| “ | From the second face, the Dekn awoke. In a miasma of shriveling darkness, the beings began to wander, purposeless, until finding a humongous tree. The Hethe watched as the Dekn began to surround the tree, as they began to carve into it little holes to be the homes of each. The Hethe were pleased. | „ |
The Dekn were the first beings created by The Hethe, and from them, the Hethe created The Arkn to rival them, as described in Tales from the First Reality.
History[]
Origin[]
The Dekn were the first race of mortal beings created by The Hethe. The first few were Hash'bor'kanibal, an unknown second Dekn, Harbinger, and Aetheris. Upon their creation, these four Dekn wandered aimlessly until coming upon a tree, which the Hethe had also made. The Dekn lived in this First Tree, making it their home.
In time, the Hethe grew bored and crafted a new race of beings: something that would rival the Dekn, and go to war against them. The Hethe set aside some of the Dekn and altered them, using the darkness within them to form new beings beings. These beings were called the Arkn; they were designed solely to rival the Dekn and war against them for the amusement of the Hethe.
The First War[]
The first four Arkn, Gynesis, Xeth'i'stral, Abaddon, and Gabriel, saw the Dekn and wanted the tree they lived in. They attacked the Tree. Hash'bor'kanibal joined the Arkn in this attack in secret, and the Arkn claimed the Tree as their own. Hash'bor claimed that he had gotten behind behind enemy lines in the midst of the battle; he was revered amongst the Dekn for doing so, becoming something of a leader.
Aetheris retrieved a form of sap from the Tree; he and Harbinger retreated to a new location of existence: an empty sphere, beyond the reaches of Nexia, where Harbinger created a new realm called the Undevarium. Here, Harbinger and Aetheris created a substance (combined of several materials, including the sap, Dekn blood, and possibly a fluid from the Hethe) that would allow the Dekn to create offspring (or rather, interpreted clones of themselves). The Dekn regrouped and fought back against the Arkn, and ended up reclaiming the Tree. The Arkn were unhappy, and were gifted by the Hethe with weapons so they could fight back. This time, the Arkn set fire to the Tree, destroying it almost completely and leaving the Dekn homeless. Thus, the two races went to war against each other.
Centuries into the War, the Fourth Arkn, Raziel, observed the ways of both the Arkn and the Dekn. After seeing how much both sides had lost in the war, and that the First Tree was dying, he and the other prime Arkn took action: cutting their hands, they bled into a chalice; the mixture of their pure blood was poured into what remained of the Tree, releasing an energy that came to be known as Magick. The Dekn did not use Magick, however, for they had been gifted by the Hethe with mind-based powers. Raziel mastered this energy, and used it to create two separate realities for the Arkn and the Dekn, The Infinitium and The Golden Cities. These two realities (once stabilized by the eighth Hethe, Malek) allowed the Arkn and Dekn to live apart. Thus, the two races were able to enter into a period of tentative peace.
Humanity[]
With little conflict to contend with, the Dekn and Arkn societies flourished. Hash'bor'kanibal rose up and reigned as Emperor of the Dekn (the second Dekn having perished in the war by that time). During this time, an Intermediary Council was also established; this council consisted of Arkn and Dekn Lords, who represented the different districts within the Golden Cities and the Infinitium and came together for a short time to discuss matters pertaining to both parties' interests. The Hethe soon became bored of watching the two races. Thus, Malek decided to create a new race of beings: Humans, who were patterned after the Arkn, minus their wings and powers. These beings were set upon a small orb called Earth. The Dekn and Arkn alike quickly took an interest in these new beings; the Arkn dispatched a group of 200 Arkn, known as The Watchers, to the Earth to observe the humans from afar.
Before long, however, the Arkn decided they wanted the Earth for themselves; presenting themselves as benevolent celestial entities, they began mingling with the humans and interacting with them firsthand, teaching them the ways of sex, magick, desire, war, passion, pain. Some Arkn began attaching themselves to humans as "Guardians", essentially making them their slaves; a few Arkn, Xeth'i'stral included, even encouraged humans to be worship them as gods (with Xeth'i'stral taking the name of his guarded Human, Lord Gilgamesh, as his own name). The Dekn were disgusted by this, and the tensions between the Arkn and the Dekn became strained. Malek was also troubled by the Arkn interference in the lives of humans. He set out to create a new home for humanity: a computer system called the Nexellium, in which humans would be preserved and protected from the Arkn.
