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'''Phaetheon''', the '''Void-Mage''', is one of [[the Old Gods]], a being existing before there was a universe; one of-- possibly ''the''-- last one of his kind remaining. Phaetheon possesses nearly unimaginable power, capable of shaping entire universes with his magical abilities. Though he is now merged with [[the Void]], and far weaker than he was before outside that region; he is still capable of entering the Multiverse itself... when he has a sufficiently massive amount of [[Essence and Energies|Essence and energy]] to do so.

Phaetheon is a spellcaster of the likes no mortal or god has ever seen. He radiates a magical aura that is detectable across galaxies by those whose senses reach that far, and nearly always has multiple enchantments active on his person at any given time. He has an extremely powerful, unnatural aura, resulting from the combination of the ultimate Void and Creation energies existing in him at the same time; this aura terrifies those have not been exposed to it or the Void until they can adjust to it, and even then find themselves intimidated in his presence.  

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=== History ===

Before there was a Multiverse or even the old universe that preceded it, there was the old pantheon; beings of vast power. Phaetheon is a true old god-- he "was there" at the beginning-- though he did not take a major role himself, instead preferring to safeguard the creations of his peers for order and balance. He was closest to [[the Creator]], calling themselves brother and sister. He gave her the name ''Meter-Alithea,'' "Mother of Truth," and supported her when her creation of the Multiverse led to many of the old gods rebelling, either battling them; or withdrawing into the Void. 

Before that, one of the old gods created magic, a way to tap into the natural energy of the old universe directly; a power that was nearly as great as a god's Creation powers. Phaetheon realized the threat this posed to the balance of power in those first worlds, but did nothing. Eventually, his fear was realized, and a group of Shugenja-- elemental spiritualists-- drew upon this "Deep Magic" or "Old Magic" to call down the Void to that universe. Only the quick actions of the Creator and her allies was destruction averted and the Multiverse created, but the damage was done. Phaetheon broke apart the Old Magic and spread it into different "paths" throughout the Flowplane, so that no creature could ever use that sort of magic again... except its rightful controllers; the gods. The goddess of magic then was horrified at Phaetheon's action, as she viewed magic the way for mortals to ascend to their level; but that was precisely why Phaetheon had acted. Enraged, she attacked him, and he killed her. It had not been the first time one of the old gods had slain another, but it was still a shock and affront to the rest-- except to the Creator, who comforted her brother.

Phaetheon then began to develop the ''Incantamentille Necare Di''-- "The Spells That Kill Gods"-- for the twofold purpose of protecting his sister from their potential rivals in the old pantheon... and to destroy anyone who attempted to use Old Magic against them again. He grew to hate and despise mortals for wanting to better themselves, and while he never acted to directly oppose them; he stripped all magical power from many universes, or diverted it into other sources of energy, artificially imbalancing it, and thus making it more difficult for beings in those universes to cross the Final Threshold. So intent was Phaetheon in his goal of making sure mortals could never threaten the pantheon that he never realized that he had long since forgotten his original role in the Multiverse.

When other old gods began to elevate their created mortals to divinity, Phaetheon had had enough. In his further research on magic he learned to infuse his spells with Void energy, and with such power bolstering his ''Incantamentille Necare Di'', he could destroy a god over time even if he could not win in battle directly. He defeated and wounded [[Aniishvara]], his rival, as a goddess of magic and knowledge, who later perished; and then battled several other gods, slaying each in turn. When the "assassin of the old pantheon" attacked the warrior Fudo, however, he was beaten-- although victory was ultimately Phaetheon's, as the Void wounds to the god never healed. 

When his beloved sister, the Creator, joined the others in elevating her chosen race to quasi-deific status, Phaetheon felt lost and betrayed, and left the Multiverse for good... or so he thought. When he arrived within the Void, the Leviathan offered to let him merge his powers and Essence with the Void itself, allowing him to become in effect a "void-god." Phaetheon accepted, and turned his once legendary spirit of justice into one of revenge and destruction, masterminding the Void Wars against the Eternals-- not for victory, but to harvest Essence for his more powerful vessels-- and various other plots to finally bring down the Multiverse itself. He wishes it not out of evil or hatred-- but because he views it as the Creator's mistake that she can no longer rectify, so it is his last gift to her-- a return to the order and perfection the gods shared when only they existed.

