Book 1

“Tell me, O Muse, of the beginnings of this world, of the great gods in heaven who molded us and the powers they wield to govern us.

In the beginning was primordial Chaos, ever shifting, never changing. A world that isn’t a world, a time before time. Such was the nature of being then. It was all that there was and all that would ever be, if not for the appearance of that god greater than any other. So did the Nameless God, born of nothing with the potential of everything, take hold of primordial Chaos. And so was the universe born. And in that single moment that spanned the whole of time, there was the whole of Creation laid bare before him.

Seeing Creation in all its glory, the Nameless God carved out the night sky from primordial Chaos, and began his work. He placed each star in the sky, those stars that shimmer above us even now, as though Creation were naught but his canvas.

With the stars set in place, the Nameless God took on his next grand work. He took flesh from his side and set it adrift in the sea of stars, and as it floated he shaped it. Slowly and meticulously, he shaped his own body into the world. And so he made the sky to shield us from the stars. And his flesh became the earth. And his blood became the seas.

From his body were three nascent gods born, the eldest of the gods, the slumbering gods who cradle us from harm. So were Coelus, Tellus, and Pontus born.

The Nameless God then, in all his power, set out on his next great work. He had seen it so clearly in the instant in which all of creation was set in motion, yet even with his incredible power, beyond any other, he could not so easily create life from nothing, an immaculate conception reserved for him alone. And so he called for the council of the triplet gods, his only bloodborn children. He spoke to them, ‘Children, what is it that you seek from the world?’ And so they answered, ‘Father, we seek the beautiful things, that which is born of you.’

Hearing them speak to him for the first time, the Nameless God, once all alone, discovered something new in the Creation that was once laid out bare before him. Upon seeing the harmonious glow of feeling, the gratitude of his children for having been born, the Nameless God learned the shape life should take.

And so was life made on the world, born of the love his children had for him.

The four of them watched over the world, and all that which now lived. But one day Tellus came to the Nameless God and spoke to him, ‘Father, when I look upon the creatures of this world, I cannot help but find them incomplete. They are unlike us, they do not speak to one another, nor do their hearts and minds and souls hold such power. Father, can we not give to them the same gift you gave to us?’

The Nameless God smiled, and of his will was humanity born. And as he felt the first pangs of our emotion, our reverence towards he who made us, from his will he decreed a new rule of the world. And so from that point on would gods be born to aid us in our struggles, to answer our prayers so long as we seek them out.

And so, his great work at last completed, the Nameless God withdrew from all of his beloved creations and so he became the Heavens beyond even the sky and the stars.

And with that, I believe it time for me to bid farewell for the night.”

As the rhapsode finishes, the rest of the partygoers turn away from him, though he is an esteemed guest for his talents. All save for a single man, a young, lithe man, with deep azure hair and crimson eyes. He watches the rhapsode go, still thinking of the story.

It’s a good story, isn’t it. It’s good that there is such a story. That the god most deserving of our adoration and our fealty is still remembered even after his name has been lost, it’s a wonderful thing, isn’t it, Reno? Just like him, who we adore without fail, I’m sure you are still loved as well. Even after so long, you must be loved. Your sister loves you and misses you dearly, as do I. But there isn’t any rush. In a world without death or destruction, there isn’t any rush. So you can take your time. But please come back to us one day. Nothing begins or ends without you anymore. The world no longer seems so beautiful now that you are gone. I’ll always be waiting for you, Reno. Until the day we can dance once more.