_
Chapter
1
Birth and Life
The world of Dumonia has not always been one of Lords and warriors and battles. Once the land was ruled over and lived in by the Gods that the people of Dumonia now worship. The Gods once walked among their disciples and followers as readily as a merchant walks in the markets. Although they now only return to Dumonia to fight through their bravest champions, there was a time when they were the champions of Dumonia, and they were the heroes of the time.
Before the Gods there was nothing. An empty but eternal nothing that created a sense of belonging and yet it would repulse you at the same time.
This was the nothing that Maenadic was born into.
Maenadic was simply not there one moment, and whole the next. He wore piercing white robes and his blonde hair hung around his chiselled face like a halo. The first words spoke in the world of Dumonia were:
“Curious.” Maenadic exclaimed. He examined himself all over, and he found that he was ready to begin his life.
But he was feeling something that no one on Dumonia had felt yet. He was lonely.
He sat down in the nothing and was silent for a great time. Some say that time passed in years for them like seconds for us, but some say time stands still. Whichever it is, a great deal of time passed before Maenadic leapt up again. For something was happening a little way off in the nothing.
A blood red bolt of lightning was silently crackling to and fro. Maenadic edged closer to the strange substance, but dived out of the way when it crackled in every direction at once.
Out of the glow stepped another man, robed in pitch black. His face appeared almost alike to Maenadic, except he had startlingly black hair. Maenadic approached him.
“Welcome.” He said to the man in black, as he had not yet seen anyone else. The man looked at him for a moment.
“Hello. Who are you?” The man in black asked. Maenadic introduced himself, and they shook hands.
“My name is Khaos. I have been sent into this Nothing by a force unknown to me.” Khaos stated. Maenadic nodded.
“It is the same for me brother.” For they were in fact brothers, and their likeness in features showed that even more so than they knew.
They discussed a great many things, for they had huge amounts of knowledge and they were both very smart. They agreed on most things until it came to choice.
“The soul must be made to work. If it cannot have something to toll for it will crumble.” Khaos stated, as the two brothers sat in the Nothingness.
“That is further from the truth than anyone has said before. The soul is to be free and cheerful, not tied down by chains and shackles.” Maenadic replied, but before Khaos could get out another sentence a bright blue lightning crackled around them and they hurried to one side of it, for they knew what was happening.
The crackling went on for many minutes, before there was a snap of light.
From it emerged a woman, more beautiful then Maenadic and Khaos had even dreamt over. Her name was Del, and she was clothes in flowing blue robes. She had flowing blonde hair, reaching down to her mid rift and in her hand was a shining gem, which she closed her fist around when she was fully formed. When she opened her hand again the gem flew into the sky and suddenly the Nothing was brighter, for the Sun had been created. The ball of fire burned in the sky, banishing the light.
Maenadic turned his face towards it, for it was good for him, but Khaos pulled up his hood, for it burned his skin.
When Maenadic had finished admiring the new Sun, he turned to the woman.
“Who are you, beautiful mistress?” He asked. She turned gracefully towards him.
“I am Del, who has been sent from the Realm of Mystery to the land of Maenadic.” She replied and Maenadic took up her hand and kissed it.
“Welcome. I am known as Maenadic and this is my brother, Khaos.”
Del bobbed her head at Khaos, who was scowling at her for bringing the Sun to the land of darkness.
“Have you seen my brother yet?” She asked, but at that moment a bolt of lightning struck from unseen places, and it was the deepest green that all three had ever seen.
From the light stepped a man, robed in the deepest of browns. He had short black hair and a chiselled face. His eyes were deep and brown and he strode as if he was bounding. Del moved towards him.
“Welcome brother, to the land of Maenadic.”
He nodded, and glanced first at Maenadic and then Khaos.
“Are these the brothers I have heard of?” He asked, and Maenadic nodded. Del’s brother bowed his head in reply. “I bring you the gift of earth.”
He raised his closed hands, and threw to deep brown gems to the ground. Instantly the Nothing beneath them began to writhe and shake, and Khaos was thrown off his feet momentarily.
Mountains and hills began to rise, and valleys and troughs began to fall. Fields and plains were grown, and Maenadic looked upon all this and smiled.
A huge landmass was spread out beneath the Gods, and all four of them looked down at the land with happy eyes, for this was someone they could live.
