The Creation Of All[]
Once, Pyrrhia was dark and barren, without a glimmer of ore, or a drop or rain, or even a plant struggling its way into the light. It was all rock and dirt, and the gods saw this, and vowed to fix it.
The seas came first. There were seas, but they were empty and cold. The Sea God saw the state of them and she began to cry, and her tears shone light into the depths of this ocean, and from it, animal and plant life sprung up. And in one certain spot, where more of the Sea God's tears gathered together, rose a creature made in her own image, a creature with scales as blue as the sea and eyes as green as algae. She called it "dragon" and "SeaWing" and it would come to populate the entire ocean one day.
Next came the great Ice Dragon, who sent a snowstorm. Wherever the snowflakes touched, snow and ice began to spread and a tundra was soon created at the head of the continent. As the snow built up, it created new dragons, with breath like the north wind and scales the color of freshfallen snow, they tended to the snow that fell on their land and made sure it did not grow too high.
The Sand Dragon wished to go next. She was an arrogant and proud god, and put too much power into her sandstorm, making the Sand Kingdom spread wide and far, but also scorching the ground so that it was difficult for life to thrive there. But some sturdy plants and animals managed to survive, and the dragons that lived there were sturdy as well, able to go for long periods of time without water so that they could traverse their new kingdom.
The Rain Dragon sent plants all across the continent, and although some flew, many were left where they had been dropped, and formed the rainforest, a sprawling canopy of life with small, lean dragons popping up in the spaces between the vines. Some of the plants soaked into their scales, giving them the ability to change the color of them at will. And as they searched for food, they ate deadly poison dart frogs, sending poison into their fangs.
The Dirt Dragon was quiet and kind. She sent dirt down to the ground, covering the hard rock so that dragons wouldn't scrape their feet and hurt themselves. The dirt made the dragons have strong powerful scales and large bodies and wings. But the Sea Dragon saw this, and became jealous of the power of the dragons who's scales fire could not harm. She sent water, turning the dirt into a thick mud. The mud coated the dragons and made their scales soft and weak, and the Dirt Dragon was now known as the Mud Dragon. A few of the dragons managed to escape the mud, and their scales remained strong, and ever after, they, and their descendants were immune to fire.
The Sky Dragon wanted her dragons to be able to traverse her terrain, so she made great mountains that rose high into the sky, and she gave her dragons huge wings and the ability to fly far without tiring. They were strong, fierce dragons, and excellent fighters.
And finally came the Night Dragon. She looked around at all the wonderful things that the other dragons had created, and she, quietly, and without fuss, made shadows that fell behind people and objects, darkness to fill in empty spaces, and the moon to light the way during nightime. She said to the other gods, "Look, and see, all the things I have created. A sun to light the day and a moon to light the night. Because of this, I will give my dragons the power to read minds and see the future, to make them stronger then any other dragon in Pyrrhia."
The other gods heard this, and envy and fury filled their hearts. They could not allow this upstart goddess to make her dragons so much more powerful then the rest. They made a proclamation, all together. Although they could not overrule her magic, they could change it, and so they told her, "Very well. You are so proud of the nighttime that you have created, of the sun and moon that you have made to work in harmony. Your dragons shall never see your sun. They shall live in darkness and nighttime, away from the rest. And only those that are born under one or two full moons shall have the powers you describe. The rest shall bear silver scales upon their wings, a reminder of the powers they have lost."
The Night Dragon raved and ranted, but there was nothing she could do. And so her dragons walked only in moonlight and darkness spread into their scales and turned them a jet black. The only part that survived was the silver scales that the other gods had given them, a constant reminder, for the Night Dragon, of the power that she had almost wielded.
How Pantala Came To Be[]
Although the gods were all related, there were two that were closer then the rest, the twins, the Leaf Dragon and the Beetle Dragon.
Beetle had something important to attend to the night that creation happened, and wherever Beetle went, Leaf went as well. So the two gods left together, and when they returned, they were outraged to find what the other gods had done without them.
The other gods were fearful, for though they could certaintly talk down either one of them on their own, when they were together they were determined and fearless. So they told Beetle and Leaf, "Please forgive us. You may make your own tribes, and take part of any of the territories for them to live.
