A Tale That Dawned [Book 4 of Selvina's Tale series]

Chapter 13: Divine Decision

King Arthur sighed and furrowed his brow. "Religion can strengthen the spirit and ensure one's path remains true and righteous."

"Religion in my world just brainwashes people and causes wars."

King Arthur sighed again. For several minutes they rode in silence. The sun slowly dipped behind the trees of the border forest and as they approached a wooden tower, the king asked, "Has anyone ever told you about the gods of Faeryum?"

Selvina shook her head. "No, not really."

"Would you like to learn about them?"

Selvina was initially going to refuse as she had no real interest in gods and religions but after a glance at the king she decided to nod. He clearly wished to explain it all to her and she decided that knowing more about Faeryum was never a bad thing.

King Arthur rode his horse under the tower's shadow, where a small stream meandered around the rocks. He dismounted, letting his horse wander to eat and drink, and then sat against a tree. Selvina did the same, resting her back against a large, moss-covered boulder instead.

After a drink from his water skin, King Arthur spoke. "The tale of Faeryum's gods begins at a time eons past, when there was nothing but a great void, filled with darkness. From this darkness, the first god was born. It was never given a name for such a god is far too great a thing to be named. In Faeryum it is simply known as The First.

"The First, in its infinite wisdom, power, and grace, mastered the darkness and brought forth from itself, light. Once light and darkness were balanced there came the elements of earth, air, fire, and water. These four elements The First absorbed into itself and gave birth to four other gods. Their names are Banu, Father of Flame, Manu, Mother of Water, Konri, Father of Air, and Anri, Mother of Earth. Each of them is master of their respective element and with them born, The First's destiny was complete.

"The four sibling gods then created all material things like rocks, stars, rain, trees and such. Upon the worlds they created came life. The first life forms were of gargantuan size and tremendous power and some of them were gods as well, direct offspring of the elemental gods. They once roamed this world freely but now all that remains of them are their bones." King Arthur gave Selvina knowing wink. "There is a reason the Final Night Mountains to the far north of us were once called the Troll's Teeth."

Selvina's eyed widened slightly, her interest piqued and mentally cursing the king for stopping his tale. She wanted to hear more.

King Arthur, apparently noticing this, cleared his throat and went on. "In the interim period between the end of the age of gigantic creatures and when man first appeared, dragons reigned supreme. There were dragons of all sorts and some had learned to manipulate magic, becoming the world's first spellcasters. During this time, so I am told, the magical balance was as its most stable.

"An untold amount of centuries and millenia went by before man first appeared. Some say we are the product of a false and fallen god, a mistake of creation named Iktarosh. He wanted a creature to rule over, one that was not completely bound by the laws of nature and one that was not as difficult to control as a dragon. Iktarosh, however, had a sister, named Irtue. She offered to aid her brother in creating these special creatures under one condition, that they be left alone to live their own lives. Iktarosh, unable to accomplish the task alone, grudgingly agreed. From their work came the sentient species: the humans, the elves, the dwarves, the fairies, the merfolk, the giants, the trolls, the goblins, the hobgoblins, the ogres, the satyrs, the felisapians, the minotaurs, the fauns, the werebeasts, the gnolls and all other species that created their own societies and civilizations. With the creation of these creatures came the end of the age of dragons."