History of Zyea

In a time long since passed, there was nothing but Void. Void was a chaotic deity. He held no form, no color, only the essence of life. One day, from no accord but its own, there emerged from his being the Gods and Goddesses of the Heavens, the home of the Celestial Gods. Tela, the golden morning star, was the Ruler God of the Heavens and the God of Justice. Bada, the red noon star, was the Goddess of Wisdom. Zybit, the evening orange star, was the God of Order, Harmony, and Civilization. Juna, the first blue moon, was the Ruler Goddess of the Heavens and Hearth. Ush, the midnight purple moon, was the God of Memory and the inventor of words. Lea, the dawn green moon, was the Goddess of Love and Beauty. All the Celestial Gods and Goddesses lived in harmony with one another. One day, they set out to make planets for them to gaze upon. They made nine in all, but none of them could sustain true life. Lea, the youngest of the moons, said she would gladly give her life to create another. With her brothers and sisters gathered around her, she gave her life so that she could create life. Her body became the ground, her hair became the plants, her nails turned into stones, her blood became the waters and oceans, and her womb became the gathering place for departed souls. Zybit was overjoyed for his sister’s creation, but was depressed by her loss. He kissed her lifeless lips, bringing forth Ea, Ra, Ier, and Tae. Then he wrapped himself around her, creating the sky. Both Zybit and Lea had created Zyea, the one planet that could sustain true life. 1

As time passed, the Gods and Goddesses of Zyea created even more life. Ea, the Goddess of Earth and most caring of the Zyean Gods, created creatures for the land. Ra, the Air God and the most wise, created creatures that could live in the air. Ier, the Fire God and most temperamental, created creatures made of fire. Tae, the Goddess of Water and the most playful, created all the creatures that live in or near water. It came to pass one day that Ier claimed his creations were far more superior than those of his siblings. Tae, not being able to resist, set a challenge for them. They were to go about and create their ultimate creations. Her brothers and sister agreed to the challenge. The Celestial Gods gave them one month to create their ultimate creature; then, it would be judged.2

Ea roamed Zyea to find anything that could use for her new creation. She came upon a pack of wolves playing a game of chase. The wolves were her favorite animal. They loved one another and were loyal to ones that treated them well. As she watched them play, she had an idea of combining their love and loyalty with that of something else. She went to the alphas of the pack and asked if they would be willing to assist in her challenge. The alphas had just given birth to a litter and agreed that Ea should be the one to raise them. Ea took the pups and went in search of something else she could use. Hidden in the depths of her mother’s womb, she found a large stone. It was a beautiful golden brown that refracted the light into thousands of rainbows. This stone was what she was looking for. From it, she sculpted beings that could walk upon two legs like her bears do sometimes and two hands to create instruments like the apes. In the end, they gave the appearance of their mother creator. She fused the pups and the stone beings together to create the Aardes. They were strong in both body and mind. They had the deepest, richest brown hair, brightest, most vivid green eyes, and golden tan skin. They also possessed the ability to have two forms. One form was that of the beings Ea sculpted and the other of the wolf pack. She loved her creation so much that she bestowed the knowledge of the earth to them. She showed them how to grow and cook crops, bend clay to make beautiful pottery, and how to build homes. She also bestowed to them the ability to find their mates. Seeing all the beauty of her Aardes brought her to tears, creating the first harvest season. 3

Tae swam in the waters and contemplated her ultimate creation but could not think of anything. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a school of lionfish and loved their manes. She went up to the school and asked if they would help create a new species. The lionfish, knowing their mother, agreed to help. She then came upon some clams and saw that they had created pearls. She asked the small clams if she could have their treasures. The clams, knowing their mother, gave her their pearls. She then spotted some dolphins and asked if they would assist her in her quest. The dolphins, being grateful to their mother for making them, agreed to help her. Tae fused the lionfish, the pearls, and the dolphins together to create the Wassers. They possessed the likeness of Tae but with a scaled version of the dolphin’s tail, skin as luminescent as the pearl, hair resembling that of the lionfish, and eyes of the clearest blue. They were carefree and loved to play games. The females were said to enchant even the mightiest of men with their songs. The male Wassers were said to enchant any female with just one look. The Wassers were her favorite creations. She loved them so much that she granted them the ability to not only live in water, but on land as well. For every year in water, they were granted a year on land after they came of age. 4

Ra was in his home high in the mountains, overlooking his domain, with two weeks left to create his new beings. He sat and thought of what he wanted to create. A swan came to him to see if Ra could use some help. Ra, seeing the swan’s beautiful plumage, said that he could. Both went to every bird that flew in the sky and asked for a feather. All agreed to help their father. When the quest was done, Ra had another thing to ask of the swan. He asked the swan if he would sacrifice himself to create life, just as his mother had done. The swan, feeling honored by this, agreed. Ra combined the swan with the feathers they had received and created the Luchtes. The Luchtes looked like that of their father but possessed beautiful pale skin resembling that of the swan, lavender eyes, and different-colored hair and wings. Ra was overjoyed with the Luchtes that he and the swan had created. He gave them the ability to judge with reason, play instruments, write poetry and stories, as well as sing.5

