In the beginning...

[Q.Araignee]

Okay, so apart from Riley no one has ever read this. I hate people seeing my drawings, so my writing is usually completely out of the question. I have no idea how the hell my only A* at GCSE was English Language, I fretted constantly about my coursework. But...meh, I guess.

This is a sort-of creation story/introduction to a book that I keep trying and failing to write. I get to maybe the fourth chapter and just stall, leave it, then come back a few months later and start again from a different angle.
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In the beginning, there was only the darkness of the Void- filled with raw matter and unfettered forces. Over millennia, these base items came together hundreds of thousands of times. This merely created flashes of fire or lightening in the interminable silence- followed by a dull grey vapour.

One day, however, matter and the forces collided in such a way that the resulting vapour was not gray but a flickering multitude of colours- and it did not dissolve back into nothingness, but remained in existence whilst glittering with an unknown element of consciousness.

Many more years passed inexorably. The peculiar vapour seemed to attract all the forces and pieces of matter in the seemingly nearby surroundings- now that the vapour ‘existed’, these extra materials merely altered it. The vapour grew in size, and the consciousness with it until fully formed. This was 923 years after the original collision of creation- the vapour was 7 spans tall, 4 spans across and the first being to exist with independent thought. This was the first moment of true life for Aynvleh, as She named Herself- the Eternal Mother.

At first, Aynvleh was bemused by the very fact of Her existence. But Her limitless intellect soon began working out the numerous possibilities that lay before Her, and Her mind began to create an image of all the forms She may need to partake of them.
In Her eye, this happened in moments. In reality it took several more years. Time moves differently in the Void.

At first, Aynvleh attempted to create a place for Herself to live- somewhere that She could call Home, for all She wished to create. Her vision was of a place where peace and intelligence were central to the lives of all. Where no one would be alone, and everyone could find perfect happiness- which would later be called love. And so many other things that need not be mentioned, as the original design failed.

By manipulating everything around Her, She created many places- spreading them far and wide on the surface of a sphere until She had a perfect example. But Terra refused to live without five constants: Fire, Water, Air, Earth and a thing She called Mystery.
So next, Aynvleh tried to create an immortal form of each on Terra. Unfortunately, their powers could not co-exist in the same place without challenging each other- they destroyed one another, and most of Terra.

Undeterred, She rebuilt Terra- this time altering its outer structure into layers. The first was where Her further creations would live. Two was to be home to Air, three to Fire, four to Water, Five to Earth, six to Mystery, and seven to Herself. Each could affect the first layer, but not each others. The only exception was Herself, of course. This incredible feat itself took up thousands of years, but Aynvleh never tired- for She was Eternal.

To dispel the impenetrable darkness of the Void which surrounded Terra, She created sparks of light- of many sizes and brightnesses- and scattered them throughout the Void. She positioned a particularly large spark close to Terra as a constant source of light, and made the place spin forever with the barest of manipulations so that it altered between light and dark at even intervals.
And, as Her crowning triumph, Aynvleh created all the plants and animals across Terra- infusing them with what we call the Five Elements. She raised the mountains, and sunk the sea floors before filling them with Water and more of Her creations. Some mountains She filled with liquid Fire and Earth, or covered with solid Water as with the surrounding flatlands.

For many years Terra was altered and experimented with until Aynvleh was happy. As Her last major act, She gifted the six peoples with superior intelligence to rule as Guardians of Terra. Some of the other creatures also received this gift, in greater or lesser amounts, but were not acknowledged as equals by the Guardians. And now, after thousands of years, Aynvleh was tired. She retired to her own Home on Terra to rest.

During the years after their original creation, each of the Five Elements began to develop independently. Soon, they became living embodiments of themselves and began to communicate. The first to ‘live’ called Herself Ahworn of Mystery, and was the quietest of all. Next was Semptu of Earth- practical and wise. Emotional Ilkea of Water and creative Refmein of Air came together, followed swiftly by hasty and passionate Enzel of Fire.