“Very good.” Maenadic muttered, and Del turned to him.
“This is Rathe. He is my brother.” She stated. Maenadic nodded.
“Welcome Rathe.” Rathe nodded in reply and stood a little behind Del.
The four Gods instantly were on the ground that had before been many miles beneath them. Maenadic alighted on a hill and sat down. Del and Rathe joined him, but Khaos stood a little apart from them.
All four of them waited. The time seemed to pass eternally, and once again it is debated whether this time was no time at all or millennia. Either way, they were seated for a great time.
“This land needs breaks in it.” And unknown voice stated behind them, and they all rose to greet the newest God.
“I am Kanu.” He said, and threw a sparkling blue gem to the ground. As before, the ground rippled, and water rushed in from the heavens, momentarily engulfing all the Gods.
Then the water was gone and it had fallen on the land. Rivers, streams and lakes had formed, and around the great land mass raged a huge body of water called the ocean.
Maenadic looked upon all this and was pleased once more.
“Very good.” He said, before sitting back down on the hill. All but Khaos joined him once more, and they sat for a great deal longer.
Meanwhile, Khaos had been having treacherous thoughts.
“I should be the ruler of the Gods.” He thought. “Not my snivelling brother. If I were to cast him down than I would rule this land, and I could shape it how I pleased. The others would have to follow my lead as I am the brother of Maenadic, and if he is dead then the ruling right would fall to me.” And while he thought these evil thoughts he also devised a way to create his own world.
After a time, another storm of lightning appeared on a far away hill, and the Gods journeyed there to welcome the new God.
The lightning, as they drew closer they saw, was a deep crimson colour, and for it burst a man with hair that shot every which way and that was clothed not in robes but in pelts of an unknown animal. For this was Urastef, and he introduced himself that way.
“Well met Urastef. I am Maenadic. This is Khaos, Del, Rathe and Kanu.” And as Maenadic spoke their names he gestured to them and they made signs of greeting to the newcomer. “Welcome to Maenadic’s world.” Rathe said, stepping forward, but Maenadic shook his head.
“That name will not do, for it is all of ours and everything that we place in it as well.” Maenadic exclaimed. The Gods, all except Khaos, nodded in agreement.
“What shall this new world be called then?” Del asked, and Maenadic returned to his seat on the hill. While he thought, Urastef revealed that he also brought two gems and one he cast into the ocean while the other he buried in the ground.
Suddenly a burst of creatures appeared around the Gods, ranging from every size, from Giants to Mice, and every manner of creature in between, like the horse and the cow and the Elf. Each of these land creatures introduced themselves, and many were known to all, but some were new, such as the Elves, the Dwarves, the Fairies and the Hobbits. All the animals returned to where they were longing to be, such as the ground or the plains, and then Urastef tended to the ocean creatures, from the whale to the shrimp. Many you had seen before, but some, like the Ferin (a long fish with solid scales like armour) and the Ocean Elves, were only of this world. And Urastef named and blessed every single one and they returned to where they longed to dwell.
Now the land had creatures that lived in the land and the sea, and Urastef pulled one Human aside and talked to him for many hours. Urastef told the Human, whose name was Grayphon, that he must be wary not to harm creatures unless it was necessary, and all the Gods declared that this was true. And Grayphon returned to his family and the Humans too disappeared into the unnamed land.
Yet finally Maenadic leapt from his thoughts, a large grin on his face.
“I have thought of a name for this land.” He declared. All the Gods clustered around him. “I have named it Dumonia, for in the Ancient Language that means ‘whole’.”
All the Gods agreed on this and Maenadic called Grayphon back one last time to tell him of this name, and gave him the errand of telling all the speaking and non-speaking creatures in Dumonia this news.
Now the Gods returned to their hill, where they watched the creatures of Dumonia find the places that they loved the most. But all the while Khaos had been plotting.
“The creatures here are not at all to my liking. I shall steal the remnants of one of the gems and with the power I shall create creatures to my liking.” Khaos thought to himself, and he stole away while the other Gods conversed.
Meanwhile, another lightning storm had appeared at the bottom of the hill at which the Gods were seated. They moved down to greet the newcomer, but were surprised to find that two people burst from the light.
Maenadic greeted them both.
