Legend of Creation

In the Beginning, there was only the Void.
The consciousness of the world had not yet come into being, and all was quiet.

Over the eons, a physical form began to assimilate.
It was within the Void, yet separate.

Soon, souls of the Void began to take shape.
No two were alike, yet they were of the same kind.

Unable to sustain their physical selves within the Void, they resided on the physical world.
Slowly but surely, the world grew further and further apart from its birthplace,
Until finally it was wholly separate, connected to the Void only by
A narrow bridge; the Black Gate.

For hundreds of years, humans lived on this new planet.
They cultivated the land, feeding off of its bounty.

Creatures, no longer known, roamed the land.
Some were befriended by the humans; others were slaughtered for sustenance.

The beauty of the mountains and coasts and field was beheld by all
And Man lived in peace among themselves.

From the different tribes began to grow nations.
Kings of the land began to rise, in the North, the South, the East, the West, and the Center.
These kings gave the natural world shape and meaning,
And the world grew to be known as Nerta.

But this peace was not to be. In their hearts, Men are greedy.
They wish to take and hold power for themselves alone.

The power of the Void and the Black Gate was known to the world,
And there were those within Nerta who craved to embrace it.

An army was raised and marched across the land to seize the Gate.
For a while, it seemed as if nobody would stand against the unending forces.

But then the Five Kings shed their crowns of gold in lieu of swords and shields of bronze.
The people rallied to their banners, weapons in hand.
Their army swelled, the Five Kings set out to meet the greedy ones in open combat.
The very existence of Nerta hung in the balance, for they knew the true danger of the Void.

Bloodily did the two armies meet.
Violence that had never been known came upon the land.

Soldiers and loved ones on both sides fell valiantly
To the sword and spear of the opposing killers.

The war waged for months without end until finally
The Five stood victorious over the bodies of their enemies.

They decided amongst themselves that the Gate was too dangerous to maintain.
In agreement, they sent one of their number through to the Void to seal the connection.
And so the Black Gate was destroyed into shards of black obsidian,
Its power to be forever locked away from the hands of mortal Man.

The severance of the world from its mother morphed Nerta.
Animals and Man alike died, and the world was stripped of its beauty.

The Four, however, absorbed the power of the Void. They, too, were morphed.
Embracing the power of nature itself, they gained control of the elements.

Deciding to shed their corrupt human forms in order to rebuild Nerta,
They took the forms of legendary creatures, becoming the first Natrelmon:

Seiryu, Ruler of the North, controller of Ice and Cold;
Suzaku, King of the South, essence of the Sun and Fire;
Byakko, Sovereign of the East, creator of Winds and Metallurgy;
Genbu, Lord of the West, master of Earth and Sea.

Together, they recreated the physical universe,
Giving birth to the continents and the sun and the seas.

They populated the lands with humans, despite their innate greediness.
But to keep them in check, the legends created new species of creatures.

Drawing on their own power and the animals that had roamed the world before,
The Natrelmon were created to live among humans.

And so the legends went their separate ways
To rule their respective kingdoms.
And the Shards of the Black Gate were distributed to the most trustworthy of Man
As the Void receded into anonymity .