View of the Firmament from space
The “Firmament”, from the Latin firmamentum, meaning “sky” or “expanse”, is the name given to the celestial spheres that serve as the foundation for the cosmos, and acts as the barrier between the mortal worlds, space, and the celestial plane.
Overview[]
Simplified, the firmament is what people see when they stand outside and look up. It is the space which includes the earth’s atmosphere and the celestial realm. To reach the firmament is said to be a nigh-impossible task, and breaking through it can be difficult even for the likes of the average deity or demon.
Only Angels are known to regularly travel back and forth through the firmament while on heavenly missions to the mortal world, however fallen angels are unable to return to Heaven due to the fact that the firmament prevents them from doing so as it no longer recognizes their status as messengers of God. Only three beings have ever successfully penetrated through the firmaments defenses: Lucifer, Satan, and even Cthulhu but with moderate difficulty concerning the latter.
History[]
Creation[]
In the book of Genesis, the firmament is described by God where God said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.”
During the primordial epochs of the Earth, the second generation of deities were tasked with being wardens of the heavenly walls, effectively protecting the Earth from the looming threat of the Ogdru Hem. However, when they were usurped by their children i.e. the gods of old, the Firmament was vulnerable to attack from the Ogdru Hem. It is said that the Firmament was purportedly compromised when Cthulhu used R'lyeh as a conduit to grant him and the final host of Great Old Ones safe passage through the Firmament itself via the alignment of the stars. To rectify this, Zeus had the Titan Atlas hold up the Firmament to keep it from collapsing and destroying all that is below it.
Great Flood[]
The Firmament was involved in the summoning of the catastrophic event known as the Great Flood. Matariel, the angel of rain, endlessly wept for the circumstances that befell his brothers when they forsook their sacred oath among the Watchers. His tears flooded the upper heavens of the Firmament and darkened it with his woe.
In Deucalion's account, Atlas tipped over the Firmament like a celestial bowl of water and poured the oceanic water unto the planet. In Noah's account, God split the Firmament in two as it became overwhelmingly porous, allowing for vast amounts of water to pour in from the celestial plane, causing a destructive deluge upon the Earth below.