The Creation Story and The True History
The Story of the First Ones and the Making of the World
Before the world was new, and all the beasts and birds resettled the land and sky, there was only the great dark. But in that darkness there was a storm, and the Horned Father lit the sun with a flash of lightning, and began to fan the smoke into storming clouds, and called out to others left in the dark, which was the thunder. He put out the great fires, and cleared the darkness away so that they could return.
His light and his rhythm brought the Flying Mother from the dark of the world, from the longest sleep, and from her mouth she sang a great and lonely song to the darkness, to call yet others home. Far away, the Moon heard her howls, and knew them as the songs he had once heard before the darkness. He ran to the cries to console her, rushing from the darkness and into the whipping storm that beckoned all from the sleeping darkness of the world.
Alas, the Moon ran too fast. The Horned Father reached out to catch him before he ran too far in the darkness and could not return to them - but he only caught his silver eye. The Flying Mother wept and wept, and there was nothing to be done, for what had come to pass was fate. The Horned Father looked and saw that Moon's eye was still alive, and his sight stretched beyond the stars and the nothingness and into the fates of the world.
Far away in the nothingness Moon sang his own song, and it was the wind, and it blew the smoke of the sun around and around, and Flying Mother still wept and wept, and the Horned God saw this, so he swept all the smoke and wind together and made the sky, and he swept all the beads of light that were Flying Mother's tears together and made the water, and he placed it between his great horns, and it was the world.
Flying Mother saw this, and wept no more. She took the Moon's eye, and placed it between a prong on one side, and took the sun and placed it in the curl of the other, to light the world on both sides, and keep it warm. Together, Flying Mother and Horned Father beat the smoke, and lit the skies, and churned the water, and sang on the air, and the horned father kept company with her in her sorrow.
The Moon saw this, and cried with joy. The Flying Mother cried because she could still sing with the Moon, and her tears circled them all in the light of the sun and the moon, and they became the stars. The Horned Father wanted to cry because of his regret, but all that came was stone and sand. They saw this, and the Moon knew what must be done. He bid the Horned Father to take his tears and make the land. He let free the earth and dust on the winds, and they grew wet and fertile. The Horned father made in this place a wolf he called World Brother, and to this wolf, he gave the gift of life in all ways to atone for his failure. World Brother sang like the Horned Father, and he ran, danced, and drummed the land, and from his footfall, the world grew with life.
The plants all sprouted, and the animals came from the earth and the sky and the water, and they knew one another as they once did long ago. In this new and beautiful world, Flying Mother made the Sky Daughter, whom she gave the gift of passion, and she flew and sang and made the flowers grow and the trees reach up to the clouds to try and catch her. But she could touch the clouds, and could speak to the wind, and she never wanted to come down. World Brother watched Sky Daughter, and he ran beneath her, Sky Daughter sang like the Flying Mother, and made the trees and grasses grow tall as she flew high above. But at dawn, she would rest, and the World Brother would rest with her.
And so Sky Daughter brought the Brothers and Sisters into the world for World Brother, and they sang their songs like the Moon. Together, they tried to teach them the ways of the Horned Father, or the Flying Mother, but instead they made their own rules and formed their own place in the world below the sky. But this place was too small for all of the many brothers and sisters made each morning, so they fought and fought, and a distressing hardship overtook the world. They killed their Brothers and Sisters, and the Sky Daughter and the World Brother knew not what to do.
The Sun, who all this time had been quiet and peaceful in its long sleep, awoke to the bickering of the brothers and sisters, and it raged. The sun knew no compassion, for it was born only to difficulty in its life, and so as to stop the horror it saw below, it dried up all the plants and parched all the Brothers and Sisters, and there came famine, drought and pain. Many beings did not survive, but a few Brothers and Sisters dug deep, and slept until it was done.