“I am Maenadic. Welcome to the land named Dumonia. These are the other Gods.” He said. The twins smiled at him. One was a woman that was robed in a deep purple, while the other was a man in faint orange robes.
“We are Ooawan and Alabla. We the God and Goddess of Women and Men respectively.” They said together, and all the Gods greeted them.
Ooawan produced a gem, and ordered Grayphon back once more. The man was all too eager to come.
“Take this gem and mix them with the first fruit you eat. These will create women in your race as well as males. When you have eaten, bury the remainder and all races will have females as well as males.” Ooawan told him, and Grayphon once more returned to his tribe, where they gathered fruit and ate the gems. Suddenly women appeared among them, and the men and women left the God’s company again.
“Now I must depart and make sure that every male and boy is correct.” Alabla said, and he disappeared into the land. Ooawan said the same about women, and she too disappeared.
Once more the Gods sat down upon their hill, and they talked. None of them noticed Khaos had disappeared.
One by one, the remaining Gods appeared, but none of the new Gods had gems. Inoo and Okal, gods of Parties and Luck respectively joined the ranks of the Gods together, as did Ahgekam, Goddess of Magik and Waradas, the God of War. A beautiful Goddess named Ustl arrived alone and declared herself the Goddess of Love and Friendship. Throsudi, Goddess of Food and Wine brought the Gods a feast to share as they waited and they shared this with the last of the Gods when she arrived, Mothen, the Goddess of Children and Birth. Mothen departed quickly, to spread the word of young children to Grayphon and his people and the rest of the Gods finished the feast.
When at last they realised that no more Gods were coming, Maenadic stood before his fellow Gods.
“Welcome, one and all, to the land of Dumonia! And may we grow this land as we ourselves have come to be in existence!” He declared and the rest of the Gods agreed with him.
However, Khaos’ disappearance was soon noticed.
“Where is Khaos, your brother?” Del piped up, and Maenadic glanced around. For Khaos was indeed gone.
“Did anyone see him leave this gathering?” Maenadic asked, and the other Gods shook their heads.
“This is strange.” Someone muttered, and the others all agreed.
“For now, though, brothers and sisters, we rest and watch the world grow!” And with that the Gods lay and watched the world shape itself.
By Isaac McIntyre
Birth and Life
The world of Dumonia has not always been one of Lords and warriors and battles. Once the land was ruled over and lived in by the Gods that the people of Dumonia now worship. The Gods once walked among their disciples and followers as readily as a merchant walks in the markets. Although they now only return to Dumonia to fight through their bravest champions, there was a time when they were the champions of Dumonia, and they were the heroes of the time.
Before the Gods there was nothing. An empty but eternal nothing that created a sense of belonging and yet it would repulse you at the same time.
This was the nothing that Maenadic was born into.
Maenadic was simply not there one moment, and whole the next. He wore piercing white robes and his blonde hair hung around his chiselled face like a halo. The first words spoke in the world of Dumonia were:
“Curious.” Maenadic exclaimed. He examined himself all over, and he found that he was ready to begin his life.
But he was feeling something that no one on Dumonia had felt yet. He was lonely.
He sat down in the nothing and was silent for a great time. Some say that time passed in years for them like seconds for us, but some say time stands still. Whichever it is, a great deal of time passed before Maenadic leapt up again. For something was happening a little way off in the nothing.
A blood red bolt of lightning was silently crackling to and fro. Maenadic edged closer to the strange substance, but dived out of the way when it crackled in every direction at once.
Out of the glow stepped another man, robed in pitch black. His face appeared almost alike to Maenadic, except he had startlingly black hair. Maenadic approached him.
“Welcome.” He said to the man in black, as he had not yet seen anyone else. The man looked at him for a moment.
“Hello. Who are you?” The man in black asked. Maenadic introduced himself, and they shook hands.
“My name is Khaos. I have been sent into this Nothing by a force unknown to me.” Khaos stated. Maenadic nodded.
“It is the same for me brother.” For they were in fact brothers, and their likeness in features showed that even more so than they knew.
They discussed a great many things, for they had huge amounts of knowledge and they were both very smart. They agreed on most things until it came to choice.
“The soul must be made to work. If it cannot have something to toll for it will crumble.” Khaos stated, as the two brothers sat in the Nothingness.
