Introduction: The Creation of Lyfelde
Syershe, Phycras, and Nelemi
When the world was young—the first oceans forming and the first continents emerging—the world was known as Orelde, the lifeless age of beginning. Meteors of all sizes fell from the heavens sculpting Orelde, and with them came the first valleys and mountains, lakes and rivers. Most of these meteors were lifeless stone, created with the sole purpose of shaping Orelde. But two meteors were granted the task of bringing life to the world, carrying with them each a precious seed. One of these seed-baring meteors crashed into the ocean, and the other onto land. And from their ashes arose two great sisters: Syershe of the sea and Phycras of the earth.
Syershe warmed the seas, bringing algae, corals, and crustaceans into existence, filling the once empty waters with life and ushering in the first era of the new world and the age of life, Lyfelde. Syershe loved all of her creations, but she was most pleased with the fish, colorful and playful creatures with scales that sparkled in the sunbeams raining down from the surface of the ocean. She laughed and played with them everyday, singing songs that brought harmony to the many creatures in the seas.
Phycras was less creative than her sister. She sat alone among the desolate plains and empty rocks as she stared off into the distance. She wandered around on foot for many millennia until she happened upon a beach where she heard Syershe’s beautiful voice rising from under the waves. She looked out unto the water and saw the joyous spirit playing with her children. A wave of jealousy overcame Phycras, so she captured some of the water creatures and used her powers to transform them into new, warped creations to inhabit the land. The crabs became spiders, corals became flowers, and kelp forests became the trees that painted the land with green ushering in the second era of Lyfelde.
Like Syershe, Phycras admired the beauty of the fish, and she, too, wanted fish-like creations of her own. In arrogance, she attempted her first, genuine creation, but her jealousy and impudence distorted them into snakes. Unsatisfied with her creations, she made more snakes, each time more vicious and more venomous than the last, and each time leaving her more disappointed and more furious with herself. At last, she became impatient and directed her anger at Syershe. Phycras split her heart into six individuals, each containing her spite and venom coursing through their veins, and she gifted them with sentience and the language of the Earth. This was the birth of the six immortals of the Earth Sister and eventual elders of the snake clans: Vanity, Avarice, Envy, Deceit, Ardour, and Acuity.
Together with a horde of snakes, the six immortals of Phycras marched towards the beach. They lunged into the sea killing the fish that protected Syershe, and they dragged her helpless figure onto the shore. With her piscine lower body unfit for land, she was vulnerable. Snakes hissed and covered her body with venomous bites as the immortals of Phycras used their sharp fangs to pierce through the scaly skin of her fish friends. The venom flowed through Syershe’s body, corrupting her pure heart, and, at last, she erupted in a rage. Her fish-tailed lower body transformed into legs, and she stood up slinging the snakes from her body. The fish, having swam to deeper waters to escape the hunters, morphed into ferocious sharks with sharp, serrated teeth, and, full of anger, they lunged at the enemy ripping apart countless serpentine bodies. The ocean turned red, and the snakes and six immortals retreated leaving Syershe mutilated on the sand. With her fading strength, she crawled into the ocean where she split her heart into eight individuals and gifted them with sentience and the two languages of the Sea. This was the birth of the eight immortals of the Sea Sister and eventual elders of the fish clans: Naivety, Amity, Sagacity, Patience, Languor, Empathy, Laxity, and Caprice.
The immortals of Phycras and Syershe shared their sentience with their fellow snakes and fish, creating the first mortals and ancestors of the clans of Earth and Sea. For thousands of years, the two races spread throughout the ocean and land, fighting never-ending wars and killing each other to no end. Clans formed and split within the races, languages evolved and cultures diversified, but the feud between the immortals and their children waged on.
One day, a large asteroid fell into the moon severing a piece of its rocky surface and sending it towards the world as the third seed-baring meteor. It crashed into the empty tundric forests of the northern lands where the climate proved too cold for the reptilian mortals to live. From its ashes emerged Nelemi of the moon and sky. She filled the empty forests with furry and feathered creatures such as crows, deer, and rabbits, but, above all other creations, she favored the wolves who joined her in song every night to sing to the moon and stars. Her creatures filled the north, reaching to the shores and southern lands, where she created dolphins, seagulls, and sea lions for the ocean and variants of her previous creations acclimated to the warmer climates of the south. With her creatures spread across land and sea, they soon crossed paths with the clans of the other sisters. The clans of Syershe remained indifferent and allowed the aquatic creations of Nelemi to live in the sea. But the clans of Phycras responded with violence, killing and skinning the intruders. And then, wearing the fur of slain mammals for warmth, they advanced north to invade and claim territory.
Nelemi, having learned of the atrocities against her children, desired to protect them. And so, she split her heart into five individuals, gifting them with sentience and the language of the Moon, and she scattered them throughout the north to join the wolves in protecting their furry and feathered brethren. This was the birth of the five immortals of the Moon Sister and eventual elders of the wolf clans: Fidelity, Ferocity, Obstinacy, Vigilance, and Honesty.
Together they fought with the wolves and drove the snake worshippers back to the southern lands establishing peace for centuries to come and ushering in the third era of Lyfelde. For their bravery and loyalty, the immortals of Nelemi rewarded the wolves with sentience, creating the first mortals and ancestors of the clans of the Moon.
This is how the Sirens, mortals of Syershe, came to inhabit the sea; how the Lamiae, mortals of Phycras, came to inhabit the south; and how the Lycans, mortals of Nelemi, came to inhabit the north.