The Daughter ran away on the winds, since she could not love the world below that the Sun had laid black and bare. The Sky Daughter fell and dropped into the space between the nothingness and the sea. The Sun saw this, and saw her suffering in the nothingness, and it knew that it had done wrong. One morning, it picked up the Daughter and tried to carry her back into the sky, but by noon she could hold on no more for all the heat and light, and she slipped back into the nothingness. On that evening, the Sun decided that it would stay with Sky Daughter And from that day, the Sun shone for daughter from morning to evening over the horizon, and at night it would comfort Sky Daughter in the nothingness. This went on for a long time, and from the Sun's love came the Sunrise and Sunset.
Sky Daughter had much time while waiting for the Son each day and each night, and so she breathed smoke into the nothingness and created her own clouds, but these held all her tears and her coldness from being alone. Sometimes they mixed with the thunderclounds of the Horned Father, and this brought much suffering for the Brothers and Sisters who were left. They pleaded to the Moon each night and hoped that he would help them, for just as the Sun had made the world too hot for them, so did the daughter make it too cold. The Moon tried his best, but all that could be done was move the water, and change the tide. He could do nothing more.
So the Brothers and Sisters pleaded again, now to Sun, and the sun tried its best to help. The Sun thought to ease their hardships by raising higher in the sky for as long as he could throughout the year, and made the warmth of each day longer, despite how much he missed the daughter. As he and the world spun between the two great horns, it created different times of the year, and they came to be known as the passing seasons. But even this was not enough.
The world was still so ruthless, and so uninviting for the remaining Brothers and Sisters. And so the World Brother pulled from his grief at the loss of the Sky Daughter, and knew what must be done. With all his might, he made for the brothers and sisters a place of life, as he had known before the Black of the world by the sun, and the White of the world by the Daughter. He laid down between the harsh seas, and the scorched lands, and dug and wallowed deep into the world, and fed the earth his flesh and bone, from which came again all the good that he had known long before all of that suffering.
The Moon watched all this, and far away in the darkness, he grinned, for the world was as he had seen. But the Son asked of him, deep in the earth, to take care of the brothers and sisters, and guide them in the dark, and through the paths of life that they must tread in that difficult world. So Moon promised the Son that he would look into the fates of all the many brothers and sisters, and he would watch them live life, and protect them, and carry their many songs on the winds, and remember their beginnings and their endings, and know if they deserved to come back from the earth where they would rest with the World Brother, until he could look upon them no more, and had to rest. His ever-roving eye upon the fates of the Brothers and Sisters began the moon's phases.
His light and his rhythm brought the Flying Mother from the dark of the world, from the longest sleep, and from her mouth she sang a great and lonely song to the darkness, to call yet others home. Far away, the Moon heard her howls, and knew them as the songs he had once heard before the darkness. He ran to the cries to console her, rushing from the darkness and into the whipping storm that beckoned all from the sleeping darkness of the world.
Alas, the Moon ran too fast. The Horned Father reached out to catch him before he ran too far in the darkness and could not return to them - but he only caught his silver eye. The Flying Mother wept and wept, and there was nothing to be done, for what had come to pass was fate. The Horned Father looked and saw that Moon's eye was still alive, and his sight stretched beyond the stars and the nothingness and into the fates of the world.
Far away in the nothingness Moon sang his own song, and it was the wind, and it blew the smoke of the sun around and around, and Flying Mother still wept and wept, and the Horned God saw this, so he swept all the smoke and wind together and made the sky, and he swept all the beads of light that were Flying Mother's tears together and made the water, and he placed it between his great horns, and it was the world.
Flying Mother saw this, and wept no more. She took the Moon's eye, and placed it between a prong on one side, and took the sun and placed it in the curl of the other, to light the world on both sides, and keep it warm. Together, Flying Mother and Horned Father beat the smoke, and lit the skies, and churned the water, and sang on the air, and the horned father kept company with her in her sorrow.
The Moon saw this, and cried with joy. The Flying Mother cried because she could still sing with the Moon, and her tears circled them all in the light of the sun and the moon, and they became the stars. The Horned Father wanted to cry because of his regret, but all that came was stone and sand. They saw this, and the Moon knew what must be done. He bid the Horned Father to take his tears and make the land. He let free the earth and dust on the winds, and they grew wet and fertile. The Horned father made in this place a wolf he called World Brother, and to this wolf, he gave the gift of life in all ways to atone for his failure. World Brother sang like the Horned Father, and he ran, danced, and drummed the land, and from his footfall, the world grew with life.
