"A long time ago nothing existed except for a great being, the one we call Khais, known as Khaos to the Humans.  With nothing physical existing our Great Mother Goddess felt no need to posses a physical body.  And so she merely was, nothing more and nothing less.  Just a great, powerful presence.

Time was not an issue to the Mother Goddess.  Years passed her by in their endless march.  And she continued to grow, to mature.  Her knowledge and wisdom, given time to grow beyond our measly years, knew no bounds.  But with such great knowledge, the Great Mother Goddess knew something was wrong.  Her black world could not continue this way.  Something was missing.

Still Khais felt she could do nothing, and so spent her time stretching her awareness out to encompass all.  But because nothing existed, she felt nothing.

Our Mother Goddess' first attempt of her powers ended in creation.  She created another great being, Lycas.  Khais was startled to sense another presence where so lately nothing had been, but quickly grew curious.  Compared to herself the being was an infant mind.  It has not had time to mature and gain wisdom, unlike her own."

"But Mathuzala, why did the great Mother Goddess Khais create Lycas first?"  A plaintive voice broke through the elderly man's narrative.  Old Mathuzala, back bowed with age and hands crippled with arthritis, blinked slowly before laughing softly.  His gentle raspy voice washed over the listeners-  Mostly children learning their first lessons, but with a few adults around the edges.

"Patience Tobias."  An old hand rested upon the child's head.  "If you keep interupting me, I will never finish."  There was an amused rumble of laughter from the few adults around the village bonfire.  They didn't have any work to do that night, and were the lucky few who did not have guard duty that night.  Mathuzala's head swung back and forth as if trying to locate the source of the sounds and milky white eyes caught in the firelight.  Getting the blind man to stop talking once he got started was something all the villagers deemed impossible.

"Now then.  May I continue?"  Barely waiting for the child's nod, old Mathuzala continued his tale.

"In time both Khais and Lycas gained control of their grand powers.  ("What does 'grand' mean?"  "SHH!")  Both began to experiment, creating a small pocket of paradise between dimensions.  It is known as So'Matria'Al'Cathorei."

"What does that mean?"  A young girl near the back named Evelyn called inquisitively.

"It means 'The place of the people's Gods', right, Mathuzala?"  A young man with greedy eyes stepped from the shadows.  Mathuzala smiled to himself at the tone.  Zero was being deliberately rude again.

"You are only half right.  But, I'm glad to see you keeping up with your studies.  It also means 'the place of people'.  Both apply."  Zero's scowl was not lost upon the adults.

"Carry on Old One."  Evelyn's mother, Kinara, hastened to say before Zero could speak again.  He glared murderously at her.

"Lycas quickly grew dissatisfied with creating objects.  He suggested to Khais that they make bodies for themselves, or other beings to populate the space they had created.  In turn, Khais agreed.  They made physical bodies for themselves.  In the process Khais and Lycas discovered how much fun it was to create.  They decided to make other beings like themselves, only a little modified so these ones would be able to use their powers almost immediately.  The great Goddess was immensely pleased with the 8 beings they created.

These beings were weaker than Khais and Lycas.  They deferred to them, calling them "Mother" and "Father".  Amongst the 8 Khais was known as the Goddess of All and Lycas was known as the God of Nothing."

"What are their names?"  Tobias interrupted once again, wriggling with impatience.  Mathuzala smiled to himself.  He could recognize his younger self so much in this one.

"Again, patience Tobias."  But Mathuzala took a moment to gather his thoughts.  He'd been beginning to wander and Tobias' question had reminded the old man of this.

"There was Coore, loving and nurturing to all that came her way;  Sephra, fierce and strong in her need to defend those weaker than herself;  Solandra, beautiful and horrible of her jealousy of the others;  Zorinn, youngest of the 8 but wiser than his few years;  Melearin, innocent and trusting of her siblings;  Falleine, who wished to protect all his brothers and sisters and their creations;  Mokei, whose swift feet made him the messenger;  And Keflas, who vowed to provide with his hunting skills.