=== Abilities ===

Phaetheon, as the "Void-Mage," has access to any type of magic ever devised, and can instantly "research" a spell that uses the basic types of energies merely by thinking about it. He is a vastly powerful spellcaster, exceeding any other in the strength and versatility of his spells. He need not "prepare" any magic, any spell that he knows he can cast, and he is not slowed by actually having to "cast" a spell-- his connection to all magic is close enough that his mere will is enough to bring magical effects into existence.

In addition to his nearly infinite magical powers, Phaetheon possesses abilities that are, if not unique to him; extremely rare, or only usable by old gods. They are:

'''Magical Abilities'''

* Perfect Metamagic: Phaetheon uses "metamagic," the art of altering spells to increase their usefulness and flexibility. Phaetheon can fire multiple versions of the same spell, quicken their casting time to less than a second, increase their effect range, and so on. Normally this requires a vast increase of energy required to cast such modified spells.

* Enhance Metaspell Effect: The Void-Mage can apply new metamagic, or even change effects completely, to spells that he has already cast, or were cast by another and still in effect. There is nearly no limit to the ways in which Phaetheon can alter magic with this ability.

* Spell Conversion: Phaetheon can use all different "flows" of magic, so he can often use the sort that would be most advantageous to him. If he fights another god, immune to divine and occult magic; he can simply use the same spells, but by channeling them through, for example, geomancy, instead.

* Counterspell: Phaetheon's spellcasting strength is so great that he can use dispelling magic to counterspell nearly any magical effect, as long as he as within range and senses it happening. Counterspelling cancels out the energies used by both opposing magic-users to no effect.

'''Divine Abilities'''

* The Hand of God: An old god's most awesome power. Normally meant for channeling Creation power to create life or even new universes, Phaetheon's channels Void energy, capable of utterly destroying whatever he directs it against. Interestingly, it is less effective on living targets, particularly against beings such as Eternals, and he will attempt to turn a target into stone or glass first, and then destroy them.

* Divine Metamagic: By using his own divine power, Phaetheon does not actually need to impart any additional energy when he uses metamagic-- it is innate.

* Multiplanar Essence: Phaetheon "inhabits" multiple planes of existence at the same time, making him immune to many of the typical ways to fight gods (such as wrenching them to a material universe). He can only be banished by another god.

* Void Aura - Dimension: Like all powerful creatures possessing Void and Essence, Phaetheon possesses an aura. While Vire's suppressed all energy, Phaetheon's suppresses dimensional effects. Time and gravity-based abilities are weakened or suppressed, and he can direct his aura to instantly remove summoned creatures from whichever reality he is in.

=== Quirks and Personality ===

Phaetheon possesses a deep, resonant voice that echoces across parallel realities, and even planes. This "voice of god" can terrorize lesser beings and leave even powerful ones shaken, much as his aura can; weak-willed creatures that hear it can be easily compelled to obey him. When the Void-Mage speaks, it is often brief and to the purpose. He is not conversational even to those who might remotely equal him; to the despised mortals and "false gods" he will rarely even bother to talk unless it piques his interest.

Despite his wholly nihilistic view-- that the Multiverse must be destroyed because there is no one left worthy of his sister's divine creation-- Phaetheon still has traces of the honor he held in life. He never breaks his word, and does not lie, taunt, or exaggerate. He is truthful, and against powerful beings he tends to tell them for what offense they merited his attention. 

The Void-Mage never kills indiscriminately; he views that the only fitting end for the "rebels of creation" is to be absorbed into the Void, which cannot happen if he destroys them himself. While he has no code of mercy as such-- indeed, he views the "existence" of non-gods as having no worth at all-- an enemy can often save his or her life by simply surrendering. 

The only time Phaetheon shows any signs of emotion are when he connects to events in his past life, or with particularly powerful memories. [[Yume]], his niece, and [[Mishnu]], his adopted daughter who rejected him in favor of the Creator's blessing, are the most prominent examples, but there are others. He still feels regret for the destruction he caused... when he is capable of feeling at all.

=== Depictions ===

While his form is mutable, Phaetheon nearly always depicted as an old man with violet skin and black hair and beard; and empty black eyes with glowing violet orbs in them. He is clad in elaborate robes of black, indigo, and purple while wearing a turban of the same colors. On the tassels of his robes he wears the spiritual symbol of the Void-- five empty orbs in a circle representing the absence of the five mystic elements.

[[Category: Old Gods]]
[[Category: Characters_Void]]