The Leaf Dragon and The Beetle Dragon were pleased with this arrangement, and began to shape their own dragons.
The Leaf Dragon was impatient, and did not wish to wait long for the dragons to be ready, so she took inspiration from leaves, giving them green scales and wide swooping wings. They were formed entirely of leaves and grass and moss, and as such, a few of them had the unique ability to talk to plants, called "leafspeak."
The Beetle Dragon, on the other claw, was patient. She dug up clay from the ground, and formed it into hundreds of small dragons. She dyed them with brightly colored berries and watched as the sun brought her multicolored creations to live.
But she realized, as her dragons opened their eyes and stretched for the first time, that she had made a terrible mistake. She had forgotten to give her dragons wings! Frantic, she spun wings out of silk and glued them upon her dragons. As more dragons came, the first ones developed the ability to spin their own silk, and made their own wings, and in time, all SilkWings could spin wings for themselves.
The newely made SilkWings took part of the Sand Kingdom to live in, and the LeafWings took part of the rainforest.
But although the other gods were happy with this arrangement, the dragons who already lived there were not. They looked at the strange newcomers, who had different shaped wings and took their food and did things in different ways, and they said, "Why should you be here? Our gods told us we could live here! There is no room for you. Get out, or we'll make you."
The other gods did nothing, for honestly they did not like the intrusion of the new tribes, and were beginning to wish the Beetle and Leaf Dragons had never created them.
The Leaf Dragon asked, 'Where should be go? What will we do?"
And the other gods shrugged, and pointed off toward the ocean. The gods knew there was another continent over there, but it was ruled by a dangerous plant who even the gods feared. Beetle and Leaf knew it too, and they were angered.
Before they turned to leave, Leaf said, "Look upon us, and see what you have done. You shall never see us again. We shall follow our dragons to this faraway place, and you shall be forever only 7, when you should be 9."
And so the twin gods, the Leaf Dragon and the Beetle Dragon, flew to another continent far, far away, and they were slowly forgotten about, even by their fellow gods. But Leaf never forgotten how she had been cast aside, and she waited for a chance to one day get her revenge.
How Animus Magic Was Formed[]
In the early days, IceWings had no immunity to cold. They shivered and froze, and struggled desperately to survive in the icy wasteland that they had been created for. Many were resigned to their fate, to the endless struggle for daily life, as they did not know anything different. And some left the tundra, in search of a better life someplace else.
But there was one dragon, with the name of Aurora, who had been told the stories that even now, were old, of the creation of the world. Of the gods who had formed the seven tribes, and placed them here. She loved the tundra, loved the sparkling snow, the glowing northern lights, the polar bear cubs that tumbled their way across the ice. She didn't want to leave, but she hated watching her friends die. And so, she appealed to the Great Ice Dragon.
"Oh Great Ice Dragon," she said, "I wish for you to give me some of your creative power, so that I may better the lives of my people."
The Ice Dragon looked on her with sympathy, but she couldn't grant her request. "The other gods would never forgive me," she said.
"Please!" she begged. "Your dragons are dying! I'll do anything, just let me save them!"
The Great Ice Dragon's heart was moved, and, though she knew there would be repercussions from the other gods, she decided to help the dragon. She touched her with one claw, and let a small portion of her power flow into her.
"Be warned," she said. "The power of the gods was not meant for mortals to wield. Every time you use it, you shall lose a little bit of yourself."
The dragon nodded eagerly, but she wasn't really listening. She was only thinking about all the good she could do, and how incredible it would be to wield so much power. She didn't listen to the Great Ice Dragon's warnings.
She cast her first spell, making it so that all the IceWings would be immune to cold. But as she did it, she could feel a part of her soul slipping away. It was terrifying, and she swore of her magic forever.
The other gods were angry when they heard what the Great Ice Dragon had done, but she pleaded for mercy. She asked them not to hurt her dragons for her foolish actions. They were moved, and instead of punishing her, they each gave two dragons from their tribe the magic as well. The magic spread throughout all the tribes of Pyrrhia.
Most dragons were able to only cast a few spells, and thus keep their souls, but some were reckless, and went crazy. But the IceWings followed the example of Aurora, the first ever animus, and only cast one spell in their lifetime, to help the whole tribe. And the IceWings always worshipped their god more then the other tribes, because she had given them magic, and risked the wrath of the other gods to do so.