The plants all sprouted, and the animals came from the earth and the sky and the water, and they knew one another as they once did long ago. In this new and beautiful world, Flying Mother made the Sky Daughter, whom she gave the gift of passion, and she flew and sang and made the flowers grow and the trees reach up to the clouds to try and catch her. But she could touch the clouds, and could speak to the wind, and she never wanted to come down. World Brother watched Sky Daughter, and he ran beneath her, Sky Daughter sang like the Flying Mother, and made the trees and grasses grow tall as she flew high above. But at dawn, she would rest, and the World Brother would rest with her.
And so Sky Daughter brought the Brothers and Sisters into the world for World Brother, and they sang their songs like the Moon. Together, they tried to teach them the ways of the Horned Father, or the Flying Mother, but instead they made their own rules and formed their own place in the world below the sky. But this place was too small for all of the many brothers and sisters made each morning, so they fought and fought, and a distressing hardship overtook the world. They killed their Brothers and Sisters, and the Sky Daughter and the World Brother knew not what to do.
The Sun, who all this time had been quiet and peaceful in its long sleep, awoke to the bickering of the brothers and sisters, and it raged. The sun knew no compassion, for it was born only to difficulty in its life, and so as to stop the horror it saw below, it dried up all the plants and parched all the Brothers and Sisters, and there came famine, drought and pain. Many beings did not survive, but a few Brothers and Sisters dug deep, and slept until it was done.
The Daughter ran away on the winds, since she could not love the world below that the Sun had laid black and bare. The Sky Daughter fell and dropped into the space between the nothingness and the sea. The Sun saw this, and saw her suffering in the nothingness, and it knew that it had done wrong. One morning, it picked up the Daughter and tried to carry her back into the sky, but by noon she could hold on no more for all the heat and light, and she slipped back into the nothingness. On that evening, the Sun decided that it would stay with Sky Daughter And from that day, the Sun shone for daughter from morning to evening over the horizon, and at night it would comfort Sky Daughter in the nothingness. This went on for a long time, and from the Sun's love came the Sunrise and Sunset.
Sky Daughter had much time while waiting for the Son each day and each night, and so she breathed smoke into the nothingness and created her own clouds, but these held all her tears and her coldness from being alone. Sometimes they mixed with the thunderclounds of the Horned Father, and this brought much suffering for the Brothers and Sisters who were left. They pleaded to the Moon each night and hoped that he would help them, for just as the Sun had made the world too hot for them, so did the daughter make it too cold. The Moon tried his best, but all that could be done was move the water, and change the tide. He could do nothing more.
So the Brothers and Sisters pleaded again, now to Sun, and the sun tried its best to help. The Sun thought to ease their hardships by raising higher in the sky for as long as he could throughout the year, and made the warmth of each day longer, despite how much he missed the daughter. As he and the world spun between the two great horns, it created different times of the year, and they came to be known as the passing seasons. But even this was not enough.
The world was still so ruthless, and so uninviting for the remaining Brothers and Sisters. And so the World Brother pulled from his grief at the loss of the Sky Daughter, and knew what must be done. With all his might, he made for the brothers and sisters a place of life, as he had known before the Black of the world by the sun, and the White of the world by the Daughter. He laid down between the harsh seas, and the scorched lands, and dug and wallowed deep into the world, and fed the earth his flesh and bone, from which came again all the good that he had known long before all of that suffering.
The Moon watched all this, and far away in the darkness, he grinned, for the world was as he had seen. But the Son asked of him, deep in the earth, to take care of the brothers and sisters, and guide them in the dark, and through the paths of life that they must tread in that difficult world. So Moon promised the Son that he would look into the fates of all the many brothers and sisters, and he would watch them live life, and protect them, and carry their many songs on the winds, and remember their beginnings and their endings, and know if they deserved to come back from the earth where they would rest with the World Brother, until he could look upon them no more, and had to rest. His ever-roving eye upon the fates of the Brothers and Sisters began the moon's phases.
