Stone and Water

In the Ur-times, before Light was Bright and when The Song still played through everything and everywhen, Stone was hungry.

He had rolled from his brother Mountain days ago when Sun had just started it's journey and now he found himself by the water. The water lapped gently at Stone, and he found it soothed the hunger. But it still persisted. This vexed Stone. He sat in the gentle water for a thousand days, pondering how he would sate the great hunger that he felt, how he could grow himself big and strong like Brother Mountain. He thought and thought, so deeply and so long that he did not notice the water was shrinking him day after day. By the time he realized what had happened, he was a famished pebble, drowning in the gentle waters.

This vexed Stone. But he was too small to roll now, so he sat in the water, and stewed with his siblings that had suffered a similar fate.

The Blue Sky

In the Ur-times, before Grass learned to Grow and before Lightning Bug learned to Glow, there was Blue.

Blue was the youngest of ten billion children of Light, and was often forgotten about. This did not bother Blue, because it gave her time to learn. Blue loved to watch the other colours as they swirled and danced around each other, leaving impressions of themselves on things. She giggled merrily when Green tripped and smeared herself all over Grass. Grass was upset at first, but decided he liked the colour and that he would keep it.

She so enjoyed watching the other colours, and the curious Things that they would run into all day an night, that she was often missing for days at a time. She would climb atop a Rock, or into the beards and hair of Trees while they argued back and forth, and watch as the world blossomed around her in a growing symphony.

The higher Blue climbed, the more she could see with her keen eyes. And so she climbed higher and higher each day. She climbed to the tallest tree, and was unsatisfied (much to Redwood's dismay). She climbed to the top of the bluffs, but still this was not enough. She climbed, with his permission and a promise to be very careful, to the top of Mountain. And as she stood at the summit of his highest peak she sighed.

For it was not high enough.

She could see the Forest, and the Plains, the Ocean and the Beach. She could see all the siblings she had in all these wonderful places, she could see Ferret and Fox, Joy and The Numbness of Cold. She could see so much. But she knew there was more.

Sky was passing overhead at just that time and nearly knocked her off the head of Mountain.

"I am terribly sorry, Blue. I did not expect to see you up so high." He said, picking her up and dusting her off.

Blue smiled back. And that smile changed, with a clever thought, into a sly grin.

"Not to worry Sky, I am fine. How are you?"

"I am well, though very busy. So much to keep track of." And she saw that Sky had the same keen eyes as her.

"Of course, of course. If only you had some help." She ventured.

"If only." Said Sky, already craning his head to keep count of all the Things in the Plains below.

"I wonder, Sky," She said, "Have you ever considered being Blue?"

Sky stopped counting for a moment, and cocked his head. Sky had never been a colour before. And as he looked down at all the colours mixing and playing on the ground below, far away from Sky, he could not think of a more wonderful colour than Blue.

So Sky smiled at Blue, and nodded.

"I had not, but I cannot imagine a better Colour."

So Blue held out her hand, and Sky took it and together they ascended up and up and up. And Blue could see the whole world laid out before her. And she loved it very very much.

And Mountain was profoundly relieved to not have two Things standing on his head anymore.

What Is Best

In the Ur-times, before Cinnamon found its Spice and before Blade learned its point, the Trees were talking.

"Sister Willow, what is best?"

"Brother Beech, letting long roots drink deep from the foundations of the world is best. Surely you know this." She creaked slowly.

Brother Beech swayed disagreeingly in the wind.

"No, no. To block the sun, and make the ground dark and covered in your leaves, this is best." Brother Beech shifted his swayings and nodded to himself.

"Harrumph." Came the low grumble from Brother Oak. "You youths are fools." it continued. "To grow, and be grand and strong, these are what is best."

Sister Redwood giggled at this, and her branches shuddered with the laughter. "You think yourself strong, Brother Oak? Look at my tremendous height, and ask yourself if you have the strength to grow this far from the ground." Her branches smiled wrly down at her siblings, and she cast her gaze off into the distance, already moving away from the distant conversation.

Brother Oak grunted grumpily.

The Cedar Twins had thus far been quiet, but one of them broke their silence to gain the attention of their siblings.

"Um."

The Trees continued to bicker back and forth, not having noticed the Cedar's interjection.

So Cedar waited. And waited. And waited. Until it could wait no more.

"Um." It said again, during a lull in the conversation. The rest of the trees stopped, and turned to the quiet tree. The Twins did not say much, and they were very young. The Trees looked down at the Cedar Twin that spoke, and waited expectantly.

"Yes, Tree?" Asked Beech at last.

