nicholas Kelsall (order #7255828)
In the beginning
Page 15
In the beginning Lexicon Earth Mother An-ki Kerun The Otherlands The Veil The Stone Gods
The Iron Gods
The People of Bronze
The Creator Paradise, the irst world, “Heaven-Earth” The Mortal world The Spirit world The barrier between Kerun and the Otherlands Earth Mother gave birth to these strange beings. She couldn’t understand their nature, so she left them to fend for themselves Earth Mother gave birth to these beings, who were made in her own image. She considered them her irst true children The lesser peoples. Some were created by the Iron Gods; Humans, Formorians and the Cyclops. The Lupus were created by Earth Mother, the Arcadians from the death of the World Tree, and the Naderites much more recently by an empire of evil Human sorcerers
The Great Devourer
Earth Mother was lonely, so she made a husband. He was attentive but frightfully dull. They mated and Earth Mother gave birth to An-ki—a world of powerful magic and primaeval beauty, where anything could be changed by the power of thought alone. Having served his purpose, Earth Mother ate her husband. nicholas Kelsall (order #7255828)
Page 16 An-ki
Crestfallen
An-ki pulsed with energy and life, everything had a spirit with it’s own thoughts and agenda. From the largest mountain to the tiniest blade of grass. Many secrets could be discovered by conversing with these primaeval spirits. Animals were as wise as gods, noble and powerful. They travelled An-ki in harmony with each other. All of these beings obeyed the rules of nature—that they might feed on another’s spirit and gain it’s nourishment and knowledge in the process, and that they in turn might be eaten and so pass on their knowledge and powers. An-ki was a dazzling place that overwhelmed the senses and the heart. Earth Mother wept with happiness.
The Stone Gods
Earth Mother mated for a second time, this time with An-ki. She gave birth to dozens of powerful beings that spilled out into An-ki; Sky Father, the World Tree, Utu—the blazing disc, Trickster, the Outer Darkness, the Inner Light and many others. The Stone Gods were not like Earth Mother, they were caring and selless. They loved An-ki most of all, and became it’s protectors. Earth Mother was suspicious of their intensions, she could not understand why anyone would put others above themselves—something she would never dream of! She grew distant from the Stone Gods and began dreaming of more worthy children.
The Iron Gods
Earth Mother mated with An-ki again, she birthed dozens more powerful beings. They were created in her own image, and she carefully nurtured them and lavished them with attention. They were much like her, having the same ickle nature and short attention span, and they were just as selish. She called them the Iron Gods, because their blood and bones contained the rarest of all materials in the universe—iron. Earth Mother was immensely proud of the Iron Gods, she spoilt them with knowledge and gifts. They did not reciprocate her love, instead treating her with disdain. Earth Mother became bitter and angry. The Iron Gods were jealous of their mother, they wanted to give birth to new things just like she had, but they were barren by design. They pleaded and whimpered at her until she was roused to anger. They raged against her, and she raged back.
The destruction of An-ki
Earth Mother ripped An-ki into two pieces in disgust. One half had time, permanence and physicality, it became known as Kerun—the mortal world. The other half had immortality, malleability and insubstantiality, which was named the Otherlands—the spirit world. She angrily shoved the Iron Gods into Kerun, and they became mortal (with a life span measured in millennia). They also gained fertility during this process. The Stone Gods hid in the other half, the Otherlands. They were frightened of Earth Mother’s wrath and avoided her gaze. Secretly they were furious at Earth Mother for destroying An-ki, and vowed one day to rebuild it. nicholas Kelsall (order #7255828)
In the beginning Travel between the two halves of the universe was (and still is) blocked by a mysterious barrier called the Veil. The Veil became much thicker when an Iron God was near, it reacted to the iron in their blood and bones.
Lupus
Page 17 The uncaring goddess Earth Mother exists to serve herself, she has no one else to answer to. She is selish, uncaring, ickle, has a leeting attention span and packs a mean temper. Everyone is afraid of her, and rightly so. It is obvious that your fate is out of your hands— she is beyond any mortal inluence. For this reason, most People of Bronze have a sense of wyrd, that their destiny is already preordained. Sure, many visit oracles to be told their future, but they know in their hearts that nothing they can do will change this outcome.
