Chapter 28: Once Upon a Time

I am Creation, I am the beginning. I made the sun and the moon, Calmyra, the Underworld and Atyseos. I made every mountain and every grain of sand, all the animals and mankind. When all was done, I made myself, Ghania, and then I watched what I had made. I watched it grow and rise, and saw mankind make its own creations. A language, science, arts, and then they looked at the heaven and created the gods. The first man hunting down a deer thanked Nyome. The first two people falling in love praised Ipochone. The first tribes fighting each other prayed to Khor for their victory.

The gods took Atyseos as their home and so they became my neighbors, but they said they are my family. Whenever one of them came to me there was something they wanted; a new race, already born as faithful believers; magic abilities, a longer life, or simply more power for their followers. Sometimes I gave them what they wanted, and sometimes I didn’t.

One night Feya came to me and asked, “What do you want?”

I was surprised because no one had ever asked me, but I knew what I wanted.

“I’m done here, and I want to go home,” I said, and pointed at the sky, where the stars shone in the night.

“The stars are light, but light can only shine in the darkness. You are the beginning, and you can’t go back. You have to go forward till the end, and the end will be a new beginning,” she answered.

Feya is wise. She taught me everything about darkness and light, and she taught me about balance. The others kept urging me to give them what they wanted, but I told them what I had learned.

“I can’t give you anymore, because for everything you want to come alive, something else has to die, and I am only Creation.”

They stopped bothering me. I thought that maybe they understood, and maybe they did.

I was sitting on a flat stone near a waterfall and watched the sunrise in the east, as a shadow fell upon me from the west. That made no sense. It was the shadow of a giant dog. That made no sense either, because as I turned to look, I saw a man standing behind me. He was tall and he was dark. I had to squint my eyes looking at him, the darkness was blinding me. It made no sense. Scraggy black hair, black eyes, he wore a black armor and a huge war-hammer was strapped to his back. Only his skin was pale, as pale as if it had never seen the light of the sun. Still, his face reminded me of a dog, fangs and all.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“How do I look like?” He asked in return.

“Dark, gruff and mean,” I answered.

“That’s me, dark, gruff and mean,” he said grinning at me baring his fangs.

“I’ve never seen you before.”

“I was born just a few days ago. I’m a child, much younger than you, but bigger.”

“And what do you want from me?” I asked frowning. The things he told me also didn’t make much sense.

“They made a list and sent me to hand it to you,” he said, and gave me a rolled up parchment.

I read the names of the gods, and to every name there was a list of the things they wanted.

“I know what they want, but I won’t give it to them, and I told them why,” I said and tried to make my face look as gruff and mean as his. I think I failed, his grin grew wider.

“Yes, they heard what you said. You worry the world might become crowded. That’s why they sent me,” he replied.

“Eh? That makes no sense!” I blurted out what I’d thought all along.

“My name is Destruction.”

“That’s not a name,” I gainsaid angrily.

He shrugged. “It’s who I am.”

“Show me,” I said, not believing.

Tilting his head to the side he looked at me. “Are you sure?”

The sound of his voice was gentle, and as I watched him, he didn’t look gruff and mean anymore, not to me. I couldn’t speak, my tummy was tingling so badly, but I nodded my answer. He looked around, seemingly searching for something. I followed his gaze. Cloves, Peppercress, Bellflowers and Buttercups, a field of flowers covered the hillside up to the waterfall. Bees and butterflies fluttered all over the place. The waterfall cascaded into a small lake at the foot of the hill, and Willow Trees seamed its shore. Water Lilies drifted on the small lake’s surface, and Goldfish swam below. The morning sun had called forth a rainbow in the spray of the waterfall, and a big shiny Trout jumped out the water greeting the sun.

I felt the blood rushing into my cheeks as we both observed the scenery.

“I’m a girl,” I mumbled.

His eyes returned to me.

“No doubt about it,” he replied as a smile flicked upon his face.

He grabbed me by the shoulders and lifted me off the flat stone I was sitting on. I watched as he took the huge hammer off his back and held it high above his head. He smashed it on the stone. Dark sparks burst off the impact as the stone broke asunder. The hammer flew again and the dark sparks ignited an even darker fire. The stone was aflame but the hammer kept falling, fanning the fire, and it spread. I watched dark flames dancing amongst the flowers, between the bees and butterflies. I saw the flames cascading down the waterfall, setting the lake and shore ablaze. I watched as the black flames devoured my creations and its dark smoke concealed the sun I made.

