World Building: In the Beginning (Patreon)

Hi all! As I start to wind down on my outline, I figure now's a good time to start posting some world-building stuff! It'll be hard to ask the higher tiers to create characters for the world if they don't know much about it, right? I'm going to do my best to walk the line between giving good information and spoiling too much: I'd hate to take the thrill of the twists in the story away. So let's start ... at the beginning! With an origin myth! The yet-unnamed world this story takes place in was once barren and lonely. There were only two creatures that roamed: Otenhei the rainbow serpent and Iluak the aurora dragon. Over time, they loved each other with a powerful, heart-stopping, bone-deep adoration, and together they created children. Their oldest children were a small brood of four: powerful deities that took the form of Rook, Phoenix, Unicorn, and Saltdigger (an otter-like creature that exudes salt, and lives primarily in the tundra wastes). They took up life on the continent and spread their influence over the land. Rook was a creature of Autumn: his was the domain of dying and descending peace. In all of his wanderings he brought gentle repose to those whose time had come. Phoenix was a creature of Summer: she brought heat and energy, creativity and passion. She was a creative muse to all who set eyes upon her and she painted the lands with colors of fire. Unicorn was a creature of Spring: vain and beautiful, she was more reserved in her wanderings. She gave growth to those she deemed worthy, painted the colors of spring with the brush of her tail. Saltdigger was a creature of Winter: he brought silence and stillness, resolution and thoughtfulness. He carved the way for those who were lost and led them through the dark of Winter...but only if they were willing to follow. The four of these deities wandered the land in circles, bringing with them the seasons of their domain: Autumn, Winter, Spring, Summer. But as Otenhei and Iluak made more children, things got out of hand. Beyond the four gods of the seasons, there were now thousands of creatures over the years. Their children spilled forth into the world, the ambient magic forming and shaping them. Some became lesser, mortal versions of the gods; others were very different. Most were sapient. For a while, all was fine. The magic grew the world, the deities shaped it as the year cycle continued, and all of the children of the dragons lived in harmony and grew up together. But as is true in most stories, harmony can't last. Something began to poison the world. It started in the hearts of creatures and spilled out into the atmosphere as bickering, arguing, stealing, fighting became more and more commonplace. The gods began to fight, and over time began to stake out territory instead of following their endless wandering cycle. Otenhei and Iluak looked on with sadness. Otenhei, big-hearted as she was, tried to reason with her children. But they argued: "Phoenix has no care for fine work," Unicorn would say. "She erases everything I do and doesn't even care!" "That's how it has to be!" Phoenix would argue back. "But Rook doesn't have to kill EVERYTHING, does he? Because that's what he's doing!" "I'm not," Rook would grumble. "Don't drag me into this." "You always say that," snarls Saltdigger, "but you're in this whether you like it or not. You can't keep choosing neutral as a side!" "Death IS neutral." And so on. At last, with Otenhei's heart breaking to watch, they ceased their wandering completely, and each took a quarter of the land. Their lands became stagnant, never changing season, their borders solidly delineated: snow to autumn leaf; autumn leaf to desert sands; desert sands to lush meadows. Trying to mend a broken world, Otenhei flew to the center of the world and cried. Her tears formed lava and her thrashing made the mountainous volcano that encased her. When she was spent, she could only curl up and remember all her children, letting her love for them fill her and seep out into the world. And Iluak, mourning his lost lover, crossed the skies every night, over every part of their broken world, trailing a rainbow behind him in her memory.