The Tome of Law Collection

Chapter 1-3

Gren pretended not to notice, concentrating on the wagon horse. In truth, the horses were all well trained and would follow the lead wagon, but the girls" inexperience with the horses meant they did not know this.

“Please Gren,” Erilee tried in her most wheedling voice.

Gren chuckled. Erilee was trying her best to appear demure and attractive to an old man, her long golden hair neatly arranged over one shoulder. He hoped that they would not ask for a story from a stranger in such a fashion when in one of the villages. Without looking at them, Gren replied, “You know I save the stories for the cook fires only. It would not be fair to let others miss out.”

Gren, it seemed was not above a bit of dramatic license himself. If the girls could use underhanded tactics to try and wheedle a story out of him then he would fight his battles with logic and guilt. At least until they asked properly.

“Please?” Both girls said at once, so exaggerating the mouthing of the word that they appeared to have grins frozen on their young faces. To their relief Gren smiled his knobbly old smile and replied, “How could even an old man like me not be persuaded by two jewels in a sea of green,” indicating the lush meadows all around. “But you have to promise me one thing. No interruptions.”

Both girls nodded eagerly. It was as easy to forget they were almost women, as it was to notice they were when they were like this. Gren gazed thoughtfully at the scenery. The slate grey distant mountains were covered in a blue miasma from the trees, almost merging with the picture of glory that was the morning sky. The golden sphere above it radiated life, and the countryside responded in kind.

were“I will tell you the tale of the first morning of the world, as it seems fitting for such a perfect time and place as this.” The girls leaned forward eagerly; this was indeed a rare tale.

“The fable of the dawn of the world has been passed down from father to son, mother to daughter. It has outlived any other tale known to the travellers, and its origins are lost in the depths of the past. Our world as we know it started as an idea in the eyes of the gods. The gods were mythical beings; living outside of what we know as time, they saw this process as a continual one. They were interested in creating a place of such beauty, such harmony, that anything that set foot on it would instantly be at peace.

“The gods were in awe of such an idea, and each used their abilities to the fullest extent in order to make the idea become reality. Now, contrary to what many believe, the earth wasn"t formed quickly, but over seasons uncounted. Each god and goddess came and went, according to his or her whims. But while they were present, such miracles happened as would never be seen today. The goddess Ilia was the first to make the idea become reality, but she was not alone. Known to us as the goddess of the land, Ilia was joined by Matsandrau the Sun Lord. Together they manipulated a dark cold ball of rock that was floating in the heavens. Ilia shaped the surface of this rock, forming great basins that rent it in two and ridges that bound it together again. The Sun Lord provided light during this as the moulding of the surface took great effort and detail, none of which could be done in the darkness of the heavens.

“Through their time together, Ilia and Matsandrau became irrefutably linked – the earth we walk on today their offspring. The Sun Lord gave the life of a dying sun to the lifeless husk, thus renewing the suns life, and allowing it to grow, to become more than it was. The heart of the earth began to beat steadily as he fed the life force of the sun into it, and the potential became greater as it steadied and started to create its own features. The two creators called out to their brethren and entreated them to come and see what had been made.

“For a long time, no one came and the two gods watched as their child grew and evolved. Old crusts of skin would be sucked under to be returned as fresh surface on other parts of the rock. By the time a sign came that a presence was drawing near, Matsandrau had retired into a new sun. This sun was fresh, and would provide light for their work for time unending. Ilia still walked the surface, alone in her thoughts. Where once she had seen ugly n***d rock, now she saw structures of such beauty so subtle that no one else could see them. They existed on the surface, and beneath it all the way down to the steadily pulsing heart. The presence that drew near was of two beings. Panishwa the fluid god altered his state at will, becoming any being he imagined. All were equal and beautiful in his eyes. His companion was the white robed Ondulyn. Together they added their very essence to the young creation. Panishwa looked upon the deep troughs on the surface, and filled them with water, so that the creation would have an even surface. Ondulyn called the lifeless husk of a rock much smaller and set it in motion around the glistening globe. Her gift to the crystalline sphere was dramatic. The four gods stood and watched for what would seem forever in our time and observed as the water shifted in response to the rock in the heavens. The shifting was small in response to the pull of the astral body, but size was unimportant. All was equal in the eyes of the four beings that stood there. The unnoticeable movement of the water was as much a splendour as the basins and ridges, or the liquid heart.”