When the hammer stopped falling and the fire slowly expired, the waterfall, the hillside, the lake and its shore, everything was gone, truly gone. No charred remains of trees, nor did the burned lake leave a dried out sink in the ground. Now the river ended cascading into nothing, really nothing. Nothingness to everyone but me. I saw a bald speck of canvas in a finished painting. I sat down and cried.

“I’m sorry, but it’s who I am.”

I heard his words and answered smiling through my tears, “I’m not crying because I’m sad. I’m crying happy tears.”

“That makes no sense,” he said.

I laughed, and my laughter dried my tears.

“You’re supposed to be scared.”

“Scared of the darkness?” I asked “I am the first star, but I was born out of darkness. It’s my home. Feya was right, she is wise. I can’t go back. I’ve to go forward to find my way home, and I found you. I am Ghania, the beginning, and you’re Zeroth, the end, Atady, my home.”

“They won’t be as happy as you, I was sent to scare you. I’ve to go back telling them I failed, and I won’t get my reward,” he grumbled.

“What did they promise to you?” I asked.

“A mate, someone who won’t be scared of me,” he answered and barked, but I think he was laughing.

“You don’t have to go back. Stay with me, we don’t need them,” I said as he turned to leave.

He looked over his shoulder. “You’re a little girl, will you grow up and become my mate?”

“I don’t know how,” I answered, afraid he would leave me. “But maybe I can learn how to grow up.”

“Then I’ll stay with you, I want to learn too. Maybe I can learn how to scare you,” he said and showed me his toothy grin.

Atady stayed, and we traveled the lands of Atyseos, together. The moon broke asunder, and two new moons wandered across the sky. Mountains fell into an abyss of nothingness, and rose again, higher. Plains and deserts, forests and swamps, I saw them vanish, and he watched them grow again. Birth and death, hand in hand, no one led, no one followed.

“Are you happy now?” I heard her voice, but didn’t answer. “Your family isn’t happy. They see all your power, and they are jealous and scared. There was nothing they could have done to you, but now there is. They sent you a son, and they will send their children to take him away from you.”

“Atady will never leave me,” I said, and I tried, but couldn’t stop the tears.

“Don’t cry, they are my family, but you are too. Remember what I taught you about balance. The children will come, and one of them will be my daughter. She won’t take him away from you, but join you. You will be three, a child, a father and a mother. She will guide and protect you, and end the fight within our family.”

“Feya, your name was on the list. You want the Atyseos Shard, why?” I asked.

“Give it to my daughter and she’ll know that you trust her.”

Feya is wise. Everything happened as she said it would. The children came, and they tried to break us apart. They offered everything, seduction, temptation, even love, but that’s another story.

Atady and I, we never stopped wandering, but always came back to the place where we first met, and that’s where we found her. She stood at the edge of nothingness and wore a white dress, like a bride. She was beautiful.

“Who are you?” I asked, but I already knew the answer.

“I am Harmony, Feya’s daughter,” she said.

Her voice was gentle and her smile was warm. I ran away and hid for hours. I couldn’t stop crying. Feya is wise, but she doesn’t know little girls. They were gone when I came back. Now I stood at the edge of nothingness and stared into the darkness. I thought I was alone, but I was not.

“Are you hiding too? It’s a great place to hide, I often come here.”

Startled I spun around and then I saw her. She was tall and clad in too tight black leather. Her hair was black too, but she also had tresses of flaming red hair. She came closer and when she moved it looked like her hair stood on fire.

“Who are you?” I asked, and this time I didn’t know the answer.

“Can’t you tell just by looking at me?” She cocked her hip and stuck out her bust. “I am Allure, the Goddess of Beauty.”

I watched her blue eyes and their color changed to green.

“I never heard of you,” I said, and watched the color of her eyes change again – purple.

“Liar, I just told you about me,” she said and smiled. Her smile wasn’t warm, it looked somehow scary.

“What are you doing here?”

“I already told you, I’m hiding. I thought you are too.”

“Hiding from whom?”

“You or I?”

“You.”

“I told Injontas about Ipochone’s affair with Maldurin. Now they are angry and searching for me, all of them.”

“Ipochone and Maldurin have an affair?”

“I don’t know, but they should’ve. Injontas, Ipochone’s mate, is boring.”

