Prologue: The Myth of Creation

There was always the belief that gods were everywhere, but the most powerful gods were the ones always totally out of reach: the stars. Every star in the night sky, no matter how bright or dull, was a god with powers that were unimaginable and always untouchable for mere mortals. After all, those gods in the sky had created the world and everything that inhabited the globe was there because of the gods whims.

The world itself was born from the thoughts of the Dragon siblings Setsu and Koatal. Setsu, the emerald green, horned goddess, whose scales shined so brilliantly that she was one of the brightest stars in the night sky. Her mane, like spun silver, was envied by many gods, who did try to mimic her beautiful hair, but always fell short. Her eyes were pure white and seemed to be able to see into the depths of any immortal, so later on after the Creation, seeing into a mortal proved almost too simple a task for her.

Setsu was to become protector of travelers, guiding them by always showing which way was north. She would also become the benevolent, kindhearted goddess of true love, seeking to make creatures of all kinds as happy as possible if she was given the chance. Her nature was pure and true even before mortals came into existence, but they would benefit the most from her temperament. It was her idea to create the world in the first place. She was bored and the notion seemed to spring to her mind out of the blue.

Her older brother, the feathered serpent, Koatal, went along with the concept as that was his nature. He was as a cool as his sapphire and white feathers and as warm as his deep brown eyes. The very embodiment of nonchalance was Koatal and he indulged his sister whenever some fanciful idea struck her. Besides, it was something to do at the moment aside for sleep, which was how he generally passed time in the Heavens. He could rid himself of goddesses complaining about how lazy he was by helping his sister, if only for a little while anyway.

So, the Dragon twins created the World; and, yes, it was quite that simple for them. The World started out as little more than a barren rock in blackness, which would not do as far as Setsu was concerned. There had to be more to it, lest it not stand out from the other toys and trinkets made by bored gods. The dull stone was crafted into a perfect sphere and became a canvas for the siblings. The globe was colored mostly after the pair. There were greens, blues, and browns of all shades and pure whites dotted where the color fit. Silver was mixed into some of the whites, making them shine and announce their flawless existence.

The Dragons were never forgetful of their friends and they sprinkled colors of other gods in the Creation. They dripped grays onto the green, reds into the browns, yellows and oranges, adding light to the world. The more that they started to mix and match colors, the more Setsu seemed to like it until the world resembled a painting in her opinion, which brought a smile to her face. By the time they were finished, they thought that the World was even more dazzling than the dark heavens that they inhabited and the World hung in. They looked upon the World when they were done and the scaled Dragon goddess could not help thinking that there was something missing.

Setsu realized that there was very little movement on their creation. There was just the water flowing and even that was going too slow for her liking. None of the greens or other colors moved; everything was still, just like a painting. Of course, the laidback Kaotal did not see the problem, but loaned himself out to once more in order to liven the place up. He did hope that he would be able to take a nap afterwards.

The first things that the siblings added were the spirits. The spirits merged with the colors, giving them shape, form, and purpose. Winds now blew the colors and even when there was no wind, the colors swayed to their own rhythm, trying to fit what would make them happiest. The spirits seemed to flow, bending their shapes and shifting their forms every now and then to enjoy their places. They stretched toward the sky, or bowed away, or leaned toward each other, always drifting. Now, there were beings of the World, but then the Dragons thought that they could do better.

They wanted to go for something that no other god had seen before, something special. Setsu suggested making creatures like themselves and so they made dragons, but a little different from celestial Dragons. The appearance was quite similar, but the dragons were not divine, not immortal, and not omnipotent. However, they were all unique with freewill and desires all their own. Setsu was so delighted that she could not stop with the powerful dragons and had to make lesser reptiles and amphibians like snakes and frogs and their relatives. The World seemed to pop with life now.

The scaled goddess was so happy with the new creation that she shared her joy with friends—other gods. Kaotal was able to lie down and sleep now that his sister brought others into her new hobby; if he ever smiled, that would have been the time that he did. Her friends were all too happy to join in, especially after witnessing her living and moving creations.

