How the Gods Screwed Up

         A long, long time ago, back when the sun and moon ran wild through the cosmos and everything was dark and bleak, two beings of immense power came upon one bare planet at the edge of the universe. These two gods, Artan and his mate Sila, were in a desperate plight, for they had watched as their old home, and everyone and everything they had loved destroyed by a darkness that had plagued them for centuries. It was this darkness that caused them to flee to this dark edge of the universe. Yet despite this, they were hopeful, for they carried with them everything they needed to start over and recreate the world they had just lost.
         A lot of work needed to be done before the planet before them could be fit to live in. Artan went out and, with great skill, caught the errant Sun and a solitary Moon with a long rope, and affixed them to the planet. It was in this manner that light and warmth was brought to the planet, though the Sun regularly tried to escape and pulled at its tether, putting great distances between it and the planet and causing moments of darkness where the weak moonlight was the only light. Artan then pulled from his bag hundreds of stars that he had brought over from the old planet and scattered them around the new universe, where they soon thrived and multiplied in the Moon’s glow.
         Next, he used his skilled hands to mold the soft planet. He gathered large mounds of dirt and rock and made towering mountains and sloping hills; he dug deep trenches and pits with his fingers and, using the precious water he had brought over, created streams, rivers, and lakes. As he poured the last of the water into the deepest and largest pit, sweat from his brow mixed in with the clear water, making it bitter. Yet Artan saw beauty and purpose even in this and did not correct it.
         Sila, a great lover of all things alive, planted, from the seeds she carried, the numerous plants and trees that had grown on the old planet. Flowers of every hue and scent; tall trees that touched the clouds and took up the earth with their width; plants that bore all manners of edible foods, all this and more were planted grew under Sila’s loving hands.
         She then reached into her sack and pulled numerous pairs of the animals they had treasured most back home. These creatures, asleep during the long journey across the universe, awoke as soon as their feet touched the fertile earth and soon multiplied. These animals ranged from the small timid chipmunk to the gigantic whales that loved the salty oceans; from creatures so small not even the two gods could see them, to the tall massive lizards that shook the earth with their movement. Some, like the rabbit and deer, foraged among the variety of plants, while others, like the tiger and wolf, preyed amongst the other animals, culling the sick and weak from the greater number and ensuring continued health for the rest. These animals all lived in harmony throughout the whole planet.
         There was a special class of animals that had thrived in the old home and had been brought over to this new one. These animals, unlike the more common ones that now dominated the new world, were of higher intelligence, for the gods of old had created them from their own blood. These animals, the dragon, the phoenix, the unicorn, and others, enjoyed a life nearly equal in length to the gods and took pleasure in talking with them. They had once been numerous, but after the dark plague had swept the planet, many entire species were wiped out and only a few survived. These few, forever known as the Old World animals, were brought to the new planet, where they could enjoy a similar life.
         When they were done, they thought their new home even more beautiful then the one lost, for they had created this one with their own hands. It was Artan that came up with the idea that this work should somehow be preserved for future generations, so he created a large golden book, in which they wrote down all they did to create this world. Fear that it would fall into the wrong hands caused the gods to place a spell upon it: each made a small cut upon their hands and allowed the blood to drip onto the book, so that only they could open this book and alter it. They placed this essential blueprint in their home, a vast marble temple at the peak of the highest mountain.
         The two gods lived in great happiness for many hundreds of years, enjoying the fruits of their labor. They soon had a child to share their joy with, a son they named Favon. They told him all about their past life, about the darkness that had touched their homes, of how they came upon this planet and had altered it. Favon loved this last story most of all and longed to one day create something as grand.
         He soon got his chance, for one day, he approached his father and asked that he too add something to their home. Not wanting to deny his son, Artan took Favon to the golden book. Favon cut his hand and let his blood drip onto the book, and, because he was of the blood of both Artan and Sila, the book opened for him.
         He thought long about what contribution he could add that wouldn’t be overshadowed by his father’s capture of the Sun, or his mother’s great rearing of the Old World animals, and soon came upon a truly unique idea.
         He gathered clay and created two small beings in the likeness of his parents. He then reopened the cut on his hand and poured his blood over them. The two statues came to life, and even more amazing, possessed much of the wisdom, beauty, and power of the gods themselves. He named the male Zenon and the female Mara, and presented them to his parents. The two demigods so intrigued and amused the elder gods, Favon was asked to create more of them. Soon, the demigods had covered the planet, tending to the plants and creatures, gaining the trust and love of them all. As centuries went on, for they possessed the immortal lifespan of the gods, they developed and enhanced great talents similar to the gods. Zenon and Mara had many children, and they and their progeny remained Favon’s favorites.
