Trigger Warning: There are situations throughout the story that I would classify as physical and emotional abuse, just so you all know.
Author's Note: I carried some characters over from Silver Tongue, which is my somewhat out of date backstory that I wrote for Jace, before the Origins set was released. This story can stand alone without Silver Tongue. And the characterizations in Silver Tongue are a bit out of date. I'm just letting you know in case you wanna read that story (I'm not suggesting it because Silver Tongue is old and I had no plan whatsoever when I wrote it other than "Jace backstory and he has siblings").
Prologue
"Hush, Little One. It's bed time."
"But, Mommy. Can you tell me a story?"
The mother sighed, "Very well. I can tell you a story. Climb into bed."
The child obediently climbed into their bed. They hugged their stuffed doll and pulled their blanket up to their chin.
It was only once they were settled that their mother began the story.
"Long ago, when the Multiverse was young there were only the Old Gods. The Gods got along seemingly fine and acted quite like a happy family. They worked together for the benefit of the worlds. The god of the sun and truth, Seth'ius. The goddess of fire and beauty, Chandra. The god of the sea and sky, Jace. The god of order and light, Gideon. The goddess of life and peace, Nissa. And the goddess of death and kindness, Liliana. The god of the sun, yes the same one that watches over us now, was pure and righteous. Everything was peaceful for thousands of years. However, behind the happiness, darkness worked it's magic. The god of the sky and sea was untrustworthy and only Seth'ius seemed to know it. Outwardly Jace was withdrawn. This was not an issue as he often voiced his preference for books over company. He had an odd appearance, being a man with feline ears and a long furred tail. His snakelike sapphire eyes were enchanting. He was incredibly intelligent and his voice was beautiful, almost hypnotic. However, Seth'ius trusted in the others' faith in the man.
Seth'ius loved the goddess of fire more than anything. She was beautiful, powerful, independent, and most of all she was loyal. Her trust, though difficult to earn, was not easily lost. Though she was fickle and could seem to hate him when he had angered her, she did in fact return his feelings. The goddess of death often encouraged her to speak with him about it but every time she tried she could not find a way to articulate it. The goddess of life was shy and lacked confidence. She didn't speak much but tended a beautiful garden that was admired by all of her company. The goddess of death was like a mother figure to all of them. She looked after them and helped the god of order and light make sure everyone was getting along. The god of order and light was the undisputed leader of the group. He loved all of them equally and unconditionally. He did his best to guide them down the right path.
Now, the god of the sun and the god of the sky and sea were not the best of friends. They barely managed to tolerate each other's company. Jace was undeniably helpful to his companions. He could easily talk them out of trouble and helped them out in any sticky situation they came into without asking for anything in return. He spent most of his time alone in his library with books, reading, rereading, studying and otherwise avoiding interacting with the others much.
A dark prophecy from the Oracle changed all of that. She decreed that a traitor will show his true face and darkness will flow over the worlds, consuming them. She said the sun will be blotted from the sky and the worlds will fall into chaos unless something was done quickly.
Seth'ius's distrust for the god of the sky and sea surfaced again when the others started to act oddly. They insisted everything was normal but Seth'ius could tell something was off. Chandra began to spend a worrying amount of time with Jace and Liliana began to seem to prefer him. However, Jace was no different, often savagely demanding the two leave him alone. Despite his harsh rude attitude towards them their attitudes toward him did not change. Seth'ius watched helplessly as everyone's attention began to divert towards the god of the sky and sea. They began to favor him over any other deity. The others insisted he was innocent as well. It was then that Seth'ius got the sinking feeling that the god of the sky and sea was up to something sinister. He confronted the man multiple times on it. However he insisted he was innocent and that he wasn't doing anything. However Seth'ius know that the god had powers of people's minds and could control them if he wanted.
Seth'ius continued to confront him to no avail. Gideon got angry with Seth'ius and told him to leave Jace alone and that Jace was innocent. Seth'ius watched as his friends and loved ones started to block him off. He begged them to believe him but they refused to listen. It wasn't until one day when the god of the sky and sea invited Seth'ius out to walk on the beach that darker things finally took form. Jace sat on the beach while Seth'ius stood. He asked Seth'ius what he saw. Seth'ius told him he saw water. Jace got to his feet and walked up to the edge of the water and asked him what water was. Seth'ius told him it was water. Jace then gave him an evil look and told him that water is life, death and light. Water is the reflection of the sky in which Seth'ius's precious sun sits. Clouds began to form on the horizon and the ocean began to heave. The clouds blocked out the sun. Jace then asked Seth'ius if he knew what would happen if the sun remained hidden behind the clouds. Seth'ius ordered him to remove the clouds that had darkened the world. Jace laughed and commented on how helpless and powerless Seth'ius was. He then told Seth'ius that if he wanted the sun back he would do as he was told. Instead Seth'ius drew on the power of the sun. The battle that followed was brutal, leaving Seth'ius severely weakened. He locked Jace away in the bottom of the ocean but watched helplessly as the life in the sea died because of their deity's selfishness. He returned to the others and told them what had happened. Chandra got angry with him and demanded to know where Jace was. He refused to tell her and she left, searching for him. Liliana took her own life a few decades later. She returned as a demon and Seth'ius was forced to lock her away within a tomb buried deep within the earth. Gideon was consumed with guilt and locked himself away. He left the world in Seth'ius's and Nissa's care and swore that he would return when Jace's seal was broken and deal with him himself. Seth'ius brought Nissa with him to try to find and reason with Chandra. However it was obvious that the goddess of fire had fallen prey to Jace's mind control and was no longer herself. Seth'ius imprisoned her within a volcano.
Nissa fell nearly completely silent. She followed Seth'ius and aided him in restoring life to the Multiverse so that us humans wouldn't have to pay the price for Jace's selfish lust for power. Seth'ius allowed Liliana to take up a motherly role again with our souls. She became known as the Lady of Death. Though she may be a demon she is not evil. The souls of the dead are well taken care of. The Lady of Death has sworn revenge on god of the sky and sea. The god of the sun took up Gideon's mantle and provides the world with light, warmth and order to this day. The goddess of life, though quiet and broken, still cares for and protects us until it is our time to join the Lady in the earth. Their children took up the missing elements that had been lost when the traitorous god of the sky and sea corrupted the goddess of fire and both were sealed away. They also took up new elements. The first child became the new god of the sky. The second child became the goddess of knowledge. The third child became the new god of the sea. The fourth child became the god of the earth. The fifth child became the goddess of protection. The sixth child became the god of animals. The seventh child became the god of the moon. The eighth child became the god of magic. The ninth child became the new goddess of fire.
The Oracle has predicted that if the seals are not restored in a small window of time, many years from now, the earth will tremble, the mountain will awaken and a storm will come. When the seal holding the god of the sky and the sea breaks the oceans will heave and a great dark storm will fill the sky. He will walk unhindered out of the raging waves surrounded by lightning, thunder, and rain. He will release the goddess of fire. The volcano that has been dormant for hundreds of thousands of years will erupt more violently than it has before. The sun will be blotted from the sky and the god of the sky and the sea will plunge the Multiverse into chaos. We will all be caught in a war between gods…"