[https://i.imgur.com/GLh7ade.jpg]

Every journey starts somewhere, and my journey starts in the valleys of my people. We are part of this world, just like everybody else, and we have our own perspective – so why not start with that? Let me share with you some of the tales that I myself had known since the day my mother first brought me into the light. I shall start with the very first tale that each of us hears in our earliest years, the most primal one – the story of the origin as we tell it.

***

Long ago, there was the Old World, and this world was empty of life. A Red Antelope was roaming the deserted plain and struck a stone with its hoof. A spark caused a fire so huge, the whole world got engulfed in flames. The fire reached the sky, where Ulnad* – the Sky Dweller – was sleeping in peace. He winced from the heat and saw that the world was on fire. He grabbed his crystal knife and slashed the heavens open, letting out an unending flow of heavenly water. It filled the earth and put out the fires. But Ulnad was disheartened when he saw the black earth that lay filled with ashes and quenched by water, empty and quiet. Then out from the ash grew grass and trees of many forms and many species; and out from that, Tarragon, Iris, and Lillies – from which Birds, Dogs, and Fish came to be; and then from Birds all the Herbivores came, and from Dogs – all Predators developed, and from Fish – all Serpents and Reptiles came.

The New World thus came to life, and Ulnad was astounded at its beauty. He became the observer of it, a caring father of the lands, and has been watching over it ever since.

The Red Antelope was still roaming the world. Ulnad was worried that it might again cause another fire in the future and destroy the world that he came to love so much. He tracked it down as it was jumping in the drier part of the savanna, and wanted to catch it by himself and twist its head, but Earth dissuaded him.

“You're a Sky creature,ˮ she said, “if you smear yourself with blood, you will cripple yourself forever. ˮ

Thereat Ulnad summoned Eleven Dogs and sent them to hunt the Antelope down. They went into the savanna and were chasing the Antelope for days and years, and many millennia, but could not catch it. Then Ulnad gathered morning dew from gembil** and gave it to the strongest of the Dogs. The Dog drank it and became the First Human – Ongilid*** was his name as it’s pronounced in our language.

The pursuit went on, with Ongilid leading and the rest of the Dogs following. It went on and on, for days and years, and for another millennium, but they could not catch the Antelope.

Then Ongilid took two stones and made the first knife. He then took a piece of Acacia and made the first spear. After that, the pursuit continued with Ongilid still leading the pack. At one point he got close and threw his spear, and threw it well, but it only scratched the Red Antelope's skin and flew away; the animal ran off unscathed.

Then Ongilid took his knife again and made another spear from the same Acacia, a smaller and lighter one, and then made another stick; his bewildered Dog brothers watched him learn to throw the new spear with the help of the stick – and that was the first spear-thrower.

The pursuit went on, with the human leading, and the Dogs following. They ran, and ran, and ran behind until they got so close to the Antelope, they could see its bulging black eyes. Ongilid threw his spear and hit the antelope in the neck, and he did it so hard that the Antelope rolled over in the dry grass and lay dead.

Thus, Ongilid took the Antelope and carved the animal, and skinned it, and brought its wondrous hoofs to the Sky Dweller along with its meat and hide. Celebration followed as Ulnad praised the human for his power. He made Ongilid his fellow helper, and ever since, together, they were to observe over the world.

Footnotes:

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

* - /ulˈnad/

** - /ˈgɛmbil/ - a made-up species of grass, endemic to the world.

*** - /ongiˈlid/

***

Other Dogs were displeased with how Ongilid was praised and shared with by the Sky Dweller, while they were forgotten. Brother Kir – the strongest of the remaining Dogs and second strongest in the pack before Ongilid turned to human – became jealous and started plotting revenge. Together with other Dogs, he thought of attacking Ongilid in his sleep and tearing him apart with the twenty fangs that they all had.

