There are many who strive for greatness. Some in physical strength, others in mental prowess, and even those who seek a heightened sense of spirituality. Few rarely achieve greatness, none achieve perfection. Mortals are known to seek and even strive for this oddity known as perfection, unknowing of its impossibility, for the mere thought of perfection implies the concept of ones completion of desires and duties. No being, mortal or otherwise, is ever truly finished with their lives. Even when the soul passes from the physical body and no longer walks amongst their loved ones, their names and memories live on. Lessons taught. Lessons learned. The concept of Erudition.The mortal once known as Elouyn Birieth os Eolonda was such a creature, longing for perfection on a daily basis throughout their whole life. A child prodigy in the arcane arts, surpassing their peers throughout every single year of academia. Eventually being invited at a younger age than many to Twilight Grove, the most prestigious magical academy to ever grace the world of Tyrasia. Their peers were in awe of their astounding abilities, matching theirs when they were years or even decades their senior. Elouyn continued to surpass their peers, yet felt their potential caged by their surroundings. Still years before graduation and all of their mentors had regarded them as one of the most gifted students that had ever graced the planet, yet they felt helpless in that they had nothing else to teach them, far surpassing most of their Tutors.For the remainder of their years at Twilight Grove they were enrolled as a Tutor, seeing as the faculty had agreed in unison that there was nothing more that they could teach them, and it was seen best for all that they took to gifting this seemingly endless knowledge of the Arcane to what were once their peers. Of course, people envied her, both their old peers and now fellow professors. What came to Elouyn came so effortlessly to them. It was as if their mind and soul acted like a thirsting maw in an ocean of information that never seemed to be fully sated, and yet this came at a price for them. Their mind was always craving to learn more, yet this ocean of information felt as if it were slowly drying up, and they worried endlessly about the thought of it one day being fully absorbed. The overwhelming anxiety that they battled with constantly, never feeling like they could ever achieve their potential was debilitating. They felt shackled by their own mortality on a daily basis.Elouyn had obtained knowledge of how to potentially pass even these barriers in their life. Lichdom? The thought of undeath was an uncertainty to them, the potential to lose one's mind to the Void itself and thus wasting their precious mind away in the process felt far too much of a risk. Remnancy? After all, Enchanting was their speciality, having a Remnant of themself live on in perpetuity would result in a limitless amount of time for study for sure, but would this really solve the deepest dregs of the issue at hand? Would that even be Elouyn anymore? How much can one lose of oneself before they are no longer that person? The final yet most plausible potential would be seeking Divinity, yet this was ironically the direction with the least answers. They had heard of those seeking answers from the Divines to make pilgrimage up the Glass Steps of Ceirpali, yet no one who had attempted the climb had ever returned. So one of two possibilities happened for all of them, they succeeded, or they died.A coin flip, essentially. There was, oddly enough, more risk to their perpetuity in the other choices than climbing the most perilous mountain summit on the planet. Why so dangerous you wonder? The Glass Steps found in northern Ceirpali got their name from an unexplained phenomena in the geological makeup of the area. What was once a highly active volcano of the past suddenly began to have its lava cool into frosted white obsidian. Layers upon layers of this oddity of nature caused a jagged mountain of frosted glass, frequently dusted violently by snowstorms. One minute you would be walking through the snow, another you're sliced to pieces on the planet's most beautiful, naturally-formed knives.Countless people attempted to dissuade them from going forth with their plans to make the journey, but they all knew deep down that there was nothing they could do to stop them, both physically and mentally. They had set their mind on this, and that was their destiny. They all knew that there was no reason for them to stay beyond teaching the same material for countless years to other generations, when they were of all people the one who were most capable of going further beyond today's understanding of the Arcane. Elouyn bided their time until the end of the year had passed, and began their journey to the other side of the world, boat by boat, carriage by carriage, step by step, until they finally came face to face with their destiny after a few weeks of travel.The summit of the Glass Steps loomed ominously in the distance, goading them to take that first fated step, safely tucked away in a flurry of frost, and with that first step marked the beginning of their destiny. The climb was awful. Elouyn wasn't a slob, but had never excelled in anything particularly athletic compared to their peers, so each step was careful and measured. Days passed, nights passed, blizzards passed, yet their resolve did not. One morning, after several weeks of bitter cold, aching feet, and sheer loneliness had passed, they were finally given