Soul Bound

The success of humankind was, by all regards, an accident by the Gods. Some lesser deities whisper into the night that it was a mistake even. Undoubtedly, it was a result of boredom, an ailment that accompanies the Gods in their immortality.

The goddess Kahtaiya and her twin sister Zahirah were not immune to such a plague. Kahtaiya was the Goddess of Life and Birth; she created every living creature on land and in the sea. Zahira was the Goddess of Nature; she constructed every plant and flower that grew across the world. And together, they created humans, an experiment that held the appearance of a god, but none of their power.

All would have perhaps been well if the sisters had not been taken by their new creations. Humanity might have never evolved to become what it did if it had not been for the jealousy of the twin gods Toris and Maheda. Toris was the God of Death and Illness, and his brother the God of Earth and Thunder. The sisters and the brothers had been at odds for all of eternity, an endless cycle of war and love they could never break.

Toris and Maheda killed the first humans, displeased by the attention given to them by the goddesses who were both their enemies and their lovers. Kahtaiya and Zahira were enraged by the slight. Zahira met Maheda in battle, causing earthquakes and famine. Then they entangled themselves with the passion that can only derive from an emotion such as rage.

While Zahira and Maheda warred, Kahtaiya created more humans. They were stronger this time, smarter, and she watched over them to make sure Toris could not bring their death upon them. But the God of Death was also the God of Illness, and he did not need to touch the humans to kill them. It was all too easy to construct ailments to fell the fragile species.

And so, they continued on like that: the sisters creating new humans and equipping them with all they could need, and the brothers always finding ways around their evolution. It was an endless cycle of life and death, war and sex, hate and love. Eventually, they came to lose track of the humans, terribly caught up in their endless cycle as they were. And at some point, after countless regenerations, the humans learned to develop on their own.

City and government began to appear. Trade began and language was written. Culture was created and wars were fought. It was remarkable and glorious and horrid all at once. The Gods could not help but involve themselves in their affairs. So the Gods would help humans in trivial ways, rewarded with temples and prayers and sacrifices. In truth, the pedestal of the Gods was made when the humans chose to worship them. And the Gods are vain as they are bored.

Toris and Maheda stopped their pursuit of the damnation of humanity, as they too, had their worshipers and temples.

But humans were ever passionate, vengeful, and impulsive in their short mortal lives. The Gods found they could no longer keep track of human frivolity, nor did they desire to. Kahtaiya and Zahira were wont to abandon their children, however, so they gave them a gift. An emissary of the Gods to speak on their wishes. A Kingmaker to delegate power amongst mankind. A woman who could see into a mortal’s soul and determine their fate.

A Soulseeker.

And so our world received the ultimate gift of the Gods: a physical reincarnation of their love and will to be with us for all eternity. And to her Zahira gave four mates destined to be reborn at her side, for immortality was lonely, among mortals even more so. They strengthen her power, each hailing from one of the four cardinal lands.

They exist in a never-ending cycle of death and rebirth, with her at the center, uniting them and the realm. She is the center of the compass to which we all must abide.