The brightest star in the sky is buried under the mountain.
Deposition
There was the Sea Stillness. There was the Sea Unmoving. There was only the Sea Silent, Khy. Forever it was and in it a Noise from Still wave Crashing into Still wave. Though repeated forever before and now and after, once the waves crashed harder than before. Three drops of Motion and Movement and Noise, Ooah, rose from and fell to Khy. One and two and three. In them created three sets of three ripples, movement across Khy, Slil. The First Set, Oola and Sid and Togunng. The Second Set, Sprigdah and Rohxeslath and Daofat. The Third Set, Zexslil and Vedraslil and Slakslil. And the truly Silent Set, in between each set, Dhrotah and Hatohrat and Dexluis. In the Sea, Khy and Slil mingle.
Though there are many names, and more names still, Sid and Sprigdah, Gos and Dah, in their love and hate and whimsy, created all Being.
Gos, with needle fingers, weaves from Khy and Slil a tapestry, The Silent Sea. Forever before and now and after, Gos weaves the Silent Sea. Each thread a wave overlaid until the eye could not pierce nor wind could breath nor water could flow through it. It captured in its object the Stillness and the Unmoving and the Silent. It was forever refined, any loose thread tucked and trimmed and made perfect. Its constant change was longer than time itself, and it wrapped around all Being. No stain or thread or pattern out of place mar the surface. It was continuation and refinement and ever perfection.
But Dah could not stand its incomplete nature. Dah painted upon it with Oola and created four beings simple and broken and complete. The First and The Second and The Third and The Fourth.
The First was the simplest, mere dots, that shifted between being and not being. They felt, but only how a reflection or an echo or a shadow feels. They did not satisfy what Dah wanted to create. But each was unique, but each was complete.
The Second was simple too, it acted on impulse. Its life was often short. It lived to fight and to fuck and to eat. It was cruel to itself and all. And it became many fast. Simple, cruel, many.
The Third was not simple. It liked to wander the Silent Sea. Even in the completeness it found more than the Second did. It crafted, it built, it fucked and fought and ate too, but it also found joy.
The Fourth was Dah’s favorite. But it was sad. It was too complex, it saw all the past and the present. Its life alone was the hardest of all. But Dah did not create another one, for its creature was grotesque, and for Dah ran out of time.
Lithification
When Gos saw that the tapestry had been stained, unfixable in its nature, the Understanding of Gos broke. Whether from great jealousy or great ire, the pointed Fingers of Gos impaled Dah through the back to make something complete. In the furor, Dah placed an inked thumb print upon the Tapestry. Gos plucked the heart from the Chest of Dah and cast it down to the Silent Sea. And from the Heart, Dei, the fragile star so fierce, sprung the World. And the World enveloped the Silence. And in the final moment of Dah, the Hand of Gos was removed from Gos. Sid become Siddarath. The Corpse of Dah, Bor, followed after the heart, striking the World with such force that it cracked in all places. It was remade. The Tapestry, complete on one end, The Silent Sea, incomplete on the other, The Still Sea, wrapped around Bor. The Body of Bor created the rock and stone and dirt. The Blood of Bor created the rivers and the seas and the rains. The Rage of Dah created the fires and the furies and the fates of the World. And the Love and Whimsy and Longing of Dah created the breath of the World. From Bor erupted the Bortunng, and it stood above the World. Dah become Bor.
So followed the Hand of Gos, bleeding from the wrist. The Blood of Gos dotted and drenched and stained the World. From the blood sprouted the Voda, from the hand, sprouted the Siddarvod.
The First. The Second, The Third, and The Fourth stood upon canvas of the Silent Sea as the World shuddered and broke. The final act of Dah, a tear in the Tapestry, a valley opened beneath them. The Third fell into its depths. The First, The Second, and The Fourth suffered the tempest above while the walls of the valley gave The Third sanctuary. The Third lived its life in the Valley safe and trapped and innocent.
Diagenesis
This Innocent Valley gave The Third endless abundant life. Clear water sprang from the walls, verdant green sprung from the floor, and pure sunlight bathed the place from above. In this Innocent Valley the Third Changed. The Third became unique akin to the First. They became many akin to the Second. They became complex akin to the Fourth.