sight of the summit as the current snowstorm decided to wane. There it was, no more than a day ahead of them now. It was strange, it didn't look particularly special. In their mind they had envisioned this grand scenario of glowing blues and purples radiating from the summit just out of eyesight, imagining that the Divines and Celestials themselves dancing amongst themselves like a private party unknown to prying mortal eyes. They chuckled to themself at the childish thought, before pressing on. No more than five minutes later however, it happened. Elouyn lost their footing.In that moment, time felt both faster than light itself, and so slow that they could see the detail on every snowflake still delicately dancing its way down to the ground. Their blood felt like it froze over in an instant. They knew immediately that this was bad, possibly even fatal, yet there was nothing they could do. As their left foot slipped on the narrow edge they had be traversing, they reached out to grab the ledge but had already lost too much verticality, and smashed their arms into the icy cliffside. Now freefalling, and rapidly approaching a lower ledge several tens of feet below, they attempted desperately to cast a spell to soften or slow their fall, but to no avail as their arms locked up from the pain of the previous scampering against the cliff edge. In what felt like their final seconds, their voice boomed outwards in a manner of what seemed like pure defiance, as if to wake the Divines themselves."I am more than this! I refuse to fail! I refuse to die!"Then in what seemed like the most pain any person could ever feel in a fraction of a second, everything became black.No one knows exactly what happened next, at least no mortal could ever be for certain, yet for some reason Elouyn awoke, face down against what seemed to be a somewhat flat outcrop roughly fifty or sixty feet below the edge they attempted to traverse previously. Their bones screamed in agony, their muscles were frighteningly tense all over, either due to the pain or the sheer cold, and the left side of their face was completely numb from the impact. They could feel streaks down their face from what seemed like tears that had frozen down their cheek, only that they were not tears. As they agonisingly attempted to push themself up from the ground, their vision very slowly unblurred, only things didn't seem quite right, and as they reached up with their hand to wipe the tears away, their glove was coated in a staining of crimson. They looked down at the icy surface beneath them once more, and as the moment of realisation dawned upon them, their adrenaline waned, and the searing pain of their now blinded left eye came to the forefront of their mind. Where they had landed was fortunately fairly flat for the most part, except for where their head had landed, now coming to terms with the jagged, now bloodstained fragments of frosted obsidian that they had unfortunately met with at full speed.The pain was unbearable, but the seemingly dormant coals in their mind had once again blazed into an inferno of determination, and as they hobbled to their feet once more, slowly dragged themself back onto the path. One step in front of the other, not even considering failure to be an option this time. They had bested death itself. They had been given a second chance. Elouyn trudged on, with every step feeling somehow more painful than the last, for hours into the night. The summit was near now, but night was beginning to rear its head. The thought of resting for the night terrified them though. What if they hadn't truly bested death? What if this was simply borrowed time? Was this just adrenaline keeping them going? Would they even wake up if they set up camp tonight being so close to the summit? The last question of all scared them the most though. What if the legends aren't true, and this is just a mountain? Did they just throw their entire life of brilliance away by chasing a myth? Would they even have enough strength to get back down the mountain? Would they be added to the list of people who made the coin flip, yet not being able to give the true answer behind that gamble? They had to persevere. If this was the last thing they ever did, even without knowing the weight of this decision, nor a single other soul knowing of their legacy, this was something that they needed to know now, more than living.The summit came ever closer, their eyes now beginning to glaze over from both the pain and tiredness, until eventually within that fateful hour, their first step breached the summit. Then the next. Then a few pathetic steps more. They looked around, gazing hazily over a somewhat flat plane of ice no larger than a small tavern. Nothing. No vibrant auroras of blues and purples in sight. No merrily dancing Divines. Not even a lifeless body of a fellow mortal who'd made it to the top before them. Nothing in sight but the night sky and the lonely stars that scatter it, for the first time in their life feeling nothing but emptiness, and as they knelt down to finally take a rest, they collapsed. They had not beaten death that day.What felt like the longest sleep one could ever dream of then passed by. Days? Weeks? Years? Impossible to say. But light returned once more in Elouyn's sight. Or rather, what they could understand as sight in this ephemeral state of being they had awoken into. They wearily gazed all around, seeing nothing but endless black speckled with vibrant stars. That was until they finally turned to see the figure of a feminine