It was a new beginning. The only thing in existence was the Old Mother. The old universe had died, and she was alone. To satiate her loneliness, she gave birth to two sons: Light and Dark. However, they were ungrateful and jealous. They quarreled constantly, and ignored their mother. They fought and they fought, despite the Old Mother insisting they stop.
Light and Dark were brothers of unimaginable power, and their battles shook all of existence. This went on for millenia until finally the Old Mother had had enough. She took Dark and stretched him across infinity and created the black night sky. Then she took light and shattered him into trillions of pieces and spread him like she were splattering paint across a canvas. This created the stars.
The Old Mother was furious with her sons, and in her rage, Fire was born. She then became saddened, as she was alone once more, and in her tears was born Water. Finally, she calmed herself, and from the marrow of her bones she molded Earth.
The Old Mother looked at these new children of hers, Fire, Water and Earth. She took Fire, and balled part of him up. She then stretched some of Earth over Fire. She then splashed water all over Earth, and the world was born. A fiery core, surrounded by rocky earth, covered by vast oceans, it was a beautiful thing.
Fire, Water, and Earth got along much better than their older brothers. Yet still, they were not content. They wished for someone to worship them, and so they had a competition, to see who could create the best life.
Water went first, and created life in all of the oceans. He created the fishes and the sharks, the octopus and the sea stars, the whales and the barnacles. The oceans were more majestic than they'd ever been.
"These creatures are indeed grand," said Fire to Water, "But they won't worship us. They can't adapt to the world so that they may live a long time with us. Let me try."
And so, Fire created birds, who flew up near the great fiery sun. He created the vultures and the doves, the eagles and the turkeys, the ostriches and the penguins. The skies were more grand than they'd ever been.
"These creatures are indeed beautiful, and they can adapt to the world so that they may live a long time with us," said Earth to Fire, "But they won't worship us. They aren't smart enough to know we even exist. Let me try."
And so, Earth created the animals of land. He created the bisons and the boars, the lions and the coyotes, the rats and the bears. The land was more beautiful than it had ever been.
"These creatures are indeed majestic, they can adapt to the world so that they may live a long time with us, and they are smart," said Water to Earth, "But they won't worship us. They have no souls with which to love us."
The three brothers thought a long time about their dilemma. They had created all manner of life, but none that suited their needs. Finally, after much thought, they came to an agreement to try to try once more, together this time.
Earth took rock and formed a skeleton from it, and then formed a sack of dirt around it. Then, Water filled the sack with liquid. Forging it from only the purest of flames, Fire then created a soul, and placed in the body. It jumped to life instantly, and a beautiful woman stood naked before them. They rejoiced, and named this first woman Dawn, as she was the beginning of something great.
The three brothers got to work at once creating another human, to be Dawn's mate. They created the first man in the same way, and named him Dusk.
The two were happy together, and they lived peacefully with nature, and they knew know pain. They worshipped Fire, Water and Earth, shunned the ways of Light and Dark, and gave thanks to the Old Mother.
Eventually, Dawn became pregnant and gave birth to triplets. She named them Ignis, Unda, and Terra. They grew up and became strong young men. One day, however, when they had finished praying, they began to argue.
Ignis believed that Fire was the most powerful of the gods and should be worshipped above all others.
Unda believed that Water was the most holy of the gods and he should be revered above all others.
Terra believed that Earth was the most sacred of the gods and he should be feared above all others.
They began to yell and became violent. They disowned each other and went their separate ways to live alone. Dawn and Dusk could not believe it, and they died from grief.
To this day, the three brothers have not made amends, and their descendants still quarrel, no longer knowing what they argue about.
We talked about what a creation story tells about a society in one of my classes on Wednesday, and it got me thinking that it my be fun to try to write one of my own. Don't worry, I'm not trying to start a religion.
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