Historical Account of the World and Time Period
The creation story is actually somewhat true, as there was indeed a great burning of the world. From the standpoint of history however, the earth finally succumbed to the horrors of a nuclear war, and many, many creatures died. Humanity did not survive, and their cities have all but shrugged and resigned themselves to gravel by the time we make it to the world of the Children of Moon.
Animal life that survived the fallout and the nuclear winter has changed greatly in the way of appearance, as they have gained access to different genes that were once locked within their genetic codes. With the advent of radiation, new abilities have been realized in predator and prey alike. Different strains of mutations have been carried down pack lines, and the legacy of those who survived can still be seen in the strange and perhaps foreign lives of the different clans among the Three-Serpents Sound.
The flora has thrived on these changes in the atmosphere, and the overgrowth of the trees and plants at the ground level is nearly heinous. So too have the insects taken over and grown, as there is far more oxygen in the air, and no toxins brought on by human interference. In some ways, the world has almost shifted back to its prehistoric youth and the wonder that it found in the time of the mesozoic. Wolves, or more precisely wolf-kindred, have become the apex predator throughout much of this world. Large predators such as bears and big cats - while now monstrous and hulking - have become scarce, and in turn have legends among the wolf kind.
Fish have nearly remained the same but for the sharp teeth and stunted appendages that let them walk short distances above water, though amphibians have all but become grotesque by their twisted bodies growing sick from radiation. Most prey have developed better forms of hiding or extreme displays. For instance, both male and female deer grow antlers like you wouldn't believe, and never shed them. Rabbits have spines along their backs as a harken back to the spinosaurus's genetic footprint, and a jackalope can kick a wolf to a concussion, let alone give a hell of a chase. Elk and wild boars are tusked as well as thick-skinned - even field mice can be trouble if they've been let to grow to their full size with their much more mole-like claws, and more than one is a worry.
The world as we know it has grown strong, and the hunters can sometimes be the hunted. Trust in one's instinct no longers serves one fully, and thus the intellect of the canine predators have grown to new heights, their changing forms reflecting the inner shift toward cerebral thinking. You might weigh them close to early man in the way of thought and ingenuity.
These are the Wolf-kindred, not what they call themselves, but what they've come to be; a more humanoid form of wolf, perhaps something like a precursor for what will come in their future. These beings have many new features from their ancestors, sporting not just physical changes from radioactive mutation, but access to strength and power that before was only the stuff of dreams. Beyond even this, they have evolved. More dextrous forelegs, elongated paws and posable duclaws have made manipulation of their surroundings a possibility. Their back legs have made standing and walking in order to carry and reach higher places has aided in their reclaimation of the world - though their bodies are still adjusted for quadrupedal fighting, running and normal activity.
Their intellects have allowed them to learn of medicines, control fire, and have given rise to gods, legends, and different cultures within wolven society and hierarchy. Wolves have taken a role as a new order, and rightly so, as they grow wiser with each generation. Their knowing howls can be heard echoing through the landscape, the Moon their guide through this new and savage world.
Animal life that survived the fallout and the nuclear winter has changed greatly in the way of appearance, as they have gained access to different genes that were once locked within their genetic codes. With the advent of radiation, new abilities have been realized in predator and prey alike. Different strains of mutations have been carried down pack lines, and the legacy of those who survived can still be seen in the strange and perhaps foreign lives of the different clans among the Three-Serpents Sound.
The flora has thrived on these changes in the atmosphere, and the overgrowth of the trees and plants at the ground level is nearly heinous. So too have the insects taken over and grown, as there is far more oxygen in the air, and no toxins brought on by human interference. In some ways, the world has almost shifted back to its prehistoric youth and the wonder that it found in the time of the mesozoic. Wolves, or more precisely wolf-kindred, have become the apex predator throughout much of this world. Large predators such as bears and big cats - while now monstrous and hulking - have become scarce, and in turn have legends among the wolf kind.
