THE CREATION OF LIFE
In the beginning, there
was the void
In the void, were the beings that are now called the elder
gods...
One day, he that became known as Collinius gave up a part of himself and created a ball of earth around a star, so that the gods could toy with it, bouncing it around over a net of stars. Tiring of the game, they left it near one of the stars, around which it began to orbit lazily. It was left thus, for many years.
The gods grew bored, and, lacking anything else to do, gathered around the ball which Collinius had created. "What shall we do?" asked one. Most shrugged, but He-That-Was-Collinius said "I have given of myself to create that which we view - give of yourselves also, so that we may share this. If I am the only benefactor, then this creation is mine and mine alone." The gods agreed to aid in the bounty, and drew lots as to decide an order to proceed.
Thus, one by one, the beings that we now call the gods gave of themselves unto the earth. The one now called Evinia wept since she could not decide how best she could give of herself, and her tears fell softly onto the earth, shaping it into continents, forming deep oceans, mighty rivers and gentle streams. She cried until her eyes saw through the tears what a wondrous bounty had been given, and rejoiced. Thus Evinia became the goddess of the waters.
The goddess Zacharia created the blue skies, and, taking the waters that Evinia had wept, combined them with the gift of breatheable air to form clouds, which wept onto the land as Evinia had wept before, but with a fraction of that deity's power. She then created the winds, left untamed for now, which ruffled the land with it's dry power, and made the waves, the seas becoming rougher than they had been before.
Next came the turn of the one now called Hertia, the Mother of All. She combined the dry earth and the salty and fresh waters and created the first flora of Erythia, becoming lost in her work until myriad plants covered nearly every inch of the dry land, and many were placed in the seas too, the first of which shrivelled and died until the goddess adapted them to live underwater. All the gods marvelled at the beautiful creations that Hertia had wrought, from the most perishable of flowers to the mightiest of the giant trees which grew up straight and strong, for the work took many years to accomplish, so that the gods would not create too many mistakes.
Now that the eldest of the gods had had their turn, it was the chance for the younger and more impetuous of the gods to add to the world. First came Oberon, eldest son of Hertia, who, with ideas above his supposed simple nature, created the first animals to live in the world. At first, all lived in harmony and lived from the plants which his mother had created upon the earth, but soon they grew too numerous and set upon each other, much to his sorrow. The weak were killed, but then the strong grew fewer due to the lack of food available, and a balance was established. Oberon claimed that this would and could not happen again, as long as more care was taken in future.
Not to be outdone, Eagin, daughter of Zacharia, filled the air with birds of many shapes and sizes, although her first creations, among whom were the emu and the ostrich, were unable to fly, later creations were able to however. Another god, whose name is lost to us, created insects, but the other gods disliked this, but could not undo the creation, for it had been his turn, and his choice, and thus the many types of insect can be found in Erythia.
As other gods took their turns, the world began to teem with life. Soon, the elder gods delegated parts of their creations to their children to guard over, which is why the Lord and Lady watch over the forests. These two were lonely, lost in their duties, and created a servant race which could look after itself and would help them in their tasks. They called these creatures the elevar, and they were the first elves.
The other gods saw this servant race, and were instantly aware of the possibilities. Collinius, as the Maker, was first to follow suit, moulding the dwarves, or dwervingram from the rock, and eventually he also created mankind from earth. Evinia created many races, and soon bedlam ensued as more races sprang into being. In this way was life created in the land we call Erythia.