They enjoyed each other’s company, travelling between each of Their Homes to converse with the others, and watching in awe as Their Mother created all. Curious, They each attempted to create raw expressions of Themselves- Faeries, Gnomes, Sylphs, Sprites and Salamanders respectively. While they weren’t perfect, they loved their creators dearly. But made of the Elements they easily thrived in the Homes of their creators and needed little care.

After Aynvleh retired for a time, Her Daughters and Sons seized Their opportunity to play with Terra. They decided to each choose one of the Guardian races and approach them as their Creator. Although Ahworn was opposed to leaving one of the Guardian races without any help, Her view didn’t alter Their decision.

As the eldest, Ahworn chose first. Her race lived in deep forests, respecting all the life around them. Their fine hair reflected whatever light touched it, framing their pointed ears; sharp eyes and delicate features. In the dappled light, their burnished skin seemed to shimmer. Ahworn called them Elves, and introduced them to the Mystery in the deepest recesses of the soul.

Retreating to the mountain ranges, Semptu approached a race He called Dwarves- shorter and stockily built, they each had a natural love of working with the solid Earth. Anything that glittered- mineral or metal- captured their hearts, and Semptu taught them how to craft these things into even more beautiful objects.

Ilkea found Her people by the rivers and seas of Terra. These people were only half as tall as the Dwarves, hence their given name of Halflings. These small folk lived for the happiness of everyone around them, and for the feel of waves beneath them. Ilkea encouraged this, but tempered it with a knowledge that the cold season would be a dangerous time to sail- and helped them to learn the secrets of traversing the wild waters.

Whilst crossing the lands, Refmein came across a race that flew like birds though their wings were leathery. They had found nowhere to suit them on the ground, so they searched from the skies. These people loved to create delightful things merely for the process of creation, and to fly in the seemingly endless sky. Unlike the other races, who worshipped their ‘Creators’, these welcomed Refmein as family. He named them Tasians, and felt so overwhelmed by their love that He approached His dear brother Semptu. He pleaded for dominion of the mountain peaks for His people. The Dwarves, though they dwelt in the depths of the mountains, cried out in rage- but Semptu granted the request out of affection for His sibling.

Finally Enzel approached the nomadic land race that seemed to live for competition. They were a little shorter than the Elves, but their spirits burned fiercely. Of all the races they had the most personal variation in appearance, and seemed to have moderate expertise in all the skills that the other races excelled at. He called them Humans, and inspired them to attempt everything- even the seemingly impossible.

The unclaimed race that dwelt in the green hills and valleys soon received messengers declaring the existence of five great ‘Creators’, but saw that these were just imposters. They tried to convince their fellow Guardians of this truth but found only scorn and ignorance. Despite their different ideas about ‘Creator’, each race came to believe that those with no idea about ‘Creator’ were inherently evil- placed among them as a divine test of truth. And so together they decreed that these heathens were to be banished from the civilized lands to the uninhabitable glaciers, until they adopted a belief or died.

These actions greatly saddened the Elements, but Their grief did nothing to sway the opinions of Their peoples. Instead they watched as the sixth Guardian race departed in the hands of the winged Tasians across the wildest waters to the plains of ice. The forsaken did not debate the banishment, but accepted it with unimaginably good grace.

Time passed quietly for a while. The five races prospered and advanced, building cities and living in peace with one another. Soon, the other creatures that had been blessed with the spark of intelligence grew bold: the Golden Eagles, the Great Cats, the Ice Bears, the Dragons, the Silver Spiders and many of their kin to a lesser degree.

There came a day when these creatures approached the peoples, and asked to be an equal part of their societies. Once more they were ignored and ridiculed as being inferior. For many years, this process was repeated. Eventually though, the requests angered the peoples. In the names of their ‘Creators’ they waged a terrible war against these creatures. Irrational hate and rage fuelled the spilling of blood, until Terra was split asunder by a field of dead bodies. It was at this point that Aynvleh awoke from Her slumber.
The sight of her beloved Terra being ravaged by the blinded Guardians left Her distraught, and the knowledge that the meddling of Her children had led to this angered Her beyond words.