"My brother Cedar felt that what was best in life was to help others. By being shade like Brother Beech or by holding Earth together like Sister Willow. Or by giving of oneself so that others might be happy." The little Tree said.

The Trees thought about this for some time. They were pleased by the notion. Sister Redwood looked down at the congregation below her and shook her leaves confusedly.

"Where is your twin, Brother Cedar?" She asked.

Brother Cedar looked at the stump where his twin had sat, and smiled.

"He is enjoying what is best in life." He said, and looked into the distance at a brand new, beautiful Cedar plank home.

The Lonely Winter

In the ur-times, before tick learned to tock and before feet learned to walk, Winter was lonely. Winter walked across the land that Behemoth had made, and skated across the oceans of Leviathan, and was alone. None of the other Things wanted to spend time with Winter.

Winter was cold, and harsh. Winter was unyeilding. To walk in the shadow of Winter was to struggle, and all the Things were far too busy preparing for the arrival of Time to struggle with Winter.

And so Winter was lonely. So lonely that he began to weep. And as his tears streamed out and floated around him, they froze in his cold and became Snow. So as Winter sat atop the world and wept, snow fell all around him in a dazzling, hypnotic dance. Snow swirled and whirled around Winter, lost in the frolic of creation. And Winter was so lonely that he did not see what he had made.

Finally Snow stopped, and hung in the air. It paused, and asked Winter "Why do you weep?"

Winter was surprised to hear something speaking to him.

"I weep because I am lonely."

"But you are not alone, Winter." And snow billowed up around Winter tightly. "I will travel with you wherever you go, Winter."

And Winter was happy, and the two of them travelled the world forever more, hand in hand.

How the Moon Learned to Dance

In the Ur-times, before Fox found his red and before Wisdom grew his words, Moon was sad. She was sad because for a long time she would rise in the evening and all the Things would greet her. And she would greet them each in turn. They would thank her for giving her silvery glow to the sunless time, so that they could work and play all through the night.

But the more nights that came and went, the less Things would greet her as she rose. All the Things were very busy, for Time had accidentally been made and it would not be long before it arrived.


And so, after many nights, Moon felt very alone. But still she would rise in the evening and set in the morning, because she was the Moon. One night, as she crossed the sky, she looked down and saw Ferret. Ferret was doing something very strange.

Ferret was bouncing! And Ferret was wiggling! Ferret was twisting, and turning, and it was all very, very peculiar. And so as she made her trip across the sky Moon looked down upon Ferret and asked "What are you doing?"

Now this startled Ferret, for no-one had heard Moon speak in a long time, so he stopped. And he looked up into the sky, and apologized to Moon.

"I'm sorry Moon, I forgot to greet you tonight!  My sincere apologies. I was just dancing." He said, and bowed.

"What is dancing?" Asked Moon,

This perplexed Ferret, for he had always danced, and assumed so did everyone else. But he tried his best to explain it.

"Dancing is where you jump, and you bounce, and you wiggle, and you twist and you turn and let your body do all the moving things it likes to do."

But the Moon had only wanted to stroll across the night sky, and shine. So she was very confused. "Like this?" She said, flapping her arms.

"Well... not quite..." Ferret replied.

"Like this?" She asked, hopping from one leg to another.

"Sort of..." Ferret was getting a little embarrased.

The Moon started to spin, and she liked it. She spun faster, and faster, and it felt wonderful! She spun so fast  that she forgot to ask Ferret if she was dancing.  Her beautiful dress spread out farther and farther, making a gorgeous, shining disk of silver in the night sky as she spun.

All the Things looked up as the silvery disk grew in the sky, and they were ashamed that they had forgotten about Moon. But they were also in awe of her beautiful dance, so they clapped their hands and Applause was born. As was Cheers, but it quickly left to find a drink. So all the things congratulated Moon on her new dance.

But Moon didn't hear them, because she was so happy. Dancing filled her with joy unlike she had ever known, and she wanted to feel this way forever.

So to this day, Moon dances across the sky, night after night, spinning and twirling, and showering Earth with her silver light.

And sometimes, Ferret will sit at night and watch her Dance.

Art and Eagle

In the Ur-Times, before Stone found its strength and before Joy learned to laugh, Art was seeking prey.

It stalked across the land that Behemoth had made, and it swam in the depths that Leviathan had gouged. Art flitted across all that was, and struck with the speed of Regret. When Art pounced, it's target was instantly unmade, and Art fed upon the image of what was once. Not always the same it was, and although many persist to this day as their representation, there were so many victims that many were lost forever.

