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 mentioned for the first time in the Book of Players, specifically in a text called "The Librarian and the Gold Snake". He is described as a malevolent spirit that came from the Nether, before being brought to the over-world in a feud between two other rivaling spirits. It is believed that he unleashed twenty-four "evils" around the world, only one of which has been named, being a beast called Irodrial who was defeated by a Villager named Harammrah.

At some point after this, possibly centuries later, Emen is identified in the Book of Messiah (Prophecy of the Testificate King) as a "...villain, not mortal..." who would come to destroy the Villagers in their entirety. In the Book of Letters, he is detailed as destroying entire cities of Villagers, and it is widely implied that he murdered the vast majority of Villagers in the world, with few remaining in hiding or in rural locations. It is believed he had at least one child, a son named Odun, who is identified in oral accounts as a "hero of the Villagers", though the original scripture that Odun may have been mentioned in is entirely lost to history today.

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. The Books of Players, Messiah, and Letters are also all believed to have been authored by StoneyStoner - the player.

Book of Players
Emen is first identified in the Book of Players, a collection of twelve texts authored by StoneyStoner, of which only two are known of today, the remainder have been lost and have not been transcribed. He was described in the Book of Harammrah (within the Book of Players) as a malevolent spirit that resided in the Nether, before being brought to the over-world by the Spirit of Sky in an attack against the Spirit of Earth, who had wronged them. It is unclear if this was the first time Emen had made contact with the over-world, but this seems to be implied as it is believed this section of the Book of Players was the first ever written.

It is implied that Emen then created twenty-four evils against the over-world, one of which included a giant serpent made of gold, bedrock, and redstone named Irodrial. A Villager by the name of Harammrah, hailing from the "Stone City", then kills the beast by making Irodrial break its own neck. Harammrah than becomes the King of the Stone City for an unknown period of time.

Emen is implied in one other section of the Book of Players though, specifically in the Book of Ovo. In that text, the prophet Ovo is made to live the lives of all creatures in all periods of time by the God of the text, who is called the Almighty, and today is often referred to as the Maker. It states the following:

"Among all the beings of the world, Ovo inhabited them all, and flew from one to the other, each time meeting the Almighty, who reminded her of her duty and wisdom. The last of all beings, was the Players. The greatest species, who takes the world and molds it above all else. No dungeon or mansion matches our churches and temples, mineshafts and wells, mansions and pyramids. "

Emen is later identified as the first Player of Rathnir in the later Book of Letters, meaning that Ovo would have seen Emen. This text also implies that the Players ability to create (and therefore destroy) is greater than all other creatures, with the word "our" referring to the abilities of the Villagers, as Ovo was a Villager herself.

Book of Messiah
The next time Emen is mentioned is in the Book of Messiah, also called the Prophecy of the Testificate King.

The text states that the Villagers would be wiped out by an immortal villain and that only a few Villagers would survive in the wilderness of the world, and that a "Messiah-king" would one day rise and avenge the Villagers. It is said that in order for the Messiah to be brought, that the Villagers' history must be restored, it is widely believed that this means finding and transcribing the remaining ten texts in the Book of Players.

Book of Letters
Emen is again identified in the Book of Letters, a collection of texts found in the old Villager settlements of Alteniquia; including Hraam, Deel, and Dehdrada. Th is text implies greatly that the immortal villain described in the Book of Messiah is in fact Emen. Specifically, the Book of Emen (originally titled "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, though the most popular interpretation is that Emen is not to be confused with the Creator, the same god as the "Almighty" or "Maker" mentioned in other texts. Because of the context in the Book of Messiah, it is implied that it is Emen outright who "drove out the big noses", with the "big noses" being Villagers. The text "...But not their children" refers to the surviving Villagers mentioned in the Book of Messiah.

Interpretations of what is meant by "But not their children" are various however, as some hold that the Villagers went extinct in their entirety, while others say the original Villagers are still alive and well today as prophesied in the Book of Messiah. 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.

Unknown
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, with the sole exception of Irodrial.

It is believed that, if it exists, any known story about Odun is likely contained within the Book of Players. It is widely implied that Emen was at one point a benevolent spirit, before betraying the god of the texts and being sent to the Nether in damnation and becoming a malevolent spirit. Upon being released into the over-world, Emen sought revenge by unleashing the twenty-four beasts, and only at a later point would come to genocide the Villagers after an undetermined amount of time.This implies that Emen betrayed God and unleashed the beasts first, and only much later came to commit acts of genocide against the Villagers.

Book of Testificus
The arrival of the Players and the extermination of the Villagers by Emen is briefly mentioned in a text called the Book of Testificus, written by Latternus Testificus. It is also the first text to directly relate the relation of Emen to G0NF, being that the Players were malevolent because of Emen, and the Maker sent a mortal form - being G0NF - to teach the Players righteousness. The Villagers that existed before the Players are implied to have already known righteousness, because of the prophet Ovo and possibly other Villager prophets from the time as described in the Book of Players. The Players are referred to as the "marked ones" in this text.

The Book of Testificus states the following, referencing the acts of Emen and G0NF respectively: "Through day and night, Testificus wandered from village to village and continued establishing his own temple of worship; traveling through the realm as little had changed for many years — until the arrival of the marked ones.

Upon this day came a great calamity and came the first decimation of the Villagers, with great suffering inflicted upon the Testificates.

''However, soon the one to be known as G0NF arrived; He who descended from the Heavens bearing the name of a marked one, but who preached to all the good-will and nature of those [Players]. It is He who sought peaceful harmony and unity between all [people] of the world. It was G0NF who showed kindness to Villagerkind where none others would, who sought peace when all others sought war, and who brought forward public works when all others brought destruction.''"

The Book of Testificus later outright accuses the executors of G0NF, reigning from Crab Season and Russia in Jagdas, of being followers of Emen, which is widely believed today. There are four books that detail the life of G0NF outright and were written in the immediate aftermath of G0NF's execution, which includes the Books of Testificus, G0NF, Truths, and Pajarael. Only the Book of Testificus details the connection between Emen and G0NF's executors.