AN: Hey, everyone! So, something a bit different this time. Rather than a regular story, this one's more of a book, set within the universe of the Elsewhere Sage itself (hence why it's a side-story). But anyways, I hope to use this to fill in a few blanks in the world I've created, as well as do some more world-building! This isn't necessary to understanding my other stories, but I hope it'll make for an interesting read regardless!

~The Book of Adamas: Annotated Addition~

~Commentary Provided by Dr. Gina Packard~

~Foreword and Afterword by Steven Quartz Universe~

Chapter One: Foreword

My mom was a lot of things.

A leader. A ruler. A rebel. An inspiration. An aberration. Everyone who knew her believed her to be the greatest thing to happen to humanity, or Gemkind, or the worst.

And where did that leave me?

At first, I was the son of a Quartz. I knew she was a wonderful leader, fighting for peace and freedom. But even a wonderful leader has to make difficult decisions.

Deciding to bubble Bismuth and, what was believed at the time, shatter Pink Diamond could not have been easy decisions. They were not spur of the moment. If what everyone has told me about my mother is true, they must have weighed heavily on her.

Then I was the son of a Diamond. Pink Diamond, who had taken on another name and faked her shattering to escape. This, too, could not have been an easy decision. She ran away from everything she had ever known, forever abandoning her family. She did so not just because she believed herself not to be loved, but to protect Earth.

Then, I was finally Steven. But I was forced to ask myself a question I had never asked myself before that point: who was Steven Universe? Who was I, aside from Rose's son? And what did that make me? A Gem? A Diamond? I had to find myself.

After much soul-searching, I realized something I should have known all along. I was Rose's son, yes, but I was also Greg's son. My father gave up his life's dream to be with the woman he loved, only to see her give up her life for my sake. My father, in spite of everything he had to put up with raising me, from a broken leg to getting abducted to having his arm almost dissolved, stuck with me no matter what. I have no doubt, if he had the choice to give his own life to save Rose's or mine, he would have done so without question. And for this, I am grateful beyond words. I love you, dad.

So who am I? Easy: I am Steven Quartz Universe. What do I do? I help people. It's what I do, whether it's helping an old lady cross the street, or saving the world from destruction yet again. Not because I'm the chosen one, or because I have some sort of magical destiny, but because I choose to. It's who I am.

Despite this, there are those who believe my very existence is something to be either celebrated, or condemned. It's true that I am unique, as no Gem has ever bore a child before, but I would hardly call that a miracle. Not anymore so that childbirth and love already is, at least. Even after everything was said and done, I had people-not just Gems, humans-declaring that I was something to be worshipped, or, in some cases, even feared and spurned. I always knew the Diamonds were revered on Homeworld, but this kind of reaction wasn't something I expected on Earth. This is actually what prompted me to look into Diamondism.

It all started when I simply wanted to do some research into Gem history on Earth. BAINE had told me that Homeworld had shaped much of our pre-history with their presence, and the Crystal Gems were involved in human affairs even after the war was over. It was because of them that BAINE was even founded in the first place! But after doing a little digging, I found that they had influenced our early ancestors more deeply than I thought…

Let me put it this way: imagine you're a human, living in the time when civilization as we know it was just beginning. The 'city' is a recent innovation, and everybody's still adjusting to living in one rather than being wandering hunter-gatherers. Then one day, everything changes. Massive vessels descend from the heavens, populated by beautiful beings of light, capable of feats you could only imagine in your dreams (or nightmares). What would you assume they are?

I've lived with Gems my whole life, so it was kind of jarring to learn that there was a whole religion around them. A religion that, I might add, people still practice to this day. Perhaps 'religion' is a bit of a misnomer. See, Diamondism is actually a group of several smaller religious movements, all of them derived from the arrival of Gemkind. Disturbingly enough, most of these movements specify worship of Homeworld Gems specifically, with at least one of them wanting the colonization of Earth, saying it's the best-case scenario! A few, though, see my mother as a holy figure, a trait which I have, unfortunately, inherited from her.

As if being Rose's son wasn't exhausting enough, once the whole Homeworld debacle was settled, I had to deal with people claiming I was some sort of messiah. And that was on a good day: some people thought I was pure evil because of my mother, in either persona. Setting aside for a moment that I'm not her, why exactly is my mother held on such a pedestal for these people?

To answer that question, we'll need to dive deeper into Diamondism. Which, incidentally, is also the purpose of this book. In these following pages, you will find an in-depth analysis of the origins of these religions, how they survived to the modern day, and what they mean for us now that Gems and humans can live in harmony. You will learn how they came to be, how they have changed from their genesis into the modern day, and maybe, should the feeling strike you, join one of them yourself!

But that's besides the point. What you do with this knowledge is up to you, not to me. I may be a Diamond, technically, but you don't have to listen to me; that's the whole point of Era-3. If it applies to Gems, why shouldn't it apply to humans, too?

Speaking of Gems and humans, they are the subject of our first chapter. Specifically, the origins of the numerous different denominations of Diamondism. So, let's get to it, shall we?