They were urged after a few thousand years by Khais and Lycas to leave So'Matria'Al'Cathorei to experience the joys of creation first hand.  So, one by one, they departed.  Coore created an Earth after she realized how desolate the space was.  But without a light, no one could see her beautiful creation.  So she created the sun, and the other plantets came soon after.

Solandra was jealous and vindictive.  She strove to destroy Coore's work.  She tried to destroy the greenery by casting a curse upon the Earth.  But she was a fool.  Solandra failed to realize that the others would help Coore."

"Old man, you talk too much!"  An angry, no, outraged voice interrupted.  It took Mathuzala a moment (a very disoriented moment) to recognize the voices' owner until rough furious hands seized his coat, lifting him several feet off his chair.  There were terrified cries from many of the children.  Zero shook Mathuzala roughly.

"How DARE you speak of Mistress Solandra that way!?"  The young man struggled to keep a grasp on Mathuzala as the small group of adults converged upon Zero.  Mathuzala's coat was finally wrested from Zero's grip and the old man landed with a grunt on his chair.

"You still worship her?  After all she's done to us?"  If it had been said by somebody else, the effect could not have been the same, as young faces swung to his own gnarled one.  There was an odd tone in his voice.  Almost anger, but Mathuzala did not get angry.

"What...  What did she do?"  A small timid voice by Mathuzala's foot asked tentatively.  At the child's voice, Mathuzala's stern expression melted into a weary one.

"Old One, maybe you should rest..."  The old man waved concern off.

"No, these children need to know the whole tale.

After her attempt to destroy the greenery failed, Solandra tried a different approach.  While the others helped Coore repair the damage done to the green planet, Solandra took the privilege of creating the first people away from Coore.  And what she created were little better than monsters, their bodies were twisted and could barely carry their weight.  They were awkward and sickly."  Mathuzala gestured around the solemn group.  "Our early ancestors."  He shifted in the complete silence his words brought.  "We have adapted since then, though.  We, as a people, aren't nearly as sickly.  And our bodies are easier to use.  We can even defend ourselves a little."  Mathuzala's smile was gentle and bitter.  

"Mathuzala, there's more, isn't there?"  Tobias tugged at his pant leg to gain the old man's attention.  "There is, right?"

"...Of course, little one.  I shall continue.

After Solandra did this, Coore gave the others permission to create as well.  While most, including Coore herself, chose to create their own race, Keflas and Falleine did not.  Falleine offered his protection to all, and Keflas chose to create other forms.  The animals."

"All of them?"  An awed question from one of the children, one called Adrienne.  Mathuzala chuckled softly.

"Yes child.  All of them.

Coore created a race pale as snow, colorless.  They had the inate ability to heal;  They call themselves the Hopecor."  Mathuzala smiled to himself as he heard a babble of recognition from the children.  There was one staying at their very village.

"Surprisingly, innocent Melearin created a warrior race, built mentally and physically for combat.  They called themselves the Tershearins, and protected the weak race Solandra made.

Sephra created a race where all were slender and red-headed like herself.  they had powerful innate abilities that connected to the earth.  Consequently, this ability was stronger in the females.  They call themselves the Sake'Te'Rhians.

Mokei's people were compact, built for the speed that he so valued.  They made perfect messengers to those who were just establishing territories.  As of now, the Egrep have no lands of their own.  They are born vagabonds.

Zorinn's people are considered the highest of all the races.  They are always called in when a dispute happens, each ruler has one, and they introduced numbers and the alphabet to the rest of us.  They are called the Al'Cathorei."

The Hopecor man strode to the fire.  He had been listening from his lodgings for a while.  Having never heard this story- let alone a version told from the So'Menin's point of view- he was interested.  Others made way for him and Mathuzala frowned at the disturbance.

"Please, do not stop because of me,"  The Hopecor man murmured.

