Chapter Text
A long, long time ago, in a time and space so distant that ordinary humans like you and I have never even heard of it, there existed a world created by four celestial beings called the holy beasts. This world was divided into four lands, each the creation of one of the four beasts.
Seiryuu, the Azure Dragon, created a land of spring: the Country of East. The East was the land of year-round greenery under a bright blue sky, covered in forests and meadows, home of numerous exquisite flora that flourished in the mellow Eastern climate. The people of the East were particularly proud of their cherry blossom trees which had become the very symbol of their nation.
Suzaku, the Vermilion Bird, created a land of summer: the Country of South. By area, the South was the largest of the four countries; by temperature, it was the warmest. Vast masses of the Southern land were deserts of finest red sand, and the same sand framed the land’s coastlines, forming long, beautiful beaches that expanded as far as the eye could see. As a symbol of its fiery powers, Suzaku gave rise to four volcanoes, each for one corner of the country.
Byakko, the White Tiger, created a land of autumn: the Country of West. Created by the prankster of the quartet, the West rarely saw a day of clear sky; it was the land of misty haze, drizzly rain, and cloudy horizons. To balance out the muddy climate, all of the Western flora came in the brilliant hues of autumn, ranging from golden yellow to musky purple; and the soil was rich with minerals of all kinds, granting the country great innate wealth.
And Genbu, the Black Tortoise, created a land of winter: the Country of North. Most of this peculiar country was covered by a permanent blanket of frost and snow, but it also had an abundance of rivers, streams, and lakes, and no matter how low the temperature dropped, the water never froze over. Void of Sunlight, the Northern sky borrowed its light from the stars and the Moon and, sometimes, the colourful veil of Northern lights.
After creating the four lands, the holy beasts created people to inhabit them. Because the beasts were celestial beings and couldn't but watch these people and the world they lived in from far above, they needed human vessels to lead the four nations; thus, they created four kings who would rule over other people using the four beasts' powers. The four kings were neither humans or gods, but something between – they were messengers, or icons, of the four holy beasts. To protect their vulnerable human vessels, the divine beasts created lesser beings that mirrored themselves, a range of holy beasts that anyone capable of serving the kings could summon for their aid.
Although created equal in the beginning of the world, the four kingdoms inevitably grew apart over time. The human inhabitants forgot their divine origins and connections to each other as they all shaped their independent, unique societies. But the four royal bloodlines remained, and mysteriously enough, with each new generation that the crowns were passed down to, the holy beasts' magic only grew stronger within the four kings. It was up to the individual nations and their flow of history, however, to define the line between humanity and divinity.
An ambiguous number of centuries after the creation of the four lands, there came a time when each of the four crowns were to be passed down to unusually young heirs. Perhaps this was all an act of ill omen befalling the four kingdoms, as the world created by the holy beasts was about to come to its end.