The Origins of Hours

'GODS-FROM-LIGHT DESCEND.'
'GODS-WHO-WERE-FLESH REMEMBER.'
'GODS-FROM-STONE REMAIN.'
'GODS-WHO-WERE-BLOOD CONSUME.'
'GODS-FROM-NOWHERE; GODS-FROM NOWHERE.'

The Hours of Cultist Simulator are frequently categorized by occultists in the Secret Histories Universe based on the circumstances surrounding their birth and ascension into the Mansus. These origins help to identify elements of an Hour’s nature and their relationship with others.

There are five known origins for Hours; gods-from-stone, gods-from-Light, gods-from-flesh, gods-from-blood, and gods-from-Nowhere.

Light

'The Mansus was different before the first god came from Light, but never doubt it existed, even then.'
'The Origins of Hours (book)'

The gods-from-Light are the Hours which descended from the Glory. The arrival of the first gods-from-Light, assumed to be the Sun-in-Splendour and the Forge of Days, fundamentally changed the Mansus, as the Forge reshaped and opened the ways into the House, while the Sun-in-Splendour became its supreme ruler. The other gods-from-Light include the Flowermaker and the Solar Hours born of the Intercalate; the Sun-in-Rags, the Madrugad, and the Meniscate.

Common elements of the gods-from-Light include the following:

• All of them came from the Glory, either being one of the original Hours to descend or claiming descendence from them in some way.
• The original gods-from-Light are implied to be inherently more powerful than other Hours, with the Sun-in-Splendour explicitly being the greatest, and the Forge of Days having significant influence over the House and the Wake herself. Whether the other gods-from-Light have power on a comparable level is unknown, though doubtful.
• The extant gods-from-Light are known to have Lantern or Forge as an aspect, as their origin fundamentally ties them to the Glory and its power.
• All of them employed the Key of Days which opens the Tricuspid Gate.

Flesh

'Before the Gods-who-were-flesh, the Mansus was forbidden to mortals.'
'The Stag Door'

The gods-from-flesh are Hours who were once mortal. Since the Lithomachy, when humanity forced its way into the Mansus, a number of mortals have ascended, and now the gods-from-flesh are by far the largest category of Hours which dwell in the House of the Sun. While most of them are confirmed to have been humans, it is hinted that other beings are able to ascend as well. The known gods-from-flesh are the Watchman, the Colonel, the Mother of Ants, the Ring-Yew, the Witch-and-Sister, the Sister-and-Witch, the Thunderskin, the Vagabond, the Beachcomber, and the Lionsmith.

Common elements of the gods-from-flesh include the following:

• They were all mortals who ascended into the House at some point.
• A number of them began in the service of another Hour previously. The Thunderskin and Twins both ascended under the Red Grail, the Watchman served the Egg Unhatching, the Mother of Ants was likely a priestess of the Seven-Coiled, and the Lionsmith trained under the Colonel before rebelling.
• Most of them are depicted in humanoid shape, though not always. The Ring-Yew is depicted as a tree, the Beachcomber as a crow, and the Thunderskin as a beating heart. A number of them have also been known to take on other shapes as well.

Stone

'The Gods-who-were-stone, the first of the Hours, are almost all gone now, but here their voices remain: Wheel, Flint, Tide, the others without names'
'The Temple of the Wheel'

The gods-from-stone are the old Hours which once ruled the Mansus. The exact details of how they came to be in the first place is a mystery, as they are too old for any to remember their beginnings. The six gods-from-stone mentioned in Cultist Simulator are the Horned Axe, the Wheel, the Flint, the Tide, the Seven-Coils, and the Egg Unhatching. Of these six, only the Horned Axe remains, the rest slain in the Lithomachy and replaced by newer Hours.

Common elements of the gods-from-stone include the following:

• All of them existed long before humanity came to be.
• They were worshiped by the Carapace Cross, the predecessors to humanity.
• Many of them possess elements that reflect prehistoric organisms and existence before civilization. The Wheel is described as similar to a protozoa or other single-celled organism, the Flint reflects the use of stonework and early tools, and the Egg Unhatching invokes ideas of the beginning of life, the “primordial source” from which creation spawns in various cultures and their mythology.
• The gods-from-stone were said to make use of the Savage Door and the Biting Key.

