Chapter Text
Before the first thread had been spun, before the first story was told, there was naught in the universe but silence, naught in the sky but darkness. And this darkness reigned alone for untold time - just as likely for a second as for a million years - until, only by chance, Fate came into being. Then, through the emptiness, the great and merciful hands of Fate reached out and tailored the ancient father Akhet to life to rule with her over their beautiful new world. Fate and Akhet became lovers, bearing seven children; while they ruled together happily and loved their children dearly, the ever-encroaching darkness remained. One day, Akhet grew angry with its continued presence in his world. He cut bravely through the nothing with his swords of flame and did battle with the darkness’s tyranny over the universe; the war was valiantly fought, but he alone failed to defeat the omnipresent shadows. Mortally wounded, he bid farewell to his lover Fate and their children before setting himself ablaze and casting himself into the depths of nothingness. Fate, unable to watch her lover burn, threw herself atop his pyre - the creation of the first star in the universe. As together they smouldered, Akhet’s seven children came together, swearing to never leave their father’s side, singing the never-ending song of his greatness and mercy, so his deeds might never be forgotten. Thus began the eternal duty of the Sun-Singers of Akhet.
Eternity is a near-unfathomably long time, and with this time even the Sun-Singers of Akhet began to wear thin. Realizing this, and refusing to let her father’s battle be fought for nothing, Sakhu, the youngest sibling, created a world full of life: a planet of mountains and trees and rivers and grass, of endless plains and even more endless oceans. With this great final effort, Sakhu perished. Shortly thereafter, her siblings followed: Isrupha, Eukas, Adrassa, Sarkhun, Kolpasha, each created planets which would serve as their final resting place. Finally only one Sun-Singer remained. Akhaten, Akhet’s oldest and most favoured son, at first did not build his own world; instead, he journeyed to each of his siblings in turn, and on each planet he imbued a part of his own life. He wished for a universe that could not only stand testament to his father’s courage, but pass down the tale of his honour, and beneath his fingertips grew countless creatures, living things that could learn and speak and listen and sing and create. And on each planet he taught his children how to tell stories, how to continue the endless song of Akhet’s glory, and when he saw that his work was done, he retreated far outside of the orbits of his siblings. Using the final remnants of his energy, he forged his own planet, one devoid of life, as he had already expended his power of creation. There he lay down, in the rings of his barren world, and listened to his grandchildren sing as he slowly faded away.