Of Wind and Jade

Chapter Three

Flames roared in a pit before the stage, whistles screamed into the night, drums boomed fast to keep up with the beat of the dancers, and Aiday was in the middle of it all. She quickly snuck off the stage after her number, taking a breather and a drink of water.

"Aiday!"

Aiday turned her head towards the little boy calling her name. He scampered up to her, buzzing with excitement.

"Are you gonna do the story one next?" He asked. Aiday smiled, ruffling his hair.

"They're all stories, Tanji. You need to be more specific," She said.

"The one about Ryu'ma! The creation!"

"Well, that one's about all of them..."

"I don't care! I want to see that one next! I want to see you be Ryu'aod!"

Aiday sighed as her brother reminded her of his request every time he spoke. She lifted him onto her lap, holding him close. Tanji stopped jabbering—he held his breath as Aiday leaned in close to his ear and whispered to him.

"Tanji, don't you know that Ryu'aod doesn't like it when you talk about him like that." She said ominously, making him shiver. "He'll come eat you in the night if you keep talking,"

Tanji gulped. "Okay,"

Aiday giggled, pulling him in and tickling him. "Hey, you know that Ryu'aod just wants to see you have fun today! We're celebrating him! I'm just trying to scare you. Now go find Mom so I can get ready, okay?"

Tanji laughed along with her and agreed. He hopped off of Aiday's lap and ran out of the backstage area and back into the crowd, disappearing between bodies like a deer leaping back into the forest. Aiday sighed, and pushed herself up to go back to work, where she would paint her face, get into costume, and dance until the festival ended. As long as she danced, the moon would shine brightly over the festival, illuminating the stories they told of the creation of the world.

...

In the beginning, there was an egg. For a thousand years it incubated in the cosmos, waiting for its time to hatch.

Soon, inside the egg, the being began to stir. From the egg burst forth Ryu'ma, the Creator, fully matured, in all his glory. He was free to float among the stars.

However, after he hatched, Ryu'ma began to feel lonely. Out in the universe, there was nothing but him occupying the space. So, Ryu'ma created the world.

He began by finding a star. Ryu'ma decided that he wanted to name the star that he found. So, Ryu'ma created the Sun.

He commanded Sun, "Give us light." And so it did. Ryu'ma was pleased with this, but soon realized that Sun must be lonely. He thought that while Sun provided energy, it would need a source of comfort as well. He took a chunk of rock, and wanted to name it as well. So, Ryu'ma created the Moon.

Quickly Ryu'ma realized that Sun and Moon needed more than just each other. Moon was much too small to be a proper companion for Sun; the two needed a third. He took another chunk of rock, and used his power to cover it with water and mountains. So, Ryu'ma created Suol.

Ryu'ma, pleased with his creations thus far, flew down onto Suol to see it closer. He thought that Suol looked very empty on its own. It had a pleasant surface, warm and green, and Ryu'ma thought that it must be appreciated by more than just him, Sun, and Moon. So Ryu'ma created the Ancient Ones.

In his own image, Ryu'ma created four eggs. The first egg was large and sturdy, with a rough and woody surface that seemed impenetrable even by the being inside. Every so often it would shake, rumbling Suol from its place underneath the mountain forests. Ryu'ma named this egg Ryu'ji. He wanted Ryu'ji to be strong and sure, and keep the others from harm.