Before the Earth was formed, there were the holy ones. Called Lailath in the tongue of the elves, these beings were timeless, formless and ageless. They were creatures of light, purity and power. They existed outside the physical realm, beyond what the eye could see. There was Siraan, god of flames, Galonen, the strong, Damascha, goddess of the hunt, Arnatus, god of ice and cold, Se’lath, who would later be called accursed, Aerah the wise and Solket the smith. Supreme above them all was Allath, father of light. Together, the holy ones ruled the skies under Alath’s guiding hand.
Then, at an indeterminate moment, Allath had a thought. As he gazed at the formless shape of the universe, he was filled with the desire to create something to fill up all the empty space. He lifted up his hand and with it, he created the seas and filled them with every manner of creatures great and small. And he called his new creation the Earth. Then he called the holy ones down so they might see his new creation.
“My children,” he called to them, “Come see this new world I have created. Come and fill it with creatures of your own; creatures to work and build, so that this new place will not be empty. Give them souls so that they might live greater lives than these wild animals. Make them live alongside each other to help and encourage one another. Give them minds with which to think and to name these animals.”
And so, the holy ones obeyed and they filled the Earth with beings of their own design.
Galonen created the giants. Massive beings, taller than the trees with incredible strength and great intelligence.
Arnatus called out of the water a new continent made of ice and snow. He filled it with his incredible cold and created beings made of ice, with souls as cold as his own.
Siraan created seven kings to rule over this new land. He gave them souls of fire so that they could warm the Earth and bring light to all the other beings. He called them humans and said to them, “Go, spread across the world. Build cities and towns, create children of your own and work in the dirt.” Then he made a multitude of other humans for the kings to rule over, for a king is nothing without subjects. He gave them weaker souls, so they would not seek to rebel against the seven. Then, Siraan created mighty beasts. Beasts that had his holy fire running through their veins. These beasts had skin made of iron and souls of flames. Siraan called them ‘dragons’ and gave them rule of the skies on Earth.
Then Solket observed the ground of the Earth. He picked up a fistful of dirt and was inspired. He broke a large chunk off of one of the great mountains and with it, he fashioned the dwarves. He breathed souls into them, so they might take after him and become great smiths and workers of metal. He gave them homes deep underground, so they could dig and mine for their materials.
For her creation, Aerah asked Allath if she would bestow upon her some of his light, so she could use it for her own creation. So, Allath gave her a portion of his light. Then, Aerah created the purest and strongest creatures of all. She made them tall and beautiful with golden hair. She made them to be wise and fair, so that they might guide the other races who lived alongside them. She used Allath’s light to give them souls of pure light, so that they would never fade and she called them the elves.
Then, Allath asked Damascha and Se’lath what creations they would make. Damascha replied that she wished to wait for her creations to be born, as their time had not yet come. Also, she was suspicious of Se’lath and the gleam he had in his eyes. The holy ones knew that Se’lath had strange ideas, but a kind heart, so they simply ignored him because they thought him to be harmless. When Allath asked him what he wished to create, he responded that he would like to wait as well.
And so, the holy ones returned to their places in the sky, to watch their new creations.
But, in secret, Se’lath would come down to the Earth and work on a creation of his own. In the Earth’s deepest caves, he would steal the souls of Siraan’s humans and twist them into what he named ‘void’ which humans called ‘the dark’. And using the dark, he created the four demons: death, pain, fear and nightmare, which was also called sleep. He saw that his creation had great power, so he rejected his soul of light and replaced it with a soul of darkness. The corruption of Se’lath spread across the Earth, bringing death, pain, fear and nightmares.
In their secret haven, the Lailath were panicking, for their creations were starting to fall prey to an unknown force. And the effects of this new energy were so strong that they could no longer descend to the Earth without being severely hurt.
Then, as the Lailath discussed this new problem, Se’lath appeared among them. He approached Alath and declared, “Look, father! See the creation I have made, see the strength it holds and the power it brings!”
The holy ones looked at their brother in horror, for they were now terrified of him and his newfound power.
Allath was enraged. He shouted at Se’lath with a voice that shook the sky and Earth.
Se’lath trembled under the force of his rage. “Is this not what you asked? I have made something of my own, just as you said. And can my brothers and sisters not replenish their lost pets with a wave of their hand? Their creations are weak and foolish, they spread across the land like a disease, but what I have made will solve it. Not only that, but my dark makes them stronger too! Because of the effects of death, their lives now have meaning! They are forced to enjoy what little time they have. Through pain, they learn their strengths and weaknesses. Through fear, they run from what might harm them instead of needlessly throwing themselves in harm's way. Do you not see?”
Allath silenced Se’lath with his mighty voice. He decreed that the dark was an abomination that had no place among the Lailath or on Earth. He then changed Se’lath’s name to Dahgla, which means accursed. Then he cast Se’lath out of the sky and into the void.
Dahgla was overcome with grief. Alone in the void for centuries, his grief turned to anger and he used the dark to turn the void into his own reality. For centuries he stirred and plotted against the holy ones. He used his power to communicate with the humans on Earth and twisted their minds to do his bidding. He whispered into their ears with promises of immeasurable power and guaranteed them a place alongside him in the void. He turned the humans against each other so they might sacrifice their souls to him. The humans that knew him called him “Tenebris Dominus”, the dark lord.
Once he had regained power, he descended upon the Earth in fury. Unable to do anything, the Lailath could only watch as their creations were destroyed. The humans, giants, dragons, ice people and dwarves all banded together to fight against Dahgla. There was a mighty battle that raged for days, but they were too weak to stop him for good.
But, Siraan had a plan. He gave the seven kings a greater portion of his power so that they might defeat Dahgla. In one final effort, the seven kings used up almost all of their soul power and forced Dahgla to retreat back into the void.
Then, to ensure that Dahgla never came back to the Earth, Allath used his light and placed a giant orb of fire in the sky. Wherever the light shone, Dahgla could not touch. This light, called the sun, was the last gift of the Lailath to the world.
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