Story: A Beginning Song (all chapters)

The sky was turning dark purple, only edged in fiery orange at the horizon when the Bard's Heart began to sound, strings plucked in a gentle cascade to accompany the soft murmur of the Bard herself. Sitting on a collapsible stool in front of the assembled audience, the Bard smiled and nodded to the youngest child.

"So what do you want to hear? Adventure? Myths and song, romance or history?" Her voice was a sing-song rhythm that made several sigh in anticipation and shift to get into better place on their cushions, and the youngest, merely six, smiled eagerly.

"The beginning! Mommy told it to me yesterday, but I want to hear a real Bard tell it!" Her voice was high and bright, a tumbling storm of spring leaves, and one of the adults laughed and buried her face in the shoulder of the one beside her.

"She did, did she?" The Bard smiled and the antler-lyre sounded a brief rain of glittering notes. "It's history then, but before we come to how things came to be, I'll tell you how things are..."

This is the world that Mana, the Horned Goddess, created. The skies are blue, decorated with birds in uncounted numbers. The land is in greens and violets, lush and rich with all its animals and flowers. The oceans are blue, deeper than the sky, and teem with fish and graceful shapes.

This is the world that Mana, Horned Goddess, created. The dragons rose from the earth, warmed by the sun. A few flew in the air with wings, others rose without. But graceful were they all, scales like rainbow amber in the sun. The greatest of those beings, ignored all rules laid onto them, and dominated world and skies, until all they fell but the old one in the north.

This is the world that Mana, Horned Goddess, created. In the south, her children there, took her name as their own. The sun was hot upon their heads, and hair they lacked on all but their rounded heads, lacked a lushly tail and long, graceful ears. In the north, the greatest dragon, lonesome in her might, gazed jealously upon the children the Goddess had breathed into life. Her magic huge, she did so violate, the life-filled potential of the magic springs. From such a lowly origin, the Wyrmlings rose, their wings spread wide, less hair than even Mana's self-named ones. Their ears not ears but horns to catch all sound, they were given tails but yet so different, stubby, short, no grace at all, to help balance them.

This is the world that Mana, Horned Goddess, created. While her hairless ones flourished in the hottest sun, for us she gave plains and hills, for us a milder wind. Long, pointed ears, moving, to let no sound unheard. Moving like the wind in grass, soundlessly in graceful bounds, our hoofsteps small and light. And in her wisdom, to balance us, the most perfect trait of all; a tail of such length and strength, none could match its sight, hair draped in such a way, the full end dancing in the wind.

This is the world that Mana, Horned Goddess, created. All the children of the Goddess, share her love and passion. All beings on this world, grow yet more numerous with her blessing. Some, so far from us, match their bodies' crude difference, opposites to somehow make a whole, and from this union comes more. The children of the Goddess, closer to her light, though different in shapes and minds, unite no halves that differ. Rather sameness in two shapes, halves to make a whole, and from this perfect unity springs life anew. The dragons, koribiiti, mana's self-named ones. Along with us they are so made, and if there are yet more around, be sure they will appear, but I for one know nothing more.

This is the world that Mana, Horned Goddess, created. And if there is yet more to it, I know for now naught else!

"... And so, that is the world today," the Bard murmured, her voice barely heard above the last, drawn out shivers of music as her lyre quieted. The sky outside of the house was the same deeply blue so prized by the danaane, though the horizon, visible between the buildings, was still tinged with the last, deepest heart-blood red. The Bard's eyes opened and swept over the large, round room, waiting with a soft, narrow smile as two of the adults took out bedding and laid it out on the floor, urging the three youngest down, despite protests.

"It's for later, dear hearts, now down with you. The evening's not over yet." The promise that they weren't expected to go to sleep yet settled the children and the Bard nodded, fingering the uppermost points on her antler-lyre.

"Then, as we know how things are in the now, we will travel backwards... For from the now, history is born and in every moment we can know how things have been. And for things to have become as they are, rhythms have had to be set. And the all-pervading rhythm we will find informing all other rhythms is that of night and day. Sun and Moon. The beginning of life as it is requires light, but light did not exist in the beginning..."

The sky was dark, the earth was cold, and Mana, Horned Goddess, Greatest Mother, wandered the world. She wished to stir the life within, and her hands were soft, her breath was warm, her body bright. But the spirits would not wake, for however warm and light, when she left it left with her. No matter thus that Mother's strength could raise the skies, could stir the seas. Without light warming earth, without light brightening sky, life could not grow.

The sky was dark, the earth was cold, and Mana, Horned Goddess, lit all she met. Tender greens and violets, seeking upwards towards her smile and warming breath, turned cold and brittle as she left. Their colours paled, they withered, and Mother, grieving Mother, spilled the world's first tears.

The sky was dark, the earth was cold, and Mana, Horned Goddess, spilled bitter tears onto earth, into sea. The waters deep, the silence huge, the rocky beaches cold and still. At this end she knelt, she knelt down and cried. Cried for failure and loss of life, for life not even given chance to grow. And Mother's tears streamed into the sea, a sea that was now stinging on the tongue, a sea that before had been as sweet and cold as ice.

The sea was deep and dark and cold, and embraced all the land. And Mana, Horned Goddess, cried alone by the edge, her body lit by an inner light. But in this deepest sea, darker than the secret depths, slept sweet Darkness quietly. She had slept for aeons past, never noticed Mana's plight. But so different this bitterness, it roused sweetest Darkness from the deep.

The sea was deep and dark and cold, only stirred by Darkness' eager rise, and Mana, Horned Goddess, was met by surprise. And Darkness sweet was struck by this; her brilliance bright, her beauty dark, her hidden eyes like sparkling stars. This all lit a burning need, a passion deep. Singing brightly, charming words, first sound at all. And then dancing to the tune, hair streaming, moving, barely concealing, Darkness drew the Goddess in. Their bodies moving sinuously, in harmony, their movements stirred the sea. Passion warming sea and sky, colours burst into light. And from this loving union, of body, spirit, mind, two children, the Sisters, sprung. First life, first light, birthed one from each.

The world was still and dark and cold, but now from Mana, Horned Goddess, Greatest Mother, came brilliant incandescence. Soft and warm, the Sun lit all. And from Darkness, sweetest lover, origin, came shyest light. Hard and cold, the Moon guides sea and night. The Sisters' scream, as one, was the second sound. The children grew as children do, and each a boat was given, and a course to hold. The Sisters thus lighting the world, the spirits of land and sea and sky stirred.

Mana, Horned Goddess, Greatest Mother, could then walk the world, the spirits in her wake. The earth flourished with greens and violets, the sky with clouds and winds and rain, and the sea with careful life, which all would become what is today.