Ier saw what his brother and sisters had created and was disgusted by them. He noticed that all of them looked alike. His siblings’ creations just looked like variants of themselves. Ier decided that he would be more creative than them. He set out into the desert in search of the perfect creatures. First, he came upon some bats. Ier examined the small creatures and decided they could have some potential. He asked the bats to follow him and promised to make it worth their while. They agreed immediately, wary of their father’s wrath. Ier then came upon a pit of snakes and promised to give each of them their hearts’ desire if they would follow him. They greedily agreed to having everything they ever wanted. Lastly, Ier came upon some horned lizards. Ier promised the lizards everything if they would join him and the others. They agreed to follow blindly. Ier smiled to himself as he thought of what he was about to do. Ier mercilessly combined the creatures together. He listened to their screams as they fused into one; the sound pleased him. His smile only widened as he saw the end result. These creatures were taller than the tallest trees, had the horned lizards’ body with elongated necks and tails, an impenetrable armor made of the snakes’ scales, and on their backs were larger versions of the bats’ wings. The creatures reared back and spewed fire forth to their creator. This really made Ier smile even wider and laugh. He called the creatures huge serpents; or simply, “dragons.” He now had a new favorite toy to play with.6

“Now I shall surely win, for mine are different than the rest,” Ier gloated. 7

The day came when Ea, Ra, Ier, and Tae would present the best of their creations. The Celestial Gods took great care in judging. They judged on the originality of the creation, how well the species could adapt to a situation, what their culture was like, and various others factors. Ush loved the Luchtes’ poetry and written words. Tela and Bada loved the loyalty and judgment of the Aardes. Juno was captivated by the songs of the Wassers. None cared for the dragons that Ier brought. All the Celestial Gods were frightened of them. When one would get close, the dragon would rear back and belch fire at them. Even though the dragons would have won for being the most unique, the Celestial Gods were too frightened of them to acknowledge their presence. 8

For four days, the Celestial Gods debated on who should win. In the end, all the Celestial Gods chose Ra’s creation to be the best. This enraged Ier to no extent. He knew that his dragons should have won. They were perfect in every way. From that day forward, he vowed to see his brother’s creation destroyed. 9

Ier stormed back to his home in the volcano Krafla. He was so enraged that even the songs of the Phoenix did nothing to dampen his mood. Instead, he grabbed it by the neck and threw it into the volcano’s magma. Then he threw in his daughter Pain. From this he created the Fuocos. They possessed horns, tails, hoofed feet, and had the bodies of his daughter Pain, and son Death. They had black-as-pitch skin, eyes that were rimmed with red, and a temper to match Ier’s own. He was pleased with them. Ier taught the Fuocos how to fight with weapons made of iron, steel, and obsidian. They learned quickly and were eager to test out their skills. 10

It so happened that the Setafs, the daughters of Ush and Bada, Goddesses of Fate, came to see Ier in his home. Ast, the Goddess of Past, was a beautiful maiden. Nesp, the Goddess of Present, was a beautiful mother figure. Uer, the Goddess of Future, was an ugly, wretched looking old woman. They always spoke as one, and never as three. “By destroying, so will you,” they told Ier.11

Ier considered their words and said, “It will be done.”12

“Their will, before you miss. With age, revenge. No mother or father for aid.” With that, they left him. 13

Ier rallied his troops and went to Mauna, Ra’s home. They slaughtered all the Luchtes there. Not one woman, man, or child was left alive. Ra tried to save them, but was no match for his brother’s army. He had made his creatures to love and be marry, not to defend themselves from Ier’s wrath. Now he wished he had given them this ability to fight. He fled through his home, looking for a survivor. He found one small female child who had just been born in a room off to the side of his chambers. Her mother had named her Cygne in honor of the swan. The small child had hair as red and as bright as Bada’s. Even in all the chaos, she had not cried. She had lain where her mother had placed her and waited for someone to find her. Ra picked up the child and took her to the one place Ier would not look. He went to his sister Ea. Her Aardes would love and protect her, but to make sure that Ier did not find her, he bound her wings so that they would not reemerge until she came of age. 14

Ea had heard of the havoc that Ier was causing on Mauna. She was worried for Ra’s well-being and the lives of the Luchtes. The Luchtes had always been nice to her Aardes. Never had a bad word been spoken. When Ra came to her holding a bundle, she was excited to learn that at least one Luchte survived. She took the child and went to see Naan. Naan was a strong Aarden woman that never gave anyone any room to doubt her. She had always wanted to be a mother, but could not find a mate that could suit her. Naan took the child and raised it as best she could. 15

Ra went back to look for more survivors but found none. No one had been spared but Cygne. She was now his only reason for living. He would protect her even if he had to do it from afar. He would watch his daughter grow and be happy, but most of all, he would hope she held no grudge toward him for not finding any others. 16

Ier was beside himself in total bliss. He had destroyed all the Luchtes and not one survived. He was victorious. He returned home to Krafla, only to find the Setafs laughing. When he asked what was so funny, they replied, “You, my dear cousin. You.” Then, they vanished. He disregarded them and went to seek out Pleasure. She would aid him well.