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// Origin of Harmony 
// Story: The Tragedy of Laurana and Grogar 
// by kahnac 
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In the beginning, there existed nothing.

Not even a single speck of light, or life in any form.

And then, by the will of The Source, the cosmic seed of reality exploded into an expansion of life, and light. Bringing forth an entire universe in its expansive wake, and lightning all there was with the essence of light. And in the process, giving substance to planes of existence for which life itself may exist, and thrive for many eons. Each of these magnolias spheres of life held a smaller orb, or few, to accompany them and ensure equal balance was brought onto each world. The bright spheres bringing the gift of light in the shape of warmth, and cosmic essence. The orbs coinciding with the spheres to create an axis to cycle the light, and dark in perfect harmony to preserve the cycle of life brought forth by light. Light to bring warm, and the Dark to bring the end of light for a period of time with coolness, and gentle wind until the dawn brings the return of light. The cosmos had brought around a perfect harmony. Suns, moons, and stars - the children of Light, and Dark living in perfect unity.

And yet, they were not the first of Light, and Dark who would be the givers of Life, Death, and Renewal.

The cosmos had seen fit to give life to the first two beings in all of creation who would embody the true balance of harmony, itself. First, within the brightest star in the universe, from which all of creation originated, emerged a crystal Goddess whose six wings shined brighter than any sun, or star in all of existence, and who moved with such grace and beauty, it put even the most dazzling of comets to shame. Then came a God of shadow, and fire, made from the remnants of the abysmal nothingness that came before our reality. One whose wings stretched on forever, and encompassed much of the galaxies he flew over. Eyes of crimson suns to match her sapphire jewels of the starry night. Few would ever know what their true names ever were. But to those who were graced with the sight of these entities of cosmic wonder, there were only two names that could ever fit deities such as them.

The Bright One.



And The Dark One.



Elder Gods of all Creation, born on the same day after what would be known as "The Big Bang". And yet, neither of them were of the same blood. They were each different halves of the Balance of Creation, yet individuals containing their own free will. And all of the powers of the universe at their disposal. For they were beings of divine righteousness, and phenomenal cosmic power who existed on planes of existence beyond mortal comprehension. And yet, in a spiritual realm which existed within, and yet outside the mortal plane, the two were free to explore the universe as they saw fit. Testing, and learning their new abilities as they went on. The Bright One learning that her power lay strongly in the creation of life, and planting the seeds of genesis. She even found she could bestow a sacred, and most cherished power derived from the essence of reality, itself.

Magic.

The Dark One was somewhat her opposite in that while he also could give life.....his power lay in taking it away. In ending the cycle of life through Destruction, and shrouding all there was in his Darkness. And yet there was no malice behind these actions. His instincts told him that it was the right thing to do. Especially when it came to the suns, moons, stars, and planets who were on the brink of the most feared aspect of all: Death. He was meant to bring death when it was time for those with life to reach its end. And then ensure their souls found their way back into the essence of the Aetherium. Thus could new life be born from this death, and destruction and feed into the Aetherium, as its universal essence does to other worlds. It was also where The Bright One, herself, came into play.

But she did not fully realize this, yet, and saw it only as acts of chaos, and wanton doom.

So, inevitably, the two Elder Gods would come to blows over such misunderstanding. The Dark One merely defending himself while The bright One sought to end what she considered a threat to all life. Young as they were, their might was equal, and their powers cancelled each other out. For neither, who were embodiments of Light and Darkness, Life, and Death, Creation AND Destruction, had the power to destroy the other. Harm, yes, but never end their lives. So it was a lesson both learned as centuries of endless conflict, which ironically saw the rise of lesser Gods in that time, drew to a close as they both succumbed to exhaustion. Maybe now, The Dark One thought that his newfound counterpart could be reasoned with now that she was spent. He tried convincing her that he was no threat to her, nor was he a threat to Aetherium, either. But she was as stubborn as she was beautiful, and brought his acts of destruction into question. In her mind, such actions could not be condoned, or hold any place in the balance of Aetherium no matter how justified it was. But the Dark One had great wisdom in his heart, and knew how to rebuke her claims by asking her a simple question.

If destruction is so evil, then how could she justify the endless destruction she herself caused by forcing him to fight her for so many centuries?

This seemed to snap the dragon-like Elder out of her self-righteous stupor with feelings of what she now knew to be dread. And on that day, she learned what new emotions she was capable of feeling as she gazed upon the ravaged, and crushed worlds left in the wake of their pointless war: suffering, regret, and sorrow. The Dark One warned her that it was the price of ignorance, and fear. She was ignorant of what the universe expected of them, and she feared the power he had demonstrated before, and during their battle. She alone thought that only creation, and life need exist in this universe. And her counterpart conceded that Destruction was indeed a terrible thing - but senseless, needless destruction was even worse because it had no purpose. The Dark One only ever sought to end the climax of a world's existence when it had grown old, and rigid. His duty, as he came to learn, was to till the fields that was life when life ran its course. And he saw that life is NOT eternal, like they are. Eventually, it gives out, and ceases to exist. But when life finally dies, it returns to the Aetherium, so that the universe itself may grow, and learn as they do. In turn, those same worlds are given a new spark of life so that new existence can come to be. New souls to gain new experience, and wonder as they live out their lives. But only after The Bright One plants the seeds of life, which gives the chance for a new existence to come around. It is what he called the Eternal Cycle of Life, Death, and Renewal. The Great Circle of Life, as many would call it.

