Prologue
It is said that in the beginning only Aurosia existed above water, floating gently on top of the seas of Xera. …
The six gods lived together for centuries, but after so long they began to be lonely for the company of others. The eldest of them, Balen, the god of balance, created the first creature out of the elements. Balen called his creature Omni. The other gods were amazed by Balen’s creation and set about creating their own creatures.
This is how the beasts of the world were born: Aurora, goddess of spirit, formed fairies, dryads, and wisps. Granite, god of earth, formed creatures of the ground and of the trees. Aquos, goddess of water formed all manner of fish and other aquatic creatures. Helios, goddess of air formed fowl and other winged beasts. Pyre, god of flame, formed the creatures of fire. The gods were pleased by the creation and for a while, they were content to dwell with them. Time moved on and the beasts were not enough for the gods. They wished now for creatures made in their likeness.
The six gods combined their wills and created the first Xerians, a male baby and a female baby. The gods doted on the two children and showered them with everything they needed. The gods were greatly pleased with their children and created others, and each marked their own tribe of Xerians.
During the creation, each god imbued their people with more of their own elemental power, linking them to that god for eternity. Each took their tribe to a different area of the island and raised their children teaching them their ways. In time, the children grew and began to have children of their own. Soon the Island was no longer large enough to house the people and the beasts because there were so many Xerians.
So, the gods came together again centuries after the original creation of the first Xerians. On top of the highest mountain on the Island, the gods stood in a circle with the god of balance and the goddess of spirit in the center. Channeling all their essence they commanded the earth to rise, and the waters to recede. The Island shook as the will of the gods began to take effect. The surrounding water began declining slowly, grudgingly at first, then with great speed as it revealed more and more of the soil it had so long encompassed. More land rose out of the water and the gods molded it to their will. The final push of the gods combined power broke Aurosia from the body of the earth with an indescribable sound and sent it floating miles above the newly freed ground and kept it aloft.
For another century the gods and their people lived on the Island, cultivating the new ground. They caused the Island to slowly orbit the world underneath, so they could better shape the earth. After the hundredth cycle they deemed the earth below suitable for their children.
The six gods divided the world below into five territories leaving the island to the spirit goddess. Each tribe of Xerians took on the name of their god. The Pyrians surged to the north-east. The Helions flew to the north-west. The Granitines wandered to the south-east. The Auqosians waded into the south-west. The Aurosians stayed on the Island, and the Balentines resided in the center.
For millennia, the Xerians prospered. Generation after generation worked the territories they lived in, developing towns and cities as the gods watched on. As the volume of people rose, the gods selected favorites from among the tribes. They became the first of the God-touched, granted special abilities and a longer life, they were sent as governors and protectors of the various colonies of people in their territory. The most favored and powerful stayed with their deity, directing the other God-touched. And thus, peace reigned throughout all the nations of Xera. (The First Book of Creation)
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… the god of balance was divided in two in a blinding flash. Two gods: one of dark and one of light. The dark god struck down his counterpart and claimed sovereignty over all the world. Twisting the people and the land, the dark god sent his armies against the other nations. The war was devastating on all sides as the dark god’s armies steadily advanced.
Knowing defeat of their nations to be inevitable against the ferocious onslaught of the dark god, the other five gods formed a plan to contain him. The four elemental gods drew forth their power and raised impassable walls of fire, water, wind, and earth around the territories severing their own people from the dark god’s hordes. The spirit goddess took the spirit stones with her and returned to her Island. In order to perpetuate the Elemental Wall and keep their people safe, the four gods isolated themselves in solitude (The Book of the Darkening)
-Excerpts from the Book of Spirit.
