THE SAGAS OF KRISTALA:
UPLIFTING
Historically, most creation tales begin in the Void: empty space, pitch black, "nothingness" in its truest form. But you should know this creation tale isn't like most.
In the beginning, there was everything. Birds chirped and rats skittered and cats crept. Light shone and the moon glowed and water parted ways with land. Creation was complete, all things set in their most prim and proper place.
And then, an ancient mass appeared. From the Void it came, hurtling at speeds beyond comprehension, and bringing with it a promise, a hope—something cast from an alien land.
Mother Ailur tried to resist. Until then, she had created without a helping hand, devising and designing by her own careful measure. She didn't need outsiders and she especially did not need help, and so she raised a shield of flame to cast away the ancient stranger.
The alien crystal mass trembled. Fire lapped at its sides and seared at its face, biting, chewing, tearing at its shiny exterior, but the stranger did not burn. Instead, it began to buckle, small cracks spider-webbing across its surface. As the pressure grew, the flames rose, but still the crystal continued its course.
KRAK! The sound repeated—once, twice, four times—KRAK!
The mass split: six jagged forms where once there was just one.
The shards shone and spun in the devastating heat, their direction muddled and collective consciousness confused. As they passed through Ailur’s vast shield, they shot across her lands as she screamed out in protest. Though unwelcome, the shards were alive, defying Ailur’s defense.
And so, the crystals settled: one in the verdant lush, another in a tropical paradise, still another where wind always blows and snow never stops. They dotted the otherworldly landscape and settled.
After a time, Ailur's ancient cats came with their green and orange eyes, curious as they crept around the Kristal shards. Some swiped, others brushed, but each one touched those sparkling diamonds, drawn to the heady, heaving siren song emanating from the foreign shards.
What the cats did not know was that the Kristals carried within them a great energy—six strands of powerful, ancient magic. In time, the cats’ proximity to this powerful magic changed them; they began to rapidly evolve into sapient, conscious creatures with magic abilities all their own.
Where once there were four feet, now there were only two. The cats then began to speak—not just of simple needs like food or territory, but about philosophy and art, wants and wishes, those secret parts of any heart so often kept tucked away.
The cats had turned their eyes to the sky, and it was around those six Kristal shards that they first began to dream. They looked deep inside themselves and found a name: Anagativa.
But they were not alone. Wherever cats go, rodents typically flee...but these were no longer cats. Instead, the small, toothy creatures followed, peeking and prodding and exploring the fragmented Kristals, curious as to the changes taking hold of their feline counterparts.
With time, they too began to grow, rising up on two legs and speaking of philosophy and art, wants and wishes, those secret parts of any heart so often kept tucked away. Though the rodents dared not get too close to the sacred stones for fear of what might transpire, they too began to dream. And eventually, they also found a new name: Kotakaya.
But the Anagativa objected to sharing the magic contained within the sacred Kristals. They had been First, the Kotakaya Second, and thus—the lion’s share of the Kristal power belonged to them. It was the command of the Kristals, the Anagativa assured, and thus it must be followed.
The former-rats grew restless and enraged, but the Anagativa quieted them with vicious claws and sharp fangs.
Knowing they were no match for the Anagativa in their current state, the Kotakaya retreated to the wilds of Ailur, content to wait in the shadows. There they’d remain…growing in strength and number until the right moment to challenge the Anagativa emerged.
In time, the Kotakaya began to think they would be rats forever more, for they once had had everything and now...nothing.
Until…