[Note] History of the marker (short story, pics)

I like when things make sense. In my writing, it is important for me to deeply understand why things are the way they are to ensure that actions taken by my characters are consistent with the world. This approach is a lot of work since I need to decide on a lot of unrelated things before I write a single chapter. If I don't, I get writer's block.

Even though it is completely unrelated to Marcus' story arc, I created an entire history of how the magic marker came to be and why it works the way it does.

I was unsure if this lore would ever make its way into the Marcus Faber branch. Maybe at some point in the far future. I felt that it would be a shame to let so much hard work go unseen. So, I've decided to release a few ad-hoc chapters that flesh out this history more and also explain the mechanics of the magic marker in my universe.

Regardless, I hope you enjoy.

In the nascent moments of Creation, the universe generated a being who was omnipotent, omnipresent, omnivorous, and omniscient. This creature was known as God.

Possessing omniscience, God was privy to the entirety of knowledge and experienced the full spectrum of emotions with unparalleled intensity. (Un)fortunately, when all emotions are felt at their maximum, one reigns supreme. Due to its overpowering nature, lust dominates everything else.

Thus, God was a pervert.

At the dawn of creation, faced with the vast emptiness of the cosmos, this divine being felt an intense desire that transcends the understanding of mere mortals. Driven by an instinctive impulse to fulfill this void, he channeled a fraction of his boundless energy to craft the universe's first sentient being—a demonic succubus named Lilith.

As was her nature, she sated his lust.

At least, for a time.

In a stroke of divine logic, God posited that if one sexy daughter brought joy, a second would surely multiply it. Consequently, he brought forth a younger sister, Ariel.

Ariel's creation embodied the principle that in variety, there is delight. She was conceived as the angelic antithesis to her sister, being white and pure.

While Lilith relished in sex and debauchery, Ariel shunned her sister's ideals in favor of honor and purity. Their diametrically opposed natures inevitably led to conflict.

That was how God discovered his favorite form of divine entertainment - watching his two nubile daughters catfight.

Eager for more, he spawned two vast celestial races, one of seductive succubi led by Lilith and the other of angelic spirits who followed Ariel, consigned to eternal battle. Neither daughter was content with the idea of war, but both were driven to battle by an innate hatred of her sister.

Soon, the cosmos bore witness to The Great Conflict, a war among celestials the likes of which have never been seen since. The succubi used their wiles and charms to seduce, manipulate, and fuck the angels. In retribution, the angels, as paragons of justice and discipline, would capture the succubi and punish them for their crimes, usually with a harsh spanking.

And God was very, very happy.

Whenever he wanted more celestials, he simply made more celestials. However, as the celestial population burgeoned, he found himself in a predicament. The act of breathing life into hundreds of thousands of beings, each infused with a spark of his divine essence, had gradually eroded his omnipotence.

The cost of creating a single succubus or angel was negligible, just a matter of shedding a few divine sparks. However, as their numbers swelled to multitudes, these sparks became a blazing inferno, occupying more than half of his cosmic power. In his lust, he had lost a majority share of his energy.

Despite this considerable depletion, God was not weak. He maintained roughly forty percent of his original strength, while the remainder was split evenly between the two daughter races. This ensured his supremacy over either faction, so long as they did not unite. He was confident they would not do so as the opposing natures of the succubi and the angels were a guarantee against any type of cooperation.

And so, he ensured balance, using his remaining power to prevent either side from accruing too much power from the other. When Lilith corrupted a hundred angels, God granted Ariel the power to make them pure virgins again. When Ariel annihilated a demonic settlement, he helped Lilith seduce a high-ranking general.

Back and forth, the two races struggled, neither able to take more than a small amount of divine energy from the other.

That was until, Lilith decided to trick God.

In a bold and calculated move, Lilith orchestrated a maneuver that would seem, to any onlooker, as a devastating defeat for her forces. Ten thousand succubi perished as she subtly influenced the direction of her forces so that many would die during intense skirmishes.

This loss was not in vain, for it served a greater purpose in Lilith's grand scheme.

The aftermath of this battle saw a dramatic shift in power. The angels took the energy of the fallen succubi and found themselves on the cusp of a newfound strength, nearly strong enough to pose a challenge to God himself. Lilith's gambit had tipped the scales.

Following her orchestrated loss, Lilith approached God, portraying herself as **** and in dire need of assistance. She begged for the creation of a formidable weapon to reverse the bad fortune of the succubi and restore balance to their struggle against the angels.

Threatened by the angels, God agreed to help Lilith. Together, they created The Absolute Brand.

