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lemurzsquad · 1 month

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One of the haikyuu characters is taking music lessons from you. You can choose the character and the instrument, but here's the twist: you only win if he fails to learn it. Who do you pick?

I had to think about this for a while, and I came to the conclusion that I don't think I would be capable of teaching Nishinoya how to play bassoon looool, I don't think he has the patience or precision for it (and I don't have the patience either)

This, however, did inspire me to write, so here's an attempt to teach Nishinoya how to play bassoon (aka, a dramatic reenactment of the bassoon lesson I taught yesterday)

This does play off of my band au, so he's a really good percussionist who decided to try bassoon

Word count: 1653

Relevant chart (by me, and a random image I found on google):

(Instrument goes off the right side of the chair, and the basson reed goes on the end of the bocal so it can actually make sound. The little key at the base of the bocal is the whisper key pad.) Also bassoons are 4'5" (or about 132.1 cm) tall lol, so Nishinoya is only like 9 in (or like 27.2 cm) taller than it.

“Go grab a chair, I’ll hold your bassoon,” I shooed him away as I took the instrument that wasn’t even a full foot shorter than he was.

“But isn’t there already a chair in there?” Nishinoya looked past my shoulder to peek through the doorway to the open lockerroom.

I raised an eyebrow, retorting, “Yeah, a chair. For me. We need another one and I don’t trust you walking across the band room holding this thing, especially with colorguard kids currently practicing with sabers.” I tilted my head to a student practicing a routine involving saber tosses behind him.

“I can keep it safe!” He argued.

“Nope, I’m holding it,” I said with finality. “Oh, and get a stand while you’re at it. Someone took out the one that’s usually in here.” I turned on one heel, a bassoon in each hand, and entered the band lockerroom. Nishinoya huffed as he left to get a chair and a music stand.

I pulled out the chair that was tucked away in the corner where the lockers jutted out past the countertop on one side of the room. Placing it so the back was facing one wall of lockers and opposite the other wall, I set down one of the bassoons on the ground so I could slide the music bag off of my shoulder and lean it against the leg of my chair. I picked up the bassoon carefully once again and waited for Nishinoya to return.

When he did, chair and stand in tow, I stood against the lockers next to where I had set up so he could get past. Watching as he set his seat far too close to my own, I felt the expression on my face grow unamused instinctively.

“Yer gonna wanna move that,” I deadpanned.

He looked up, eyebrows slightly raised in feigned confusion as he finished adjusting the height of the stand. “The stand?” He asked.

I tilted my head and gave him a look that said ‘you’re kidding, right?’ He glanced down and then said, “Oh! The chair!” He moved it to around the minimum distance he could so that the instrument could hang off of the side without possible hitting my seat.

A sigh of defeat escaped my lips while I handed Nishinoya his bassoon—well, the bassoon he borrowed from the school under strict conditions that he does not break it. I sat down in my own seat to the right of his (so I could see his hands), tossing down the seat strap hooked onto the bottom end of my bassoon on the chair just before I did so I could grab the left end of it to adjust the height as it hung off to the right. I looked over to see how Nishinoya was setting up and opted to stop looking when I saw what he was doing; he’d managed to take the seat strap off of his instrument and try to put it on the chair and only realized he had put the hook on the wrong side when he hooked his bassoon on and couldn’t hold it properly.

I felt myself losing brain cells slowly but surely.

He eventually fixed his instrument placement, getting his reed (the reed I reluctantly adjusted for him since it was old and I’d never played on it) on the bocal as I pulled out the binder I used to hoard music I’d had since middle school. Taking a moment for a deep breath, I noticed how high his bocal seemed to be from him, angled upwards and not quite aligned with the whisper key at the base of it.

“Hey, make sure that your instrument is always angled down, and your bocal needs to line up with the middle of the whisper key pad,” I commented. “You need to adjust the height so it can be at the right angle.”

