Work Text:
1
In the beginning, there was nothing.
It was like eternity,
But it did not have a name.
From the nothing, there emerged a something.
It was like time,
But it did not have a name.
Then that something became like Two.
They did not know eternity,
They were the ends and beginnings of things,
But they did not have a name.
From the two emerged a third,
Between the ends and the beginnings,
It saw the transformations,
And it knew the primordial names,
It called itself Aowh.
Aowh saw the two and pitied that
They did not have a name.
2
Aowh saw the transformations were auspicious and divided the Two,
such that ends were ends and beginnings were beginnings,
And Aowh gave them names.
The one that knew beginnings,
Aowh called it Keshk.
The one that knew ends,
Aowh called it Shar.
Each had its dominion.
Keshk was Lord of Beginnings and Shar was Lady of the End.
Aowh kept for Aowh dominion over names,
For dominion over names was providence over creation.
But the whole of creation, it was only Keshk and Shar.
Aowh saw the two and pitied them,
For the cosmos was barren, and they were alone.
3
Aowh saw the transformations were auspicious and breathed life into the cosmos
Above were hung the stars, below was laid the land;
From the stars came the flying things, from the land the creatures that crawl,
Thence came the eagles and turtles and wyverns and worms.
But in the space between, it was only Keshk and Shar.
Aowh saw the two and pitied them
For below the stars and above the earth, they were alone.
So Aowh mixed the starlight and clay and seeded it with a sliver of creation
Thence came the primordial people.
Satisfied, Aowh took a rest.
4
Keshk surveyed the new creation
And marveled at it all,
For Keshk was Lord of Beginnings.
Among the creatures of the sky, the earth, and the in-between,
He loved people best.
Keshk thought they were beautiful and begged Aowh to be like them.
Thus Aowh granted Keshk a body.
Shar saw the transformations
And marveled at it all,
For Shar was the Lady of the End.
Among the creatures of the sky, the earth, and the in-between,
She loved Keshk best.
She loathed that they were different and begged Aowh to be like him.
Thus Aowh granted Shar a body.
5
Keshk and Shar, beginning and end, saw each other for the first time,
As though the veil of the timeless beginning had lifted,
And Aowh’s cleft restored.
Keshk and Shar walked hand in hand
among the children of the sky and the land,
among all the life in all the realms
among all the planes and all of creation.
Keshk was the Lord of Beginnings.
He saw the races of people joining in holy union,
He saw how they loved their offspring,
and he wanted to be like them.
He knew the beginnings of things,
and he had seen Shar.
6
Keshk and Shar, beginning and end, saw each other for the first time,
As though the fate of lonely existence was held away,
And Aowh’s curse undone.
Keshk and Shar walked together
among the beauty of starlight and clay,
among all the relics in all the realms,
among all the monuments of those who had come and gone.
Shar was the Lady of the End.
She saw the relics of the living who cling to fleeting time and mourn their dead,
and she wanted Keshk to be remembered
Shar knew the end of all things,
and she had seen Keshk.
7
Keshk embraced Shar and Shar clinged to him.
Keshk was the Lord of Beginnings.
He touched his hands to her body, and found the places where beginnings are made,
and he guided her hands to him,
and gave to her his part of creation.
Shar was the Lady of the End.
She took his part inside herself, and drew from it the essence of life,
and gave to him completion.
Keshk and Shar walked arm in arm,
her tits swelled with milk,
her belly grew big with life
In time she bore them twins,
and Keshk and Shar knew love.
8
Keshk was the Lord of Beginnings.
He saw their faces and they laughed,
and he named them Hope and Joy.
Shar was the Lady of the End.
She saw how Keshk adored them,
and she called them sons of Keshk.
But the twins were the fruit of Shar.
They had drank of her milk,
They had birthed in her blood,
And they came by this to know their end.
Their cries rattled the stars and shook the land.
Above, below, and in-between,
all of creation trembled at the inevitable,
the death of Hope and Joy.
Aowh awoke from his slumber.
9
Aowh heard the wailing world
and learned that terror had gripped all things.
Aowh knew the cause.
Keshk and Shar had usurped the providence of creation,
and arrogated to themselves the granting of names.
Aowh saw the transformations were inauspicious.
Aowh destroyed the twins.
and dissolved Keshk and Shar.
But creation needs its beginnings and ends.
Thus Aowh took the figments of Keshk and Shar,
thirteen in all, keeping them separate,
Aowh breathed into them life and gave them new names.
{{They were
Helm, Tyr, and Torm,
Auril and Chauntea,
Lathander and Selune,
Mystra, Oghma, Gond,
Talos, Tempus, and Sune.}}
10
But Shar had seen the ends.
She had gathered the makers of relics
and gave to them a lock of her hair.
She told them,
Create a thing to bear my will
and stand for all time.
{{This was the Mirror of Loss.
In a later age, it was found by Selune,
and when she looked upon it, she was inhabited by the spirit of Shar.
Selune was flooded with grief at the death of Hope and Joy,
she took pity on Shar, and gave to Shar half of her own essence.
Thus was Shar reborn. And she was transformed.}}
Epilogue
Thus has been the revelation to [[illegible]], Lord Justiciar of Shar and her most loyal and faithful servant. All shall know her pain and carry out her will for Aowh’s destruction.