or another. The oldest of the Primordial Children exist in more universes than one, as something about existing at the beginning of time left an imprint among all universes, leaving echoes of them everywhere. They do not always exist, but I’d say its a good ninety nine percent of the time that they do if they’re old enough. The Mother in particular is rather prolific in all timelines, and she is always sealed too, as she was sealed away in the beginning as well.

  “No, there is only a single Dei, only a single Clever, and only a single Aloran, but there are infinite variants of The Mother.”

  “This is all interesting, but what does this have to do with my Skill?” Dei asked.

  “We’re getting there boy!" Aloran said, “Be patient! Now that we know what they and each of their lives, it’s time to talk about their sub-races.

  “As you can see, the Four Divine Races are nothing to joke about, and incredibly strong. So strong, that each has left behind an echo in the fabric of reality, which others can tap into. For example, if there is a reptilian race, they can uncover Skills which hold draconic roots, despite having no draconic blood running through them. If they focus on this path, and align themselves more closely with Dragons, they can become things called Sun Spawn. Sun Spawn are lesser creatures which share some abilities and features with Dragons, without actually being Dragons.

  “In a similar vein, there are the Titans. Things which uncover Titan abilities and align themselves more closely with these Primordial Children are called Giants; you can probably see where this is going by now. Finally, things that uncover Leviathan abilities and align themselves more closely with them become entities called Reapers.”

  “Reapers, as in the Grim Reaper? And what about The Mother?”

  Aloran hummed his assent. “Yes, the Grim Reaper is the most well-known, most powerful entity which has ever tapped into the power of the Leviathans. He’s become a guide to all souls passing on, and the gatekeeper back to life. He has intertwined himself into the Plane of Death, and guards it zealously. As for The Mother, it is actually not possible to inherit any of her abilities without being of her direct descent. Nobody really knows why, but people think it’s because the nature of her seals also limit her power, and the effect she has on the fabric of reality. Still, like I said, there are some of her surviving descendents which are actually able to have children of their own. Though they vary greatly, they all share the same Race: Lunar Spawn. The other races are unimportant though, it is with the Reapers that you must concern yourself. I’ve given you a general overview of them all because you’re about to tie yourself into the world of Primordial Children, and it’s good to get at least slightly knowledgeable of them all.”

  Dei rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Do I have to? Is there any tangible benefit to becoming one of these… ‘Sub-Races’ as you called them? Or is it just a prestige thing, proving that you are strong enough to be recognized as related to them?”

  “Good question, ask all you can before stepping into big life decisions like these. But yes, there are tangible benefits. You see, almost all life fails to surpass level five hundred. Not because they can't gain enough EXP or their Class selections are limited, but because their bodies cannot withstand the power of a level five hundred evolution. To surpass the level cap, there are three, near-impossible options.

  “The first is to create a new Race. Patriarchs and Matriarchs of their Races are powerful enough, determined enough to become the trailblazers, the leaders of a new life, and the subject of stories. If they have children though, the children will not inherit this ability, instead hitting the level five hundred cap, as all other races.

  “The second option is to become a sterilized race of power. Certain Races can be recreated, unlike becoming a Patriarch, and are durable enough to withstand the power of surpassing mortal limits. To do so, though, they must give up their ability to have children, as new life would not be able to withstand the power. It’s believed that for Matriarchs and Patriarchs, either the System or one of the affinities step in to assist in allowing for them to have children so that the Race will not die out. Other than that though, most higher races cannot have kids. A good example of this would be the very living equipment you’ve brought to me now. Lani and Jasmine surpassed level five hundred, but they can’t have children. Before you ask, yes, inorganic beings can normally have kids.

  “The third and final option is to align yourself with one of the Primordial Children. Becoming a Sun-Spawn, Giant, or Reaper lets the person both surpass level five hundred, and have children, because the Divine Races are just superior, so any who follow in their footsteps will become superior too. A Reaper can have kids, and they will be wildly stronger than the average children, but they will also revert to the Reapers previous Race. If you, for example, became a Reaper and reproduced, you would create some powerful Gem Dweller Human children.”

  Dei nodded, then said “It’s a way to solve a long-term problem, before I’ve ever run into it. How can I do that though? How can I turn myself into a Reaper?”

  “I wont say it’s easy, but you’re honestly not far off. You have the first, and hardest, step complete by already owning a subset Skill. Now, there are just two more.”