He looked at me, confused, so I attempted to demonstrate so he could see. Nishinoya still didn’t seem to get it as he only slightly lowered the bassoon so the bocal was straight ahead of him, but I didn’t want to try and teach him a skill I learned from years of practice on my own out of necessity and precision. Instead, I just reached over and rotated the bocal to the left, tapping the whisper key pad closed a couple of times to make sure it was lined up properly.

The look he gave me made it seem like he thought I was some magician even though I had barely done anything. I opened the binder I had set on the stand so I didn’t have to see the starstruck look that was etched into his face. There was a pile of papers in the very front that weren’t in the pocket or clasped in the three rings; I flipped them to the other side so I could get to the scale sheets behind them. I flipped a couple more pages in sheet protectors to get to the chromatic scale.

“So, what are we learning first?” Nishinoya asked curiously.

“We,” I answered as I adjusted my seat strap slightly, “are going to see how far you’ve gotten on your own in terms of note fingerings.” I played a handful of notes with ease in a standard pattern that I’d somehow unconsciously developed over the years. B-flat in four octaves, C in four octaves, a few more notes in the mid range down to the lowest note on the instrument.

After that, I started asking him to try playing the chromatic scale and it went… somehow worse than expected.

“The starting note is an F,” I stated flatly.

“Yeah, I know,” Nishinoya replied.

“Then stop using thumb keys! There are no thumb keys besides the whisper key! You keep playing an F-sharp!”

“Wait what– ohhh, you’re right—”

It went on like this for longer than I would have liked it to, especially getting to the second octave of the F chromatic scale.

“Why isn’t the note playing? I’m using the right fingering! It sounds crackly!” Nishinoya bemoaned.

“You keep pressing the whisper key, Nishinoya,” I sighed.

After trying desperately to teach him the fingerings for high E-flat, E, and F on the way up the scale, it came time to try going down the scale. That also somehow went worse than expected. Not only was his tone very poor but it sounded very forced.

“Nishinoya! Whisper key!”

“What? But I thought it didn’t need to be on for the upper octave!”

“It is on for every single note until you get to A-natural.” I pleaded, “Please, Nishinoya.” I was nearly at my wit's end.

“This thing doesn't make any sense at all.”

“Well, that's just kind of how bassoon is. There's no rules, everything is made up, and if you keep biting your reed like that, your notes will stop speaking,” I tiredly explained. “The second you try to make your instrument do anything, it will stop working.”

He frowned. “This is a lot more complicated than I thought it would be.”

“What in the world made you think this would be even remotely easy?!” I asked, exasperated. “You have 8 keys for your left thumb alone, for Pete's sake! I have 11 on mine!”

Nishinoya mumbled, “Well, I heard you saying it was the easiest instrument you play,” with a pout.

My eyes went wide, and I was completely flabbergasted, stunned into silence. “Nishinoya,” I explained in complete and utter disbelief, “I said that because I have been playing this thing for 8 years! This is my default! I play this like it's second nature! It is permanently engraved into my mind and body”

He looked back at me with eyebrows raised slightly in a few moments of silence.

“Oh. Right.”

“‘Oh’? Did it never occur to you? That would be like me saying, ‘Oh yeah, I'm just gonna play drumset! Someone else knows how to play it well, so it can't be that hard!’” I let out a breath, shoulders slumping. I asked after a handful more of quiet seconds, “Why did you even want to learn bassoon of all things? You're already one of our best percussionists; you're not even a wind player let alone a woodwind or a double reed.”

He answered quietly, “Well, you play it, and you said you'd try to teach me how to play it if I started learning it.”

“That's… a really dumb reason,” I deadpanned.

“Hey! You offered!”

“Yeah, but I didn't think you'd actually want to play it! You could have picked anything else!”

“But it's your main instrument!”

“What does that have anything to do with you learning it?”

“I– well– nevermind.” He pursed his lips in something close to frustration.

I took in a breath and let it out again in a forceful sigh. “Look, I'll keep trying to teach you as long as you keep trying, but I still don't understand why you decided to play bassoon.