Until one day Eagle saw with his amazing eyes that Art was readying to lunge. Eagle had no interest in becoming a unmade, so he took to the sky. But Art was not constrained to the earth or the ocean and followed Eagle. Eagle swooped low and flew between Trees, and into canyons, but Art was never far behind. Soon Eagle would become tired, and not able to continue the chase. But he had a thought.

"Do not eat me, Art!" Eagle shouted at his pursuer.

"I must eat, as must you Eagle. It is the way." Art replied soullessly.

"But you needn't eat me!" Eagle implored.

"If not you, then another. It is the same."

"Perhaps not! What if I prepare you a meal unlike you have ever had?" Eagle asked.

Art paused in its pursuit, and pondered. What could Eagle make?

"If I do not like it, I will gobble you up just the same." Art stated.

"But if you do like it, you will not?"

"I will not."

And Eagle was greatly relieved. He soared into the air, and crashed back into the earth. He landed in a great puddle of muck, and rolled himself around like a younglet. Art became very confused as it watched.

Then, Eagle stood again, covered in the much, and flew to a rock. He spread his wings, and fell back on the rock, leaving an image of his splendor in the brown mud.  He stood, and shook his feathers clean.  He indicated the muck-picture to Art.

"Here is me, and there I am!" He proclaimed proudly. "Feast on that, and be sustained, and let me be!"

Art moved to the stone, and gobbled up the image of Eagle. It was delicious, and unlike anything he had ever experienced. And Art wanted more.

But he had made a promise to Eagle so he did not gobble him up. But instead instructed Eagle to tell all the Things that Art would feed on the representation of them instead of themselves. And so we have paintings, and stories, and dances.

And so we still have Eagle.

Adrift

In the ur-times, before Coyote found his humour and before She Who Longs For The Darkness had anything to long for, Leviathan was adrift.

And Leviathan spoke to its brother, Behemoth, though in those times words had not yet come.

Brother Behemoth I am adrift and cannot feed.

Brother Leviathan I am no better.

At this point, the Joy That Comes From Failure passed between the two and was eaten. Leviathan and Behemoth tore wildly at it, and bumped into each other many times making Sounds. From their titanic struggle Thunder was born, and the Groaning In The Deep, and these two children knew of their parents and fled lest they too become a meal.

All that remained of the Joy That Comes From Failure was a scrap that drifted away, beyond the reach of the two great beasts. It fled, and became Learning.

Brother Behemoth I am yet hungry.

Brother Leviathan I am yet hungry.

We cannot fight for food like this, Brother Behemoth. We are sure to starve.

We shall make a great surface, and tread upon it and walk far away from each other Brother Leviathan. Then we need not fight.

No, we will create a great water, and swim in it far from each other Brother Behemoth. Then we need not fight nor tread.

And the two drifted while they thought, a process that took so much time because of their titanic minds that Light came and met The Sun, and they began their courtship and were wed.

Brother Leviathan, make your water and live in it. Feed on those that swim. I will make my surface, and feed on those that walk.  Then we need never fear each other.

And Leviathan saw that this was wise, and made the great ocean while Behemoth made the earth. And as they parted they feasted on all that stood or swam in the new world, robbing the future of many things.

The Lover and The Thief

In the ur-times, before dragons, before Falcon learned to fly and before the Moon learned to dance, there was The Lover and there was The Thief.  They were not lonely, for there were many that shared the world with them, and The Lover loved them all.  Each in turn she gave her heart to, Fire and Hope and The Kiss of the Sky.  The Lover gave her heart freely and passionately, not just to the beautiful but to the Darkness too, to Rot and Death and even That Which Lies In The Deep Place felt the gentle caress of The Lover, and embraced her just as fiercely.  For the rest of time, a piece of The Lover would stay with each of them, and she would bear a sliver of their heart with her.

The Thief watched and laughed, for she saw what the others did not.  Love is blind, The Thief giggled to herself, and the blind are easy prey.  And so as the Lovers caroused and played at passion The Thief would dance invisible and silent, and she would take.

The day came when the Lover had given her heart to all save one.  In that same time, there was only one thing left that was not The Thief’s, one thing left to steal… the heart of The Lover.

The Thief stepped forth from the shadows, and The Lover embraced her like an old swain.

“Where have you been, Thief?  I have not seen you since the beginning.”

“I have been with you always, I never left your side. How could I, I who love deeper even than you.” She replied with a smile. And the two descended, and were raised.

And that is why we give our hearts away, even if it may cause us pain.  It’s why we steal a kiss, why we elope, absconding with our loves, and we covet the happiness of couples.  Because there is a piece of The Lover in everything, and The Lover lives in the heart of The Thief.