Maybe I should start with an explanation of the inner workings of existence.
I don't claim to have the answers to all the questions that every sentient creature that's ever lived has asked. This is merely one theory out of countless others, one star in the sky. My star, my theory. And since this is my story you should know my views and try to keep an open mind in understanding them. This is how I perceive things.
Suppose for a moment that there are other creatures, other worlds and other realities than what we can perceive. Suppose these realities are globe shaped, and our entire universe is one of these globe-shaped realities. The science of this world is beginning to figure that the universe does indeed have an outer edge to it, rather than go on infinitely. It's not this universe alone that is infinite, I think it's the number of these universes, these realities, that is uncountable. I believe they call it quantum physics, the theory that in other realities, all possibilities are happening, all choices that aren't made here are made elsewhere. In fact I believe there was a television show or two about interdimensional travelers. These globes are all phased differently, and they float in, out and around each other. This is what I believe causes the sensation of deja vu. What is happening in another reality gets blended with ours, and causes those sensations of familiarity.
These universes are all physical and linear. Creatures are born, live for a time, and die. We remember the past, but the future remains unknown until we catch up with it. In the space between the globes there exists non-linear time. This I've learned is a difficult concept to understand. I admit it makes my own head spin sometimes. I don't think we can fully understand it while in this physical form, the idea of knowing all points in time simultaneously, of say existing as your grandfather and as your son at the same moment. Add to that the lack of physicality as we know it. In this in between space, one exists as pure spirit and consciousness. You reside there in any form you wish, from a body shaped like in life, to a form from a former life, to a colorless vapor floating everywhere at once. We have come to call this realm the Waiting Zone, though most people call it Heaven or the afterlife, and in so thinking it leads me to believe that there is no hell.
As for higher beings, gods and whatnot, I do believe he/she/they exist in some form or another, but as to Their role in all of existence I haven't a clue. Which is fine, I don't think I'm supposed to know. I have seen prayer work, but I'm also a firm believer in the power of the mind (but a little spiritual assistance never hurt anyone). But I do think They should be honored, rather than worshipped. Really think on this, if you were an omnibeing, would you want the masses of life spending so much time and effort bowing before you, confusing themselves with regard to your wishes? I certainly wouldn't, but that's just me.
Actually, I have a confession. I have had difficulty starting this story in the past for the exact reason I denied earlier. Pieces of the story are scattered here and there on notebooks, disks, and scraps of paper, all fragmented from the middle or end. Up until recently I could not remember the beginning except for a few small details. I didn't know why the beginning was so lost to me until I realized also that it was simply because I hadn't been reminded properly. Everything I can recall about the story had to be triggered by someone or something before I even realized there was a tale to it. Had certain events not taken place, or certain people not made the choices that they did, I would not be the person I am today and this story would go untold. I suppose with that in mind my guidelines for life would be easy to identify. The first is familiar, handed to me early in this life. The first rule of the Wiccans, the Golden Rule of kindergarten, do what you will but harm none; and the two that I've realized over the years, everything happens for a reason, and regret nothing.
The world was similar to this one, with oceans and mountains, plains and deserts. A sun rose in the east and set in the west, and a moon followed. But the moon was either closer or larger, because I remember it being almost three times as big in the sky. And there was another, smaller moon, which rose more from the northeast, and phased not as often as the other. There were humans as here, not quite out of the Bronze Age level in most of the more remote villages. They probably had some small mechanical devices in the larger kingdoms, clocks and presses and such. My people lived near their remote towns, so I myself had never seen their more sophisticated devices, but I'd heard tales. But unlike what you are accustomed to, humans were not the only sentient creatures in the world. There were changelings, true changelings and moonchildren. Changelings were all non-human, humanoid creatures, anything with a head, two arms and two legs, whether elves or goblins. And true changelings were those, such as my kind, who could actually change their shapes at will.
Moonchildren were beings that were the only ones of their kinds, often pure in color. A solid black unicorn, a dragon lord of the deepest blue, and a pure white butterfly. There were also some that were truly unique, an earthen wingless dragon, and a giant bat/dragon hybrid, both come to mind. Moonchildren were not born as others were, and most were immortal. Some, I had heard, had lived in this life so long they could remember its creation. They had names for themselves (for example, the black unicorn is known as child midnight, the blue dragon as cobalt blaise), and gave the rest of us more common creatures similar names.