He perked up at that, giving me a toothy grin.

“We're gonna move onto some actual music, but I want you to try learning some scales on your own to keep practicing note fingerings,” I said as I shuffled some pages around on the music stand. I located an old part for a full band piece and pulled it out of the binder pocket.

I was almost close to regretting offering to teach Nishinoya, but I still held onto some sliver of hope that it might work out alright.

Rhetorically, I asked, “You know how to read rhythms, right?”

He looked anywhere but at me and the music, his voice laced with guilt. “Maybe…?”

I think I felt my soul and whatever shred of hope I had left leave my body in that very moment.

“What do you mean ‘maybe’?! Nishinoya, you're a percussionist!”

It was going to be a very long day.

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nighthawk0913 · 2 years

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Balance is the key element of religion to lions, as, to them, everything has an equal and opposite: the sun has the moon, the heat has the rain, and the predator has the prey. Because of the wide array of elements to the natural world, there are many deities that represent and are said to control them. The only place that does not have balance is nonexistence, as there was before Neeyr created existence, but even nonexistence itself is balanced by that of Neeyr's creation. The concept that everything in the world exists in a delicate balance drives the ideals and lifestyles of the lions, who believe themselves to be created in the image of the gods and placed in the world to maintain that equilibrium. Lions view themselves as the keepers and caretakers of the world, preventing the chaos that would come from any shift in the natural order.

But not all of the lions' stories are about gods. They also tell stories of great heroes and terrible monsters, triumphs over evil, and tales of supernatural powers. While most of these stories exist as personifications of a phenomenon or emotion, some lions believe them to hold a grain of truth, and the names of heroes will be invoked in hopes of earning their favor. Stories of gala(angels) and kiru(demons) are also told, and some are revered so highly that they may as well be gods in their own right.

List of Gods, Spirits, and Notable Monsters

Neeyr - God of Creation, first deity, is omnipresent and has no set gender, primordial god

Dira - Goddess of the Dawn and Dusk, protector of the innocent, controller of the afterlife of the same name, primordial god

Votara - Goddess of the Day, punisher of the wicked, controller of the afterlife of the same name, primordial god

Ozna - Goddess of the Night, overseer of the righteous, controller of the afterlife of the same name, primordial god

Dreyus - God of the Sky/Sky Father, primordial god

Daeghom - Goddess of the Earth/Earth Mother, primordial god

Sehul - God of the Sun, Leadership, Nobility, Light, and Power, protector of kings

Zurena - Goddess of the Moon, Peace, Balance, Darkness, and Knowledge, protector of lionesses in childbirth

Ulreus - God of the Sea, Water, and Rivers

Drosyn - Goddess of Plant Life and Fertility

Ulbus - God of the Wet Season, Healing, and Rain

Bixtris - Goddess of the Dry Season, Disease, and Drought

Somnum - Bringer of Death, gala of death

Olo - Weaver of Dreams, gala

Aetis - Sender of Thoughts and Motivation, gala

Xolotini - Prince of Flowers, nature spirit

The Desert King - Spreader of Deserts, Drainer of Life, kiru

Bouros - Spirit of the North Wind

Synir - Spirit of the East Wind

Dirlos - Spirit of the South Wind

Enthos - Spirit of the West Wind

Marsin - First gala, fell from grace and became the first kiru

Aidon - Gala, the one who will defeat Marsin forever and become the god of the new world

Creation Myth

In the beginning, there was nothing, only an infinite emptiness, and within that emptiness, there existed a single god: Neeyr, both male and female, both light and darkness, both nothing and everything. Lonely in this vast void, Neeyr created, from parts of himself, children. From his claw, he created Votara, goddess of the day, and from her, the first light was born. From his left eye, he created Ozna, goddess of the night, and she existed in contrast to Votara's light. To bring balance to his daughters, Neeyr took a lock of his mane and transformed it into Dira, goddess of the dawn and dusk, to bridge the gap between Votara and Ozna.

