Tales tell of a torrid time far back beyond the badly-lit memories of mortal minds. This is only half-true; it is dated far beyond the memories of current mortal minds. Still, whispers of this time-- the time before Sylesties-- echo in the offices of historians and anthropologists. For years, their origin has been debated between them with paleontologists brought into the mix as well as theorists and other scientific minds.

No longer shall we have to wait to find out how our current society began, how we came to have such loving, peaceful (and sometimes dangerous!) relationships with the wonderful creatures we look upon as companions, family, and sometimes useful tools and accessories, as abhorrent as that may sound.

It was announced two fortnights ago that there was an ancient site discovered with stones covered in mysterious markings. We have managed to translate it into something approaching our current tongue, and while it was a hardship, our best linguists have been working on it and filling in the blanks. We believe due to the structure of it that it is a dead language on which our current language is built, and that it is a recording of an orally perpetuated legend itself.

Today, my fellow Sylestians, we shall hear the words of an ancient ancestor, and know how our dear friends, our country, and our way of life came to be.

From here on out, these words are those carved on ancient stones, telling a story that is both interesting and strange, and simultaneously answers many questions as it raises.



"On the first day, long after plants grew, we walked the fertile lands. There was only those of us on two legs, and those of us on four, or more, or none.

We were in many shapes, each unique and each with a unique strength. We were strong, smart, fast, and untamed. We were mighty and pure. We were the only things that walked or flew or crawled. We were arrogant.

When we in these perfect forms, we were unfettered and believed the gods that ruled us were merely more like ourselves. We believed we were godlike, as well, and if we were punished, we constantly tricked and dodged our way out of it, calling on each other's unique traits and specialties to revel in our greatness and avoid any punishment we were given.

Eventually the gods had enough, and in their wrath, cast us down. We were each of us separated into two halves, our aspects split. The primal, confident sides with our special gifts were stripped away, reformed into special creatures that were only half as intelligent as we were when whole; the same half-intelligence was given to our other halves, the strange pink-fleshed creatures with four limbs. We were no longer ourselves, but creatures set apart. Still, our two halves retained an important bond, willing to listen to each other before any other.

At first, we rioted. We were angry at the gods, cursed them. In our hubris, we sought to punish them for doing such a thing, and we were further punished in turn.

Our halves became quarters; we were given aspects that we knew as 'male' and 'female' dimly. We were lost, afraid, and our quarters turned to each other for comfort before each of us were separated, each quarter of each of us strewn around the globe and far away from each other.

It took us many seasons and much luck and atonement before we could find each other. When we regrouped our quarters, so thoroughly distraught, turned to each other for comfort in any form we could find. It is from this time that our descendants came, many of them, as we were given to find ways to live and make ourselves permanent-- for we had found that we were now mortal, that one day we would be no longer. The only immortality left to us was that found in memories, so we bred.

Eventually our children cast forth to tame the world, each one fated to have at least one creature that completed it. In turn, the pair was fated to find, at some point, their other halves as well. They did not always choose corresponding partners, but when they did, it was said to be blessed.

Before the ends of our lives, we were returned our immortality and returned to singular beings, no longer divided into fours. We mourned for our children, made to live out our punishment, never to really know the comfort and natural truth of being a single being. No, they were to set out, constantly seeking the other parts of their soul.

We abhorred this, the knowing of what we had caused when there was such constant strife among our descendants, and begged to be sent back to them in our fours. The gods were surprised by this, but allowed it, and we took only this information with us. We settled in a single area, and came up with names and traditions, ways to live, forbidding certain things to allow our descendants to live comfortably. Then we agreed to set this tradition, to teach our children the wrongdoings that caused this. Taught them never to be overbold, overconfident, or headstrong, because they never know when a god is watching them.

Most importantly, they taught us how to love.

There are others from our original group that have hidden far beyond the reach of this place, others that knew it would be too crowded. They may come one day, if their descendants were as successful as ours. Perhaps they were not-- but it would be good to see our offspring mingle as once was, all those seasons ago."