Earth Mother had no interest in the housekeeping of An-ki, keeping it in order and under control. To some extent the Stone Gods did this for her, but she did not trust them and wanted her own agents whom she could rely on. She regarded this role as far too dull for either her or the Iron Gods, so she made a race of servants. Lupus are wild and primitive, with a strong emotional bond to An-ki and it’s wellbeing. When Earth Mother ripped up An-ki she made sure the Lupus could continue their role as the universes spiritual policemen. She gave them the power to freely travel between the two halves through the mysterious barrier known as the Veil. The Lupus are the most spiritual of all the People of Bronze, and the most magically adept.
The Mortal world - Kerun
When An-ki was ripped up, one half became Kerun, a place of permanence where time exists, where things die of old age or disease or violence or sadness. It became the Mortal world. She did this to teach the Iron Gods a lesson, that they were not the same as her, and neither were their potential children. They were less than her and would be eternally reminded of this fact. She forbade the Iron Gods to live anywhere else except the Mortal world. They named this place Kerun—“Crestfallen” in their language, for they were saddened by the treatment they received from their parent.
The Otherlands
The spirit world is a place of mists and insubstantial shapes, a dream world where ripples of thought can change everything in their path. To you or I, the Otherlands resemble a caricature of our own physical world. A washed out landscape of meadows, plains, forests and fog. Everything is larger and more impressive, mountains are taller, rivers wider, deeper and faster. It is impossible to focus on a particular feature, individual trees swim out of vision to be replaced by the entire forest. Every feature has life and consciousness, and all are shape-changers. A forest may erupt into the sky as a lock of birds, a mountain may move position when your back is turned. Great ripples of change slowly drift though the Otherlands mutating everything in their path, seas become land, land becomes sky.
Crestfallen is © Dan Hiscutt 2015, all rights reserved nicholas Kelsall (order #7255828)
Page 18 The Veil
Crestfallen
There is an invisible mystical barrier between the Otherlands and Kerun, preventing passage without the correct knowledge. It transpires that civilisation, logical thought and exposure to Iron (from the bodies of the Iron Gods) make this barrier thicker, and even harder to cross. It is difficult to imagine for us, but despite being separate, the Otherlands low through Kerun, and Kerun through the Otherlands. Think of them as two differently coloured threads in a tapestry, interwoven in a complex pattern and very close together, but still separate and distinct from one another. The Veil is the empty space between the threads.
The People of Bronze
The Iron Gods explored Kerun, drinking in it’s wonders. They learnt to raise mountains, rend the earth, ill lakes, alter the plants and animals (and make their own). In time they created Humans, a race of tool users that were prone to violence More on the Veil and greed, but also acts great of kindness. Another way to look at the universe is like a river. Imagine two regions, separated by a lowing river. The river is the Veil, the regions are Kerun and the Otherlands. In some places the Veil is like a tiny stream, trivial to cross by anyone from either direction. In other areas it is a mighty torrent—only those able to swim can cross it. In still other areas, it is an ocean, impossible to cross except by those brave few who can build ships and know how to navigate and sail. Ritualists—Shaman, Priests, Druids and Sorcerers are the shipbuilders. The passage of time When they came into being, Kerun and the Otherlands were mirror images of each other. They shared identical terrain and landmarks, their inhabitants and even the weather were the same. Now Kerun has aged, it’s mountains and coasts have eroded, sea levels lowered (due to the massive glacier called The Ice) and inhabitants evolved. The Otherlands are ageless, but they have become WILD. Plants and beasts have mutated and grown larger, and more violent. The weather itself is a horde of angry spirits causing chaos and misery—breaking through into Kerun whenever and wherever they can to cause even more chaos. nicholas Kelsall (order #7255828)
Humanity The Humans learnt quickly from their makers; the secrets of ire, language, and using tools. Humans were as selish and prideful as the Iron Gods. In time they became more and more demanding, shouting for fabulous cities to be built, treasure to be heaped upon them and the secrets of the universe to be unveiled. The Iron Gods grew weary of Humans, and left them to their own devices. They travelled through the Veil from Kerun to the Otherlands, breaking the rules that Earth Mother had set down. Here they created the Formorians, ive races of spirit people.
Formorians The Iron Gods created the Walrus people, the Wooden Bird people, the Goat people, the Jackal people and the Sirens. The Walrus people are sailors, ishermen and smugglers. The Wooden Bird People are a hive mind that speak in riddles and pure maths. The Goat people are herders and tinkers that travel the Otherlands in great merchant caravans for their entire lives. The Jackal people are violent scavengers and opportunists. The Sirens are politicians and social manipulators, ensnaring