But the world was still nothing, and Neeyr was bored with it. So again, he took a part of themself, several hairs from his pelt, and tossed them through the cosmos. From them, Dreyus was born, god of the sky, and with his birth, existence sprung into being. Dreyus and his three sisters travelled the cosmos together, eager to create more in their new kingdom. But soon Dreyus suffered from the same plight as Neeyr; he was lonely and desired someone to love. So he set about creating himself a mate, one equal in glory and splendor to himself. Through his efforts, Daeghom was born, and she became his bride. From the love between Dreyus and Daeghom, the world was created, with her as the land itself, and Dreyus as the sky overhead.

The first children born from Dreyus and Daeghom were Sehul, the sun, and Zurena, the moon, and they travelled around their parents' creation, watching from above. After them came Ulreus, god of the seas, who covered the world in life-giving water. Next came Drosyn, goddess of plant life, who blanketed the world in green plants. Because of their efforts, the world became ready to hold life. Dreyus and Daeghom then set about creating the creatures of the world; everything from colossal thunderers to tiny crawlers. But the newly created world was missing something; someone to watch over it. Sehul and Zurena noticed this, and proposed to their parents to create an animal in the image of the gods, one who would be their earthly heralds and keep the world in balance. Dreyus and Daeghom gave their approval, and Sehul and Zurena set about creating the first lions.

Sehul created male lions, sculpting them from rigid clay and blessing them with great strength. Zurena created lionesses, building them up from the fertile mud of the riverbanks and blessing them with fantastic speed and grace. The first lions were then instructed to watch over the land as its benevolent lords, protecting it and keeping the land in balance in the name of the gods.

The Gala and the Kiru

In the days before the world existed, the gods simply resided in the celestial plain where they ruled. Among the stars, they existed unchallenged in their divinity. But this meant that everything was unchanging, as the gods could bend their surroundings to their wills. Gradually, they grew bored; what good was creation if they had nothing to do with it? The gods thought for many years, pondering for a solution. Eventually, their endlessly brilliant minds concocted a solution. From a stream of glittering stardust, Dira crafted the first galas and named them Marsin and Aidon. The galas' form was marvelous, for they looked as their creators did. From their backs, a vibrant pair of feathered wings grew to allow them to soar across the celestial plain. The gods were amazed by Dira's creation, and each desired to create for themselves. From the work of the gods, countless gala were born into the celestial plain. The gala served the gods as one would care for an ailing loved one, endlessly praising the gods and loving them more than anything else in creation, becoming their first subjects. The gods adored the gala, loving them as they would their own children. But trouble soon began to arise in the celestial plain. With the creation of the world, the gods began adding to it. Marsin could only watch, as he did not have the ability of creation himself, something that made him terribly bitter and envious of the gods. Angered at this perceived slight, Marsin gathered a following of fellow gala, manipulating them into believing that they could take the power of creation from the gods and use it as their own, then they could be the ones to create such splendor and grace. Most turned away from Marsin's message, not wishing to betray their beloved creators, but many others did not. With his followers, Marsin rebelled violently against the gods, attempting to slay them and take their great power for his own. A great battle was fought between the gods and Marsin, but after much chaos and destruction, Marsin's forces were defeated by the faithful gala, led by Aidon. In rage at Marsin's ungratefulness and treason, the gods stripped the rogue gala of both their divinity and their powers, banishing them from the celestial plain, never to be able to return. Enraged by his defeat, Marsin vowed revenge on the gods. In the absence of his divine power, Marsin became filled with darkness and hate. He and his followers became the first kiru, evil creatures of the shadows and eternal enemy of the gala. The kiru rallied under Marsin, rejecting their divine forms for those of horrible shades. Unable to reenter the realm of the gods, the kiru took to tormenting their creations. Lurking in the darkest shadows, they bring famine, war, murder, and all terrible things that can happen in the world. But they are countered by the gala, who bestow blessings and perform miracles. The gala and kiru still battle for control over the world, keeping the balance between good and evil. While mortal lions are usually unable to see them, the gala and kiru can reveal themselves to them. It is through their interactions with mortals that both possessions by kiru and prophecies delivered by gala come to be.