According to legend, some time after the Nexellium was completed, Malek crashed into the Undevarium. There he was found by Harbinger, who nursed him back to health. Once Malek had recovered, he led Harbinger to the Nexellium; Harbinger settled here, and in time produced a son, Re'du'gravus. Re'du'gravus grew up among Humans, becoming a legendary "trickster" figure. He took a number of names (including Satan), before finally settling on the name Redgrave. When Harbinger and Aetheris returned to Dekn society, they decided that the Emperor, Hash'bor'kanibal had become too powerful, and plotted to overthrow him. However, the Emperor was able to convince Redgrave to become his second-in-command by making him a better offer; Harbinger's plans were thwarted, and he was killed by his own son, while Aetheris was banished.
The Carver Is Born[]
Unbeknownst to most of the Arkn, the Dekn Emperor Hash'bor'kanibal had continued using his shapeshifting abilities to move amongst them undetected. He mingled with the high-ranking Arkn, establishing himself as a respected Arkn soldier and Lord. In time, Hash'bor became a confidant and lover of the Arkn King Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh presumably discovered his true identity in time; however, he continued the partnership, as he was attracted to the power and control it could afford him. The two began concocting a plan to cement the conflict between the Arkn and the Dekn permanently. Gilgamesh began carrying out covert attacks on Arkn cities, sometimes with Hash'bor's help. These attacks were blamed on a fearful, skeletal Dekn warlord called "The Carver".
Hash'bor'kanibal began spying on Gilgamesh's subjects for him. Eventually, he learned that Raziel had broken his vow of celibacy, creating a family with a commoner. Hash'bor accompanied Gilgamesh went before the Council of Paradisium to make his accusations; when the Council refused to take action and punish Raziel, Hash'bor used his powers to brainwash the Council into sentencing Raziel's family to death and banishing him from the Golden Cities. With Hash'bor's help, Gilgamesh convinced the Council of Paradisium to began an Inquisition targeting magi and their families.
In order to establish The Carver's place as the Ultimate Evil and the greatest enemy of the Arkn, Hash'bor'kanibal and Gilgamesh concocted a plan. They staged a battle on Earth, with Hash'bor pretending to be outraged by Gilgamesh's deification among humanity. Nearly all of the Seraphim were destroyed when Gilgamesh used Hethian Words, creating a massive shockwave. Despite this, Hash'bor was able to subdue Gilgamesh, and beheaded him with the blade Imulsyr; holding the still-screaming head up before the horrified Arkn Council, Hash'bor reverted to his true form, revealing himself to be the Dekn Emperor and "The Carver". A fissue split open in the earth, and Hash'bor dragged Gilgamesh's remains into it; Gilgamesh's skull was carved into a set of knuckle dusters, while his fear and agony is said to have formed a source of pure power (around which a realm began to mold itself). This realm was known as the Infernous.
Once the realm was complete, Hash'bor (now calling himself The Carver) helped Gilgamesh to transfer part of his living legacy into a child: a son, Uriel, whom he left on the steps of the Elysia Palace. According to legend, The Carver then sealed Gilgamesh forever in a state of agony, which became the raw fuel for the Infernous (with the former Arkn King becoming known as The Heart of the Infernous). Unbeknownst to both the Arkn and the Dekn, however, this was a complete and total lie: Gilgamesh rested comfortably in his own cell, and was even able to come and go as he pleased in the realm. Nevertheless, this realm was to become the prison of the Dekn, and home to deceased Arkn and Dekn alike; it was said that whoever controlled the Infernous, controlled the Dekn.
The Watchers Incident []
It eventually came to light that The Watchers had fornicated with human woman; to their surprise, these women gave birth to their offspring. These beings, the Nephilim, soon became numerous upon the Earth. The Carver may have been involved with the Watchers fornicating with humans, due to the fact he has a Nephilim child. However, it is unknown how his child came to be, and this is debatable. What is known is that The Carver informed the Arkn aristocracy of the events going on in the human realm; he told them that if the information gathering party of Arkn were not returned to The Golden City and the Nephilim destroyed, war would ensue.
