"Tellinor The First Age" by Christopher M Cosby

Tellinor: Gods and Goddesses of the Northern Clans of Kaige

From the scrolls of Jolmner; scribe to the first king of Am.

The First Age.

She descended from a star. In the first age, Eau, the creator of all, the goddess of fertility, separated the essence of nature and magic. With the essence of nature she created the order and balance by dividing it into wood, fire, earth, metal and water. Fire, at the top dominated all, burns wood to make ash. From ash comes metal, which collects water, which nourishes wood. Wood divides the earth, the earth absorbs the war and water quenches fire. Fire destroys metal and metal chops wood. This is the balance.

Eau then reached into the pool of magic and withdrew a large portion, creating a void. This she mixed with Her blood and bone, creating a model in Her likeness. When she was satisfied with it’s appearance, she pressed her lips close and breathed the soft whisper of life. It was in this way that Eau created Akkain. She laid with him giving him knowledge. From Eau came Ceph, the ruler of the skies, Kryon, the emperor of the sea and Trajin, the craftsman and worker who forged the first sword and smelted the first axe and built the machine to save the Thread of Life and Magic.

Eau then cut the hem of Her dress and created a long thread. This She dipped into the remnants of magic and hung it from the heavens creating a flow from Himel, the upper word, to Hille, the underworld. In this way magic and life was spread throughout. From missed water and ash, She created a sphere. She separated light from darkness and formed Tellinor and she hung at mid-length from the Thread of Life and Magic.

Eau pressed Her lips close to the sphere and breathed again the soft whisper of life. Trees and plants sprang up and rivers flowed She brought Her hands together and like a spear plunged them into the land splintering the land creating the Great Continents and many islands. To fill the lands and water She took ash and clay to form beast and animal and into all she breathed giving life.

From the branch of the first tree Eau carved many figures, each a different shape but one was more beautiful than the rest, more in the likeness of a god, one like Herself. From the pool of magic, there remained a single drop. With this she anointed the head of Her greatest creation. She then places him on Tellinor and breathed into it life and whispered “let it remain.” It was in this way that the vanir were created and given the task of caring for all that lived in the lands and the waters. They were in her likeness with the powers of the gods themselves, able to tap into the Thread of Life and Magic through word and element to release the great power into the world and into objects, to which all life is bound.

Trajin was given the task of instructing them in the ways of augury, enchantments and sorcery. He taught them with fire and gave them forge and anvil and pen and paper. Before departing from them he spoke so that all the vanir could hear and be accountable that The Thread of Life and Magic is finite; that magic and life may not be replace, that once it is used it is gone forever. All life is sacred as is magic for without magic there is no life and once gone life may not be renewed.

Kryon, the king of the seas, the master of water and all its creatures, from the depths, found himself looking towards Himel and the skies above where he watched his sister, Ceph each day as she flew past. He saw that she was beautiful and desired her. He raised his spear and to the water he commanded, “Go! Extend the boundaries of my kingdom so that I might have her,” and the water obeyed him.

Ceph, unaware of her brother’s desires, flew her daily tasks through the billowed clouds, each day they became thicker, dense, where she emerged drenched and feeling refreshed. The clouds thrilled her skin, they were majestic mountains and rolling fields that enticed her and filled her kingdom. She flew through, above and below them; each its own adventure.

When the skies had filled with enough water, the clouds above burst forth and showered down rain bridging the kingdom of the sea with the kingdom of the air. Kryon leapt from the depths of the ocean and swam stroke upon stroke, ascending, until he reached the safety of his clouds where he waited and embraced Ceph as she flew through in a clap of thunder. When the storm had ceased, a new god of ebony skin stood upon the shores of the land. In his hand he held the spear of his father and his name was Kriege. He was to bring destruction to the land. This was the first age.