Édun

Éðen and Etru dwelt in the Void ere all things were, wherein they tended to the great gem Idroþ. Idroþ sat upon the brow of Éðen, and within burnt a fire which was creation.

There was naught in the Void but the twins, and they grew weary of the quiet and sought to create something beyond that which was. Thereafter, Éðen doffed her gem and blew a soft yet sure breath in the gem; and beyond the Void there was air. At the scent of the new-born skies Etru wept, and her tears fell upon Idroþ and made the Sea, and the twins were glad for the sight of water.

Things were now made as the Sky and Sea dwelt in a new realm beyond the reaches of the Void, and the realm was afterwards named Néyel. Then spake Éðen to Etru, 'I now smile for I am glad of air and water and a new realm. These things are good, but wherefore shall we etern alone in fading joy? By thy word and blessing I will imbue unto Néyel a life and a people. They will dwell between the Sky and Sea and be glad of that which hath been made.'

Etru answered, 'Your sweet speech maketh fear in my heart, for life taketh away much and giveth little. What shall become of thy breath and my tears? Alas, I love you much. Should this be thy will, I shall bless it.'

Éðen finished thus, 'My will changeth not. For your blessing there shall be a people in your likeness; they shall love the world and keep it in their dominion. What they taketh they shall give again in splendor as long as your word is held true.' So it was done.

In Néyel a dwelling-place was to be made between the Sea and the Sky for the forthcoming Children of Éðen, but the labor of shaping was long and arduous, and spake Etru to Éðen, 'Let us make now a host to share in the glory of creation, for their help is needed. We shall send them into Néyel and they shall shape this realm by their own hands as they see fit,' and Éðen agreed.

Then made were the Quéþ, angels and gods, and over their order Éðen and Etru ruled supreme. Bequeathed to these spirits was a portion of the fire of Idroþ so that when they spoke in Néyel their word was reality. Among the Quéþ were two legions, the higher Queþênda and lower Queþŷndis. Of the former, the Enda Ændros shared most in the mind of Éðen and Syngol shared that of Etru. So they were sent into Néyel to set shape to the world and make it homely.

When the world was at last shaped and given hue and the Quéþ returned to the Void, the time drew nigh for Éðen to set upon the new earth her Children. In the center of the risen lands there laid a vale green and bountiful, and it was afterwards called Quynêldin, which is the Vale of Life. It was there that she brought forth the bodies of her Children.

Each form was laid to rest in the hills nearby one another and numbered one hundred four and forty. With a kiss, Éðen passed amongst these firstcomers an equal part of the fire as was assigned to herself, and so they were given the gift of creation in Néyel. With this gift the first folk awoke and found that they could move throughout the world freely and the fate of Endor began. They saw naught of Éðen as she was clothed not in mortal raiment.

Now, Éðen returned to the Void and all things were glad. For an age the Quéþ watched afar as the Children dispersed and made the new world their home. They named themselves Endor and their world Enya; they prospered and grew mighty during the dawn of their world.

Things were good among the Quéþ, but as the dawning age passed a shadow grew in the heart of Etru; for these Children that bore her likeness looked up to the sky above their earth and knew that it was beautiful, but they gave no things to fill that sky; and they drank the waters set upon Néyel by her own tears but filled not the Sea with beautiful things and heeded not the glory of its making.

After an age and many prosperous years the Endor drew near to the last hidden corners of Enya, but Etru grew ever more wroth. In the eternal halls of the Void, Etru spake to Éðen, 'For an age I have feared in silence these children of your make. My fear grew to doubt, but I love you much and put faith in thy will, for thou hast not yet led me into darkness. O, but the doubt in my heart is no longer and only the truth remains: thou hast forsaken thy word. You promised that these children would giveth as they taketh, but I watch and see they offer nothing. Wherefore art thou deceitful to me?'

Éðen spake 'Sister, I lie not. Hast thou listened not to their songs? Heard not their tongues? Seen not their faces as they use their gift to make life again? They are themselves beautiful, and findeth their lives beautiful. They are good.'

Etru became fey and spake, 'My blessing was in vain as thy purpose was for vanity. I curse these children and doom that they shall take and take forever and burn the world they love should I not now guide them.' With her blessing broken, Etru stole Idroþ from the brow of Éðen, but for the fury of her grasp the stone was broken in three and the light dimmed. Etru cursed Éðen and with a shard of Idroþ for her own, Etru strayed into the world she had created with her sister. From high she fell and her form landed with thunder and violence upon Quynêldin. The force of her descent shook all Enya and sundered it, for the Sea drove itself forth and pushed the lands apart, and naught remained of the Vale of Life but a ring of peaks thereafter named Mestelbaré, the Ring of Sorrow, which rose not high above the water.

What remained of Idroþ with Éðen was lessened in greatness, and for a time the void was struck silent and the sky was dark. Éðen then gathered the two shards of Idroþ left to her keeping, as well as the gem-dust produced in the shattering. She first set the lesser shard on a course around Néyel from without, though it waxed and waned in splendor as the fire was weak within, and made was the moon. Then she set on its course the largest and most beautiful of the shards of Idroþ, and within was kindled the brightest flame, and made was the sun.

The gem-dust she spread last across the sky and it cast a girdle about Néyel that forbade any spirit from passing between the mortal realm and the Void save by her word, and made were the stars. Of all that has ever been created within Néyel, Éðen hated most the stars, but she loved them too. The girdle of stars left her children to fend alone against Etru and her hatred of life, for too great was the risk that Etru would venture into the Void and claim the Sun and Moon that she so greedily coveted; but Éðen had hope still. The part of the fire assigned to the Endor as a whole surpassed that part of the fire belonging to Etru alone. Through all the ages this girdle has not been broken, nor shall it ever be until the final days when Néyel itself is broken and its fate is completed.

Now with Etru fell a number of the Quéþ of whom had been seduced by the power and wrath of Etru and took to her. Upon Enya they renounced the Voiddwellers and in swearing fealty to Etru took the name Ulrah. Éðen saw and knew of this, and thus invited a great company of the Quéþ to go thither and balance out the evils of the world.

Etru, bound now to the fate of the world, reached to feel her fledgling shard that she had placed upon her brow and prepared to take in the reshaping of Néyel, but found that after the fury of her descent it was gone. With Idroþ broken, the fire assigned to her was lessened greatly though not completely. Etru stood upon the water she raised and clothed herself in the raiment of a fowl ere departing with her company to the North.