being staring at her, floating in place. The unknown being was clad in a long flowing dress of faded purples and blues, the design seemingly split down the middle with a glass-like texture. The figure continued to stare at Elouyn for a few seconds with a solemn expression, before finally showing a slight, pained smile. The being ushered Elouyn to follow her as she glided effortlessly through the night sky.It felt so unnatural doing so, but Elouyn began to realise that they could simply move in the direction they wanted by willing themself to do so, and thus did so as they floated behind this mysterious entity. As Elouyn began to catch up with the being, they went to speak with the desire to ask a question, yet quickly realised they were unable to speak. Was this a dream? Did they really die? The entity slowed down as they both approached a familiar sight, the summit of the mountain, there below them being Elouyn's now lifeless body. Elouyn felt like a chill should have run up their spine at this out of body experience, but they felt nothing. If anything, all that entered their ephemeral mind was now countless more questions unanswered, yet they knew that only one thing was important to ask in that moment."How do I become more than I am, or was, if that is the case? Mortals deserve something to aspire to, and I want nothing more than to be that beacon of light in their minds. The Divines and Celestials offer unquantifiable boons to the lives of all. I aspire for greatness. I aspire to grant greatness. I want my knowledge to flow through all those willing. I cannot offer anything more to this world as I am right now. Please, allow me to serve the mortals from the stars, if this truly is my fate." Elouyn spoke out, their words now finding sound."Your people - the mortals - some know me as the Herald of Entropic Desire, others know me as the Weaver of Fate, but you dear Elouyn, may call me Asohi. I have watched over you your whole life. I've known your fate from the moment you drew breath. I watched your impeccable studies. I watched your relentless success throughout life. But I never once watched you fail. That, in itself, was your downfall. You never allowed yourself to fail, and in doing so it cost you your life when you finally did. You died, Elouyn. You did not cheat death. Nobody does. However, this does not mean that your existence is over, far from it actually. Something that you mortals are unaware of is that the Celestial known as Ezhen is, in fact, dead, and has been for some time now, yet you mortals continue to worship him completely unaware of his demise. Unfortunately due to the nature of this realm being enveloped by the other two realms, five Divines and five Celestials must exist at all times to maintain stability against the Void itself, lest this one become annihilated. Thus, I grant you the offer that no other mortal has ever been given. I will grant you the power of a Celestial, forever shedding your mortal coil, and anointing you with all of the upsides and downsides that come with it. Also, don't worry about your body, I will repair it and rebind your soul to it so that you have a physical form to return to should you walk amongst your kin once more. However, I should also warn you that the alternative to all of this is that you die, and that is the end of your tale evermore. Think wisely, Elouyn." Asohi spoke out with a knowing tone.It took not but a fraction of a second before Elouyn accepted the offer. This was it, their whole existence had led up to this moment. They knew that their mortality would end one day anyway, and it seemingly had already done so, so it's not like they really had another choice anymore anyway. As they thanked Asohi for the chance of a million lifetimes, Elouyn spoke out again."I am not in a position to bargain, however I do wish to ask a favour of you. Upon repairing my body, please do not heal the scars of my demise. I want them to be a permanent reminder that I can and will fail. I want it to be a reminder to all mortals that even beings greater than they can and will fail." Elouyn pleaded."Very well. I will make it so. You will replace the late Architect of Potential as the celestial embodiment of Erudition itself, and join my fellow beings amongst the cosmos for now. The Celestus Pentatia requires a new guardian after all, now that Ezhen is no longer with us." Asohi commanded, as she rose her fingers, slowly clenching them together as if pulling Elouyn's lifeless body from the ground by marionette strings.

Elouyn watched in awe as their limp body rose slowly from the ice cold summit floor, celestial energy enveloping them all over. The writhing mass of swirling purples and blues shot through their body and shone brightly out of the scarring across the left side of their face. Like when a bolt of lightning smashes into a sandy beach, the scarring on their face had become like erratically fractured sapphire glass. Finally, Asohi hugged Elouyn's soul tightly, before hurtling it at their now repaired physical vessel, and with a near silent shockwave of light, effortlessly levelling the summit by several feet, Elouyn awoke once more, floating delicately above the summit."Have you thought about what the mortals shall call you now, Erudition?" Asohi pondered aloud, already knowing the answer."Valjor." Elouyn smirked back, fuelled by their newfound immortality and now limitless desire for knowledge. The Celestial word for Erudition seemed apt."Then do the whole universe proud, Valjor." Asohi beamed proudly. "Aien is listening."