“That is further from the truth than anyone has said before. The soul is to be free and cheerful, not tied down by chains and shackles.” Maenadic replied, but before Khaos could get out another sentence a bright blue lightning crackled around them and they hurried to one side of it, for they knew what was happening.
The crackling went on for many minutes, before there was a snap of light.
From it emerged a woman, more beautiful then Maenadic and Khaos had even dreamt over. Her name was Del, and she was clothes in flowing blue robes. She had flowing blonde hair, reaching down to her mid rift and in her hand was a shining gem, which she closed her fist around when she was fully formed. When she opened her hand again the gem flew into the sky and suddenly the Nothing was brighter, for the Sun had been created. The ball of fire burned in the sky, banishing the light.
Maenadic turned his face towards it, for it was good for him, but Khaos pulled up his hood, for it burned his skin.
When Maenadic had finished admiring the new Sun, he turned to the woman.
“Who are you, beautiful mistress?” He asked. She turned gracefully towards him.
“I am Del, who has been sent from the Realm of Mystery to the land of Maenadic.” She replied and Maenadic took up her hand and kissed it.
“Welcome. I am known as Maenadic and this is my brother, Khaos.”
Del bobbed her head at Khaos, who was scowling at her for bringing the Sun to the land of darkness.
“Have you seen my brother yet?” She asked, but at that moment a bolt of lightning struck from unseen places, and it was the deepest green that all three had ever seen.
From the light stepped a man, robed in the deepest of browns. He had short black hair and a chiselled face. His eyes were deep and brown and he strode as if he was bounding. Del moved towards him.
“Welcome brother, to the land of Maenadic.”
He nodded, and glanced first at Maenadic and then Khaos.
“Are these the brothers I have heard of?” He asked, and Maenadic nodded. Del’s brother bowed his head in reply. “I bring you the gift of earth.”
He raised his closed hands, and threw to deep brown gems to the ground. Instantly the Nothing beneath them began to writhe and shake, and Khaos was thrown off his feet momentarily.
Mountains and hills began to rise, and valleys and troughs began to fall. Fields and plains were grown, and Maenadic looked upon all this and smiled.
A huge landmass was spread out beneath the Gods, and all four of them looked down at the land with happy eyes, for this was someone they could live.
“Very good.” Maenadic muttered, and Del turned to him.
“This is Rathe. He is my brother.” She stated. Maenadic nodded.
“Welcome Rathe.” Rathe nodded in reply and stood a little behind Del.
The four Gods instantly were on the ground that had before been many miles beneath them. Maenadic alighted on a hill and sat down. Del and Rathe joined him, but Khaos stood a little apart from them.
All four of them waited. The time seemed to pass eternally, and once again it is debated whether this time was no time at all or millennia. Either way, they were seated for a great time.
“This land needs breaks in it.” And unknown voice stated behind them, and they all rose to greet the newest God.
“I am Kanu.” He said, and threw a sparkling blue gem to the ground. As before, the ground rippled, and water rushed in from the heavens, momentarily engulfing all the Gods.
Then the water was gone and it had fallen on the land. Rivers, streams and lakes had formed, and around the great land mass raged a huge body of water called the ocean.
Maenadic looked upon all this and was pleased once more.
“Very good.” He said, before sitting back down on the hill. All but Khaos joined him once more, and they sat for a great deal longer.
Meanwhile, Khaos had been having treacherous thoughts.
“I should be the ruler of the Gods.” He thought. “Not my snivelling brother. If I were to cast him down than I would rule this land, and I could shape it how I pleased. The others would have to follow my lead as I am the brother of Maenadic, and if he is dead then the ruling right would fall to me.” And while he thought these evil thoughts he also devised a way to create his own world.
After a time, another storm of lightning appeared on a far away hill, and the Gods journeyed there to welcome the new God.
The lightning, as they drew closer they saw, was a deep crimson colour, and for it burst a man with hair that shot every which way and that was clothed not in robes but in pelts of an unknown animal. For this was Urastef, and he introduced himself that way.
“Well met Urastef. I am Maenadic. This is Khaos, Del, Rathe and Kanu.” And as Maenadic spoke their names he gestured to them and they made signs of greeting to the newcomer. “Welcome to Maenadic’s world.” Rathe said, stepping forward, but Maenadic shook his head.
“That name will not do, for it is all of ours and everything that we place in it as well.” Maenadic exclaimed. The Gods, all except Khaos, nodded in agreement.
