Chapter 1: Birth of the Rift
The realm of Meinchala belonged to the spirits and Holies. It was a bright and warm place to live, one perfect for the divine. It was the sheer opposite to Shevrin, the darker plane of unholy, of Corruption and ghosts of darkness.
Corruption was festering within the realm of Shevrin, darkening its demons into creatures of evil. It swarmed like the clouds of a storm, leaking into Meinchala, taking spirits and morphing them into monsters.
Meinchala and Shevrin were forever interlocked into a battle for power to reign over the three realms of the world. The third being Kalendale, where the humans lived.
The battles wore on between the two realms, leaving Kalendale to be naive of their wars. The humans would only catch glimpses of battle, the sky flashing from the meeting of blades. The ground rumbling from the stampede of warriors.
In some of these meetings, the humans would witness greatness--especially from the Holies who've come across as lower gods. Temples would be raised in their names, religions written and practiced.
Yet, as the Corruption crept into Meinchala, it turned some Holies into terrible Abominations. Spirits were becoming corrupt, darkened and opened to newer emotions. Spirits were often quiet creatures, embodiments of nature and the elements.
Often, the corrupt spirits would fall hard into the darkness. Never having been touched by emotion before. They didn't know how to address it. Temptations and dark thoughts ran through their minds for the first time. Before then, it was normal to simply act on impulse. But now that their impulses were darkening, it would break any good spirit.
The Corruption was something like a cloud, a heavy darkness which often harbored ghosts and wisps. If exposed to it for too long, creatures could warp into something nasty and twisted. They were adorned the title of Abomination.
The land of the Holies was growing a heavy blanket of contagion. Mercil knew the Queen of Holies was not enough to stop the spread of evil. The Creator got to work with his clay and potions in hopes of aiding the Queen. He had to create two guardians. Two destroyers of power. Each the better halves of Holy and Corruption.
He formed the body of a woman, using clippings of the Queen’s raven-black hair to adorn her scalp. The other, he formed a man, using the white fur of the slain Wolf Demon, Virroh, for his hair. He crafted two sets of eyes from the glass of Arrisole Desert where lightening storms raged. The eyes shimmered a multitude of thousands of trapped colors.
Filling them with blood came easily, dipping into the pools of battlefields. Crafting their bones and shaping their features was long but rewarding. However, giving them hearts would prove painful.
They had to have hearts of valiance, unwavering self-reliance, dignity, strength. After weeks of study and preparation, Mercil used one half of his heart. A single chamber for them each.
The woman was built primarily of Holy, her power stemming from that. But half her body adorned tattoos of demon marks, dark and corrupt power which could protect her from the Corruption. This way, she could fight either Holies or the Corruption, switching from one power to the other.
The man was sculpted of the Wolf Demon, Virroh. He would harness the dark Corruption, using it more prominently than the Holy side of himself. But like the woman, he could harness both powers, as well.
Drained of all power and with only a fraction of life left, Mercil carried his two creations up the Mountain of Ischel. As the sun slowly lifted, its orange rays warmed their bodies, Mercil’s beginning to cool.
The sunlight pierced through the mountain’s aura, bringing life to the man and woman. They were promised the gift of souls once the Corruption was cleansed. Then, Mercil died.
They dressed themselves in Mercil’s furs and scarves. Then, they looked to Meinchala. As if sensing their birth, the sky ruptured, the birth of the great Rift. The rip of worlds. It glowed many, clashing colors and the fringes shimmered hot white and fire at the frayed lips. The air whipped and swirled with sweet and bitter flashes of cold and warmth.
Thus, the earth was opened to all realms. Humans could see the Holies and now the Corruption was open to spread between all three realms. It was no longer locked away in Shevrin.
Rather than having three separate worlds, they were all open to each other. Meinchala, Shevrin, and Kalendale.
It was all one world now.