Creation of the Seasons

In the early days of the world, there existed only one season, a constant period of lush greenery and plentiful food and water. There was no worry of waterholes drying up or food becoming scarce, as animals had no need to eat yet. All life thrived in this paradise. In the glory of the world, Ulreus and Drosyn bore two children, Ulbus and Bixtris. Ulbus was like his parents, spreading prosperity wherever he went, but Bixtris seemed unable to do the same. The young goddess caused plants around her to wither, and caused illness in the creatures that she drew close to. Believing herself to be cursed, Bixtris was angry that she could not spread the same joy as her family. In her anger, she decided that if she could not do good unto the world, she would instead oppose her family's benevolence.

Bixtris spread dry grasslands far and wide, drying out sources of water and bringing horrible heat waves with her as she went. Ulbus noticed his sister's deeds, and combatted her with heavy rains that would return life to the barren stretches that she would leave in her wake. Bringing themselves in opposition to the other, the two siblings began to fight, causing great destruction across the land. Seeing the damage done by the two siblings, Daeghom was angered and hurt. The primordial goddess rose in a rage, ordering that the two siblings form a compromise and put aside their differences.

Ulbus was at first unwilling, angry at the ruin Bixtris had caused, but eventually he was swayed. The two siblings agreed to split the year in half, with each sibling alotted time to reign over the earth. When Ulbus rules, the rains sweep across the lands and life is plentiful, but when Bixtris rules, the world is dry and barren, with great heat ruling over the land. When the time comes for the ruling sibling to step down, the other takes their place and reigns over the land for their half of the year, the other taking residence with Daeghom beneath the earth.

The Three Afterlives

When the creatures of the earth were first created, death did not exist. Every creature was eternal in their place in the world, and they never grew old nor died. But a problem arose when the world grew to have too many animals. With countless creatures who would never die, populations grew so large that the very earth itself was having trouble sustaining them. Dreyus and Daeghom agreed that something had to be done, or everything in their creation would be at risk. Ozna, Votara, and Dira met to discuss how best to solve the problem. The three goddesses spent many days trying to find a solution, until Ozna finally suggested something that could work. The problem was all creatures being eternal, as immortal and ageless as the gods. If they were stripped of that ability and allowed to fade away, the animal population would be stabilized; the old and weak would die and the young and strong would take their place. The three goddesses agreed on the idea, and used their powers to create Somnum, the gala of death, who would come to guide the souls of dead creatures to the afterlife. But the problem began once the first creature died. No animal had ever died before, and none of the gods could decide what should be done with them. The three sister goddesses fought over which of them would take the soul of the deceased, as each desired to be the one to rule over the dead. As more creatures died, the goddesses were increasingly confused over which of them should be granted control of the dead. Many creatures with many different lives entered the domain of the dead, but the three could not decide what to do with them. As the problem grew worse, the three godesses went to Neeyr to ask what should be done.

Neeyr observed the souls of the deceased creatures, dividing them into three groups; the righteous, the wicked, and the innocent. To Votara, went the wicked. She would punish them with her fiery rage for their misdeeds for all time. To Dira, went the innocent. As they were too young when they died to be understood as good or evil, they were gifted to the kind Dira, who would protect them and care for them. And to Ozna, went the righteous. As creatures who lived noble lives and acted as they should, they were rewarded greatly. Under the control of Ozna, the righteous souls were transformed into the first stars, always shining overhead as a reminder to all to act justly and treat everything with respect.

Times of Day

Once the three afterlives were established, Votara, Dira, and Ozna drew closer to the world to watch over its creatures. Under each of the three sisters, the sky was different. Under Votara, the sky was bright and blue, and there was light across the land. Under Ozna, the sky was dark and speckled with stars. And under Dira, the sky was painted with a thousand colors, eternally at dawn or dusk.