Fish have nearly remained the same but for the sharp teeth and stunted appendages that let them walk short distances above water, though amphibians have all but become grotesque by their twisted bodies growing sick from radiation. Most prey have developed better forms of hiding or extreme displays. For instance, both male and female deer grow antlers like you wouldn't believe, and never shed them. Rabbits have spines along their backs as a harken back to the spinosaurus's genetic footprint, and a jackalope can kick a wolf to a concussion, let alone give a hell of a chase. Elk and wild boars are tusked as well as thick-skinned - even field mice can be trouble if they've been let to grow to their full size with their much more mole-like claws, and more than one is a worry.
The world as we know it has grown strong, and the hunters can sometimes be the hunted. Trust in one's instinct no longers serves one fully, and thus the intellect of the canine predators have grown to new heights, their changing forms reflecting the inner shift toward cerebral thinking. You might weigh them close to early man in the way of thought and ingenuity.
These are the Wolf-kindred, not what they call themselves, but what they've come to be; a more humanoid form of wolf, perhaps something like a precursor for what will come in their future. These beings have many new features from their ancestors, sporting not just physical changes from radioactive mutation, but access to strength and power that before was only the stuff of dreams. Beyond even this, they have evolved. More dextrous forelegs, elongated paws and posable duclaws have made manipulation of their surroundings a possibility. Their back legs have made standing and walking in order to carry and reach higher places has aided in their reclaimation of the world - though their bodies are still adjusted for quadrupedal fighting, running and normal activity.
Their intellects have allowed them to learn of medicines, control fire, and have given rise to gods, legends, and different cultures within wolven society and hierarchy. Wolves have taken a role as a new order, and rightly so, as they grow wiser with each generation. Their knowing howls can be heard echoing through the landscape, the Moon their guide through this new and savage world.
Accounts of the First Ones
The Retellings
The wolves of Three-Serpents Sound rely upon the recollections of shamans, elders, and others within the pack for the history of the world. Many, many years have passed, but surprisingly little has been forgotten despite their knowledge being only spoken word, and passed on as oral traditions. Here are some accounts of the First Ones, which begs to question the reality of what the wolves once saw in the days of the fallout, and the monstrous sights from right after the fire of nuclear destruction swept the globe, changing the very DNA of the fauna that survived...
The Moon
The Moon, who is far more regularly refered to simply as Moon. This diety is known to have the guise of a one-eyed wolf with silvered fur. He was the harbinger of the Brothers and Sisters, whom were the ancestors of the first Great Pack to come from the wars before the sun showed its rage. The wolves know him as the holder of fortunes, the bringer of auspicious signals of the future, and also believe he is responsible for the winds.
Horned Father
This diety is known to have the guise of an earthy wolf, with closed eyes, and was overgrown with antlers, and even curling horns. He was the harbinger of the Sun and the father of the World Brother, whom were important for both compassion and anger in the world. The wolves know him as the holder of the Sun and the Moon, the bringer of thunderclouds and summer rains, and also believe he is responsible for the land rising from the waters of the polar flooding.
Flying Mother
This diety is known to have the guise of a black wolf with great wings. She was the harbinger of the Stars and the Daughter, whom were important for the loneliness and joy of the world. The wolves know her as the creator of voices and songs, of sadness and lonliness, as well as the light of stars and dancing. She is responsible for the oceans and their many creatures.
The Sun
The Sun is a diety that harbinges trust, and reconciliation as much as rage and revenge. It changes the seasons, calms the winter storms, and brings warmth and light. It is a symbol of promises, and learning. The seasons are said to change out of the Sun's love and for Brothers and Sisters. His love for Daughter is what draws its course in the sky, and brings the sunrise and sunset.
Sky Daughter
This is the deity of the sky, the air, and all of the things that cannot be reached. She brings the winter storms, sand storms, and hurricanes, and brings coldness and darkness. However, she is also the deity that bares passions and love, and is synonymous with the changes of the heart. She is the bringer of the births of pups, and the stealer of milk-teeth.
World Brother
The deity that is synonmous with the world that the wolves live upon. He is the stretching earth and fertile loam, and he brings all the good and life of the world. He also gives a place for wolves to rest beneath the ground, and has tasked the Moon to ensure that the ever-sleeping find new life from the earth in due time.