The Creation Myth of the Acen

As Told by the Storyteller:

Look into the fire, brothers, sisters. It is the same fire that great Zhala sent to rain upon the fields of the far north in His fury, the same fire that pure, innocent Oacel used to strip the tainted shadow away from Her brother, the fallen God Centu. It is the same fire from which we Acen were created, and that same fire which safekeeps our magics until we may earn them back from the Gods.

My task and my promise to those above us, Gods and Those Who Came Before, is to keep these histories, these lessons, and to share them. That we may never forget who we are, and who we were, and who we may once more become. That we may once more learn that which we lost, and finally be able to embrace the sun, as our ancestors strove to do, long before us.

Hear, now, the story of the Acen.

The world was young, even in the eyes of the Gods, lush and green and ever-giving. The beasts roamed the fertile earth and were plentiful, while the birds set to the skies and witnessed for them the grand works that the Gods had created. Nature was set into a balance and all was peaceful in the world.

This was not enough for jealous Centu, however. For the beasts and birds did not hear the voices of Gods, could not follow His commands, could not fulfill His wishes. And so it was that Centu drew upon the already-giving nature of the world, took from it the strength of the earth and the might of fire, and created the Humans.

At first impressed with the idea of a creation that could interact with Her, the Goddess Oacel learned from Her brother. She borrowed the mutability of the water, the breath of the wind, and the warmth of rich earth and created the Elavien.

The rest of the Gods warned Centu and Oacel to be careful of their new creations, to be certain to teach them the ways to keep the world in balance. Fair Oacel took heed to the instruction, and the Elavien, so taught, wandered the earth and strove to keep all in a fair balance.

Centu, however, taught the Humans only to obey. He saw the Elavien drawing across the world, growing in number, and as was His way, he grew jealous. He whispered to the Humans, told them that the Elavien were aiming to control as much as possible. He spurred them to action, to take what lands they could before none were left to them.

So instructed, and believing that their God only spoke truth, the Humans created weapons and set to the Elavien. It was a terrible war that was waged, and the Elavien were driven near to extinction as Centu watched. Gentle Oacel wept to see Her creations destroyed by Her brotherʼs jealousy. She went to the most trustworthy of Her peers, the God Aʼcevel, and begged for help.

Aʼcevel agreed to help Oacel, and performed three miracles for Her. For the first, He placed a web upon the Humans, that they could no longer hear the covetous whisperings of Centu. For the second, He blessed the creations of Oacel; those Elavien that remained were granted the ability to wield the magics of earth, air, wind, and fire. This magic flowed through their blood, and for each Elavien that fell, it bestowed a blessing to the earth upon which its blood spilled, so that even in death, it brought life anew in the form of magical plants that could cure illness.

The third miracle Aʼcevel performed was to create the Acen. He looked upon the damage the Humans had wrought to the lands and to the Elavien, and He called upon the scouring power of fire. A great pillar of flame twirled into the great Godʼs hand, and from its chaotic dance He began His miracle.

"Let a new race be born," He said, "to restore a peace within this world. Let it be born of the beasts, that my children might never forget that they are a part of this world." And He reached down into the plains, the forests, the jungles, the deserts, and He plucked up several of the great cats who roamed those lands. Great hunters, fierce fighters, stalwart protectors. And He sacrificed them into the flames to become something greater.

Great Aʼcevel commanded that the magics once granted to the Elavien should be now granted to the Acen. Thus, born out of the fire came we Acen. Blessed with the bestial strengths of our forebears, with the stature of Humans, with the magic of Elavien, we were released upon the world. And we were a Reckoning.

For each death the Humans dealt to the Elavien, we dealt two in retribution. For each drop of blood spilled, we spilled two. Born of the fire, we were its rage and its sting. For we could wield weapons as the Humans. We could wield magic, as the Elavien. We could snarl and bite, claw and rend, as those first great cats that were sacrificed.

We were unstoppable.

It was then, when Oacel saw the vengeance we enacted, that She once again begged a boon of Aʼcevel. We were too strong, She wept, too powerful. In seeking to restore a balance, we had only made things worse. Could He not, in His wisdom, bring back a balance and a justice to the ever-growing wrongs committed?

Aʼcevel saw that Oacel spoke true, and He called upon the fires that birthed us once more. What fires had once raged, chaotic, in the palm of His hand, were now tempered and sent to cleanse and purify.

The Great Fire washed over us Acen, and as it did, it drank away the magics that had been granted to us. It burned away our fury, left us more able to see the truths around us. We understood all that we had been set to do, and now we understood that we had been no more right for our revenge.

The Acen fell to their knees to thank Aʼcevel for His cleansing, and He was pleased. He showed us the swirling plumes of fire in His hand and promised us that one day, when we had restored a balance to the world, we could reach for the flames and be re-gifted the great magics of the Elavien. Until that day, however, He would perch the great flame in the sky for us to see, ever a reminder of what we may one day aspire to.

Thus did Aʼcevel set the sun in the sky and the Acen, set upon their new path, became one with the world. One day, we know, when we are worthy, we will be able to reach forth and embrace the sun, to be gifted with those magics once more and become the guardians of the worldʼs balance, as the Elavien had been. Until that day, only a scant few might remember a bare sliver of the power we once had, granted by Aʼcevel and the swirling fires of the sun. Until that day, we sing to the Gods to watch over us, to keep us safe and to deliver us from trying times.

Blessed be the True Gods and Those Who Came Before. Blessed be the Acen, and blessed be our paths.

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Read the rest of "To Embrace the Sun" here.