Syndiagenesis
The Valley spanned far. The Third grew in numbers. These numbers broke into families, and into tribes. For a moment they called themselves InnoVik, or people of the Valley. As the cycles passed the tribes pushed up against each other. Eventually, there was no more space, food ran thin, and violence became the Third. Tribe slew tribe, family slew family, The Third slew the Third until there were only few left. No longer were they InnoVik, now they claimed only their tribe names.
Anadiagenesis
The last survivor of a tribe, May, understood that the Valley, once sanctuary, had become captivity. Even with the culling violence would come again. May determined to leave the valley. Few knew what life was like before the Tempest, and fewer still had been atop the Silent Sea.
May tried persistently to escape the high walls. May would climb only to fall to the ground below. There were others like May that were the last of their people. They would watch and would cheer May on. As May ascended and inevitably fell, the other survivors would urge May on to try again. They made a game of May’s climb. Those bound to tribes and to families found May a fool and the game more foolish still.
Epidiagenesis
May changed with each failure, gaining strength and experience with each fall. Pushed on by the crowd below, May reached the top.
For a moment, it was blinding. It hurt to see the direct sun. It hurt to see a world without walls. It hurt to see a world without the verdant green and clear water. And May did not believe it.
But May was not alone atop the Valley.
May could see the thumb print of Dah.
May could see the First, appearing at once in being and not being. Each differed in shape, size, hue, and none identical in motion.
Far away, May could see the Second fucking and fighting and and eating. Ravenous skin, meat and blood, bone and teeth twisted into each other.
May could see the Fourth. Toro, stood sentinel on the edge of the valley, a massive figure dry as the sands with ridged and horned green speckled skin, large webbed feet, 1,000 protruding eyes each with a horizontal black-purple pupil, and a maw that seemed to take up half its body.
Toro peered into this Innocent Valley with one eye. Toro looked up to the sky with one eye. Toro looked far beyond the desert with one eye. Toro studied the ridges of Dah’s thumbprint with one eye. Toro looked deep into May with one eye. Toro looked everywhere with an eye for each sight.
Toro let out a slow deep croak as loud as the winds and spoke, “You have escaped. Though I do not think you will find more freedom here. The walls have changed.”
“There are more down there.”
“They could leave the same way.”
“They will not. Even the ones like me.”
“They will die.”
“I know.”
May asked, “Can you help them?”
“I can, but you will owe me a favor.”
“I will do it, I will do anything you ask.”
“Even for those who killed your family?”
“Especially for them.”
“Very well. I will give you four gifts for your one favor. First, I will unroll my tongue and they can climb it to escape the valley. Second, I will tell you where you must go to escape the Silent Sea. Third, I will tell you about the brightest star in the sky.”
“And what of the fourth gift?”
“You must wait for that one.”
“I agree.” And thus the first deal was struck.
Toro unrolled his tongue and it fell into the valley. May climbed down it and told the people of all they had seen. None believed them. They said the tongue must be a trick, it was just as foolish as that climbing game of yours. Even those who cheered May on were swayed by the crowd.
May went to the leader of the strongest tribe, Vuruun. May said Vuruun the Elder must climb the tongue. If Vuruun did that, and still did not believe it, May would leave.
“And if you are not lying?”
“Then you will know, and you must tell the others.”
Vuruun agreed. And thus the second deal was struck.
May and Vuruun climbed the tongue. When they reached the top, Vuruun still did not believe.
“This must be another trick of yours.”
“It is not. Look, there is no water.”
“You could have drank it all.”
“I could not have drank all the water in the valley. Could you?”
“No, but I still do not believe it.”
“Look, there is no verdant green.”
“You could have destroyed it.”
“I could not destroy all the verdant green in the valley, not even the tribes battling could do so, could they?”
“No, but I still do not believe it.”
“Look, there are no walls.”
“You could have painted them to look like the ground.”
“I could barely climb the walls, I could not paint them all in such a time, could you?”
“No, but I still do not believe it.”
“Look at the sun, it is brighter than it has ever been.”
“You could have done something.”
“Look at it, it hurts to see it. Could you have created such a thing?”
“No, it hurts to see it. I believe you. This is a different land.”
“Then you know what you must do.
Vuruun and May climbed down the tongue of Toro, and Vuruun told the others. None called it tricks or games or foolishness. They believed Vuruun the Elder’s words.
