One might ask how I got to where I am in my life, but to fully understand you must first know that my lifespan is far greater than the average. Actually, if I’m being honest, as of this moment it is never-ending. My name is Islia(eye-lee-uh) and I have been chosen by a being far superior to any of us to keep track of records that cover the majority of our known universe… And sometimes even the unknown. To accomplish this task I need to be in a position where I can worry not about the basic trivial human functions and instead dedicate myself wholeheartedly to what I do.

In order to keep track of these things, I can’t do it all on my own. As much as I wish I could solely serve my master, there are others like me. The nice thing about this job though is that we’re allowed to choose where we spend most of our time. While Earth is popular and Ronka is interesting, there was one planet I was fascinated by from it’s very beginning. The one I call home now, Fenrir.

The origins of Fenrir itself, as in the planet, could be broken down scientifically. An astrophysicist might tell you it was formed through accretion, but an immortal record keeper like myself would tell you that this was no scientific formation. Instead it was a piece of matter given spark by a godly being with a big imagination. Molded, handcrafted and given life with this being’s own breath and love.

Once the base was formed, the terrain was sculpted and four seeds were planted. In the West, a red seed that would grow and sprout a mighty god with claws and fangs. To the East, a goddess emerged from a blue seed and flew high in the air before crashing into the waters below. The Northern green seed created the mold for which Fenins, or this world’s humans, would take shape. Though this god in particular was more elf than man. And the Southern gray seed would give way to Fenrir’s greatest terrors.

Of course I speak of this world’s gods and goddesses, but I have to make it dramatic and give it some flare, right? Mr. Claws and Fangs is Enror(in-ror), the wolf god. Often associated with war and battle. The beauty in the East is Morska, a mermaid - though she can take on many other forms. In the North, Jakari, the elf god. Bounty and harvest are his forte, but he is also big on culture and celebration. Lastly is Aradia, the witch goddess. Even as a record keeper, I can’t say I know much about her. The bog is scary and I recommend not going there if you can avoid it.

You know, all this reminiscing reminds me of a story about four more entities on Fenrir that correlate to the gods and goddesses. We might as well talk about this as well since they are just as important to the history of Fenrir as its deities. As the world began to take shape and became inhabited with Fenins, the gods and goddesses continued to rise in power. They became symbols and integrated themselves into the daily lives of those around them. As their popularity and strength grew so did their reach and scope. Soon they were aware of each other.

In many cases this led to prosperity for the people of Fenrir, but in other instances this caused a lot of hardships. Jakari thought himself the most loved, Enror thought himself the most feared and Morska thought herself the most respected. Though fear, and maybe even to a degree respect as well, was probably reserved for Aradia, no one really knew what she thought or felt because she was the least involved of them all.

One day when the gods and goddesses were their most divided, it was up to their loyal followers to mend the wounds. A prophet, respected by the deities, reached out to them individually and offered an item that would bring peace back to Fenrir. That prophet was Wince and how he came to obtain this item is still a mystery to all of those who study the lore of the planet. This gift he offered was a large metal box and he brought it to an empty temple in Beruva. This temple was used by the deities to meet before and it seemed a fitting place to gather them.

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Wince arrived first, unsure if the gods and goddesses would reveal themselves to him and placed the gift upon a pedestal in the middle of the temple. As if appearing from thin-air, the large Enror showed himself first. Morska arrived next, taking on a human form and then Jakari. They all stood in silence awaiting the arrival of Aradia and just as Jakari was about to suggest that she would not show, the grotesque lady of the bog emerged from a shadowy puddle on the ground.

Wince had been visited by some of the deities before, but never all at once. This situation left him overwhelmed and he struggled to find his resolve. Mostly wanting to get this over with, but also trying to keep up appearances, Jakari waved his hand and presented Wince with a flower.

“While you hold this you will find your poise and confidence,” Jakari told Wince with a smile.

Wince accepted the gesture and took a deep breath.

“I present to you a magical item most rare,” Wince said with a bow. “The Gift of Anara. A single sacrifice of thyself placed inside the box will return a more powerful upgrade, the likes of which even a deity has never seen or experienced. However,” I should explain that these things quite often had a catch, “the reward will only be granted if all four of you make the sacrifice.”

The deities hesitated and after much deliberation, Morska made up their minds for them. Though in human form, she reached deep inside her own thigh and revealed one of her many scales. She placed the scale inside the box. Morska’s body was covered in scales as it is and she played it safe with this sacrifice, though she hoped for a stronger body as a result.

Enror broke off one of his many large, sharp, nails and threw the broken piece into the box. If the prophet was speaking true then Enror hoped for even deadlier claws to strike down his enemies. Perhaps even claws strong enough to strike down the gods and goddesses around him. Plus he had many claws and this sacrifice would not harm him.

Aradia was a unique creature compared to the others. She had an ability much like Morska’s that allowed her to transform her appearance, but by default she took on a form that was half woman and half snake with many tentacles protruding out of her back and shoulders. Aradia removed one of the tentacles and added it to the box. Another safe sacrifice that Aradia hoped would improve the length of her extra appendages.

Not to be out done and not to play it as safe as the others, Jakari removed a blade from his person and slowly carved out one of his eyes. He looked at the other deities with his remaining eye as if to flex his superiority to them as he placed his eye within the box. Wince moved to the center and placed the top of the box back on. The moment he did a loud click noise echoed through the temple and the box began to glow. A bright white blast shot out of the box and passed through Wince as well as the deities.

Wince stood there, a sudden fear overcame him. He had no recollection of what he had done or where he had been. Terrified, he looked around the room at the deities. Wince’s eyes locked with a crushed claw, a missing scale, a severed tentacle and hole in Jakari’s face where his eye had once been.

“You lied!” Jakari yelled while covering his face. Vines emerged from the ground and surrounded him and when they vanished so did he. Upset and frustrated, Morska vanished in a cloud of blue smoke. Wince fell to the ground scared and unaware of what he had done. Someone had tricked him or controlled him, he wasn’t really sure, but when he looked up Enror had also disappeared and now it was only him and Aradia. Though the floor was now covered in corrupted shadows once again, Aradia didn’t leave and poor Wince was never heard from again…

So what did the sacrifices to the Gift of Anara actually do? Well, nothing at first. The deities understood that they had been fooled, but also knew it wasn’t Wince’s doing. So they set out to find the one who tricked them, but had very little success. Unfortunately none of them thought to move or hide the box and an ill-fated adventurer one day opened it in pandora-like fashion.

From the box emerged four legendary creatures unlike any seen on Fenrir before.