This divine artifact was unparalleled in its design and capabilities. Endowed with God's own power, the Absolute Brand had the ability to grant its wielder true ownership over any within its domain. It stood as a testament to divine craftsmanship, potentially the most formidable weapon ever conceived.

Mindful of the risks such a powerful tool posed, God imbued the Absolute Brand with two safeguards. The first was to ensure the magic could never be turned against him. The second was to narrow the domain of the weapon so it could not be used to claim ownership of grand concepts, such as time or space.

Despite these precautions, he did not fully anticipate the extent of its effectiveness when wielded by Lilith. Her cunning and strategic prowess, combined with the Absolute Brand's capabilities, set the stage for unforeseen shifts in the cosmic balance of power.

Almost immediately, the tides turned. In the first battle, Lilith herself converted a thousand unwilling angels to her side. Not only did this weaken her enemy, but it strengthened her own forces, going a long way to restoring balance. This continued again and again until the two races reached parity again.

Taking notice of the rapid shift in power, God began to question his decision. Lilith sensed his hesitation and, before God could intervene, she challenged Ariel.

Without any countermeasures, Ariel could do little to defend herself.

Their battle was short. Lilith used the Absolute Brand with great effect as she owned and dominated her sister, siphoning off Ariel's considerable energies.

In one decisive stroke, Lilith had ended the war.

What's more, her actions not only concluded the war but also elevated her to a level of power that surpassed that of her creator, marking a significant shift in the divine hierarchy. She had become the most powerful creature in existence.

God, witnessing the ascendancy of Lilith, found himself in a position he had never anticipated. The realization that he could no longer exert control over Lilith, or counter her newfound might, stirred within him an emotion more potent than any he had previously experienced. For the first time, anger surged through the divine being, overshadowing the lust that had once defined his existence.

Even though Lilith bore no ill will toward her father, God viewed her ascendancy and independence as a form of betrayal. Driven by anger, he opted to destroy her. Unable to truly vanquish her due to her superior power, he chose a path of self-sacrifice, channeling his divine essence into the creation of one final species - the race of men.

This act of creation was not just an expression of divine will but also a strategic maneuver. God fragmented his being into countless individuals, each carrying a spark of the divine. This new race of men were endowed with a unique ability, the power of procreation.

When a succubus and a human had sex, their union had a chance to produce offspring. Each child stole a fragment of power from its parents, locking away an infinitesimal portion that would one day return to God. Over generations, this process would gradually siphon away all divine energy from the celestials. And, with time, God would reform.

Although Lilith immediately saw through her father's plan, she could do little to stop it. She was the essence of lust personified and, thus, unable to resist the allure of men.

It only took an eon for her to fade from existence.

By then, all other celestials had turned mortal and this history had been long forgotten.

Yet, the Absolute Brand remained.

It was a divine artifact, not a creature, and thus men could not fuck it and siphon its power. When all else become mortal, it remained, its existence immune to the ravages of time and the dilution of celestial bloodlines.

Among the mortals who practiced magic, it was seen as the apex power. Many tried to wield it for themselves, but none succeeded.

None until the Black Witch, Morgana Le Fey.

With her unique talent and a strong bloodline that still retained fragments of celestial power, she managed to harness the Absolute Brand's power for herself. Channeling its divine essence into a magical quill, Morgana created an instrument that allowed her to write on an object to claim ownership over it.

Further, to ensure her power remained unnoticed, and therefore unchallenged, she wove a secondary incantation into the quill - a powerful spell of mental manipulation. In essence, it prevented others from recognizing her divine magic. This ensured that any shifts in power and alterations in the historical narrative went unquestioned by those around her.

Her ascent marked the beginning of what would be known as the Dark Ages. Despite using her magic to extend her lifespan, time kills all mortals, and even Morgana's reign came to an end. Her magical quill was lost to the ages, for a time.

After a millennia, Morgana's quill was discovered by a pair of twin wizards exploring Europe, Romulus and Remus. They transfigured the quill into a metallic stylus and used it to begin laying the foundations of the great Roman Empire.

The powerful stylus was passed from one Roman emperor to another, each benefiting from its divine influence, until the fateful betrayal of Julius Caesar by his best friend. Brutus stole the magical stylus from the kingdom and fled, never to be seen again.

From there, the history of the divine becomes fragmented, its journey through the ages marked by brief appearances in the hands of influential figures and magicians, each adding to its legacy.

The Absolute Brand, in its various forms, served as a silent witness to the ebb and flow of empires and eras, its power a coveted secret that shaped the destiny of mankind from the shadows. Its continued existence posed a tantalizing question:

Who would be next to wield such power, and to what end?