Finally realizing this, The Bright One could only feel the weight of her actions crushing down on her, as she believed she went against everything she stood for. For the first time in millennia, grief clasped her heart, and she mourned for the lives she unwittingly took. Her tears twinkling like bright, jeweled stars as they sailed through the heavens. Her cries of remorse touched the heart of her would-be enemy, and he learned what compassion, kindness, and generosity was. His mighty wings wrapped around her in a cloak of shadow that protected her from the feelings of guilt that threatened to crush her. She was weary at first, given what she and he had endured........mostly because of her foolishness. But she welcomed the embrace, and returned it as her own wings managed to wrap around his own body. The two shaping into the form of light, and darkness unified in perfect harmony.

In that moment, the two dragon-like Gods who were once enemies became friends.....and eventually much more.

Together, they set forth to right the countless wrongs their wars had brought about. Planet after planet, and sun after sun, they found devastation everywhere. And the sight of it tore at The Bright One's heart each time. But The Dark One always stood by her side to help her through the pain. And she was eternally grateful for his kindness to her, just as he cherished the feelings of joy he now felt just being around her. Thus, it made his tasks all the easier as he looked after the souls of the dead, and saw their safe passage into the Aetherium. His compassion for the dead, and his loyalty to the task where qualities the Bright One truly admired about him.Once he was finished, the two combined their powers to undo the damage caused by their conflict, and created something new out of the old. A testament to his belief that it was part of the cycle of renewal: from something that once lived, and then died, they had used their essence to give life to something entirely new. This was a truth that brought much laughter and joy to The Bright One's heart. And it was a new lesson she would treasure, always. Just as she cherished her friendship with The Dark One, who worked with such Kindness, Loyalty, and Generosity to her, and the duty they shared - sharing all that he himself felt, and believed in, while treating all those who either lived or died with the acknowledgement, compassion, and consideration they deserved, and he remained faithful to his beliefs to the end.

Only now, he had someone else to believe in, as well, for which both were truly grateful.

But, as her close friend would also say: there can be no light without dark. While the Bright and Dark One's efforts did, indeed, ensure the universe was in perfect Harmony, as Life, and Death, Light and Darkness, Creation and Destruction worked together to care for the cosmos as it grew, and was like unto a garden of cosmic proportions that they both tended to, in roles each of them were best good at - even earning the faith, and loyalty of the gods that emerged over time - there inevitably came forces that sought to tear all of this harmony asunder, and bring the kind of Calamitous Destruction she once accused her friend of when they first met out of ignorance, and fear. A form of Darkness whose Entropic nature only held a desire to end all of existence on a whim. Heedless of the balance of Aetherium, all these demons cared for was the doom of all existence.

From Mar'Nulum, The Realm of Darkness, came the hellish hordes of Malzalam.

And is was the embodiments of Light and Darkness that set forth to oppose them. Together, The Bright and Dark One's strength was unparalleled as they fought in the ultimate form of unity, and harmony. Light complimented Darkness and speared through the demons who were weak against her power, as Darkness made himself shield to the Light whom the demons sought to slay yet could not fully harm one made of their essence. Against them both, the Malzalam held no quarter, and yet had no actual means of overcoming them. Though that might have slowly changed with the near endless numbers the hordes held on their side. As strong as the pair was, even they could not withstand an endless tide. Worse was when their Dark Master emerged from the rift formed by the Malzalam's intrusion. A devil of shadow, and flame who sought to consume their entire universe, and burn it into nothing. Such an immense force of evil nearly brought an end to the Elder Gods of the Light and Darkness...........until The Dark One took a near crippling blow that would have ended The Bright One's life had he not intervened. The near death experience would leave an ever-lasting scar he would carry, even in his ethereal, immortal form.

But the sight of this was the final mark for his dear friend. In the years they had lived, and worked together, she had begun to draw closer to him, as he did her. Time have begun to make what they had more than merely a bond of friendship. What they had was beginning to blossom into something far more beautiful than any could imagine. For the first time in their universes existence, The Bright One progenated the aspect that would be known as........... Love. For she now began to realize she loved The Dark One. And it may have been possible he felt the same way, given how willing he was to give his life to protect her. Either way, it unleashed an unyielding anger, and fury she had never felt before. The emotions of seeing a loved one struck down before you. And now, the Malzalam were feeling the true brunt of this fury. Even their demonic, 3 horned master could not stand against the power of such pure light born of Love, and was forced to run back into the foul depths of Mar'Nulum with what few demons hadn't burned in her all-consuming light. Her last act was to seal away The Realm of Darkness, so that no other wicked forces could ever threaten their world again.

The battle had been won, and the universe was safe. But it had nearly been at a grievous price. Not only with the deaths of several worlds..........but also the deaths of their sacred protectors. Just as The Dark One risked his life to protect her, The Bright One risked her own life by channeling as much of her own essence into banishing The Malzalam back to The Realm of Darkness in order to protect him, and their home both physical and spiritual. Now, the two of them were left drifting through the endless void of space. Limp, and lifeless as they were weak and helpless. And it was possible it would be this way for eons until their own deaths finally arrived.

But there often comes a moment where one must rely upon the kindness of strangers.