“What shall this new world be called then?” Del asked, and Maenadic returned to his seat on the hill. While he thought, Urastef revealed that he also brought two gems and one he cast into the ocean while the other he buried in the ground.
Suddenly a burst of creatures appeared around the Gods, ranging from every size, from Giants to Mice, and every manner of creature in between, like the horse and the cow and the Elf. Each of these land creatures introduced themselves, and many were known to all, but some were new, such as the Elves, the Dwarves, the Fairies and the Hobbits. All the animals returned to where they were longing to be, such as the ground or the plains, and then Urastef tended to the ocean creatures, from the whale to the shrimp. Many you had seen before, but some, like the Ferin (a long fish with solid scales like armour) and the Ocean Elves, were only of this world. And Urastef named and blessed every single one and they returned to where they longed to dwell.
Now the land had creatures that lived in the land and the sea, and Urastef pulled one Human aside and talked to him for many hours. Urastef told the Human, whose name was Grayphon, that he must be wary not to harm creatures unless it was necessary, and all the Gods declared that this was true. And Grayphon returned to his family and the Humans too disappeared into the unnamed land.
Yet finally Maenadic leapt from his thoughts, a large grin on his face.
“I have thought of a name for this land.” He declared. All the Gods clustered around him. “I have named it Dumonia, for in the Ancient Language that means ‘whole’.”
All the Gods agreed on this and Maenadic called Grayphon back one last time to tell him of this name, and gave him the errand of telling all the speaking and non-speaking creatures in Dumonia this news.
Now the Gods returned to their hill, where they watched the creatures of Dumonia find the places that they loved the most. But all the while Khaos had been plotting.
“The creatures here are not at all to my liking. I shall steal the remnants of one of the gems and with the power I shall create creatures to my liking.” Khaos thought to himself, and he stole away while the other Gods conversed.
Meanwhile, another lightning storm had appeared at the bottom of the hill at which the Gods were seated. They moved down to greet the newcomer, but were surprised to find that two people burst from the light.
Maenadic greeted them both.
“I am Maenadic. Welcome to the land named Dumonia. These are the other Gods.” He said. The twins smiled at him. One was a woman that was robed in a deep purple, while the other was a man in faint orange robes.
“We are Ooawan and Alabla. We the God and Goddess of Women and Men respectively.” They said together, and all the Gods greeted them.
Ooawan produced a gem, and ordered Grayphon back once more. The man was all too eager to come.
“Take this gem and mix them with the first fruit you eat. These will create women in your race as well as males. When you have eaten, bury the remainder and all races will have females as well as males.” Ooawan told him, and Grayphon once more returned to his tribe, where they gathered fruit and ate the gems. Suddenly women appeared among them, and the men and women left the God’s company again.
“Now I must depart and make sure that every male and boy is correct.” Alabla said, and he disappeared into the land. Ooawan said the same about women, and she too disappeared.
Once more the Gods sat down upon their hill, and they talked. None of them noticed Khaos had disappeared.
One by one, the remaining Gods appeared, but none of the new Gods had gems. Inoo and Okal, gods of Parties and Luck respectively joined the ranks of the Gods together, as did Ahgekam, Goddess of Magik and Waradas, the God of War. A beautiful Goddess named Ustl arrived alone and declared herself the Goddess of Love and Friendship. Throsudi, Goddess of Food and Wine brought the Gods a feast to share as they waited and they shared this with the last of the Gods when she arrived, Mothen, the Goddess of Children and Birth. Mothen departed quickly, to spread the word of young children to Grayphon and his people and the rest of the Gods finished the feast.
When at last they realised that no more Gods were coming, Maenadic stood before his fellow Gods.
“Welcome, one and all, to the land of Dumonia! And may we grow this land as we ourselves have come to be in existence!” He declared and the rest of the Gods agreed with him.
However, Khaos’ disappearance was soon noticed.
“Where is Khaos, your brother?” Del piped up, and Maenadic glanced around. For Khaos was indeed gone.
“Did anyone see him leave this gathering?” Maenadic asked, and the other Gods shook their heads.
“This is strange.” Someone muttered, and the others all agreed.
“For now, though, brothers and sisters, we rest and watch the world grow!” And with that the Gods lay and watched the world shape itself.
By Isaac McIntyre