It should be noted that there are hints that perhaps more Hours existed even before these gods-from-stone, forgotten by all who remain in the world.

Blood

'It has been claimed that Grail was born from the first sacrifice. But Moth knows better.'
'Subvert Grail Influence'

The gods-from-blood are Hours born from sacrifice, and the oldest of the Hours after the gods-from-stone. The details and requirements for their birth are uncertain, but can range from sacrifices performed by mortals, as implied for the Moth and the Grail, to sacrifices by the other Hours, as occurred with the Wolf Divided during the Intercalate. The known gods-from-blood are the Moth, the Red Grail, the Velvet, and the Wolf Divided, though other Hours are suggested to be gods-from-blood as well, such as the Sun-in-Rags.

Common elements of the gods-from-blood include the following:

• All of them were birthed from a sacrifice of some sort.
• They can be defined in some way by consumption, be it literal or some other type of obsession which drives them. The Moth was a hunter whose eyes were “merry with hunger”, the Red Grail is the Hour of hunger and desire, the Wolf Divided wishes to devour itself and all of existence, and even the Velvet is obsessed with collecting and “devouring” secrets which she hides from the rest of the world.
• The Flaying Key which opens the Kingskin Gate was present at each of their births.

Nowhere

'All the gods-from-Nowhere, like the Growth, are especially menacing out-of-context things.'
'The Crowned Growth, How it Became'

The Gods-from-Nowhere are mysterious Hours who originate from Nowhere, which is said to have always contained them. This could mean that they are in fact as old as the gods-from-stone, if not older. The known gods-from-Nowhere are the Crowned Growth, the Mare-in-the-Tree, the Applebright, the Rising Spider, the Witness, and Snow.

While information about the Nowhere Hours is scarce, they do have these common elements:

• They are shunned by the “real” Hours, who generally seem hostile towards them, with one notable exception between the Mare-in-the-Tree and the Ring-Yew.
• None of them dwell in the House of the Sun proper, which seems barred to them, though on occasion they seem to creep into the Wood or come close to the Doors of the Mansus.
• They are generally presented as dangerous, unnatural beings, even by Hour standards, tied to dark and destructive domains such as disease and nightmares.
• They are tied to “hours” which do not correspond to any real time of day, such as the Crowned Growth’s status as the 25th Hour, or the Mare’s as the 27th.

Steel

The Gods-from-steel did not exist.

(But could they?)

Other Notes

While most Hours are confirmed to fit into a single origin, notable points of contention and overlap exist. This may in part be due to the origins of the Hours reflecting both their birth as well as the circumstances of their ascension. Hours with unclear or more complicated origins are listed below:

• The Thunderskin is known to have been a mortal in the service of the Grail, but his ascension is heavily tied to his own sacrifice “from blood”, so while he is commonly presented as a god-from-flesh, there is some evidence that he may also be a god-from-blood.
• The Watchman is a god-from-flesh but wishes to be a god-from-Light. His origin story relates to his previous service under the Egg Unhatching, a god-from-stone, who fled to the Glory to escape death. This proved a futile attempt, but resulted in the Watchman’s ascension as an Hour, with elements of the power of the god-from-stone he served and the Glory which he emerged from. One occult writer in particular believes the Watchman’s origin is therefore threefold, and that he is in fact Amber. This claim is somewhat dubious, however, and so the Watchman is still considered by most to be a god-from-flesh, if with special circumstances.
• The Sun-in-Rags is usually counted as a god-from-Light, though Julian Coseley claims he should be considered a god-from-blood. It is unclear if this is a distinction unique to the Sun-in-Rags, or if a dual origin can be considered for all the Solar Hours born of the Sun-in-Splendour’s death exist. The final child of the Sun, the Wolf Divided, is always considered to be a god-from-blood only, as unlike the other Hours created form the Intercalate, he did not exist prior in some form as a Name of the Undivided Sun.
• The Elegiast is currently the only “standard Hour” that appears in Cultist Simulator and whose origin is completely unknown. It is assumed by process of elimination that he is either a god-from-flesh or a god-from-blood, though this is still speculation.
• The Chandler is a future Hour who apparently has none of the standard origins for Hours yet. It is unclear if this simply means that they will have an origin like the others eventually, or if their origin is something completely unique.

Sources