it is flat. And empty. There is nothing there but barren ground.”
And as it was then, as it will always be, the purpose of women to fill the world with life, she raised her hand through the mists and reached beyond to the stars, and gathering a handful of the stardust, she scattered it upon the ground; and where it touched, hills sprang forth to give the world breasts, with which to nourish the giant trees which broke through the soil in the great pangs of this second cycle of birth, and streams began to flow down from those breasts, as milk flows from the breast of a mother, and soon all the world was green.
“You call that a world?” asked Prias. Prias was a powerful god, the God of Darkness, who ruled the outer reaches of the mists and seldom troubled himself to visit with the other gods, which was fine with them, as his ugliness was in direct proportion to his power. A very ugly god was Prias, short and squat, flat-nosed, and big-mouthed, to catch the light, for as the god of darkness, light was his favorite food and he ate light whenever it penetrated into the mists. “It is still empty. It has no life.”
“No life?!” exclaimed Tarn, in exasperation. “No life? When I have created these tall trees that stretch their branches up to the sky and these flowing streams to feed them?”
“No life I said and no life I mean,” the dark god replied. “It must have creatures which stand and walk and breathe.”
“Never!” proclaimed Trusco. “For to create such creatures is to create only trouble, for as they grow they will be envious of our powers and seek to displace us as the rulers of creation. They will destroy this beauty which I have created and which Tarn has embellished and they will give us only grief.”
Prias said nothing and crept away from Trusco and Tarn, from Andovo, the God of Light whom he was secretly sworn to destroy with no thought that if he did, who would send forth the Light upon which he fed? From Andovo’s wife, Motravia, the Goddess of the Stars and from Fresco, their child, who played with the stars and sometimes bounced them back and forth across the heavens, creating great floods of shooting light in the sky. He left them there, exclaiming over their creation of the world, as they argued back and forth over things which should and should not be placed on the carpets of green that now blanketed the hills.
No one missed his absence, and the gods and goddesses continued in their play. Andovo placed great herds of faltons on the flatlands, which ran swiftly across the grass, and Motravia created gentle showers of rain to fall upon them and cool them in their play. Tarn sent forth streams of colored light to catch the glint of the raindrops, and great bridges of color swept across the sky, and the gods and goddesses were pleased.
Then Trusco roared in rage.
“What is this?” he shouted, his anger great to behold. “What are these miserable, misshapen creatures running across our new world? This is Prias’ doing, I know it! Find him and bring him here!”
The gods and goddesses scattered, and Trusco himself strolled across the heavens, searching for Prias, for Prias had done what he had been forbidden to do, and had sent forth on this new playground of the gods creatures who stood upright, who moved and walked and spoke, and these creatures were in his own ugly image.
Prias laughed at Trusco’s anger. “I do not heed your orders and I do as I please. You and the others created what you desired for this world. Why should not I?”
“Because you have created a creature who will destroy the others, eating the beauty of this world even as you eat the light which Andovo streams across the skies!”
Prias laughed and ducked behind the nearest cloud.
“And there is nothing that you can do to stop it!” he called out, as he disappeared into the outer reaches of the heavens. “Nothing!”
The gods gathered mournfully together, as the creatures of Prias’ creation spread out
And as it was then, as it will always be, the purpose of women to fill the world with life, she raised her hand through the mists and reached beyond to the stars, and gathering a handful of the stardust, she scattered it upon the ground; and where it touched, hills sprang forth to give the world breasts, with which to nourish the giant trees which broke through the soil in the great pangs of this second cycle of birth, and streams began to flow down from those breasts, as milk flows from the breast of a mother, and soon all the world was green.
“You call that a world?” asked Prias. Prias was a powerful god, the God of Darkness, who ruled the outer reaches of the mists and seldom troubled himself to visit with the other gods, which was fine with them, as his ugliness was in direct proportion to his power. A very ugly god was Prias, short and squat, flat-nosed, and big-mouthed, to catch the light, for as the god of darkness, light was his favorite food and he ate light whenever it penetrated into the mists. “It is still empty. It has no life.”
“No life?!” exclaimed Tarn, in exasperation. “No life? When I have created these tall trees that stretch their branches up to the sky and these flowing streams to feed them?”
“No life I said and no life I mean,” the dark god replied. “It must have creatures which stand and walk and breathe.”
“Never!” proclaimed Trusco. “For to create such creatures is to create only trouble, for as they grow they will be envious of our powers and seek to displace us as the rulers of creation. They will destroy this beauty which I have created and which Tarn has embellished and they will give us only grief.”
Prias said nothing and crept away from Trusco and Tarn, from Andovo, the God of Light whom he was secretly sworn to destroy with no thought that if he did, who would send forth the Light upon which he fed? From Andovo’s wife, Motravia, the Goddess of the Stars and from Fresco, their child, who played with the stars and sometimes bounced them back and forth across the heavens, creating great floods of shooting light in the sky. He left them there, exclaiming over their creation of the world, as they argued back and forth over things which should and should not be placed on the carpets of green that now blanketed the hills.
No one missed his absence, and the gods and goddesses continued in their play. Andovo placed great herds of faltons on the flatlands, which ran swiftly across the grass, and Motravia created gentle showers of rain to fall upon them and cool them in their play. Tarn sent forth streams of colored light to catch the glint of the raindrops, and great bridges of color swept across the sky, and the gods and goddesses were pleased.
Then Trusco roared in rage.
“What is this?” he shouted, his anger great to behold. “What are these miserable, misshapen creatures running across our new world? This is Prias’ doing, I know it! Find him and bring him here!”
The gods and goddesses scattered, and Trusco himself strolled across the heavens, searching for Prias, for Prias had done what he had been forbidden to do, and had sent forth on this new playground of the gods creatures who stood upright, who moved and walked and spoke, and these creatures were in his own ugly image.
Prias laughed at Trusco’s anger. “I do not heed your orders and I do as I please. You and the others created what you desired for this world. Why should not I?”
“Because you have created a creature who will destroy the others, eating the beauty of this world even as you eat the light which Andovo streams across the skies!”
Prias laughed and ducked behind the nearest cloud.
“And there is nothing that you can do to stop it!” he called out, as he disappeared into the outer reaches of the heavens. “Nothing!”
The gods gathered mournfully together, as the creatures of Prias’ creation spread out
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