Divine Fathoming
Divine Fathoming is the sacred process by which a Divine or pair of Divine Parents gives birth to a universe. It is both an act of supreme creativity and an exercise of cosmic law, performed only by those granted the Rights of Divine Creation. Each universe within the Continuum Universes is the result of such a Fathoming — a unique crystallization of divine will expressed through art, labor, or dream.
Yet all Fathomings depend on the primordial triad of forces: Kaos, Lethurîa, and Kosmos. These three existed before the first Divines and provide the raw conditions necessary for creation to occur.
Nature of the Fathoming
A Fathoming transforms divine imagination into reality by channeling Kaos through Lethurîa into the boundaries of Kosmos. This moment generates the first surge of Essence, the living energy that sustains creation. The Divine’s will determines how that Essence will resonate — whether as flame, light, dream, or word.
Only those bearing the Rights of Divine Creation can survive this process. Without those Rights, Kaos overwhelms will, Lethurîa unravels form, and Kosmos rejects the result — producing a collapse that becomes The Contradiction.
Methods of Fathoming
Each Divine expresses their Fathoming differently. The creative method defines the metaphysical structure of the universe that follows.
| Method | Description | Example Universe |
|---|---|---|
| Forging | Creation through heat, pressure, and deliberate craft; emphasizes evolution and endurance. | Sodahan. Kosmos, Aroenious |
| Singing | Creation through resonance and tone; emphasizes harmony and order. | Galaxa |
| Dreaming | Creation through subconscious imagination; mutable and emotional. | Nir-Helan, Aerenda |
| Painting | Creation through visual form and beauty; aesthetic determinism. | Aethern, Sonoko |
| Storytelling | Creation through narrative and archetype; destiny as physical law. | Midheim, Lethurîa |
Rights of Divine Creation
The Rights of Divine Creation are the highest authority among the Divines — the license to draw directly upon Kaos and shape it through Lethurîa into Kosmos. Without them, even the greatest immortals risk annihilation. Granting these Rights binds the recipient to the moral and metaphysical upkeep of the universe they forge.
Essence and the First Flame
Each Fathoming produces a unique vibration within Lethurîa’s current, releasing what scholars call the First Flame. This is the original wave of Essence (Sodahan), encoded with the emotion and intention of its Divine creator. Essence thus serves as the record of every Fathoming — the Continuum’s shared memory of creation.
Failure and The Contradiction
When balance between Kaos, Lethurîa, and Kosmos is lost, the Fathoming collapses. The energy meant to sustain life instead consumes itself, birthing anti-Essence and forming The Contradiction. Such failures are not erased; they remain as warning scars in the fabric of the Continuum, repurposed by beings like the Deviants as conduits of forbidden travel.
Philosophical Meaning
Divines interpret Fathoming as both creative act and confession. Each universe reveals its maker’s nature: Forgers shape endurance, Singers harmony, Dreamers emotion, Painters vision, Storytellers purpose. Through the triad, every creator confronts their own limits — Kaos tempts, Lethurîa tests, Kosmos judges.
Continuum Context
Fathoming sustains the ongoing expansion of the Continuum Universes. The Divine Council regulates new Fathomings to preserve equilibrium among existing realities. Since the creation of Sodahan, no new universes have been authorized; the instability of the Contradiction and rising tension in Lethurîa’s flow have made further acts too perilous.
Modern Interpretation
Scholars argue that Kaos, Lethurîa, and Kosmos are not separate entities but phases of a single eternal process — the breathing of the Continuum itself. Under this view, every act of mortal creativity echoes Divine Fathoming on a smaller scale: art, invention, and birth are micro-Fathomings, miniature reconciliations of chaos, transformation, and order.