Canaan

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Canaan was one of the worlds that were supposed to take part in the Game, but was destroyed before it could participate. As of now, the world has been resurrected but has not joined the Game.

Overview

A Seashell of Promises

The System of Canaan revolved around love. In Canaan, love is all that matters as decreed by Dagon, and so it was important for those within the world to express the love they held towards one another. Love defined by the majority would mean to make the object of your affections happy. ‘Love’ is shown by gifting Seashells of Promises, heart-shaped seashells that act as a physical representation of the love one gives to another. The more seashells one is given, the more ‘loved’ they are. These Seashells are then to be offered to Dagon as an offering.

The World Representative was Dagon, and the one who would inherit the title of World Representative after him was Bael.

The Exile of Canaan would have been Astarte, but was killed before she could be exiled.

Transients

The Canaan visited during the events of Canaan: The Promised Land was not the original Canaan and thus the true appearances of its citizens is unknown. The transients shown below represent their current physical bodies which house the memories of the Canaan people.

Transients of Canaan

as Canaan Dagon

as Astarte

as Baal

as Yam

as Resheph

as Moloch

as Kothar-wa-Khasis

as Aqhat

as Adonis

Unknown icon.png
El

In Canaan, there existed God, otherwise known as the Creator of Light, El. He was rumored to be the one who bestowed the light of Roles and Rules upon all the Canaan people. However, no one had met him aside from the Representative, Dagon.

World Representative Contest

The title of who was to inherit the title of World Representative from Dagon was decided through a contest where the competitors would compete to get the most Seashells from the people of Canaan, and the winner would be chosen by whomever held the title of the Most Beloved. The contest takes place as mock skirmishes to entertain the citizens and earn the most love from them, winning the battle being not as important as giving the audience a good performance. The four candidates chosen by Dagon to participate in the contest were four lords of Canaan: Yam, Moloch, Resheph, and Baal. The winner would also have the opportunity to meet El, who presides over all Canaan.

The Most Beloved was the only person in all of Canaan not allowed to compete.

Most Beloved

The Most Beloved was a title belonging to the exile of Canaan, Astarte, a Role and Rule which was forced onto her by Dagon. The title was able to be passed on to another, such as the Protagonist.

The Most Beloved's purpose was simply to exist and receive all the love given to them while expected to do nothing else in return. To be the Most Beloved is to receive the most love out of everyone in the whole world, constantly showered with Seashells. However, it also means to be the weakest in all the world, and would never be victorious in any battle because they must always lose to garner compassion and love from others. If the most beloved were to win, then they may create envy and fear from that victory. According to Bael, those whose fate is to lose are the most loved. Acting as a powerless figurehead, they would also become the trophy and companion for whomever would become Representative. At the very end, however, they would be destined to be exiled by the hands of the Representative.

Whomever was the Most Beloved world lose any power they might have once had. When the Protagonist switched Roles with Astarte, becoming the Most Beloved themselves, they were no longer able to swing their Sword as it became heavy and lost all its light, similar to how the Sword would lose power when faced against a World Representative. Astarte also had massive power, but it was locked away because of her title. Once she had changed Roles with the Protagonist, she was able to finally access the power within herself; once she switched back, she again lost her powers. Astarte was described to have no Rule belonging to her, though this could simply be another way of saying that she had no power.

The title of the Most Beloved is marked by the person who wears a special festive horn accessory. The horns on Astarte’s head signify her as “something special” and acts as proof of the Most Beloved’s identity. The Protagonist was able to obtain the title of Most Beloved when Astarte gave them the ornament. When the Protagonist put on the accessory, they began growing horns.

The End of Canaan

Canaan was destroyed due to the masses losing faith in the System of Canaan. The title of the Most Beloved placed on Astarte made her miserable; nothing she could do would ever have any effect, she would always be coddled and protected by all the citizens while expected to do nothing her whole life, and she was dependent on them as she had no power to protect herself. Once people realized that Astarte was unhappy despite being the most loved in the whole world, they began to doubt the System of Canaan, wondering how the love they valued so highly could hurt someone so dear. According to Dagon, the world of Canaan was doomed from destruction from the very beginning because the love the majority held towards the Most Beloved would always bury the feelings they really held, sending them into despair. To hold love in the highest regard is to destroy the one who receives it.

The moment the majority of people believed that the world should be destroyed, a great flood was triggered, washing the whole world away. Additionally, Bael being crowned World Representative also triggers the apocalypse, though it stands to reason that both can be each others' cause and effect. When Canaan was destroyed, Eden's invasion force was sent to herald the world's end, as well as to collect the remaining faith within Canaan. Bael throws the suggestion that Eden may have had a hand in orchestrating its destruction, though the validity of this claim is suspect.

After the world’s destruction, the memories of all the Canaan citizens were stored inside the Tower of Babel.

Revival

The revival of Canaan was spearheaded by Bael in order to (re)claim the title of World Representative for himself. Dagon held more altruistic motivations towards wanting to revive Canaan, only wanting to create a space that could protect the Protagonist until the time was right to release them.

Canaan was able to be revived with memories, flesh, and a Battle Zone. By placing the Canaanites' memories held within the Tower of Babel into suitable physical vessels, namely various people within Tokyo, they could be brought back to life. With his position within Tokyo's administration, Bael was able to manipulate the city's evacuation plan and other sorts of information to lure those he found were suitable vessels into the Tower. Canaan Dagon would then act as the foundational memories needed to recreate the world itself, presumably within the Tower.

Backgrounds

Backgrounds

canaan_day

canaan_evening

canaan_night

babel_sea_day

babel_sea_evening

babel_sea_night

beach03_day

beach03_evening

beach03_night

limestonecave

Notes

  • The known inhabitants of Canaan resembled characters from other worlds in appearance and sometimes also in ability, role, or origin.
    • The Canaanite deity Dagon was an inspiration for the Lovecraftian deity Dagon, appearing in many works and most notably referenced in the Lovecraft story The Shadow over Innsmouth.
    • Astarte was the Canaan deity of love and war, along with Baal, became associated with paganism and eventually became known as the Lesser Key of Solomon's demon Astaroth.
    • Bael was a demon written in the grimoire The Lesser Key of Solomon where his inspiration may have been from the Canaanite deity Ba'al (most likely referencing Hadad as Ba'al was a title denoting "lord") and was decried as a false god in Hebrew Bibles.
    • Yam was a Canaanite deity of the primordial sea and his symbol being a serpent which ties in with his association to the Polynesian deity (atua) of the sea, Tangaroa.
    • Nomad was associated with the god of plagues and war, Resheph, due to the Canaanite deity's name meaning "flame, lightning, or burning fever" in the Hebrew Bible.
    • Asterius resembles the Canaanite deity Moloch as the latter was often depicted as having a bull's head and their association with sacrifice.
    • Kothar-wa-Khasis is a god of craftsmanship, similar to Kurogane as a skilled craftsman and the guild master of the Kamata Crafters.
    • Aqhat was a character in the Canaanite myth named "Tale of Aqhat", his connection to Robinson seemingly stems from them being young men who are sharpshooters.
    • Adonis was a Greek god of youth and beauty as well as having an association with vegetation; similar to how Kijimuna is a tree spirit. He is often depicted as being the son of Astarte. The name Adonis comes from a Canaanite word meaning "Lord".
    • El was known as the supreme god, a benevolent and wise deity who was the creator of the gods, all of mankind, and animals too.

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