Historically, most creation tales start in the Void. There is empty space, pitch black, "nothingness" in its truest form. 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, everything set in its prim and proper place.

And then the Sacred Kristal appeared.

From the Void it came, that darkness which birthed creation. It hurtled at speeds beyond comprehension, numbers of which there are no name. It came with a promise, a hope—something cast from an alien land.

Ailur resisted. Until then, she had created without help, devising and designing by her own careful measure. She did not need outsiders and she especially did not need help, so she raised a shield of flame to block the stranger.

The kristal trembled. Fire lapped at its sides and seared at its face, biting, chewing, trying to tear at its shiny exterior. The stranger did not burn, but instead began to buckle, small cracks spider webbing across its surface. As the pressure grew, the flames rose, but still the kristal continued its course.

KRAK! The sound repeated—once, twice, four times—KRAK!

The stranger had split: six forms where once there was only one.

​

The shards shone and spun in the heat, directions muddled, their collective consciousness confused. As they passed through Ailur’s shield, they shot across her lands even as she screamed out in protest. They were alone and hated, these strangers, but they were alive, defying Ailur’s defense.

And so, the kristals settled; one in the verdant lush, another in a tropical paradise, still another where wind always blows and snow never stops. They dotted the landscape and settled, not yet knowing their mission. All they could do was wait.

As it turns out, all they had to do was wait, for the cats soon came with their green and orange eyes, curious as they crept around the crystals. Some swiped, others brushed, but all touched those sparkling diamonds. It was as if they called to them.

​

What the cats did not know though was that the kristals carried within them a great energy—six strands of powerful, ancient magic. In time, the cats’ proximity to this magic changed them; they rapidly evolved into sentient, conscious creatures with magic abilities all their own.

Where once there were four feet, now there were only two...but this was more than just simple subtraction.

The cats also began to speak—not just about 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 crystals that they first began to dream. They looked deep inside themselves and found a name: Anagativa.

​

But they were not alone. Wherever cats go, rats typically flee, but these were no longer cats. Instead, the rats followed, peeking and prodding and exploring the fragmented kristals, curious as to the changes taking hold of the felines.

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 rats dared not get too close to the sacred stones for fear of what might transpire, they too began to dream. Eventually, they also found a new name: Kotakaya.

But the Anagativa objected to sharing the sacred kristals. They had been First, the Kotakaya Second, and thus—the lion’s share of the kristals belonged to them. It was the command of the kristals, the Anagativa assured, and thus must be followed.

The former-rats grew restless and enraged, but the Anagativa quieted them with vicious words 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 time to challenge the Anagativa had come.

In time, the once-rats began to think they would be rats forevermore, for they once had had everything and now...nothing.

Until…

[More to come in Chapter 2 "Purpose"]