"When the 8 assembled once more, it quickly became apparent that Solandra had not changed over their many years of separation.  She was furious at the other's creations, envying the beauty of each.  She began to hate her own race, hastily and ill made.

One race stuck out to the jealous Goddess.  The Sake'Te'Rhians had been made with such care and love that it drove Solandra crazy.  So one day Solandra confronted Sephra, demanding Sephra to hand them over..."

Mathuzala gave a hefty sigh.  He eased his weary and aching body.  Almost instantly the Hopecor was by his side.  His silence stretched as he became lost in his own thoughts.

"If you do not mind me asking....  What happens next, Old One?  I have never heard this story."  The Hopecor tried his best not to sound too anxious.  He must have failed as Mathuzala laughed softly.

"They fight of course..."  Mathuzala took in a deep breath before continuing.

"Sephra would not give up her people to Solandra, and when Sephra struck Solandra down, she cursed the Sake'Te'Rhians.  She told Sephra her race would not live and that the females would whither.  Sephra was worried;  All the others were, too.  But when nothing happened, she laughed at Solandra's curse."

"She shouldn't have.  See where it got her race?  Bunch of freaks."  Zero sneered openly at Mathuzala, who frowned at him, but chose to ignore his statement.

"After a few years, many of the Sake'Te'Rhian women began to miscarry.  Others aged too quickly to bear children.  Others merely died.  Not even the Hopecor could help them.  The poor race was frantic as deathrates increased everyday.  [b]For seemingly no reason[/b].  The men prayed to Sephra.  The women screamed and wept and pleaded with the Goddess.  But their pleas fell on deaf ears.  Sephra had decided to wait out the epidemic.

Soon not a female or child remained to the race.  At that point Sephra realized something was horribly wrong.  The men were slowly dieing out.  The only hope for the race was gone.  Sephra didn't know what to do.  Things looked bleak for all the Sake'Te'Rhians."

For a long moment nothing moved or made a sound as Mathuzala fell silent.  All were hanging on to the old man's words, including Zero.  No matter how many times a person heard this tale, it was still a sobering story.

Mathuzala licked his lips.  Cleared his throat.  Lifted useless, shaking hands.

"I...  Need a drink..."  Water was carried hastily to him.  Still, despite the haste in which it was delivered to him, Mathuzala took his time in carefully lifting the glass with heavily shaking hands.  As if sensing the intent gazes of his listeners, Mathuzala added,

"They nearly died you know," and said nothing more for several long minutes.

"But thanks to the Hopecor and the Al'Cathorei, they didn't.  The Hopecor and the Al'Cathorei showed Sephra how to change the inner bodies of the men so they could conceive and bear children.  It wasn't perfect, nothing is;  For one, the men were hesitant to do what it required to make the child;  For two, they were stuck bearing the child for two years, thus keeping the race small;  For three, in the earlier days this put so much strain on their bodies that more men died at first than lived.  But as you probably have noticed, the race still exists today."

Methuzala finally leaned back in his chair.  He could hear children and adults both slowly and quietly stir, get up and shuffle away.  The old man was nearly asleep when he felt a small hand tug his sleeve.

"Mathuzala?"  Tobias' young voice tugged Mathuzala fully awake.

"Hm?"  He began to try to get to his feet.  With the help of the small boy, he managed.  A tiny hand slipped itself into his own and began to slowly lead him home.

"Solandra is horrible, isn't she?"  Tobias didn't sound very upset.

"....Yes child, she is.  She ignores us to this day.  But I wouldn't worship her even if it were law.  She's jealous, vindictive and quite often childish.  It is why we So'Menin give thanks to Melearin and Falleine everyday."

"What happened to Solandra, Mathuzala?  Did the gods ever punish her for what she did to the Sake'Te'Rhians?"  Tobias peered up into the old, wrinkled face.

"Of course they did Tobias.  But that is another story for another day."