BEFORE the world was, the aether was formless, without sight or sound. There was only the Void–black, deep, and unknowable. For cycle upon cycle, infinite in number, the darkness remained.
There came a time, though, that the great god Light grew restless, and called his wife Shadow to his side. They danced through the emptiness, and Light took her out in the great expanse. He filled her with uncountable children, and Shadow gave birth to the stars, each one a child of their union, each with its own name. The stars were many, and unknowable.
When the two came to the end of their dance, Shadow asked her husband to grant her a child that she may love for her own, instead of scattering them to the corners of the Void. Light so loved Shadow that he granted her wish, and gathered her close. Their dance was so vigorous that Light gave Shadow not one child, but five.
These are the five older gods–Evmir, Eindor, Devla, Neesa, and Aeglar.
Evmir was first to come forth, with a battle cry that shook the aether, and a storm of lightning. So it was that Evmir was called the oldest, and the kingship of the aether fell to him. For his father and mother–Light and Shadow–wished to sleep, so to better hear the dreams of all their many children throughout the Void. Light forged for Evmir a great hammer, a parting gift from father to eldest son, and took Shadow into the vastness of the Void.
So it was that Evmir looked out across the vastness of the black, and knew that something must be done. He took up the Hammer of Light–the gift from his father–and smote it down upon the aether. He did this many times, over and over, until the world began to take shape beneath the blows of his great hammer. It was in this way that Evmir forged the world.
~From The Epic of Creation, stanzas 1-6
AND his brother Eindor, the Wise God, he who won the Staff of Secrets by giving up his eye, the source of wisdom and Father of Magic, saw what Evmir was doing. Eindor looked out over the world, at what his brother had wrought, and knew that it was incomplete.
“Brother, let me add to your grand creation, for nothing so beautiful should be without secrets.” And so Eindor went down among the valleys, he walked over the barren rock and stood atop the highest mountains. There, he whispered secrets to the world. He told tales to the stone. He sang songs to the sea, and storms grew in his wake.
So it was that the world was imbued with magic, and the stars all turned to see.
It is for this reason that Eindor is called the Father of Magic, because all magic comes from him. It is for this reason that Eindor is also called the Whisperer, the Wise God, the Patron of Secrets.
And now the world had magic, but still it was incomplete.
~From The Epic of Creation, stanzas 7-11
AND now it was that Devla, daughter of Light and Shadow, she of the Eternal Cycle and source of life, looked down upon the creation of her husband, Evmir. “I see your mountains,” said she. “I see your lakes, your rivers, your storms and snow. But your creation is not yet whole.”
She hummed first a lullaby, for the world was a babe in the Void. Devla passed the world thrice through the flame, warming it with the Light of her father. As her song was hummed to the world, it began to awaken from it’s barren slumber. All things green and growing rose from the dirt, awakening to her song.
She then went down amongst the mountains, lakes, rivers, and the sea, and everywhere she went, she danced to her wild song. She swam through the ocean, and all the fish sprang forth from her, to swim alongside. From there she went to the land, and danced among the fields and forests, giving birth to the beasts of the hunt. So mad was she with ecstasy for the dance that she rose into the sky, and birds came tumbling from her hair.
She danced for a thousand ages, until all of Eldath was seeded.
It is the reason Devla is called Mistress of Beasts, Lady of the Hunt, the Eternal Mother. The world was no longer a babe, but had bloomed as the rose in spring. Now the other gods saw her beauty, and came to give their blessings.