Cosmodia

Children of the Sun

~ 1 A.C., Year one after creation.

        The first intelligent mortals to inhabit Aetherius were the humans. Akin to a newly born fawn, the virgin beings were blinded by their sudden awakening being met staunchly by the sun's blazing light. Their eyes quickly became comfortable, and clarity restored to their gaze, which they focused on the source of the wondrous light. Awe for the great radiant sphere filled their hearts, and the rays of energy fueled their bodies with vitality, yet it burned so brightly they struggled to maintain their fix upon it. The very few who remained entranced by the glorious sun bore radiant golden eyes that subsumed more solar energy than the rest. Most broke their line of sight, directing their perception towards all that surrounded them. The unfamiliar environment they had been tossed into was filled with a myriad of natural wonders, flooding their minds with curiosity, fear, and wanderlust. Many of them began to explore the wooded areas surrounding them as well as the rivers and lakes a short distance away. Their bodies were as naked as their minds; naturally, the majority of these early mortals began to fornicate in no particular order or coupling. The rest of them had other inclinations, some towards finding what may satiate their hunger, others seeking to quench their thirst, and the rest sought to grasp a baring of how the land was laid. Within a breath of time, affinities began to grow within them for their kin, blossoming intimate bonds sustained by deeper affections. These folk forged familial loyalties and relations born solely of mutual benefit, finding success through sharing their new-found knowledge of the world. Oza's touch was nearly perfection, but its creations were not all formed of equal proficiencies. Humans who lacked in their capability to forage depended on the resourceful; the resourceful depended on those of superior strength, all of which shared a mutual dependence with the nurturing kind to carry their offspring into the future. The seeds of conflict were planted within the first who felt envy and simply wished to take from the fruitful and weak. The seeds found root when the strongest fought amongst themselves, not over who was more righteous to lead, for that concept was lost to them at the time, but surely in a world without complex thought the strongest will survive.

        When the first change of seasons came to pass, the warmth faded, the days became shorter, and the sun was not as powerful. To their dismay, the humans suffered their first winter. As the verdure died with the warmth, without remorse, the land grew barren, and so too did their stomachs. When the bone chilling frost of winter marched over them, the stiff bodies of the weak lay in it's wake. For those surviving the onslaught of piercing winds and bitter snow, the only food they could find were scarce winter squash, which too eventually disappeared. Out of sheer desperation, almost half of the original humans decided to venture outward, concluding that they were more likely to find food elsewhere rather than remaining idle while starving to death. A smaller number of the departed looked northward into deeper forest, while the others trekked toward the gargantuan spires of rock that stood proudly in the south. After the departure of their kin, many of their spirits were crushed by the frozen fists of the season. As doom encroached upon them, their dread combined with anguished famine compelled them to feed upon the bodies of the fallen and animal carcasses discarded by predators. A miraculous streak of lightning came crackling down upon a dead tree, instantly lighting it ablaze, which sent the humans cowering in fear. Terror gripped them until it was soon replaced with a familiar comfort, as the apparent heat and light from the flame beckoned them to gather around. Believing it to be the work of the sun, an immense gratitude grew in their hearts; the people were overflowed with newfound faith, for the sun had not abandoned them. Now with fire to warm their souls, vigour returned to the bodies of the desperate mortals, and they hastily made efforts to comprehend the nature of the blaze and taught themselves to create smaller bonfires by lighting branches from it. With fur and flame, the humans acquired the basal means to persevere. Eventually the winter broke, and those who survived bore witness to the return of their radiant saviour, who blessed them by restoring their natural hearth.