Legends are the holes in history which we fill with imagination. In Ionyr's travels, it had struck him that of all the stories he heard as a child, only a scant few had stuck with him. Between those vastly different stories, like the mythos of the First King Firemane and the tall tale of the Sea Monkeys, there was but one thing in common – they all managed to pique his curiosity. They compelled his mind to swirl to new heights, forever growing in a vain attempt to comprehend their vast scale and fascinating implications.

But none, not even his all-time favorite story, had come close to the one he'd chosen to dedicate his life to. To prove it was no mere legend – to prove it was history. He remembered the day he first heard it as though it were yesterday. Life before that day was a faded, washed out blur – like it was that particular day that his consciousness first came to be.

It was a hot summer evening, and the sun had just begun to melt into the horizon. Its golden rays shone across the village's tiled rooftops, through the boards covering the window and into his room. The air was filled with the scent of lavender. His mom had burnt some in the fireplace in the other room that night, like every other night. Yet it was the smell of that particular batch of burnt lavender that his nose remembered best, sticking with him for decades upon decades. It wafted through the thin wooden door into his bedroom, coating the air with its calming scent.

His mother told him once, as her mother had told her, that burning lavender in the fireplace was an old custom meant to help them sleep softly and tightly. But that day, it didn't help him sleep. What he needed was answers, he thought as she tucked him in next to his brother Ielus into their shared bed.

It was creaky and shaky from all the pillow fights and jumping competitions they'd had over the years – of course, Ionyr had won all of them. The bed never was comfortable, but he could live with it. Never kept him from a good night's rest before. Tonight was different. With all these questions burning in his mind, he needed answers. As his mother went to leave the room, he called out to her.

“Tell us a story, mom!” She turned slowly to look at him. He could barely make out the rings under her eyes in the light of the candle she held. He felt an elbow in his side.

"Mom is tired, let her sleep." Ielus whispered in his ear. He wasn't wrong. But with his racing mind, Ionyr wouldn't have been able to sleep anyway.

"Aren't you curious about what Rayza told us?" He blurted out.

"Yeah, but..." Ielus glanced at their mother. She smiled and set down the candle on the table by the door.

"Now, now, Ielus, it's quite alright. I can tell you a story." Taking the chair beside it, she sat down on it next to their bed. "You've got me curious, now. What did Rayza tell you?"

"Who were the Creators?" Ionyr asked. Her eyes widened for a brief moment, but quickly relaxed.

“I don't think you're old enough for that story. How about the story of the Sea Monkeys?” Not again!

“No! We want to hear the story about the Creators!" Ionyr said we, but it was truly his own curiosity he wanted to satisfy. Though judging by his brother's lack of protest, and him leaning in with an excited glint in his eyes, Ionyr was not too far off.

“Alright.” Their mother said with a yawn. "I suppose Rayza must've dug through her father's notes. I'll have to tell him tomorrow." Drat. She'll probably get an earful from her father for that. He saw Ielus giving him a glare in his peripheral. Yeah, Ionyr thought, I'll have to make it up to her somehow.

“Then let me tell you of the Creators." His ears perked up in excitement. Finally! He'd been waiting for this all day! Ever since he heard about the story from Rayza that afternoon, he hadn't been able to get it out of his head.

But his mother didn't continue. She simply stared ahead, into space.

"Mom?" She blinked and shook her head, as though she'd awoken from a deep slumber.

"R-right. The Creators." She cleared her throat. It was getting worse.

"Once upon a time, a very long time ago, ancient gods created this world and all life in it. From the tiniest plant to the greatest beast, even us humans owe our lives to them. These beings are what we call the Creators.” The brothers went quiet and listened intently. All else was forgotten in the name of satiating their endless curiosity.

“The Beginning, as it is now known, was a time of peace and harmony. With their great miracles, the Creators made sure that life could bloom to its full potential, whereever it decided to take root.”

“Miracles? What miracles?” All Rayza had told him was that the Creators had created the world they lived in. What was this about miracles?

