Beginnings:
Long ago, before time had any meaning, there was a young woman. The woman born out of nothing. Of course, the idea of one being born from nothing sounds absurd, but everything must start somewhere. It's hard to imagine, but she wasn't always all grown up. Believe it or not, she used to be a little girl back when she was all that existed. It is because of this curious little girl, whose mind sparked the beginning of creation, that we are all here today. Imagine for a moment that you are still a child, you are still playing with imaginary friends, having fun in your own fantasy world, and doing anything you can put your mind to. Well, in this little girl's case, her idea of a fantasy world, wasn't fantasy at all. See, when you're the first one to exist, the ether is your sandbox, you can warp reality at will, and so this is what this little girl did. At first, the little girl was delighted by such things as loud noises, brilliant colors, and just a bit of destruction, much like any human in their toddler years. Hence, the so-called "Big Bang" But, like any entity, the little girl eventually matured, and wanted a different kind of amusement; something that could strengthen her mind, and entertain her when the activities she used to engage in grew dull. Perhaps something akin to herself, a person, would be fun to observe. And so, with her imagination, she created the very first sentient being: a denizen, designed to be as beautiful as she, with a similar physical form, and designed to be nearly indestructible, so that her creations would not require food or drink, never age, never get sick, and hardly ever be injured. In other words, they were designed to be perfect. So perfect in fact, that she didn't even grant them emotions, beyond the basic feelings of fear, anger, and contentment needed for survival. Of course, when creating living things, they needed a place to live, and so she created the first realm of the universe: a magical, sprawling place that became known as The House. It was here that her creations granted her a name of her own: The Architect. While for many eons, The Architect highly enjoyed examining the daily lives of her creations, she longed for something more: to feel a close, personal connection with another being, for even the creator of the universe desired companionship. And so, The Old One was created. Naturally, the two had a lot in common, and his companionship was a welcome relief from the long and lonely eras of observing the denizens. Eventually, The Architect began to grow irreversibly exhausted of this constant monitoring, and decided to start setting the stage for a retirement of sorts. The Architect had long wanted to have a child, for only a denizen with the traits of both her and The Old One could be fit to replace her hold on the realm of The House. And so, she went on to conceive her first child, an excitable and adventurous boy. He was extremely fond of the ocean, and so his mother granted him a gift: a mighty trident, which could control the seas, and act like a harpoon. This is where you might have guessed, the tale of Poseidon in Earth mythology comes from. Due to his marine expertise, he became known as the Mariner. However, he wasn't quite the right fit for being the leader his mother was hoping for, as his kind and loving spirit was forever connected to The Architect and the waves. So, The Architect conceived a second son, a quiet and shy boy, with a love for music. As a gift, his mother granted him a magic flute, so that all who heard it, would be entranced. As this gift helped him get over his shyness, the boy quickly wanted to make friends with other kids, but as denizens were all adults, there were none. It wasn't long after that the boy started to explore newer realms that The Architect had created: less under her direct influence and more wild: mortals, as she called them, and they were full of people of the boy's age. Just like with denizens, these mortal children were absolutely delighted with the magic flute, seemingly more so than anyone else, for mortals are full to bursting with curiosity. The children of the mortal realms always seemed to be there for the young boy when no denizen was, hence why even after the boy grew up, he had a deep love for children. Due to this and his musical talents, he became known as The Piper where of course the folk tale came from. But alas, neither The Piper nor The Mariner were truly built for the task The Architect had in mind, so she conceived her third and final son. Even from a young age, this boy was a natural leader, and highly studious, if not a bit prideful. When the boy grew old enough, The Architect could see that the boy was ready for the task at hand. And so, she granted him a small, but extremely powerful object: The Will, which was a golden key that was to be worn around a necklace. With this, he would be capable of controlling the house, and keeping it safe. However, it was quickly obvious that such a task should not fall into a single person's control, for not even a denizen could wield the power of a god. So, it was settled that the power of this key would be split into 7, a lucky and magical number. Each piece of the will was to be equally powerful, just as the individuals wielding them would be. The Architect's youngest son was still set to possess a piece of the will, but 6 other denizens would soon join him, with him via the Architect's approval, handpicking the rest. Due to there being 7 of them, the simplest way to name these powerful figures was by the days of the week: In order, there was Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, who would be The Architect's son. Why Sunday, you may ask? Because Sunday is the first day of a new week, and he was the first one chosen for the task. Afterwards, each figure was assigned 3 denizens to work under them, named after the 3 main parts of the day: Dawn, Noon, and Dusk, as any important figure needs their secretaries. All seemed to go smoothly, until The Old One eventually found out about his wife's plan, and was furious. After all, it seemed to him that The Architect was trying to distance herself away from everything, including him. The Architect tried to reason with him, but it was no use. Feeling like she had no other choice, she imprisoned him deep within the realm of the house, forever chained to the face of a clock, left to become nothing but a legend to the denizens. The new days of the house were fairing well in their new roles, only a few millennia in, but not doing a half-bad job. However, The Architect knew that the days could only account for her first realm alone, the rest of the universe (the secondary realms) she had created later would still be under her watch, and fatigued from the billions of years that had passed, she could not stand much more of her role. But how to pick a successor? Well, sometimes you must break things down before they can rise again, and so began The Architect's final plan: she would place a hint of dark influence in each of The Days, and eventually each would become terribly corrupt. To speed this process along, she also decided to a lesser extent, to corrupt one of her other sons to become jealous of the youngest brother's power. Although corrupting any of her creations gave her great pain, her mind was set on what had to be done. When the time came where each of The Days' souls were as black as coal, an individual from the secondary realms would be chosen, and if they could defeat each of the days, and retrieve each part of the will, they would be fit to rule, with a new set of Days by their side. Denizens and gods had had their turn, it was time for a mortal to try their hand at ruling the house. After all, how could she pick a true successor without.. a job interview if you will. Sure, the mortals were newer to the universe, but who knows? Maybe they would be more suitable to the role of leadership than anyone else. As her plan was set into motion, she loosened her grip on The House, and allowed it to move away from her mind. To the denizens, it would seem as if The Architect had merely disappeared, and would surely eventually return. The Architect smiled sadly to herself. Let them keep believing that. She couldn't bear to break any more hearts, but her time was nearly up.