The Birth of All Things

Excerpt from the Book of Agreus,

2nd Century of the Third Age

Lo, in the days beyond all reckoning, ere the dawn of time itself, the world was naught but a barren void, a silent vessel adrift in the vast emptiness of the eternal deep. And it came to pass, that at the appointed hour—the Birth of All Things—the very shell of the earth was sundered. From the fiery depths, from the smoke and the thunderous roar, the Golden Ones were brought forth, the High Gods, luminous and terrible, to reign over all that was to be. They were given dominion over the heavens, the earth, and the seas, and upon their will was all life established.

Foremost among these mighty beings was Ebruk, firstborn of the five, who rose as the God of the Sun and Lord of War. His countenance was fierce, and his hand swift to smite; with power and unrelenting wrath did he govern the earth from the heavens. To Ebruk we pray, for His is the strength that orders the world, His the fury that cleanses it.

Then was Denothya, the all-mother, who brought forth life and nourished all creatures. She, Queen of the Sky and rivers, did weave the harmony of the cosmos. To Denothya we pray, for Hers is the beauty that adorneth the world, Hers the peace that upholdeth it.

Next in power was Ortanos, Lord of the Earth, who moved the mountains and stirred the forests to grow. To him was given mastery over all that liveth and creepeth upon the ground. To Ortanos we pray, for His is the bounty that blesseth the fields, His the joy that welcometh friend and stranger alike.

Then came Ecrates, the pale goddess of the Moon, who ruled the veiled realms of shadow and silence, and was the keeper of mysteries unseen by the light of day. To Ecrates we pray, for Hers is the fear that haunteth the dark places, Hers the vengeance that waiteth in quiet wrath.

Last of the five was Gallah, the youngest, whose sovereignty was over the rolling seas. She moved with grace and wrath upon the waters, commanding both serenity and tempest. To Gallah we pray, for Hers is the freedom that sweepeth across the waves, Hers the terror that drowneth the foolish.

In the First Age did the gods live in harmony, and their divine wills did cause the world to flourish. The sun did shine, the rains did fall, the rivers did flow, and the earth did abound with life. Thus did the world know prosperity and peace.

Yet such peace was not to endure.

In her heart, Ecrates, envious of Denothya's glory and radiant beauty, did devise a cunning scheme. She came unto Ebruk, in the hour of twilight, and in secret she bore him four children, birthed of shadow and ill-will. These offspring were the Ecranos, dark and malevolent. Goboro was the first, a slave to shadow, whose lot is duty and silence, malice and murder. Erefienne was the second, a nymph of deceit, whose touch was poison, her breath lies, her deeds sown in chaos. Vantero was the third, prince of vanity, who dwelt in towers of gold, but whose heart was consumed by lust and pride. And lastly was Mammok, the youngest and most feared, a monster of caves and desolation, whose existence was pain and solitude, his presence a ruin unto the world.

For many years did the Ecranos ravage the earth, spreading sorrow and despair across the lands. And Denothya, grieved in her soul, could but watch as the world fell to ruin beneath her.

But then Ghira, the eldest and wisest of trees, did speak unto Denothya, and counseled her to wed Ortanos, the Lord of the Earth, that she might bring forth her own children to stand against the dark brood of Ecrates. And so Denothya and Ortanos did join in union, and from their bond sprang the Denorri. First was Dena, goddess of wisdom, who gaveth to the world the light of truth and the scales of justice. Then came Ortarius, god of courage and song, whose spirit inspirith fortitude and poetry unto the hearts of men. Next was Hirabeetha, goddess of harvest and hearth, whose hands blesseth the home and the fruitful fields. And last was Blen, god of forge and flame, whose craft shapeth the iron and the earth to serve the will of creation.

Thus did the Denorri rise to contest the Ecranos, and the Second Age of the world was born—a time of great strife and sorrow, yet also of triumph and joy, as the gods’ children warred for mastery over the hearts of mortals.

In time, seeing the desolation wrought upon the earth, Ebruk and Denothya did repent of their wrath and pride. They did make peace between themselves, and in their wisdom they commanded that the Ecranos and the Denorri should cease their war. To punish Ecrates for her treachery, they stripped her of much of her power, decreeing that henceforth her full face would shine but once in every thirty turns of night.

And thus the Third Age of the world was born, an age of temperance and reflection, where the gods walked no more in wrath but sought to guide the world in balance. Yet the shadows of old hatreds lingered, and the hearts of gods and mortals alike remained ever watchful.