“They were skilled inventors and craftsmen. Using methods and knowledge unrivalled even by the greatest minds of our time, they were able to make the impossible possible.” His mind was flooded by endless ideas of what that could mean. So many possibilities he didn't know which insane image to entertain first.

He looked over to find the same flabbergasted look on his brother. Making the impossible possible...what kind of creation could conceivably do so? What did the Creators create? How did they do it? With all the burning questions in his mind, all he wanted was something to latch onto, something he could base his boundless imagination on before it kept him up all night.

“Like what?" He asked – he needed to know.

“They could create flying machines.” Flying machines?!

“No way!” Ionyr yelled excitedly.

"No way!" Ielus yelled astonishedly.

Their mother laughed as they gushed over the ridiculous idea she'd presented them. Flying through the sky like a bird? How fun would that be?!

"What else, what else?" Ielus asked with an enraptured glimmer in his eyes. Even tired as their mother was, whenever they got excited, she smiled with them. A tired smile, worn by the heavy burden of being the mother of the two loudest and most rambunctious boys in their small town, but a genuine smile nevertheless.

"It is said they were also able to create cities wherever they so chose. Beneath the earth, under the water or even on clouds. Nature was no obstacle to them, since..." She shrugged. "Well, they created it."

Stunned silent, their tiny minds began to wrestle with this new information. They were awestruck.

"Whoa...that...is SO COOL!" Ionyr's excitement overflowed, and his mouth began leaking all the wild fantasies in his head like a leaky bucket. Did they have fire swords? Lightning spears? Or maybe even...!

"Mom, could they maybe...heal your sickness?" She suddenly fell silent at Ielus' question. Her smile dropped.

"Mom?" Ielus asked, timidly. "Could they?"

"I don't know." She said, smiling. It was obviously forced, worn down by the years of fighting a losing battle. "If they did, that knowledge is lost now."

The silence was deafening. Both brothers knew what she was trying to say. Ionyr glanced at Ielus, and saw tears forming in the corner of his eyes. His hands were trembling. Ionyr quickly changed the subject.

"Continue the story, Mom." She remained silent however, spaced out and staring at nothing. "Mom?"

"Oh, sorry. I was wondering whether you two were ready for the next part of the legend." She said, snapping back to reality. It kept happening more and more frequently. Ielus tightly gripped their blanket. "But you're old enough now."

"Don't worry, mom! We're all grown up now, we can handle it!" Ionyr boisterously beat his chest, to lift the mood and snap his brother from his somber thoughts. "Right, Ielus?"

"Hm? Oh, y-yeah, we can handle it!" His brother followed his lead, and proudly puffed out his chest. Their mother laughed again.

"You can only claim that you're grown up on the day you have your own children. Until then, you are still my little boys." Saying that, she sat down at Ielus' feet and ruffled his hair. She knew. She was painfully aware of the horrible hand fate had dealt her – and by extension, her sons. And yet, refused to show it.

"But you are probably old enough to hear this chapter in their story." She turned her gaze toward Ionyr. "But...if it gets too much, tell me. I don't want to be woken up by any nightmares tonight." He nodded, knowing full well that she wasn't talking about him. He'd look after Ielus. If that was the price he had to pay for the answers he wanted, then he'd happily do it. She leaned back in her chair, smiling.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“I warned you." She cleared her throat. "One day, disaster struck the world. The earth shook and split wide open. From the crater rose...something.” She crossed her arms.

"It was a being unlike any other in this world. To this day, no one knows for sure what kind of being it was. Some call it a demon, others a force of nature..." Her gaze hardened. "The only thing everyone can agree on is its name. It was the One known as...the Calamity."

The Calamity? Ionyr glanced at his brother, but Ielus seemed equally confused. This sounded like such a big deal, though. The Calamity. With a name like that, it sounded like something everyone should know. As their mother continued the story, she leaned in and spoke in a quieter, softer tone. Almost as if the Calamity were listening.

“Wherever it went, it destroyed the life the Creators had spent so carefully cultivating. It devoured the souls of the living to fuel its rampage – no living thing, man or beast, could stand against it. Didn't take long for the entire world to rally against it in a desperate struggle for survival. That struggle is known as the Shattering.”