Other gods added their own creations to the World; some modeled after themselves and others just thoughts in the gods minds. And so came birds and fish, more colors and movement. Insects, worms, and other creeping things were brought forth, dashing about the globe, moving almost like the waters that came before them. Mammals both on land and in the sea came about, some of them were lumbering and others breezing about the place in ways that wind even envied. The whole planet looked so alive and vibrant. The gods were all pleased with what they had done and grateful that Setsu had shared the chance with them.

As the gods were about to return to their usual antics, one particular goddess noticed something happening down on the new, wondeful Creation. She saw the dragons, acting as she knew dragons should act. She smiled to herself, thinking about how sentimental and vain Setsu and Koatal were to make smaller versions of themselves. Yet, she was intrigued by the notion.

Xol was the goddess that was enthralled with the dragon creations. She was a warrior goddess with defined muscles and blazing orange eyes. Blonde and crimson hair crowned her head with a majesty that a king would never know. A pair of feline-like red ears poked out of golden half of her hair.

She dwelled quite close to where Setsu had started her planet project. Setsu noticed her good friend's interest and could not help wondering what the warrior was so curious of. Setsu, never one to be shy, had no trouble asking Xol what was so intriguing and Xol gave her an honest answer. Xol wanted to put her own sentient people, similar to herself in ways, on the planet, like Setsu had done with the dragons. Setsu conceded, but playfully refused to tell her dear friend how she and her brother made the lesser dragons.

Xol asked Kaotal, but the lazy god gave a flippant response before falling asleep for the umpteenth time in one day. Xol was on her own in creating creatures of her own like the Dragon siblings' earth-bound, free-thinking reptiles. The warrior goddess was never one to back down from a challenge or a desire, so she began her own attempts. All failures.

Xol grew angry from lack of knowledge and Setsu went about trying to cheer her friend up in ways that only gods would understand, or maybe just ways that Setsu would understand because Xol did not think that anything was cheerful about how smug the Dragon was. She still refused to tell her secret in how she and her brother created the dragons, but she did put the planet closest to Xol to allow Xol to look upon the world, study it, and perhaps come to an understanding.

Xol became the sun and looked upon the creation intently. She did not figure out how the Dragon siblings created their lesser dragons, though. She turned her attention to Xin, her nearest neighbor and deepest love, hoping that he would be able to help. Xin was more a scholar than a warrior, but was known to fight fiercely for his beliefs and love.

Xin moved closer to observe the planet, closer than even Xol. He watched the worldly dragons with intense ice blue eyes and even he could not figure out how exactly the siblings had created such beings. Xol could not believe that her love, by far the most intelligent god—in her opinion anyway—could not uncover how the Dragon siblings managed their earthly creation.

He did come up with an alternative plan for his beloved, a plan that Xol adored. Instead of copying whatever method the Dragon siblings had used, they mix their divine blood with new creations. For Xol, it was more than just a way to create such fascinating beings as the Dragon duo had done, but also allowed her a chance to do something with her favorite god in the Heavens.

Xol and Xin dubbed their new creations Daijinn. The daijinn were a mix of both gods, which delighted the couple. Xol and Xin had feline and canine attributes respectively; it had been this couple that created the cats, dogs, and their relatives of the planet. Their daijinn possessed characteristics from both as well, but physically they appeared to be totally new creatures.

Daijinn lacked fur on almost every part of their bodies and walked upright on two legs, unlike most creatures of the planet, but very much like the gods. The daijinn had triangular ears on the top of their heads; the size of the ears varied from each individual and the ears were covered in short fur that tended to match the color of their hair. Their hair was often a mix like Xol's dual colored mane; Xin had dull gray locks. The daijinn also had tails, which were covered in the same color fur as their hair, which was the same case with both gods. The tails ranged from long and slender to long and bushy to short and appearing almost cut off.

Other than appearance, whatever other abilities the daijinn might have would be a surprise. They were of divine blood, so they should have something underneath their exterior to impress not only the gods, but each other. They should also be able to keep up with those that they shared the planet with. The dragons were extraordinary, even if they were not total gods, and the daijinn were going to need to be able to stand with the dragons rather than live in their shadows.