But problems arose when the three goddesses clashed with Sehul and Zerena. Ozna refused to allow Sehul to pass over her part of the world, as his radiant light blinded her eyes. Similarly, Votara refused to grant Zerena passage over her part of the sky, worried that she would block out her light. In the parts of the world under eternal daylight, animals could not sleep, and under the eternal night, plants could not grow.

The animals cried out their grievances to the goddesses, and the three converged with Sehul and Zerena to find a solution. Since both Votara and Sehul were radiant and bright, they agreed to cross the sky together. Zerena and Ozna also agreed to travel together, as Zerena's gentle light did not harm Ozna's eyes. Dira bridged the gap between the two realms, ushering one out and the other in.

The three realms began to spin around the world, with Votara and Sehul appearing during the day, and Ozna and Zerena appearing at night. When the day grows weary, Dira brings the dusk to allow Votara to rest. Similarly, when it is time for Ozna to rest, Dira guides the first light of dawn over the land.

Phases of the Moon

While travelling across the sky at night, Zerena is responsible for watching over the nocturnal activities of the creatures below. One night, as she passed over a vast and lush grassland, something caught her eye. Below, there was a lioness, travelling alone across the savanna. She was so beautiful that Zurena was smitten with her right away. The entire night, she watched her from above, and once the dawn drew near, she descended from the sky to meet with her in the form of a mortal lioness.

Her name was Kyagi, and Zurena was swiftly enamored by her. Kyagi was fascinated by her as well, having no idea that she was a goddess. The two of them spent the day together, but when it came time for night to come, Zurena did not wish to return to the sky. Confused, Ozna searched for her. Upon discovering her on earth, she sent Sehul to retrieve her. The sun god descended to earth in a mortal disguise and sought out his sister, ordering her to return to her place in the sky. Confused and thinking Sehul a threat, Kyagi readied herself to defend Zurena. Angered by her impudence, Sehul dropped his disguise, revealing himself in all his heavenly glory, his light blinding Kyagi.

Zurena was enraged and refused to return to the sky, demanding that Sehul heal Kyagi. Sehul instead offered a compromise. Zurena was needed in the sky as the moon, but he could see her love for Kyagi was strong. He promised to heal Kyagi as well as make her immortal on the condition that Zurena return to the sky. She would be able to descend to the earth every month for three and a half days to be with her love, but the rest of that time, she must remain in the sky as the moon. Zurena agreed, and Kyagi was healed.

Every month, Zurena shifts through various forms as her time to descend to earth grows near. She is entirely in the sky during a full moon, her paws out of the sky during a gibbous moon, half of her body during a half moon, and only her tail remains during a crescent moon. During a new moon, she is allowed to spend time on earth with her love, and the moon does not appear in the sky. Once her three and a half days on earth are up, she returns to the heavens, gradually appearing as the moon again.

The Origin of Dreams

Long ago, in a pride called the Shimmering Valley, a lion named Olo lived. Olo was a creative and imaginative lion, who loved telling stories and creating art to go along with them. From the celestial realm, Olo caught the eye of the beautiful gala Aetis, who descended from the heavens to meet with him. The two fell deeply in love, but because Aetis was a divine creature and Olo a mortal, they could not truly be together. Aetis urged his lover to come to the stars with him, and the gods would transform him into a gala so that the two of them could be together for eternity. But Olo did not want to leave his family or the world before his time, though he still wished to be with his love.

Using his divine power, Aetis created the first thoughts, which he sent into the mind of his beloved Olo, so that the two would never truly be apart. Throughout Olo's life, other animals gained the gift of thought as well, and loved Olo as the one who had brought that gift to them. When the day came that Somnum came for Olo, Aetis was there to greet him in the stars. For the first time, the two were able to properly embrace and feel the other's love. Aetis kept his vow and Olo was ascended into a gala alongside his lover.