How Scavengers Came To Rule[]
In Pantala, it was very difficult for the dragons to survive, and the Beetle and Leaf Dragon were not able to help them. All Leaf could do was form a barrier around the Poison Jungle, but she did not feel like it was enough. Even as her dragons built a society, she seethed with rage. She wanted some way to get her revenge against the other gods.
She went to Beetle, who was a crafter, and asked her to make some creatures for her, that she could use against the other gods. Small creatures, that walked on two legs, with fluff on the top of their heads and no scales or claws.
Beetle made them for her, but asked, curious, why she would want such creatures. Why not make something more powerful, something that could truly carry out her fury, rather then these weak creations that a dragon could kill easily?
And Leaf laughed, and said, "I wish to humiliate the other gods. If I make something powerful, they can console themselves by saying that I cheated, that there's no way that their creations could have defeated such powerful beings. But if they are defeated by these, the failure will be one the other gods cannot talk or cheat their way out of."
"You are wise, twin of mine," Beetle said. "I shall make your creatures at once."
It took a time, for scavengers were different from other creatures that had existed before, and there was not much of a mold to base them off. They could not be too big, because they had to look unthreatening, but they had to be smart enough and dexterous enough to defeat the dragons. It was fiddly work and more than once Beetle was tempted to give up.
But she did not, and eventually, the creatures were completed.
Beetle watched the little creatures groan and pick themselves up, and she felt a bit sorry for them. She was a kindhearted god, and she knew that the life of a scavenger would be a difficult one. But she had promised her twin the creatures, and she would not betray Leaf. So she picked up a few of the creatures, and hid them in a hole deep in the ground, where they would not be found by dragon or beast. The rest of the creatures she brought to Leaf, to be readied for battle.
Leaf took the creatures into her claws, and she gave them rocks and sharpened sticks and poisonous leaves and fire. They looked up at her, ready to do her bidding.
She flapped her wings, and a great gust of wind flew across the ocean. She threw the scavengers into it, and in this way they came to Pyrrhia.
The scavengers were small, but they were many, and they were ruthless. Quickly they began to spread across the continent, killing dragons and taking territory for their own. The dragon tried to fight back, but became overwhelmed, and were unable to defeat the creatures.
The gods did not know what to do, for although they had made their dragons powerful, none of their abilities seemed able to conquer the sheer numbers of the scavengers. And so, they turned to the cleverest of all the gods, the Great Night Dragon.
The Test Of Night[]
The gods asked Night for her help, but all she did was laugh at them. "Why should I help you?" she said. "You who ripped power from my claws and from my dragons, who forced them to walk alone in darkness and shy away from light? You tore everything from me, and now you ask for my help? No. This is one problem you will have to solve on your own."
The other gods tried, blessing their dragons with stronger fire and sharper claws and fierce tactical abilities, but each time they seemed to be winning more and more scavengers would simply appear, with catapults and bows and swords and all sorts of things, the likes of which the gods had never seen.
Tired, frustrated, and utterly humiliated, the gods returned to the Palace of Night once more to beg for help.
"Please," the Great Rain Dragon said. Her dragons had survived by hiding in the rainforest so far, but the humans were beginning to come with axes, and she feared for them. "We will do anything. Just help us."
Night thought about it, and then she made a decree. She said that each god must bring her something, something to help make her tribe more powerful. If they could find her a satisfactory gift, she would help save them from the scavengers.
The gods were beginning to get desperate at this point, so they all returned to their palaces to try and find something that the Great Night Dragon might deem worthy.
The Sea Dragon went first. She had brought a conch shell, and explained to Night that she had made it able to bring the sounds of the sea with it, anywhere you went. But the Night Dragon only tossed it aside. "What good is the sea to me?" she said. "I want something for my tribe, not yours."
Next was the Sand Dragon. She, as we know, was an arrogant god, and knew that this would be one of her only chances to make something new for her tribe. So instead of even trying to make something the Night Dragon might like, she decided to make something for her own tribe.
Her dragons had tails of poison, which she had given them so that they could hunt and fight better. But tails, for dragons, were a crucial part of body language, and many a SandWing had died from a preventable accident.