“The Shattering? Why is it called that?" Ionyr asked.

"What shattered?" Ielus added.

“All in its due time." She said, patting Ielus' head. "The Shattering was the first great conflict in the Creators' world. It ravaged all the land. No living being could escape its reach, not even in the Creator's hidden sanctuaries. Eventually, Humanity and Creators joined arms, but even together, they were unable to best it." The sun had set. Their room was no longer lit by its golden rays – only the dim candle light remained. Its shaky fire caused soft shadows to dance upon their mother's features.

"Raging against the light, the demon brought down its fist upon the earth. A strike so powerful, it managed to tear the lands apart." Wait. Ionyr had a terrifying epiphany. Did that mean...?

"The ground shattered?" She nodded solemnly. "The four continents...were once one?

"Indeed. The south became a desolate crater. No one knows how it looked before the Shattering. And even now, thousands of years later, no life can exist there. The land is constantly hounded by lightning storms, manifestations of its undying hatred." The wind picked up outside. It caused the wooden covers on the window to swing open ever so slightly, and the stiff breeze nearly extinguished the candle. She quickly closed the window and held it shut. It seemed like a storm was on its way.

"That is why it is called the Shattering. The Calamity shattered the previous order of the land and tore humans apart. No longer were we all living together. Brothers were torn apart by great ravines, and those ravines filled with water to form the oceans we know today.” The boys looked at each other in fear.

"Does that mean...the western Isles were also once one?"

"That punch was so strong, it split that land too?" Ielus said, shuddering.

“You two are very lucky to be alive today.” She said solemnly. "In those times, you two could have been the one to be reft apart." A terrifying thought. To be separated from his brother? How could Ionyr protect him like that? Besides, how did they live if the Calamity was that strong?

“But they won, right? The humans and Creators?” Ionyr asked, trying to soothe his brother's fear. Despite knowing there had to be a good ending to this story, he felt uneasy. The idea that the world could have ended before they were even born was a horrific thought.

“Yes...they won. After a century, the war ended. But at what cost? Many, many people had to be sacrificed for that victory. Even the gods themselves had to give their lives to end the bloodshed.” Wait. The gods...were not strong enough?

"Why? If they were gods, couldn't they just...un-create the Calamity?" His brother asked, but their mother shook her head.

"I'm afraid not. It was far too powerful."

"But they were gods! Surely they were strong enough!" Ielus cried out, surprising them both. She continued after composing herself.

"The Calamity had taken too many lives. It's power had far surpassed the gods by that point." Ielus fell silent, but his face betrayed a certain dissatisfaction. He looked almost insulted at the notion that gods could be beaten.

“But the Calamity was beaten, right?” Ionyr interjected. Sorry, Ielus, he thought, I need to hear how this story ends.

“The Creators realized that the longer the war lasted, the more souls the Calamity would consume. To stop it from gaining even more power, they devised a plan." After locking the window covers in place, she took the candle from the table and sat back down on the chair.

"A god's soul is worth a hundred, if not thousand human souls. Using themselves as bait, they lured the demon back to the ruined south. When it arrived to eat their souls, they sprung their trap." The wind began to blow strong against the blocked window.

"The Creators sealed themselves and the Calamity into a black sphere. It is said that it could be heard screaming and raging against its bindings all over the world as its prison, and all those sealed within, fell into the very crater it had created.” The candle flickered wildly as a stray gust flew through the creaking window covers.

"S-so you're saying-'' Their mother shushed Ielus and gave him a peck on the forehead.

“The story tells us no more. The Calamity is gone. Like a bad dream, its existence faded into obscurity, and the world began to heal.” Ionyr knew the obvious truth she refused to say openly.

“But...it's still alive...right?” Ielus spoke aloud what Ionyr wished to keep to himself. That was a question he'd rather not have the answer to. She noticed his expression.

“Don't worry dear.” Their mother smiled as she also gave Ionyr a peck on the forehead, and ruffled his hair. The candle's fire steadily burned between the three of them, illuminating their faces and shutting out the shadows. “It is just a story after all. The truth is, many scholars don't believe it to be real. Despite how old it is.”