Together, the two act as guides for all creatures. Aetis guides their minds during the day, motivating noble actions into being. Olo, on the other hand, guides them in the night, through dreams of grandeur.

The Eclipse

With the sun in the sky during the day and the moon in the sky at night, the two don't often interact. But as the two gods both watch over the creatures of earth as they pass through the sky, their knowledge of all creatures' nature is all-encompassing and complete. They know everything about every creature, including their sins and misdeeds. While it is not often that an animal that is wicked enough to draw both of their attention exists, but when one does, something incredible happens.

When a truly wicked and evil creature lives on earth, both Sehul and Zurena agree that the animal must be done away with to prevent any more pain from being caused. The two will then converge in the sky, meeting together to discuss what should be done to smite the evil in the land. When they meet, Sehul's light clashes with Zurena's darkness, forming a bright ring in the sky and shrouding the world in shadows. The eclipse is meant to act as a warning to the wicked that, if they don't mend their ways, the gods will rain their fury upon them and drag them to Votara personally, where their evil will be punished forever.

The Prince of Flowers

Xolotini was the youngest son of a great king, who ruled over a massive kingdom that spanned over a huge and lush grassland. As the youngest of the king's 15 sons, Xolotini was never in line for the throne, but the prince was fine with this, preferring to focus on the beauty of the natural world and creating wonderful works of art that would honor nature properly. Now, the young prince was extremely handsome, and stories of his good looks spread far and wide. Lions and lionesses alike came flocking to Xolotini's pride to ask for his paw in marriage. But Xolotini desired none of them, having only one lioness that he loved. She was Parvotl, daughter of a tyrannical king. But the tyrant king refused to give her up, never wanting her to marry.

The prince pined for her from afar, and the two met under the cover of night in secret. Parvotl, wanting to be free from the hold of her father, fled her pride for that of Xolotini's father. This enraged the evil king, and he sent a terrible sandstorm to punish his daughter and the lion who stole her away from him. Knowing what must be done, Parvotl attacked her father, striking the tyrant king down. But she was terribly wounded in the process, and as she lay dying, Xolotini wept for her. He cried his pain out to the world, praying to Drosyn not to let Parvotl fade away. The goddess answered his prayers, transforming the dying Parvotl into the first flowers. Her graceful form became long, slender stems, and her fur became the soft petals. Upon Xolotini, Drosyn placed the task of spreading Parvotl's beauty far and wide. He would wander all the lands of the world, spreading the flowers in his wake so that the whole world would know of Parvotl's sacrifice. Her beauty and grace would live on forever in this form, and she would grace the world until the land itself was no more.

The Hero Elbris

Long ago, alongside the creatures of the world, there lived monsters. Some of the monsters followed the command of the gods, acting as powerful allies and friends, but others were evil to their cores. One such monster was the Desert King, a massive firebreathing creature that had been created by Bixtris. The Desert King was taller than any other creature in the land, standing taller than ten thunderers. He looked like a lion in form, but his fur was dark as soot and his seven eyes redder than blood. He had the tusks of a squealer, the horns of a grunter, and a venomous no-legs for a tail. His fangs were larger than any gnasher's and his claws sharper than any leaper's, and he used them to consume the life of any animal in his domain. The terrible creature lived in the Great Northern Desert, where no water or plants existed, and even the gods could hold little power over him. In his greed, he spread his barren kingdom far and wide.

The creatures of the world greatly feared the Desert King, as any caught in his domain would surely meet their death. As the desert spread into the grasslands, the animals were horrified, and many fled south to escape the King's grasp. In the Desert King's hunger to conquer, he spread his arid lands into the home of a lion pride. Like all other creatures in the Desert King's lands, they met their end. All except for one. A single lion called Elbris escaped the death of his pride, and swore revenge on the Desert King, promising to defeat him and avenge his family. Elbris went to the Reflection Pool, a place sacred to Zurena, and called upon the gods for help. The gods heard his call and descended to earth, each bestowing a gift upon Elbris that would aid him in his quest against the Desert King. From Zurena, he received a cloak of darkness, which would allow him to sneak into the King's territory undetected. From Ozna, his eyes were blessed to be able to see the Desert King's weak spot. Votara bestowed her blessing upon his claws, making them capable of killing the monster. And from Drosyn and Ulreus, he was given a magical fruit containing a powerful rainstorm, which he must break open after the King was defeated. With the blessing of the gods, Elbris set out to challenge the Desert King.

