The Creation of the World
The High Priest of Martikar looked around at the children, surveying their faces for understanding. One young
woman's arm meekly rose to ask a question.
"Yes, my child?"
The girl blushed, then straightened up, and asked, "Your Holy Reverence, where did people come from?"
The elder cleric smiled, "Ahh, that is an important question, for it has to do with the beginning of the world.
This is the story of the creation of the world, as it was handed down to us from on high."
In the beginning, there was nothing but the starry void. And out of this starry night came the Great Earth
Mother. And she raised her arms, and in a voice that shook the heavens, she declared 'I shall create the world,
and it shall be the embodiment of my own essence, and it shall be called Gaia'. Thus was it so. Then, other
Children of the Void came, and the Great Earth Mother was pleased. Solani came first, and said 'Gaia needs
light, so that we can see thine splendor', and she waived her arms, and out of the nothingness came the sun.
Then came Thalassanika, and she said 'Thy body needs water, so life may spring forth', and the oceans and lakes
and rivers sprang into being. And the Great Earth Mother was again pleased.
Then, the Great Earth Mother declared 'I shall create all manner of wild beasts, and fish, and fowl, and green,
growing things', and thus life was created by her beneficience.
And the last of the greater children of the starry night came forth: Martikar and Faelecia, Nekros and Martialis,
and Orantos and Pathalas, and the Great Earth Mother was pleased that the circle was complete. Then, the
Great Earth Mother spoke to Martikar and Faelecia, and said 'We shall create beings of light, so that in
time, they shall gain knowledge and see the world for what it is.' Thus Faelecia drew forth shining matter
from the stars and combined it with matter from the living beings that lived on Gaia and said 'These shall
tend thy living beings and they shall live with thine embodiment and the life that inhabits it, and they
shall be called Elves'.
And again she drew forth matter from the stars, and set it in the rolling hills and said 'These shall be little
people, for thus are great works simple combinations of smaller works, and they shall be called Halflings', and
she smiled, and saw that it was good.
Then Martikar gathered matter from the stars, and combined it with the very body of Gaia and said 'These ones
shall be the creators, and they shall be the builders, and they shall be called Dwarves'. And then again did
Martikar draw matter from the stars and proclaimed 'These shall also be little people, but they shall be
skilled artisans and craftsmen, and the beautiful things that they create shall be a reflection of themselves,
and they shall be called Gnomes'. And the Great Earth Mother smiled at the beauty that had been created.
But lo, Orantos, Master of Corruption, was jealous and said 'I have been cheated! I have been given no
children!'. And Orantos reached out, and took dark matter from the void, and created the forms of the Children
of Orantos: Goblins, Orcs, Minotaurs, and all the others. And He proclaimed 'These shall be my children, and
they shall worship me!'. And then Martialis swept his gaze across Gaia and said 'There shall be perpetual war
between the Children of Gaia and the Children of Orantos, until the world is unmade!'
Then the Great Earth Mother turned to Orantos and said 'Didst thou not believe that you were to have
children? For the balance must be maintained, and Good cannot triumph over Evil, nor Evil Good, else the
world be unmade. It is the struggle that maintains the balance.'
And the Great Earth Mother considered, and then said 'We shall join together to make the last of beings,
for they shall be weak individually, but strong in numbers. They shall be capable of great Good or great Evil,
but most importantly, they shall have the freedom to choose the paths of their lives.'
And thus, the Great Circle of Nine joined together and created man.
But the Great Earth Mother looked upon her creation, and was dismayed. For She saw that with all the life that
had been created, Gaia would soon fill up. But Nekros, the Judge of the Dead, saw the solution. And in His
wisdom, He waived his arm and spoke 'Be not dismayed Great Earth Mother, for just as You have given the gift
of Life, I shall bestow upon your creation the gift of Mortality. Thus, each of Our creations shall live for their
appointed time, and then they shall be granted rest.' And the Great Earth Mother saw the wisdom of this, and
was glad.
But Martikar feared Martialis' threat of eternal war, and appealed to the Great Earth Mother. And She
considered this. Then, the Great Earth Mother spoke, saying 'We shall remove ourselves from directly
influencing Our creation, for this would surely draw us into conflict.' All the Greater Children agreed to
this, even dread Orantos, for He saw that His plans would be hindered if He intervened directly.
Then, the lesser Children of the Stars came forth, and completed the creation. And the Great Earth Mother
spoke at last 'Now it is complete. I shall set Our creation in motion, and thus it will be until the end of
days.'
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