The Origin of the World

No one knows what really happened, for no one was there. But the earliest legends all speak of something known only as Destruction. And when Destruction had destroyed everything else, it destroyed itself, leaving Creation in its wake. Thus ended the First Age: The Age of Decline.

Creation began to create in this new world. And when it had created everything else, Creation created Destruction anew. Thus both were in the world. And thus ended the Second Age: The Age of Ascension.

If Destruction were left to itself, Creation reasoned, it would destroy everything, including Creation. Then the actions of the past would repeat themselves, creating an Endless Cycle.

Creation began to oppose Destruction, but they were evenly matched. Therefore, something had to be done. Thus Creation merged part of its essence with that of Destruction, creating 99 mixed beings. These became known as the Greyscale.

Those beings of the Greyscale that were composed mostly of Creation's essence joined Creation, and those composed mostly of Destruction's essence joined Destruction. Only one being remained neutral, as it was composed of equal parts of both essences. Again, the two sides were evenly matched. To break the stalemate, both Creation and Destruction offered their power to the neutral being if it would join them.

The neutral being accepted both offers and began to call itself Arbiter. Arbiter created two worlds, one for each of the two Prime Beings. The first one would never be empty; if ever there were only one thing left in it, another would be created at random. The second would never be full; if only one thing were left uncreated, something in that world would be destroyed at random. The two Prime Beings were sent into their worlds, and the connections between those worlds and this one were destroyed. Then the Greyscale began to make the world anew, and Arbiter judged the results, destroying those things that were not worthy. Thus ended the Third Age: The Age of Creation and Destruction.

This went on for years. However, stagnation developed. For the day came when all objects were created and either accepted or rejected. Thus nothing new ever happened. Arbiter saw no problem with this, as this was the ultimate solution to the Endless Cycle, but the other Greys grew bored. So they asked Arbiter to go back to their former masters and petition them for a gift that would end the Stagnation. Arbiter agreed and arranged for temporary transport. Once they received their gifts, the Greys were transported to a distant island where the gifts were to be opened.

Arbiter ordered that Destruction's gift be opened first, fearing a trap. Inside was a card that read, "2 + 2 = 5".

"This is an Error," Arbiter intoned, "but Destruction has given us what we asked for. Until now, we have been judging things on a standard of perfection, leaving only certain designs as viable. By allowing imperfection, the Stagnation will end, as there will be things to destroy. Therefore, let this Error remain as an example to us all."

Creation's gift was then opened. It was a prism made of crystal, and the Greys set it up so that light passed through it. Seven beings emerged, each resplendent in color:

Reya, queen of Earth
Orana, mistress of Light
Yallo, king of Fire
Garin, lord of Permanence
Ballu, prince of Water
Indagu, master of Darkness
Valeta, princess of Air

Arbiter considered the revelation. "This, too, is useful," he concluded. "Creation has shown that items which appeared to be useless by themselves may have value when combined. Creation's wishes will be upheld. Go forth, beings, and fulfill your purpose." The Seven went forth and created many things: men, dwarves, platypuses, lambtrees, and centaurs. Thus ended the Fourth Age: The Age of Mixture.

After they did so, they came back to the island where they were first released and found Destruction's card. A fierce debate erupted among the Seven as to what to do with it. In the end, it was decided that since Arbiter allowed it to remain, they were free to use it. In the end, they gave it the name Erora, lady of Change, a body like their own, a brown robe, and let it combine itself into everything, including themselves. Thus things like disease, decay, mistakes, luck, and uncertainty were put into objects. Thus begins the Fifth and Current Age: The Age of the Eight Gifts.