The monster was colossal, but Elbris's blessed eyes could see his weak spot: the large eye in the center of his forehead. While the Desert King could not see Elbris because of Zurena's cloak, he could sense him, and he spoke. In a great and terrible voice, the Desert King offered Elbris to join him, and he would be spared when the desert consumed the entire world. But Elbris was not swayed by the cruel monster's words; he would avenge his family, and all other animals that had been consumed by the Desert King's greed. When he saw he could not win over Elbris, the Desert King attacked, swiping at the air and trying to crush him. Because he could not see Elbris, the Desert King listened for the sounds of his voice and footsteps. Elbris was smart, however, and knew the King could hear him. Taunting the huge monster, Elbris whipped the Desert King into a frenzied rage, making its movements erratic and unplanned. Infuriated, the Desert King roared, demanding that Elbris reveal himself and fight him properly.

Elbris was not foolish however, and, using his blessed claws, leapt for the monster's seventh eye. With Voltara's magic, his claws burst into flames as he landed a blow on the monster's forehead. Upon hitting the monster's weak spot, its body split into four pieces. From each of these, a new spirit was born. Bouros was born from the first piece, and represented the cold northern wind. Enthos was born from the second, and represented the gentle west wind that brought the wet season. From the third came Dirlos, who represented the warm south wind. And from the fourth and final piece, Synir was born. Synir still held the powers granted to the Desert King by Bixtris and represented the east wind, which heralded the coming of the dry season.

Elbris then cracked open the magical fruit granted to him by Drosyn and Ulreus, and from it erupted a powerful rainstorm. The water that fell from the blessed clouds had magical properties, and where it touched the barren ground, grass greener than any other sprouted from the sand. Massive patches of land that once fell under the Desert King's control became lush grasslands, and animals returned. Grateful for Elbris's help in defeating the Desert King, the gods granted him a single wish. Elbris wished to be reunited with his family, and the gods carried him up to the stars, where his family and friends awaited him. Together, they can be seen as a cluster of stars in the sky, named the Elbris Cluster after the great hero.

The animals of the land praised Elbris's heroic actions for many years, and told stories of him to their children, who then told the story to their own children. Animals experiencing extreme hardships will often invoke the name of Elbris in hopes of being able to prevail over their troubles, as Elbris did over the Desert King.

Twilight of the World

There will come a day one day when the balances of the universe are tipped to an extreme from which there is no return. The first sign of the Twilight is a great roar heard from the sky; it is Neeyr's dying breath, and he will return from the nothingness from which he came. From there, the kiru will rise from the shadows to continue their battle against the gods, and they cause all the plants in the world to die and all water to dry up as they destroy Ulreus and Drosyn. The kiru and gala will meet in battle on the earth, and their great power will rend the land and create mountains that reach all the way to the heavens. When this happens, Sehul and Zurena descend to earth to escort all of the animals away from danger and to the safety of the three goddesses above, but are lost to the kiru in the process.

With the animals off of earth and safe, Ozna and Dira ascend to another plain of existence while Votara stays to fight. Eventually, all of the gods fall, and all of the kiru and gala as well, except for one of each. Marsin is the final kiru, and he desires to make himself the god of all existence. The final gala is Aidon, and, with the power of all the fallen, he will defeat Marsin and cast him into the infinite void, where he will be trapped forever.

As the last creature in existence, Aidon absorbs all the power in creation and becomes the sole god of the new world. From there, he will rebuild creation and create an eternal paradise free of suffering and evil.

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