“You are crazy!”

“Didn’t I tell you? I am Mania, the Goddess of Madness,” she said rolling her eyes and they shone in every color of the rainbow.

I tried but I lost, I couldn’t hide my smile.

“No, tell me the truth,” I asked.

“The truth, yours or mine?”

“Yours,” I answered and didn’t try to hide my smile anymore.

“Feya wanted her daughter to be the last child. She mated with Cointas, the God of Trade and Treasures. Can you believe that! There was a big celebration when she was pregnant. Khor and Nyome drank too much. I am an accident who was always meant to be. I am the last child, and you will give me my name.”

“You’re Allure and Mania, how many names do you want?”

“One for every color of the rainbow,” she said and her eyes turned black. “But you will give me the name that only you know. You will give it to me because you will never give it to Harmony.”

I looked into the darkness avoiding her eyes. “How do you know?”

“I saw and I heard them. Alright, I spied - shame on me. Harmony talked and puppy listened, as Feya’s wisdom was coming out of her mouth. Now I see you. That’s why I know. You are Ghania, Creation, and creation doesn’t need a mother.”

“Am I evil?”

“Evil is a choice and you don’t have a choice. I’ll take it away from you,” she said and when I looked at her, I saw her eyes were blue again.

“Why do you want to help me?” I asked.

“I thought that’s obvious,” she answered. “Harmony is gray, but I want colors.”

“Feya will be furious. I am scared of her,” I whispered.

“Believe me, there a scarier things than Feya,” she answered, and she laughed, loud!

“No one is scarier than Feya,” I hissed, but quietly.

“I am scarier.” She spread her arms and reached for the sky. “I’m Anxiety, the Goddess of Terror,” she said and her booming voice echoed like thunder.

I stared at her, saw her glowing red eyes and a shiver ran down my back. Then I heard it, a soft giggling.

“That’s not funny!” I complained.

“Of course it is. You should have seen your face.” She burst out laughing.

“I’m really scared of Feya,” I said, and didn’t like the sound of my voice. It sounded like a whining little girl.

“I’ll make Harmony go away, and I’ll protect you from her scary mother,” she said and smiled at me.

“You will?”

“Of course I will. You are my sister and I will help you.”

“We are sisters?” I asked.

“Puppy, my brother, he is darkness. You’re light and I am colors. We are sisters,” she said and danced around the edge of nothingness.

“Sisters,” I tried the word.

I watched her dancing and heard her screaming as she pointed at the sky.

“I want a moon too!”

I laughed and I remembered her name.

Atady, Harmony, Chaos and I, we spent much time together. Harmony was soft spoken and gentle, Chaos loud and crass. They became best friends. One day I walked alone along the shore of a lake. Chaos had told us to meet there, and I heard voices coming from behind a rock. They hadn’t noticed me, and I wanted to greet them, but they were naked and embracing each other like lovers. I hid and listened.

“ ... but I don’t love him. He is cold and dark.”

“That’s my brother whom you’re talking about. I think he is cute. I call him puppy.”

“But you don’t have to become his mate.”

“You also don’t have to.”

“Tell that to my mother. She’ll tear me apart if I cross her plans.”

“And I thought you might be afraid to break my brother’s heart.”

“Don’t worry about your brother’s heart. I’ll become his mate, and a mother for the little brat. I don’t have a choice.”

“Of course you have, but you want the power. All that power held in the hands of two ingenuous simple minds. You want it as much as your mother.”

“If I don’t mate him, someone else will. I know Messaya, the dark one of the twins, she has a fancy for your brother. Ipochone and Injontas have thrown their daughters at him. Or maybe he’ll mate Maldurin’s daughter. They named her Epiphany, but her true self is depravity.”

“And your name is Harmony, but you are Deception.”

“I wasn’t before I met you. I fell in love, and that’s what you made of me.”

“Thank you. I call forth the best in everyone, it’s a gift.”

“Shut up and kiss me.”

I ran away. I ran to the only place I felt at home. I sat down, let my feet dangle into nothingness and stared into the darkness. Hours later I heard her coming and she sat down beside me.

“I thought I’d find you singing and dancing, but you don’t look happy at all,” she said.

“I was scared I would lose him, and held his hand whenever we were together. I saw him smiling at her - Harmony, his promised mate, gentle, beautiful and loving - and I held his hand even tighter.”