Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end

“Uncle ‘Ri! Tell us a story?”

Tierney's voice pulled Orion's attention away from contemplating the practiced motions of knife against wood, as Delena skillfully whittled away at a length of wood; the flute would be finished soon. Shaking his head, Orion grinned as he glanced at the twins, who laughed and pounced, snuggling up against him on the wide couch.

“Alright then, a story... which shall I tell you? The tale of the courageous dragon that saved a fair maiden from an evil king? Or maybe the legend of the demon-dog who fell in love with a star, and vowed to convince the gods to let them wed?”

Fiona shook her head, raven locks lashing adamantly. “No, no, Uncle ‘Ri! I wanna hear about God-in-the-Tree!”

“Yeah, it's our favorite .”

“Really? Huh… well, I'm not sure I know about any Tree-gods…” Orion scratched his chin, an innocently thoughtful expression plastered on his face. Said expression soon transformed into a wide grin as the twins ganged up to tickle-attack him. A few minutes of play-wrestling later, the three were sprawled on the floor, Tierney and Fiona triumphantly perched on Orion's back. Kaa had wandered in at some point, and dropped down next to them, slapping his hand against the floor as he counted off, “One, two, three… winner and reigning championssss!"

The twins fell into a fit of giggles as the naga grabbed an arm from each, and raised it triumphantly over their heads, Delena, Manikarnika, and Rheit cheered loudly. Orion laughed and sat up, tipping the twins back onto the couch and plopping down in between them.

“Alright, alright, you've jogged my memory. Get comfy, ya little heathens,” he grumbled good-naturedly. Once everyone was settled (adults as well as the children), Orion began his oft-demanded story.

“In the beginning, things were very quiet and still. Only God-in-the-Tree existed, his roots and branches stretched out to fill the void. God-in-the-Tree liked to stretch after he woke up in the morning, and each time, loose bark would fall around his roots. He wanted to clean up the mess, so he created insects. They quickly set to work, and soon God-in-the-Tree's roots were covered with rich soil. This made him very happy, indeed. The fruit that weighed down his branches were stars, and when they fell to the new ground, they became rocks and boulders.

For the longest time, God-in-the-Tree was satisfied with his solitude, but after a while he became lonely. There was no one to converse with, no music to dance to, no dreams or laughter to get lost in. So God-in-the-Tree, wise and powerful being that he was, decided to create some companions.

“God-in-the-Tree valued intelligence very much, and longed to have someone to talk to, so he concentrated on the values he wanted his first creature to have. Wisdom, truth, and patience were mixed together into a sleek, calm mixture, but it didn't seem quite right. God-in-the-Tree searched his thoughts for a solution, and finally stumbled across the answer. When he carefully added a dash of divination and mysticism, the first creature came into existence: the owl.

“God-in-the-Tree was very happy. He and Owl spoke of many things, on various subjects. But eventually Owl's voice grew tired and soft, so God-in-the-tree let her rest. To keep himself busy, he decided to create his second creature.

“God-in-the-Tree loved music very much, and longed to hear someone sing a dulcet ballad to him, so he concentrated on the ideals he wanted his second creature to possess. Skill, freedom, and ascent were sifted together into a deep, soothing blend, but it didn't seem quite right. God-in-the-Tree searched his thoughts for a solution, and finally stumbled across the answer. When he added a touch of soul, the second creature came into existence: the songbird.

“Songbird was more than happy to regale God-in-the-Tree and Owl with her beautiful music. She sang fast reels and quiet lullabies, happy trills and romantic ballads. But eventually Songbird's voice grew tired and soft, so God-in-the-tree let her rest. To keep himself busy, he decided to create his third creature.

“It had been a very long time since God-in-the-Tree had dreamed, so he concentrated on the ideals he wanted in his third creature. Agility, humor, and the subtle power of dreams were woven together into a smooth, quicksilver mixture, but again it didn't seem quite right. God-in-the-Tree searched his thoughts for a solution, and finally stumbled across the answer; because dreams were strange things, with the power to both soothe and scare, the other qualities had unbalanced the mixture. When he added a bit of poison and malice, the third and fourth creatures came into existence: the lizard and the cobra.

“Lizard was a bright, cheerful creature, happy to entertain God-in-the-Tree, Songbird, Owl and Cobra with the dreams he wove for them. But Cobra was an unhappy, miserable thing filled with cruel and violent thoughts. She hated her brother's contentment, and plotted his demise. Meanwhile, Owl and Lizard began spending a lot of time together. They were great friends, and eventually fell in love.

“But one night, Cobra struck while everyone else was asleep. Silently slithering up to Lizard, she quickly struck him down with her poison and left as quickly as she had come.