“How old is it, Mom?” Ionyr interjected, eager to move his thoughts to a different place. One where he'd enjoy hearing the answers.

She paused, and gazed distantly into the flame. It was as if her mind were racing through history, tracing the origin of the story to its very beginning, losing itself in the eternal flow of time. Her state was getting worse by the day.

"Mom?" He asked again, timidly. She blinked, as if having returned.

“That is a good question." Their mother shrugged and laughed weakly. She was obviously trying, and failing, to pretend she was alright. "I don't know. I think no one knows for sure. It is hard to tell, since this legend has been passed through many, many generations. And despite its age, no one has found any evidence to prove it real.”

"No one has found anything?" Ionyr asked incredulously, and she shook her head. Seriously, no one? Not one person in all of history has discovered even a single clue?

"Nothing. The Creators' existence remains unproven to this day." She smiled. "That is why it's told as a legend, and not as history." She gave them each another good night kiss before getting up and heading to the door.

“Good night, Ielus. Good night, Ionyr. Love you both.”

“Good night, Mom.”

“Good night, Mom. Love you.”

She closed the door. Without the light of her candle, darkness took the room. As they lay in bed, Ionyr waited until he could no longer hear the floorboards creaking, then immediately turned to his brother.

“Hey, Ielus?” He tried to keep his voice down.

“Yeah?” Came the answer from the darkness beside him.

“Let us be the first.” He said, with a light grin.

“The first what?” Ielus sounded a little uncertain, but he must know what Ionyr was thinking.

“The first to find the proof of the Creators, of course!” Ionyr said, barely able to contain his excitement.

“Hey, you stole my idea!” Ielus was just as excited about it, though a little annoyed that Ionyr had said it first.

"No way! You thought of it too?" He should've known – their lines of thinking were almost always the same. This time was no different.

"Duh! We would go down in history!" This time, though, it was.

"And think of all the cool creations they must have left behind!" A thought entered Ionyr's mind.

"Yeah! With those, we could bring back peace and harmony to the world, like they did! We'd be legends!" Peace and harmony...legends...Ionyr was thinking about something else entirely. And he was certain that Ielus was just putting on airs. He had the same idea, Ionyr was sure of it.

“Legends..." They could save their mother. Ionyr was certain of it – Ielus' mind was entertaining the same thought. But unlike Ielus, Ionyr knew the ugly truth. It was too late for her.

"...yeah! We'd be legends!" Ionyr said. He would smile and play along. For his brother. "We have to tell Rayza about it tomorrow!"

“You sure you want to be the one to tell her?” Ielus said, with a slight snark to his voice. "She'll be furious that you blabbed to mother."

"Ah. Drat." He'd forgotten. "I'll have to apologize."

"Yeah. How about I tell her in your place?" Why, though? It was just an apology.

"Nah, I'll do it. Not the first time I have to apologize."

"You probably shouldn't be making a habit of it. She pays a lot for your mistakes." He's got a point. Ionyr realized he better get his act together before he lost one of his best friends.

"...fair. But don't worry, it'll be fine."

"If you say so." Ielus sounded a little annoyed. "By the way, won't her father be mad if we involve her in our schemes again?" Ionyr sighed and rolled his eyes. There Ielus went again, overthinking things – always so worried about Rayza.

"Ielus, whatever her father says, she will want to be part of our dream. So even if you try to stop me, I will still tell her." Silence. Ionyr sighed and continued, trying to smooth things over.

"I get it. You're worried about her. But she's still our friend, after everything we went through. She trusts us. And we return that trust by letting her be part of our dream."

"She definitely trusts you." Huh? Where did that come from?

"What do you mean?" Ionyr asked, but there was no response besides the sounds of shuffling sheets and tugging on their blanket. It seemed like Ielus had turned his back to him.

"Good night, brother." Why was Ielus acting like this? Whatever, Ionyr thought, maybe he's still a little riled up from the story of the Calamity. Thinking nothing of it, he made himself comfortable on his back and closed his eyes.

"Good night, Ielus."