With the contents of the Void still at Her disposal, Aynvleh crafted a physical body for Herself. She stood 7 feet tall, lithe and muscular, with hair of the purest white, and dusky skin. And Her eyes reflecting the raw strength of the Void itself. With a piercing cry, She hunted Her children down and confronted Them for Their foolishness. She showed Them the bodies, the blood, the suffering, and They wept in horror. Though They begged for forgiveness They had gone beyond such kindness. Aynvleh flung each of Her children into Their Homes, and formed gates there to prevent escape. She charged Them now with maintaining life on Terra, before approaching the battlegrounds.

She stood between the peoples and the creatures, ordering the latter of sentient natures to flee to the glaciers by whatever means. With no one else to fight, the races turned on each other and Aynvleh let them. By strength of numbers, the Humans proclaimed victory- declaring their unrivalled dominion over Terra. Beaten, the other races retreated to their homes of old and left the Humans to overrun the lands surrounding them. Soon they became legends, then myths, then superstitious tales told by the elder folk on dark nights. All forgot their heritage, and Aynvleh left the land- grim and saddened, but satisfied for the moment.
***
After their banishment to the glaciers, the forsaken race fought to survive against the impenetrable odds. They hunted for the fish under the ice, they sucked the ice for water where it was too thick to break through, they skinned the white wolves and used their skins for warmth...Though they hated what they were doing, they could not stop else they would die.

These people traversed the bleak landscape in search of shelter or the means to build such- but it was ever bare and hostile.
There came a day when, as they were digging a hole in the ice with their bare hands, an Ice Bear came across them. They all shrank back in fear, all except one little girl. With no family after her parents had died in their sleep a few nights back, she wasn’t afraid to face death. Ignoring the whispered fears of the others, she approached the standing creature and sat before him.
“Greetings, Great Bear of the Ice. I am named Ilaena, and I speak for these people.”

This confused him, not one of the Guardian races had bothered to learn the greetings that the creatures accepted as courteous. Sitting in front of her, he examined the child who was so sure of herself. It was in her eyes that he found his answer- the flash of silver fire there that all the sentient creatures shared, the sign Aynvleh Herself provided as a symbol of kinship between Her creations. While with the other races the silver had faded to a black orb, here it shone bright and true- as in the eyes of all those who dwelt in these harsh conditions. A spark of hope in his breast, he replied in a deep and gruff rumbling voice.
“Greetings, Child of the Yllchym. I am named Biarn, and I speak for my people.”
“You call me Child of the Yllchym, yet I know not that name...” Ilaena replied, her voice wavering in doubt. Biarn lowered his large head in a nod.
“Indeed I do- it is the name given to your race.”
Though surprised, the girl smiled briefly in acceptance of that fact before continuing.
“Biarn, I beseech you- do you know of a place we can live safely? Else this land will surely kill us. Already, kin of all ages have fallen prey to it.”
A pause, and a dangerous note crept into his voice. “Only if you swear, by She of the Void, that you will accept all my peoples as equals.”
“By the Queen of the Heavens, I swear it,” Ilaena said, ignoring the apprehensive mutters of the others. “And any Yllchym who break this promise will be left to your devices.”

Accepting this oath, Biarn said no more as he led the Yllchym across the ice for many days. Soon they saw a peak in the distance, and it seemed that this was their destination. When they came to its base, they were shown a roughly hewn cave that served as an entrance into the mountain’s heart. With that Biarn departed to inform his own people of what had transpired, and as much to his surprise as to that of her people Ilaena requested to go with him.

While the Yllchym sought to build a permanent home using whatever they could use from the mountain and the plants that grew upon or around it, they were approached by envoys from each of the sentient creatures. Keeping the little girl’s word, they extended the hand of friendship and allegiance to each- and the offer was always accepted by the slightly shocked envoys. Over time, all were as prosperous as could be expected in these unforgiving climes- together seeking knowledge both mundane and arcane, perfecting the arts of music and dance, and improvising their technologies.

And then came Kavanagh.

[FawkesthePhoenix]

All I can say is... wow. That was absolutely fantastic!

[*Riley*]

Yeah, still as great as I remember... I really like this though, some very refreshing ideas.

[salemboy]

Holy Guacamole. I would say I want to see more, but I honestly think you should keep it for yourself, turn it into a book, and get it published. Seriously though, how would you not get an 'A' in English Language?