Xtreme Saga - Book One: The War for Rig

Chapter 1 - The Originals

There are beings in existence that defy all logic and reason. Some small enough to ride on your shoulder and others large enough to eat entire planets. Some can change their shape and be both or either at the same time. They come in countless shapes and sizes. Some wield immeasurable power while others, like mortals, are just trying to survive. These beings go by many names and have since time immemorial. Gods, demons, celestials, angels, titans, and countless more. One cannot truly say when and where these beings began. But on occasion, we learn of how some of them end.

In the beginning . . . No, not the beginning of time or space. Not when existence first began or when life was first sown. Simply in the beginning of this particular series of events. In the beginning, there were two great beings. We'll refer to them as Originals, for lack of a better term. They were two of the oldest beings in the region of space known as the Valorus Galaxy. Quite possibly the oldest and, in their time, certainly the most powerful.

The Originals were two brothers. Though they were not born in the traditional sense, and thus did not share common parentage, but they saw each other as siblings. One was named Ios and the other XPG. For countless eons, the Originals drifted through space alone with no real goal or direction. For they knew not why they were there or what their purpose was. All they knew and all they had was each other.

Though they did not always share the same opinions, Ios and XPG both carried a great amount of passion within themselves. Passion for each other and passion for whatever they took interest in. XPG loved the stars. They were random and magnificent. Scattered everywhere with no real rhyme or reason. They came in different shapes, sizes, and colors. Some were quite large and others quite small. Some seemed to shine on forever while others exploded into a splash of indescribable beauty. What he loved most about them was their variety. While some stars were similar, none were ever exactly the same. Even in death, each star retained its own identity in one way or another.

Unlike his brother, Ios did not like the stars. Chaos he called them. He hated how random they were. Their lack of order and consistency. He saw them as a flaw in the cosmos. Ios liked the planets. While the stars lacked any sort of easily discernible pattern, the planets very clearly followed rules. They were refined and orderly. They rotated at consistent intervals and almost never moved out of alignment.

XPG too loved the planets, but not for the same reasons as his brother. He enjoyed the variety in which they displayed. Some were mostly water, while others completely land. Some were quite large while others were smaller than some moons. He loved them for their diversity while Ios loved them for their uniformity. The Originals debated the merits of the cosmos constantly. Ios favoring the patterns and order. XPG favoring the variety and seemingly disorganized nature of it all.

For several millennia, things went on like this. Never changing and yet always changing. There was no winner and no loser. Just two brothers squabbling to pass the time. Then one day something special happened. Something the Originals had never seen before. Something that changed everything.

In a small section of the Valorus Galaxy with a small, solitary star, the Originals found life. Not just vegetation but actual living, breathing, moving beings. It was a tiny planet, covered mostly in water. The lifeforms weren't particularly impressive, but they were new. They were small and covered in scales. They were all the same color, nearly blending in with the very water they swam in. The creatures were simple in both diet and behavior. All they did was swim forward and eat vegetation. That's all they seemed to care about as well. Eating vegetation and looking for more vegetation to eat. They did not appear to be intelligent but they were organized. Several of them swam together in a group. It was not clear if they could communicate with each other, but what was clear was that the Originals couldn't communicate with them.