Emen

Emen, also known by the transliteration Mremen, or Mr. Emen, is a malevolent spirit or deity. He is believed within Villager Lore, and by modern day religions such as Makerism and its predecessor, Gonfism.

He is believed to have been the first Player of Rathnir, possibly coming from Jagdas or Paxia. It is believed that he rebelled against the authority of God (identified as the Maker or Almighty in modern religious orthodoxy) and unleashed twenty-four evils into the world, likely all taking the form of unholy beasts. He then sought the complete extermination of the Villagers (also called Testificates), and is widely held responsible for their either complete extinction or alleged endangerment. He is believed to have had at least one son, named Odun, who is identified as a hero of the Villagers; though little is known about Odun today.

Villager Lore held that the universe was divided into Twelve Heavenly Spheres - of which Emen is today said to reside in the lowest, the End. Emen is widely held to be the leader of the Abyssals, or Demons, in modern Makerist orthodoxy. While most Abyssals are identified as fallen Ascendari (also called Angels or Messengers), it is unclear whether or not Emen was ever an Ascendari. It is widely believed that the forces of the Maker and the forces of Emen are in eternal battle over the Spheres, and that this frequently broils into the overworld.

Emen is generally played by Stoneworks server owner, StoneyStoner, though this is not to be confused that Emen is the player.

History
Emen is first identified in the Book of Letters, a collection of texts found in the old Villager settlements of Alteniquia; including Hraam, Deel, and Dehdrada. Specifically, the text "Secret of Hraam" is said to be authored by Emen outright. In game, the author is StoneyStoner. The first passage of the text reads the following, originally written in poetic stanzas as opposed to one concise sentence:

“I am Emen, First player of Rathnir, But not its Creator, Who drove out the big noses, But not their children."

The meaning of this is slightly controversial, as it can either be read that the Creator is the one to drive out the "big noses", or it can be interpreted that the sentence should end at "But not its Creator", and that it was Emen who drove out the "big noses". The "big noses" are identified as being the Villagers or Testificates. Interpretations of what is meant by "But not their children" are various as well, as some hold that the Villagers went extinct, while others say the original Villagers are still alive and well today. Others interpret this as meaning that a bloodline of the Villagers lives on to this day in the Players, and that while the original Villagers may be dead, their descendants still live today; to the great disfavor of Emen. Others instead believe the word "children" is entirely symbolic, referencing that people still follow the Villager Lore to this day and their beliefs, which also angers Emen.

Ultimately, the other texts in the Book of Letters include correspondence between Villagers telling of coming incursions of Players, and that Emen is coming as well. It is thoroughly implied that Emen, along with other Players, came and destroyed the Villager towns of Hraam, Deel, and Dehdrada. This means that the Book of Letters was written immediately before or at the very beginning of the Villager genocide. Hraam is confirmed by StoneyStoner, the server's owner to be the former capital of a Villager civilization.

The other stories in the Book of Players that likely involve Emen are lost to history, for instance we know he unleashed twenty-four beasts across the world but we do not have the stories that discuss those beasts in specificity. It is believed that, if it exists, any known story about Odun is likely contained within the Book of Players. At least one story in the Book of Players, while lost today, is known to include at least some reference to Emen's beats, being that of The Librarian and the Gold Snake Irodrial, though all the Book of Players take place before the killing of the Villagers. This implies that Emen betrayed God and unleashed the beasts first, and only much later came to commit acts of genocide against the Villagers. This also implies he is immortal, it is unclear if he was mortal at one point or not. The Villager prophet Ovo, who presumably predates Emen or at the very least his beasts, received a prophecy from God about the Players, describing them as the "greatest species, who takes the world and molds it above all else" in the Book of Players.