“Before the age of men, there were two great spirits. The first was Uurda (The World), mother of life, who stood at the center of the world. The other was Fora, father of nothing, who peered in from beyond the borders of existence.
For countless years, the sun remained still, hung directly above the center of the world - the place where Uurda stood. Life was stagnant, where it existed at all. And still, knowing nothing else, Fora found it beautiful.
He marvelled at the way light pierced the clear, waveless oceans, and each grain of sand that filled this world’s vast deserts. He counted the sparse flora that managed to push through the dry dirt or clung to the large stones, praising them as they rose and mourning them when they inevitably fell again. Only Uurda stood without faltering, her roots deeper than any other.
As time passed, something strange caught Fora’s attention. A creature - tiny and protected by a brittle shell - burrowed out of the dirt near Uurda. Naturally, the spirit was entranced and drew closer. However, his awe soon turned to outrage when this creature began to eat away at one of Uurda’s roots. Without thinking, the great spirit reached out to intervene and accidentally pushed the sun with such force it sank beneath the world’s horizon.
The great ball of flame rolled across the underside of the world, causing the oceans that cover it to boil violently. Dark clouds spilled into the surface world above, bringing with them a dense gray curtain of rain occasionally pierced by lightning. This once silent world seemingly thrown into chaos, Fora withdrew, not wanting to risk a worse situation.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
As the first night of this world advanced, the sun drew nearer to Uurda’s roots, and Fora began to notice a change. Uurda shook, only slightly at first, but then more intensely. Steam crept out from beneath the great spirit, and climbed up its figure to the tips of its leaves.
The dirt beneath Uurda shifted as if becoming fluid, then erupted. In the middle of this chaos, she began the most beautiful, intense movement Fora had ever seen. Light and steam billowed up from her now exposed roots, and reflected off her glistening leaves. Unfortunately, her dance filled the sky with with heavy clouds, and soon he was unable to witness anything but the shadows she cast against the thick gray veil.
Fora was there when the sun reached the end of its path to pull it back up into the sky, where he held it until the clouds cleared and he could once again see Uurda. However, her branches were still and her leaves dried. Her dance had come to an end, and all returned to stagnation once again.
Such a motionless world was unable to captivate Fora as it once had. So, wanting to see Uurda’s dance once more, he carried the sun far to the west and carefully rolled it across the underside of the world. Again, he was captivated by her chaotic beauty.
Days and nights began to pass more regularly. Over time, life would begin to flourish around Uurda, and the great forest Uurda Ela (Heart of Uurda) would be born. For a time, all life would dance with Uurda Ela and follow her movements, but the rise of men changed this. Those who do not move with the wind and nature, who would instead challenge life itself, have no place among those of us who live within Uurda Ela. They are our enemies.”
<ul>
<li>The Dance of Uurda; dated before the first age of fire (prehistory); attributed to the lost tribes of Uurda Ela; translated to the common tongue and published by the Parodinian Ministry of Public Records [y3025 : m2]</li>
</ul>
Translation Notes: The original story of The Dance of Uurda was traditionally memorized and passed on through word of mouth. Due to insufficient historical records, much of this text is based on speculation derived from drawings, ritual sites and other gathered evidences. The names used were taken from ancient texts written soon after the tribes of Uurda Ela were wiped out, such as the Bruuni etiological myth Er-Genesis [y203].