         Like his parents, Favon recorded all that he had done in the golden book, but he went one step further. He created a small chest, which he inlayed with gems and gold, in which he added a few stars, a jar of water, a handful of earth, and a glass vial of his own blood. He kept this chest, the essences of this world and his contribution to it, with him at all times and considered it his second greatest treasure.
         For a while, Favon’s people pleased him greatly, but he soon longed to do more. He reopened the book and created his own breeds of animals, creatures created by joining many of the existing animals in strange new ways. Thus so, the griffin, the lycanni, the hippocampus, and the hippogriff were created. To these creatures, he added the same intelligence of the Old World creatures.
         It was at this point, enraptured by the new beings he had brought to life, that Favon made his greatest and most costly mistake: not only had he not made note of this new alteration in the book, but it had been left unsealed and opened. Neither of the elder gods was aware of this, and it soon slipped Favon’s mind as he continued to make additions to the world. He never kept track of the vast number of changes he had made to the world. He once made a grave error, trying to meld some animal features with those of the demigods, but could not remember the exact process of how he created these creatures so made another change to correct his error.
         It didn’t take long for mistakes to be compounded upon other mistakes, for the simplest change to prove hazardous and impossible to change without causing more dangers. The natural balance of this new world began to shift; disease sprung up and started to spread; the animals and demigods began to fight amongst themselves; species of unique animals began to disappear; even the very earth began to tremble and fall apart. Too late did Favon see the error of his ways, and the more he tried to fix it, the worse it became. His parents became distraught as they watched their perfect world fall apart, yet every time they tried to help, new problems arose.
         The gods’ health began to wane, and the lifespan of the demigods was much shortened. A strange sickness, an undying rage, was born in many of the demigods and animals, and they began to kill all those around them mercilessly. Favon, desperate to keep peace, created hundreds of borders to keep groups of people separate and safe. These borders proved insufficient, so together, the gods soon created complete separate planes on the world, one on top of each other, to separate the beings in hope of saving even a few. Where the diseased demigods and animals resided, plants and other creatures died out, and the land grew harsh and barely livable.
         For a while some order was achieved in this way, for the dangerous people were kept separate, though Favon didn’t have the heart to kill them and simply hoped they would either overcome their illness or kill each other off. The borders and separated realms kept many of the peoples isolated and the blood of the god soon ran dry amongst them making the demigods frail, mortal and powerless. But some of the diseased still possessed the full blood and power of the god, and soon found ways to rip open doorways and paths onto the other realms. Favon soon enlisted a small group of trustworthy demigods to open doorways between the realms in order to track down and kill the irredeemable half gods and mortals.
         They succeeded in destroying many of the diseased people and order regained a tentative hold on the world, but it soon slipped. The sickened world had become a beacon to the darker forces outside the planet, and soon the same darkness that Artan and Sila had fled so long ago was beginning to touch their world. The first victims of this plague were Zenon and Mara, the most loved of all of Favon’s creations.
         The three gods knew they couldn’t fight this thing again; their powers had waned greatly from their exertions and disease. Sadly, they soon realized that they would have to abandon their once cherished home to the madness that now gripped it. It was their plan to find another bare planet and reproduce their paradise, but with one ghastly discovery, this plan was destroyed. The golden book, the very blueprint of creation was gone; the seal, long left unbroken by Favon, had made it easy for the book to be stolen, but by whom, it was not known. This was a crushing blow to the elder gods, and Favon, driven by grief and guilt left his parents, never to see them again. The two elder gods soon left their once beautiful, now devastated home for good.
         It seemed that all hope was lost; the gods diminished and nearly all gone; disease ran rampant throughout all the realms; the darkness was slowly taking hold on the entire planet. Yet Favon did not give up. As horrible as his mistakes were, he soon created an equally promising solution. He sought several of Zenon and Mara’s children, the ones untouched by the disease and darkness. He gave them his small chest, inside which were the stars, water, earth and the vial of his untainted blood. To these children he gave them a demand and a prophecy; they would continue to fight the plagues destroying the world, would oversee all the realms, and when times grew bleak, to use the blood in the vial to give them the strength to overcome the darkness. When the world was on the path of restoration, he would return and bring back its former glory.
         With Favon’s departure, the demigods soon became known as the Caretakers, and enlisted some of the previous enforcers to guard the chest. These enforcers took it and fled, always keeping it hidden and its location secret, even from the Caretakers. After so much grief, even while the destruction continued, to a lesser degree in some realms, throughout the world, a small group of those striving for good kept safe a source of hope and the very essence of a paradise long lost.