The Intermediary Council ordered the children to be slain, and for each of the Arkn who had been involved in their creation to be arrested and returned to the Golden City. Both Raziel and Raphael were forced to take part in their capture. However, one of the surviving Watchers, Asmodeus, secretly approached Raziel and asked him to help save the surviving Nephilim. Raziel sent him to Vine, a Dekn with reality-preserving powers. Vine was able to create a stable, looping timeline in which the Nephilim could be hidden. Asmodeus escaped, and became one of The Carver's right-hands. These events contributed to the tensions between the Dekn and the Arkn, and would eventually lead to the Second War.
The Persophelum Renegade[]
Some time after the Dekn had departed from the Nexillium, the realm was destroyed by the Hethe Leg'leg, who had grown restless and frustrated by Malek's creating. Enraged, Malek departed from the realm of the Hethe and shredded himself into seven fragments. In order to protect humanity from being wiped out by the Arkn, one of these fragments went to the Dekn and inspired them to create a new system similar to the Nexellium: a new realm of life, where humans had infinite opportunities to live their lives free from the Arkn. Malek's shard called upon four powerful Dekn Lords, including Redgrave, Vine, Samael, and Clubs (known collectively as the Persophelums), to head this project. The new computer system was known as .Reality. Unfortunately, it failed to protect humans as well as the Persophelums had hoped; the Arkn began to find new ways of infiltrating the system and attaching themselves to the new versions of their human descendants.
Around this time, The Carver learned of the Hethian Scrolls of Creation; these Scrolls, stolen by Malek before his defection, contained the raw, creative power of the Hethe. The Carver began crafting a plan to use them to create a new universe, free from the malign influence of the Hethe. Under Redgrave's encouragement, The Carver located Malek and went to him, explaining his plan. Malek was more than willing to help; however, as he had split himself into numerous pieces, he was no longer a true Hethe and was unable wield the Scrolls. Malek set about archiving the Scrolls, until he could locate a suitable vessel in whom they could be hidden.
The Torment of Ellpagg[]
Eons after the damnation of Gilgamesh, the Arkn elite got together and plotted to kill The Carver in his own realm. They initially planned to send King Uriel to carry out the task, but were refused when Uriel said he wouldn't slay a brother, no matter how corrupted. They then turned to their second choice: The Knight, Ellpagg, Uriel's own son. Ellpagg was informed that he was being sent on a "peace mission" to try to talk sense into The Carver and get him to turn back to the Arkn. In reality, however, the Arkn Council was counting on Ellpagg being corrupted by the experience and transformed into a Dekn Lord; they hoped that this would convince the Arkn that the evil of the Dekn was great enough to turn even their prince (and one of the finest knights) to darkness.
After being sent into the Infernous, Ellpagg's memories were stripped, and he was escorted to his personal "cell" by two Dekn guards (one of them being a disguised Carver). Ellpagg was subjected to the torments of the Infernous, while a captive audience of Arkn and Dekn watched his suffering through the Cloud9 feed. While this was happening, The Carver departed the Infernous to stalk Cedric Kharon, leaving Redgrave to watch over Ellpagg. When Ellpagg attempted to escape from the Infernous, Redgrave punished him by possessing his vessel and sawing off his arm with a plastic fairy wand.
At some point during these proceedings, The Carver was approached by King Uriel. Uriel had defected after hearing his Cabinet's secret plans for his son (and murdering one of their members), and needed a hiding place from the Arkn authorities. He offered to create a vessel in which the Scrolls would be hidden; however, since doing so would require his own death (and land him in the Infernous), Uriel asked that he be given control over the Infernous in return, so that he could have control over his own sentence. The Carver agreed, and Uriel took the Scrolls and threw himself into one of the .Reality engines; as predicted, the act killed him, sending his soul to the Infernous and translating his essence countless times over in .Reality as a human named Alex Winter. Thus, the Scrolls were sealed away in the body of Alex until the day they could be put to use.
The Fall of The Carver[]
The Carver returned to the Infernous, now a prisoner of the cage he once built. He found himself in the company of Ellpagg, and the two talked and planned to find a way to escape together. However, because The Carver was now a prisoner, the Infernous started to meld to what he feared most. Ellpagg and Carver were separated long enough for The Carver to experience his own personal hell, culminating in a corrupted, red-eyed Ellpagg coming to full power and torturing him. While beaten, The Carver still managed to defeat the illusion.