The first to follow May out of the Valley were the Tribe Vuruun. When they reached the top they were beset by the Second. Great numbers of fierce creatures with sharp teeth and endless hunger attacked May and Tribe Vuruun.
At this moment Toro spoke, “It would not do to have you die. It is time to deliver your favor. Enter my mouth, alone.”
And May entered Toro’s open mouth. May walked through it for many days. It was full of winding halls. The walls were windows peering into other places. Some were dark waters churning and waves crashing, others areas like the verdant green, with great brown towers among them. May continued to walk. Toro presented food and rest. May continued to walk. Toro talked much about the world beyond the desert. It was fierce, it was cold, it was hot, it was welcoming and distant and strange to behold.
“Here is my second gift.”
May found themself in a room with a single window. It appeared they stood in the center of the thumb print.
“Should all the sand fall away, Dah’s last mark will still remain as Pillars of Creation. Let this be your guide. Stand atop it, look at me, and follow the line. Travel forever on that line until you reach the end of the desert. That is my second gift.”
“What if I am to become lost?”
“If you show kindness, perhaps the First will guide you on your way. They are receptive to those who are ever changing.”
“And what of the third gift?”
“The third is the same. Continue upon that line. You will find walls, much like the ones you have escaped. Climb them too. Continue on and you will find a tower of stone, thin and sharp. The brightest star in the sky is buried under the mountain.”
“And what use do I have for a star?”
“You? None.”
“And what of the fourth gift?”
“You must wait for that one.”
May continued his walk through the halls of Toro. He came upon another room. Here windows showed the edge of the Innocent Valley. He saw the fierce fight against the Second. Almost all of the Vuruun had fallen to them. But the others were climbing out of the Valley. El, To, Wer, Inna, Drei, Orco, and all the tribes fell into the fight they had become accustomed to.
“Can you not do anything to help them?”
“Help them do what?”
“Fight against the creatures.”
“It would be like asking the World to wash your hands.”
May continued. On the ninth day May reached a room with a large beating heart held aloft in the center.
“This is my favor. Eat my heart. You must eat every piece.”
“You will die.”
“I will. And I will no longer be alone. You will set me free.”
“But what comes next?”
“I do not know.”
“But you have seen so much.”
“I have eyes for everything, even beyond. The First have shown me through their sight the UnBeing. They glimpse it yet they do not stay. It is incomplete. I believe I will see it all.”
May began. Each bite of Toro’s heart was like chewing rocks. It took six days for him to complete the task. And once the final bite was taken, the chamber filled with dark, turgid, noxious blood. It flowed like the dark waters pictured before, churning and crashing and flowing towards Toro’s mouth. May was carried with the wave and shot out from Toro’s mouth. Down flowed the dark, turgid, noxious blood and it began to fill the Innocent Valley below.
Never again would the Third dwell in the Valley. That was Toro’s Fourth gift.
May found the tribes changed. The tribe Vuruun was almost gone, and the other tribes were barely left. All that was left of Vuruun was the Elder’s family, his youngest son Idoltus and 24 others. They had slain many of the Second. From their skins, and their meats and blood, and their bones and teeth they were changed. From the Skin they made clothing and armor and shrouds against the Silent Sea, from their meats they ate and blood they drank, from their bones and teeth they made cruel weapons. Vuruun made the cruel axe, El made the cruel spear, To made the cruel hammer, Wer made the cruel Arrow, Inna made the cruel dagger, Drei made the cruel sword, and yet Orco made no weapon and continued to use the cruel fist, now warped and bloodied.
Never again would these people shed each other's blood in the Silent Sea. Thus the third deal was struck, without words.
May told the story of Toro’s favor to all of the people, a favor from which May would never truly recover. May changed the story only a bit. May talked of the four gifts. May said the first was the exit from the valley, the second the path from the Silent Sea, the third the cruel weapons, and the fourth the drowning of the Innocent Valley.
He would only ever tell young Idoltus of the true third gift, and made him swear to secrecy.
May then stood upon the Pillar of Creation. May looked at the body of Toro still bleeding into the valley dark, turgid, noxious blood. May raised their arm drawing a line in the air. This was their path out of the Silent Sea. And thus began the migration of the Tribes out of the Silent Sea.
May accepted to lead them as far as they could go. In exchange they would follow May’s words and be the tribes of May. Thus the fourth deal was struck.
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