The daijinn and the dragons seemed to get along well enough. They shared the land and the seas. The dragons owned the skies, but the daijinn were able to take the treetops. They could come together on common ground and retreat from each other when conflict arose, which did happen.

Xol and Setsu did not expect everything to go well between their creations considering everything did not even always go well between the gods. Xol and Setsu, even as good friends, had their moments where they actually came to blows over things, but when it was all over, they were friends again. They expected no less from their creations, but they knew that things never went fully as expected when free-thinking beings were involved. In fact, there were problems amongst the gods when the red star in the Heavens noticed the daijinn.

Zonder, the red star and a rather vain god—even by the Heavens' standards—became jealous that he was not asked to put his own sentient creations on the planet. He was also a good friend of Setsu and shone close to the new planet, just like Setsu, Xol, and Xin. He had quite the decent view of the World and liked watching it as much as any other god.

He had added colors to the planet; some of the most breathtaking shades of red that Setsu had ever seen and she told him as much. So, he raged when he saw that the Dragon goddess allowed Xol and that—well, there really were no words to express his thoughts on Xin—to pollute the World with an inferior group of beings without even requesting that he make his own people for the collective Creation. Setsu shrugged off his anger and told him to feel free to make his own race to populate the planet as there was still plenty of space for other life.

Zonder went to work, but could not quite figure out how to create the same intelligent life as the worldly dragons and the daijinn. He tried to come closer to the planet to observe, but seemed to forget his manners and attempted to knock Xin from his place in the Heavens. Xin refused to give up his space in the sky, enjoying his view of the little experiment that the gods had created. Zonder was very much prepared to fight for the place, but Xin was never quick to battle.

Xol, however, was always ready for war and came to the aid of her beloved as fast as she could. Her armor flared fiercely, roaring from flames that engulfed her body, and she cried her battle shout before forcing Zonder away from her dearest love. Zonder never forget what he viewed as an injustice done to him. Not that Xol wanted him to forget considering the fact that she "blessed" him with a scar carved through his right eye. She wanted that to serve as a reminder that Zonder should never again try to lay hands on Xin in anger.

Zonder retreated back to his proper place worked long and hard before he finally figured out how to create his own free-thinking beings. He gifted them with abilities as the other gods had done to allow them to survive on the planet. That was about the only personal touch he gave to his newly created race.

His humans were made from the warm mud of the ground and just a touch of life from him. He refused to add his own blood or breath because he thought that was too close to what Xol and Xin did. He would never think to do something the same as they had done now, not after the disrespect that the couple showed him.

The humans seemed to inherit their creator's hostility. Almost immediately they did not get along with the daijinn and wars erupted all over the planet between the two groups. The races clashed with a viciousness that shocked even the gods. Before those battles, the gods had looked down on the races as almost cute, but now the cuteness was interested only tearing apart flesh and ruining each other's lives.

Zonder blamed Xol and Xin, claiming that their destructive blood had infected their creations. They, of course, countered that his creations were the war-mongers, pointing out how well the daijinn had gotten along with the dragons. For the couple, it was obvious that the humans were the problem.

The gods did not intervene with the daijinn and the humans. Most of them just grew bored with watching the planet with endless wars and went on with their own pursuits. Even the dragons on the planet had enough of all of the fighting. The worldly dragons all found places and lay down to go to sleep. They slept through the conflict while the humans and the daijinn tried to lay waste to each other. It seemed like it was certain that the warring would continue until one side was completely wiped out.

Eventually, it appeared that humans had the upper hand. The daijinn put up a valiant struggle, but they succumb to the humans' science and weapons. The daijinn often refused to fight with anything other than their own hands. Yes, the Daijinn's hands were dangerous, blessed with their divine inheritance and they would do nothing to disrespect the power given to them by their chief gods. The humans were able to overpower them and drive the daijinn into hiding, in deep caverns or woods so thick that humans dared not venture in. The daijinn that did not escape were at the whims of the humans. The daijinn that hid, though, were considered craven and lost. The fighting had pauses, but never seemed to really end.

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Next time: Meet Jin and see how her life begins and ends.