Upon returning from this hell, The Carver began attacking Ellpagg, and the two had a violent confrontation, during which they mentioned the other ArknAngels (and how The Carver was now one of them, through being bound to the body of Luke). Carver beat his opponent to the point of near death and skinned his arm, before suddenly being overpowered by Ellpagg. After mocking and jeering at The Carver, Ellpagg briefly departed to contemplate his situation. Upon returning, he found Carver bleeding from the wounds he'd sustained in their fight. Carver explained that his human vessel was slowly taking over in the Infernous, making him mortal – and that he would soon die.
Ellpagg departed to seek help from the Hethe in the Infinity Hallway. The Carver's fate was left unknown afterwards; however, he appeared to have died, as his power passed onto Ellpagg, transforming him into a strange being that was neither Arkn nor Dekn. After this, Ellpagg found the Infernous empty, signifying that The Carver was no longer present. Upon the fall of The Carver, Azazel was offered the role of Dekn Emperor (as Clubs, the son of The Carver, was part of the Persophelum Renegade). Azazel turned down the job, leading Clubs to take his place as Emperor of The Dekn. Regardless of this, The Carver later re-materialized in the Infernous, very much alive, and continued his plan to manipulate the ArknAngels.
The End Times[]
On .Reality date May 15th, 2016, the Golden City of Elysia was distracted by a peculiar prophet; a group of Dekn found this the perfect opportunity to attack the Arkn capitol. The attack took place inside of Elysia after one of the involved beings, Mephistopheles, was able to infiltrate. Leading the attack, Mephistopheles was able to destroy the gates and allow a new Dekn Lord, Dragon, into the city. Dragon destroyed the remaining castles as the city burned. Unbeknownst to the invading army, the Infinitium itself (which had been left unguarded) was attacked by Tum'to-controlled Raphael.
The Dekn who survived the onslaught against the Infinitium were led by Redgrave to the Undevarium, the "backup" realm established and built by Harbinger. The only known ruler of the Undevarium was the Emperor Persophelus Redgrave.
Biology[]
Physiology & Appearance[]
The natural form of the Dekn varies. Like the Arkn (whom they preceeded), they are humanoid, despite being alien in origin. Some appear reptilian (with claws and scales spreading across their skin), while others have a skeletal or bat-like appearance. The two consistencies seemed to be their blood-red eyes and their horns (which can have many different shapes, from small and deer-like antlers to massive moose antlers). Like the Arkn, the Dekn are functionally imortal (though they can still be killed). In .Reality, a Dekn's natural appearance showed only through video discoloration, which revealed the Dekn to have horns originating from their temples, as well as kinetic armor, on their current vessel.
Reproduction[]
The Dekn were asexual, and unable to procreate. Most Dekn were spawned from The Hatch, a room within The Infinitium leading to an area of Nexia where Dekn were cloned/created from reality sludge, called Cluxious (clushis).
Powers / Abilities[]
Unlike the Arkn, the Dekn did not use Magick. The powers of the Dekn were invested within them upon creation, and are based around Psychic and Mental powers and shaping abilities to their will (rather than learning from them). However, like the Arkn, the Dekn had the ability to teleport.
A Dekn earns their title over time, from inventing and expanding upon a certain element. (For example, Provuscus was the first Dekn to create and manipulate light and began educating other Dekn on this ability; through this, he became known as the "Dekn of Light".) A Dekn can earn multiple titles through other aspects, such as personality traits and non-mental abilities (such as blacksmithing). Dekn can also be ordained through weaponry and armor. A list of known powers the Dekn can use are:
- Chronokinesis
- Hallucikinesis
- Necromancy
- Oneiromancy
- Photokinesis
- Possession
- Precognition
- Pyrokinesis
- Sorcery
- Conjuring
- Enchanting
- Telekinesis
- Teleportation
- Telepathy
Culture[]
The Dekn are known for being aristocratic and noble. They're an adaptive culture, consistently trying to learn and find new abilities that the have yet to discover. It should be noted that the Dekn live within a perfected society, under the rule of an emperor; there is no in-fighting, no stealing, and no crime. Many of them are very proud; some take offense to be referred to as "demons", or to being treated as the "enemies" of Humanity.
The Dekn are known for creating the .Reality system, a system created in order to protect Humanity from being wiped out by the Arkn. The Dekn saw Humans as something to be protected; they are able to guard Humans as well as the Arkn are able to; however, this was not required of them, and many saw it as a violation of Human will. They also refrained from attacking or harming Humans.