And so they crept up to the Acacia where their brother dwelled, and waited for the night to fall and for Ongilid to return to the tree and fall asleep. They waited patiently, and when the time seemed due, Kir signaled to his siblings and jumped forward, but soon stopped dead in his tracks. As it turned out, one of the Dogs, known by the name Bri*, did not approve of the assault, so she covertly crawled to Ongilid before the night and warned him of the attack. They both stood on the branch of Acacia, Ongilid with his spear-thrower ready, and Bri with her fangs out.

Kir was furious. “You filthy traitor! ˮ he growled.

But Bri was unbending. “You pathetic scam of a dog! ˮ she screeched. “No living creature in the world tears apart their own sibling! ˮ

“He's not our sibling! Not anymore, with all the praise that Unlad shares with him while neglecting us! ˮ

“He deserved the praise,ˮ Bri said, “he caught the Antelope while you were dangling on his tail! ˮ

“He caught the Antelope with the help of the whole pack,ˮ Kir said, “his only virtue was that he was ahead. If you consider this fair, then henceforth you're naught but prey along with him! ˮ

Kir gave the command, and the pack jumped at the two. They were fighting and biting and hurting each other, but Kir and his pack could not succeed, for they were below, and the two above. Eventually, one of the wild Dogs grabbed Bri by her rear leg and dragged her down. Seeing this, Ongilid made himself a huge club and jumped down.

“Ulnad! ˮ he screamed, “Help us, Ulnad! ˮ

In the quiet of the night, this call spread far and high and reached Ulnad in the sky. He woke up and saw the brawl, and grabbed his Crystal Knife, and jumped down immediately. The Sky Dweller landed right in the middle of the fight, and as he did so, the Earth waved like water, throwing sand and dirt in the air; plants and trees jumped up with their roots, and mountains split from thunder. He stopped the fight and commanded that Kir and his siblings lose themselves in the plains and never appear before his eyes again.

As the pack left, Bri was lying on the ground, torn and bleeding.

“Help her, Ulnad,ˮ Ongilid pleaded, “free my savior from pain! ˮ

Ulnad heeded Ongilid and took Bri in his hands, and brought her to the end of Dry Mountains, where gembil was growing all year. He waited until morning came and brought the dew on its tiny leaves; he gathered the dew and gave it to Bri, and she healed quickly.

She turned into a woman, who was given the name Ongiliel**. She then married Ongilid, and thus they were the first humans who ever lived in the world.

The remaining nine Dogs were running and running until they reached Lake Soddo. There they stopped to catch their breath, but Ulnad, still angry at their insolence, jumped down near them, sending a terrible rumble across the terrain. Fearing for their lives, they ran off, wailing and yowling. Soon, Dog Livon*** got tired and turned into a Jackal to hide from the Sky Dweller. Dog Lhir got tired too and turned into a Fox. Dog Shon got tired and turned into a Wolf. Dog Kota jumped into a river and turned into a Catfish. Dog Polh ran up the Dry Mountains and turned into a Rock. Dogs Haid, Hail, and Ngimar ran the furthest of them all: they reached the end of the world and jumped onto the Sky Plane, and ran across it. Ulnad spotted them there and scared them off with a rumbling jump. Ngimar hid in the bush by the Sky River and is still hiding there today, afraid of the Sky Dweller. Haid and Hail, meanwhile, ran back to Lower Planes and soon reached the first humans. They approached them and pleaded for forgiveness, promising to serve them diligently henceforth. Ongilid and Ongiliel had both forgotten their resentment by that time. They forgave them and accepted them not as servants, but as siblings. And ever since then, the descendants of those two Dogs live along with humans.

And only Kir remains as he was, and to these days he roams the plains in his primal form – as an ugly wild dog, threatening settlements at night, hiding in shadows at daytime, howling and whining in the dark under the Moon, mourning his gone days of being part of a pack.

Footnotes:

* - /bri/

** - /ongiˈliel/

*** - names of the Dogs: /ˈlivon/, /lir/, /ʃon/, /ˈkota/, /pol/, /haˈid/, /haˈil/, /ŋgiˈmar/