“When Owl saw Lizard's lifeless body the following morning, she slipped into a deep grief for her love. Her tears flowed down and formed the oceans and seas. Lost in her misery, Owl began to molt. Her tail feathers slipped away, floating down to God-in-the-Tree's roots, where they became long stalks of golden grain. The pale down at her breast fell away and became the first snow. Soon after, Owl followed Lizard.

“Who could have done such a thing? To this day, owls continue to ask that question—who?

“God-in-the-Tree mourned the loss of his children and their pain very much. He could not restore them to their bodies, so he decided to create new ones for them. He concentrated on the forms he had seen in the dreams Lizard had gifted him with, and combined the best traits of both Owl and Lizard, depositing their memories within.

Agility, humor, faith, honor, the subtle power of dreams; wisdom, truth, patience, insight, intuition. All were combined in a seamless mix. And so, the first human beings were created, and all rejoiced—except for Cobra, of course, who was rather grumpy about her plot being foiled.

“Songbird was a friend to both Owl and Lizard, and so decided to teach them in their new bodies how to sing. Songbird's cousin, Crane, had also liked them very much, and so taught them how to dance.

“The two humans grew and multiplied. God-in-the-Tree provided them with shelter in his forests, taught them how to build their homes, and how to harvest wheat and other plants for food. Soon God-in-the-Tree created more animals for companionship and food for them.

“Meanwhile, Cobra was off stewing because her plot had been foiled. She dearly wished to get back at Lizard and God-in-the-Tree, but knew she wasn't strong enough to do it on her own… and then, an idea formed. Slithering deep into a cave, she curled tight and focused her hateful thoughts. For seven days and seven nights, she thought of how she loathed their happiness, and at precisely dusk each night, she spawned a child: Pride, Envy, Wrath, Lust, Greed, Gluttony, and Sloth.

“Pride was boastful. Envy incited jealousy in others. Wrath was angry and hateful. Lust enticed infidelity. Greed taught selfishness. Gluttony brought drink to the masses. Sloth was lazy and wasteful. Satisfied, Cobra set them against the humans, to poison their minds and ruin Lizard's work.

“God-in-the-Tree soon found out after the Sins began their wicked schemes, but it was too late for many of the humans. He was greatly angered, but knew he could not remove the infected humans without the risk of damaging the normal ones as well. God-in-the-Tree thought long and hard for a solution, and finally found one. He quickly created the Others, a separate breed of people, and gifted them with extra strength, higher intelligence, and longer lives than human beings, as well as stronger magics. Once completed, he sent them to seek out and destroy the blasphemy of the Sins.”

“Like mommy?” Fiona interjected.

“Yeah, like your mum,” Orion agreed, ruffling her hair. “But sadly, it didn't completely work. The Others were still outnumbered by the humans, and weren't always able to keep up. God-in-the-Tree was devastated, and went into a deep sleep… but not before telling one special human all of his knowledge of life and the world. She alone would know how to reawaken God-in-the-Tree's true form when the End came near.

“Unfortunately, Cobra found out about the girl. After tracking her down, Cobra quickly struck, poisoning her before slithering away. The girl grew very sick, but surprisingly enough, she survived where her grandfather Lizard had perished. After much rest, she recovered… but there was a catch. The poison caused her mind to push God-in-the-Tree's words deep into the shadows of her memory; she simply went on with her life.

“No one realized that God-in-the-Tree's words were still there, but God-in-the-Tree wasn't a God for nothing. He had never trusted Cobra, and, expecting treachery, God-in-the-Tree had added a fail-safe to the information. The girl was not immortal, but she was destined to have a child, a family. When that child was born, the information—while still hidden—was passed down to her, and so on. Over the years, the identity of the Line and it's importance was lost to many, but it's been prophesized that when the End comes nigh, the Heir will awaken God-in-the-Tree for the Final Reckoning.”

There was stillness in the now-crowded living room as the final words of Orion's story reverberated through time… for even in silence, truth echoes.

“…been years since you told us that one, but it seems the memory never fades, eh?” Ivy's melodious voice slid through the hush like a stiletto.

Orion stared off into space, a thoughtful frown creasing his brow.

“Come on, beasties, time for bed.” Rhemi stood up from his perch on the arm of Ivy's chair as the twins pouted and started giving goodnight hugs and kisses. As soon as they were done, he herded them out of the room.

Orion looked up as Ivy and Jinx dropped into the spaces the twins' had deserted, dodging and smiling a bit as Jinx ruffled his hair.

“That tale grows weightier each time you speak of it,” Ivy said, voice soft. Orion sighed.

“…Yeah. It's coming; I can feel it as well. Tantalus is dabbling in deeper trouble than they know.” He shook his head, a determined look taking refuge on his face. “But I'll fight them as far and as hard as I can.”

“And sssso will we, kid,” Kaa said, dropping a hand on his shoulder. “Ssso will we.”

Fin.