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by The Psychic Type's territory of SquareDisc City. . 80 reads.

UPT: Plates of Origin

The Plates of Origin
Being the texts of the Arcean Faith.

Traditionally the Plates of Origin are carved stone and are written in Old Pokemon. Neither media nor language are especially practical, however, and most copies used are printed Sekmi translations. To wider promote the Arcean Faith beyond the United Pokemon Types, the Links have published the following abridged English translation digitally.

Several words in the Plates of Origin are written in the manner of proper nouns, and their spellings seen nowhere else. These have been rendered in SMALL CAPS in this translation. In the mainstream branch of the Arcean Faith, they are considered to refer to divine personifications of the concept, and the identifications are given in the footnotes. Other branches have alternative identifications, or even reject any such correspondences outright.

Heusos (Dawn)

With nothing else, without space or time, power or life, there are the LAWS1. And the LAWS are Arceus, and Arceus is the LAWS, and shall endure even beyond the rise and fall of the world2. And from the LAWS comes the hatching egg, and from the hatching egg comes the dawn of TIME3 and the origin of SPACE4. TIME bounding the world's beginning and its end, and all that lies between, and SPACE encompassing the world's near and its far, and all that lies between.

And they would have been the world, TIME and SPACE in seamless perfection, were it not for the hatching egg giving rise to a third, to ENERGY5. And ENERGY has power over TIME and SPACE, power he knew not and controlled not. Raging with all his might, ENERGY tore at SPACE and twisted TIME, threatening to rip them both apart. Not even the LAWS quelled the rage, but could do nothing but wait, wait until ENERGY was spent. For eons it flooded unchecked into the world, until at last, it was exhausted, and fell into slumber.

And thus the world would have remained, were it not for another who sprung from the laws into the world. INFORMATION6 came upon ENERGY, and shaped and quelled the formless rage until it crystallised, and what had once wrought destruction was transformed into the seeds of creation7.

And the young world was of four parts, and indeed it still is. Ground, Water, Flying, and Dark they were, the three in spheres of perfect HARMONY8, surrounded by the fourth, the original elements. Yet the HARMONY was fragile, and the music turned to fighting. LAND9 and SEA10 collided, each trying to rise above the other in their battle of eons, upending the world many times over, under the SKY11 that could do no more than bring the briefest of calms ere the storm would resume.

And thus the world would have remained, of rock and water and wind and rain, ever riven by battle, were it not for what came from beyond the skies, fleeing the dark. LIFE12 came upon the world, and even in the fires and storms it stood firm and multiplied. And as the eons passed, so LIFE strengthened the SKY, calmed the SEA, and at last overtook the LAND.

And thus the world would have remained. LIFE was stronger than all, and took the world as its own. Yet it knew not the LAWS, nor the true power around it. LIFE remained powerful, yet ignorant, for it needed only strength, not wisdom. And Arceus saw this, and he caused the world to be overturned once more13. From the uttermost depths LIGHT14 rose, blazing as a thousand suns from a thousand pits, and the LIGHT cleansed the world, searing good and bad alike, and LIFE was driven from much of the world, even as its hubris was driven from it. And fleeing from the LIGHT, LIFE was brought into the arms of INFORMATION, and gained wisdom.

And thus the potential of the LAWS was fulfilled. And Arceus looked upon his world, and knew of its greatness yet to come15.

Footnotes:
1 Arceus.
2 Absent in some early Plates.
3 Dialga.
4 Palkia.
5 Giratina.
6 The Lake Trio.
7 Thought to mean matter.
8 Celebi.
9 Groudon.
10 Kyogre.
11 Rayquaza.
12 Deoxys.
13 Absent in some early Plates.
14 Heatran.
15 Absent in some early Plates.

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