Gren paused to take a sip of water from a flask handed to him by Mavra. She was probably not even aware she did that; the look on her face showed rapt attention.

“Where was I?” Gren mused. “Ah yes, the significance of all things regardless of their size. The gods did not look upon what a thing was or did and judge it thus. They saw all things as beauty and all with their place. Ondulyn had a further gift. She used the white in her robes to brighten the rock, and called it the moon. It accompanied the young body by night when the gift of the sun Lord was not present. Hence the name, Moon Goddess given to Ondulyn. Anyway, the gods and goddesses were content with their creation, but it was the appearance of the god of mind and elements, Yogingi, who saw the direction to take the creation yet. She added a layer that started on the surface of the ground, and reached beyond the highest peaks. The layer could not be seen by anyone except Yogingi, and it contained ribbons of air so fine that they twisted and swirled like strands of hair on a breezy day. Yet combined the strands moved across the surface with a gentle touch but with a great power behind them. They affected everything on the surface. From the overbalancing of rock causing a slide to the gentle rippling motion across the surface of water that so pleased the gods. The gift of Yogingi was not to be seen, but could be felt everywhere. Thus did the gods believe their creation to be complete.

“The best was saved for last though. The gods gazed upon their young world, pleasuring in the complexity of its existence. They observed the surface changing over time beyond measure and everything gave them pleasure. It was the eventual arrival of Jettiba the minstrel, who would be come to be known as the god of life that changed things for the gods. Jettiba counselled the present gods, and suggested that for the world to truly be alive, it needed to be able to support life. The gods marvelled at their idea, and allowed Jettiba to go about his work.

“He started subtly, creating the simplest of beings, creatures so small you would not even notice. For Jettiba said that in order for larger life to exist, the smallest beings must exist first. He eventually created plants; grasses for the plains, trees for the woods, but all small at first. As seasons passed, the plants grew in size and diversity, coming to cover most of the surface of the land. The other gods were pleased that their creation could support so much, and asked Jettiba for more. His next creations were created to depend on the fruit of the world, so he called the plants and their offspring. He placed animals on the land and in the oceans. The water animals were formed differently, so they could remain in the oceans forever. But in doing this Jettiba asked them to forgo ever coming ashore. The creatures freely agreed to this, knowing that such an experience could only be for the good. The creatures he placed on the land could enter the water, but only for a limited time. Some could fly, but also not forever. In doing this he made the creatures unique, but all had their advantages, and all their limits.

“If the gods had been pleased before, they were ecstatic now. They wandered freely over the surface and beneath in some cases, often adding a touch, but never without consulting the others. They watched as the creatures adapted to the land, some moving to the mountains, some staying in the lowlands. Some water animals were content to swim in rivers; others stayed in deep water. Thus was the uniqueness of each creature that it adapted to its" surroundings and made its place on the world. The final talk of the gods was to create a different being. Jettiba had noticed that the creatures they had created would make use of what was around them but never any more. Yogingi had observed them reacting to the changes in her flows of air, but nothing more. The gods decided to create a creature with a purpose. The purpose of the creature would be to adapt the surrounding land to itself, to take the evolution of their "child" one step further. They decided they would impart the knowledge of how to adapt to this creature; knowledge that would allow it to survive. Therefore at a time when Matsandrau"s orb was rising in the sky, and in a place where Yogingi"s flows of air were quiet and the crystal azure of the heavens could be seen the gods created man.

“They only created a few at first, but they had seen other populations grow and knew a few was enough. As the creatures known as "man" were aware at the moment of their birth, they beheld the gods in their true forms, beings of spirit shaped similar to themselves. "Man" approached the Gods and asked about its purpose. The Gods explained all they needed to know. Why they should hunt, why they should gather and why they should adapt. After man"s questions had been answered, the gods decided to withdraw unto their chosen places and observe from afar, so that man would have no advantage over the other creatures. In an instant, Matsandrau withdrew into his fiery orb and Ondulyn to her sphere of purest white. Ilia withdrew into a mountain, and Phanishwa into the seas. Yogingi and Jettiba decided to still observe the world, but became invisible. Jettiba walked the surface, while Yogingi became one with the flows of air across the surface. Man was devastated at the sudden loss of its creators, but took heart at the perfection around. They mourned at every rise of The Sun God" s legacy, and the time between dark and the time of the orb hanging in the middle of the sky became known as "Mourning". But the day when man saw the Gods became known as the "Perfect Mourning" because of the bitter-sweet events that happened.”