Long ago, long before humans and dwarves existed, even long before the world came into existence, there was nothing but the infinite universe. Then one day, the Earthmother, Etherys, came into being. Etherys, wondering what her purpose was, wandered the infinite darkness for a long time, until she stumbled upon a light far, far away, and felt drawn towards it. As she wandered, ever closer, the light grew bigger and brighter with each step, growing warmer as she neared. Then, after many decades of wandering, pulled towards it in fascination, the light’s source revealed itself: A burning orb of the purest blue, bluer than the oceans, more blue than the purest sapphire still, its sight reflected in her eyes. She named it Solis, and tried to approach it, but its fire grew too hot for comfort, so she shied away. Then, as she tried to move away from it, she found the cold she’d unknowingly endured for millennia, sapped her strength, leaving her craving for Solis’ warmth once more. Thus she wandered, between warmth and cold, until she found the perfect distance for herself: Close enough to admire Solis’ majestic sight without freezing, distant enough to not scald herself. And from her perfect distance she danced around Solis, captivated by its brilliance and beauty, trapped in its orbit forevermore. But time passed, and Etherys longed for someone to share Solis with, her longing passionate enough that soon she found herself expecting and giving birth to three children. The Firstborn, her daughter Azurra, was named for Solis’ bright blue color, and from her mother she received the limitless gift of Wisdom. The Middleborn, her son Hellenas, who’s hair shone bright with light was born with the gift of Might, and his strength was unparalleled.  The last child, Illune, was neither male nor female but blessed with unrivaled beauty. And as she beheld her children, Etherys shed tears of joy and pride. And as her tears rolled down and rested on her body, they formed the foundations of the rivers and oceans, the seas and lakes and streams and ponds and other bodies of water of the world as we know it. Then together with her children she beheld the star’s beauty until Etherys, exhausted from wandering and giving birth and overcome by bliss, felt tired and went to sleep. She curled up in a ball, both her arms hugging her legs, and drifted off in endless dreams, her sleeping breath surrounding her as she slept. And from her breath, the air was made, and from her body, the world was made, which is why we call Etherys the Earthmother. But as Etherys slept, her children stayed awake, filled with energy and nothing to do. Having inherited their mother’s love for creation, they sought to make things of their own, but as crafters often are, were at a loss where to begin. Then Azurra, in her endless wisdom, crafted a pencil from the strands of her mother’s hair, and drew using the only canvas and ink she had available. She dipped the pencil in her mother’s tears, and shaped the waters of the world into the shape as we know them now, leaving parts of her mother’s arms and legs uncovered. Then she breathed onto the waters and gave them life, as her mother had done with them. Hellenas next took the pencil upon him, and with it, he drew the mountains, with mighty peaks towering above, reaching for the sky. He drew the dwarves, to delve the mountains in search of ores, minerals and gemstones, so they could create beauty too. Then he drew the humans, imagining them with short life spans so they’d burn brightly, like candles, and would hold contests of might in his honor, ever seeking to win glory and immortalize their names. Then he, too, breathed life in his creations, and watched them populate the lands. Finally Illune was given the pencil, and as they drew, they imagined all that was beautiful, and shaped them into existence. Illune drew the forests, full of trees that changed color throughout the years, and filled them with life and song. They drew the animals, in different shapes and colors, and spread them across the lands and skies. Then finally, Illune attempted to recreate Solis and drew upon the sky an orb of bright blue light, to illuminate their creations even as night covered them. But Illune’s knew it was no Solis, devoid of the heat the star burned with, for better or for worse. Then Azurra proposed they called it Luna, and all agreed. Satisfied with their work, they returned the pencil to their mother’s hair, so that should she awaken one day she might bring into existence whatever her heart desired. And as she slept, and the world was full of beauty, their own hearts longed to be part of it – and so it happened. And as they shrank themselves to scale, and lived among their creations, they decided to share their gifts with the world. To the humans and dwarves, Azurra shared her knowledge and wisdom, and taught them how to grow the land, and how to build houses to shelter them from the rain and cold. Hellenas taught them how to burrow the rocks, and gather the stone  needed for their houses. He showed them how to retrieve ores from the mountains, and how to melt it into tools for fishing and hunting, so that they might eat and grow strong. Illune taught them the beauty of song and poetry, but as more and more of their creations yearned for Illune themselves, they grew shy and retreated to the west, filling the land with the most beautiful and mysterious trees Etherys had ever seen and would ever see. And thise who followed Illune there, never returned, but whether that was by choice or by ill fate none could tell. The land they’re retreated to was named in their honor, and the island to the west would forevermore be known as Illune in the human language. The dwarves, having created their own language, named it differently, but what they called it I cannot tell you, dear reader, for I do not know myself. Ever since the first magus war, the dwarves have retreated under the mountains, and nobody alive has seen one since, so we couldn’t ask them even if we tried. Rumor has it though, that those who tried wouldn’t make it back alive either. Anyways, I digress. Humans, obsessed with naming things, ended up bickering among themselves what to call the other continental islands, until they settled for Azurra in the east, and Hellenas in the south. The continental island to the north they named Ethernys, meaning eternal Etherys, as a tribute to the one who gave her body and breath so they could come into being. And as Etherys and her children three were worshipped, temples erected around the lands in their honor, and tributes were paid. For a long time the three siblings stayed among their creations, reveling in their worship and growth, until they too felt sleep’s pull on them growing stronger with each passing day and retreated to rest for a long time. The humans and dwarves, blaming eachother for the gods abandoning them, started using their knowledge to fight and kill eachother, which in turn caused the great divide. When the dwarves had enough of fighting, they retreated into the mountains so they could focus on their crafts instead, and it was understood by the humans that leaving them alone was in their best interest, as what the dwarves lacked in stature, they made up for in strength and endurance. Not to mention, the bloody buggers were harder to hit than fellow humans almost twice their size. But even as their wars with the dwarves ended, they still fought and bickered among themselves, for those who had fought valiantly in war before them had been immortalized in beautiful songs and stories, even more so than those who’d won Hellenas’ tournaments of strength. And so, the peaceful beginning of history was followed by thousands of years of war, until humans discovered how to bend the elements to their will, and magic came into being. That in itself wasn’t the end of the wars, but changed the nature of war to the point where ever greater destruction occurred with increasing frequency, culminating in the great magus wars, where our ancestors fought amongst eachother for control of the world – until all agreed, weary from war, that the Earthmother had made the world for them all to share. And thus as war followed peace, peace followed war, and even now as I conclude this summary of the history of Etherys, we still know peace. I for one, and hopefully you with me, dear reader, hope that this peace may last – for in war there are never any winners, only those lucky enough to survive.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Theorodius B. Inuviel, Historian

3898 AE, Ethernys City, Ethernys.