Chapter Text
Before all upon this Earth, before the Mother Grub and trolls, before carapacians and consorts, before humans, there were the Creators.
First was created the Heir, made bright joy and dark stormclouds, and from him were created all the others. First his sister, the Maid, and both were called gracious by the others. As the Heir grew, taking her place as the gods' leader, they called her ruler1 and bringer of changing winds. Next came the Witch, with eyes the color of new life, and they named her for the beautiful stones created as she held the planet in her hands. Then was created the Page, and with words both sweet and bold, they called him protector, the calm after the storm.
With the world dark, the Heir created Light, with vision distant, and she was named for the flower2 she sprung from. Thus also was created the Rogue, and named her for the stars that twinkled brightly above. As morning and night were made so was made beloved Time, a Knight to slay beasts and bring the passing of each life with the swing of his blade. From the Knight’s blade was the Prince born, like the glow of flame in the night, and they called him ruler of people3, brother to the king underground.
Then did the Heir take the sky in his hands, tearing it in two to make way for new life.
At once were the other gods born, through thought and action alike. First came the Grey Knight, born from blood and strife but strengthened through close bonds. Then, the bright-eyed Sylph, mother of trolls, resplendent and cradling the soul4 of the Mother Grub in both hands. After her quickly came the Thief, cackling and tricky, flitting circles around the other gods on newly-formed wings. Finally came Mind, Seer of knowledge, and the Heir smiled, work well done. The Creators took respite.
The tear in the sky continued to release monsters, though, terrible beasts of shale and blood. Among them came the Bard, horrid words sung on deaf ears as chaos ruled. As the Heir struggled to close the tear, two more beings escaped, twins. First came the Lord, brash and rude, the Bard taking quickly to him. But left among the stars was his sister, the Muse, and the Rogue brought her back to Earth. They called her sweet-voiced, for the words she wove were unlike any melody sung before. Finally, the Heir closed the gap in the sky, chaos limited.
The gods reveled that night under influence of the Lord, Bard singing sweetly. His words fell honeyed upon their ears as they partook in the Lord’s feast5. However, as day broke, the Creators realized their folly, and locked the Bard in a prison6, never again to be set free. The Lord was banished similarly, vanquished in battle, his reign replaced with the rightful next ruler.
In their image did the Creators make humans, the trolls born of the Mother Grub following soon after. We did follow after, shells of black and white, toward a world more peaceful than our last. Finally the consorts emerged, chattering and amphibian, as the world was completed.
The gods rested.
- Original word used (krēǔsroe) translates both masculine and femininely. The original text gives both masculine and feminine pronouns to the Heir, similarly.
- Name of flower not specified; generic word for plant (jrao) used in original text. The original name is lost.
- With the return of the Creators, it is now known that the Light Seer, as alluded within the poem, is named Rose, a flower not found on the mythic planet of Skaia. Therefore, Vagabond would not have had the word to describe the Light Seer’s name.
- Original text refers to the Prince as the ǒrěālri a’ krēǔsroe, which translates literally to ruler of hearts. It is this literal translation that creates the Prince’s image as the god of love and desire. The word ǒrěālri refers both to the physical body part as seen in medical records, and to the idea of one’s soul.
- Original text translates directly to ‘matron’s egg’ (srōirój), referring to the Matriorb gland found in the Mother Grub.
- Directly translates to cake (lîīzr).
- Original wording (làulìjq) is anachronistic, as it directly translates to food chest, which modern scholars have taken to mean refrigerator. Due to the ancient nature of the text, it has been concluded that the food chest mentioned in the original text refers to a storage cellar, used as the Bard’s original prison.
- With the return of the Creators, it has been confirmed that the Bard was contained in a refrigerator.