The Veiled One

Chapter Five: In which I do some light reading

In the beginning, there were only Chaos and Order. They were twins, born of the Void from which our world emerged. Order struggled with her twin, and for a time, it seemed that Chaos would prevail. But Order emerged from the contention as the victor, and from Order came Earth, Sun, Moon, Sky, and Stars. These her children came to be and arranged themselves such that they created a world between them. The Moon and the Stars together produced Water, which made its way through the confines of Earth.

Earth and Sky produced many offspring, which later became the plants and the animals of the earth. Eventually, Order noticed that her creation was not flourishing as she had hoped. There was something missing. So she decided to create lords to rule her universe. From the Sun she took a spark for life, from Earth clay to form a body. From the Sky she took air for breath and from the Stars a twinkle for the eyes. Finally, from the Moon she took a wary intelligence and attentiveness.

Order shaped five beings from this, and these were the Five. To each of the Five she gave a name and a domain: to Fulmenarius the stormy heavens, to his brother Mor the power of life and death. She gave Ailen, who was to control unions and new life, as a husband to Agor, who ruled fields and animals. And last she created Agramina, who was to bear all the burdens of the world.

I skim ahead. These stories are as familiar as the lifeblood thrumming through my veins, even if the illuminations are stunning. But my finger stops its skimming as my eyes snag on runes that I don't remember seeing in any of the other copies of the Tales.

The burden of sorrow and grief became too much for Agramina. To ease her suffering, the goddess Ailen decided to make her fall in love with Fulmenarius. The union brought many children, who took duties from their parents in order to ease their suffering. Illuminaria became the goddess of lightning, Ulrich the god of clear skies and gentle breezes, and Lustria the goddess of sunshine. But none of the numerous offspring shared Agramina's burdens.

Weak and heartsick, she took clay from the banks of the river called Dunkill and shaped it into a form like herself. She breathed life into the form and gave it a heart, where all of its feelings could be stored. With the help of Ailen, she helped these creatures called humans to multiply. They populated the earth and quickly became favorites of the god Agor. But Agramina's intent was not pure.

Into each human, Agramina placed a seed of the doubt and guilt that she was forced to carry around. Her burden was lessened, but the humans became sick with the emotions which were too strong for any mortal to carry alone.

Order watched from on high and made her final intervention. She plucked five stones from her daughter Earth and placed them into disks of solid Moonlight. She placed these chains around the necks of the Chosen Five: pearl to contain Ailen's softness, opal to hold Fulmenarius's storms, topaz to remind Agor of the harvests, diamond to remind Mor of the difficulty of his decisions. But for Agramina she offered a garnet, which was red as blood. When each god placed his chain around his neck, the burdens of his job left him. But the humans were still so pained. Less burdened herself, Agramina was repentant and created these chains for every last human on earth.

The chains lessen the pains that come with living. At birth, each child shall be given a chain which shall show the place in which he will have the most difficulty believing. This chain will ease those pains and guide the way.

My fingers are skimming over more runes when a clattering fills the air. It's the sound of bells, the bright, hollow sort of bells we use in the village to announce weddings and the like. It takes me a moment to realize that this is the dinner bell. The time seemed to warp in this room, bending until it was almost nonexistent.