Long ago in the distant land of Animalia, there was great strife between the Ten Kingdoms, and then calamity struck and darkness covered the world.
Windigo, the ancient spirit of cold and hunger, stormed down from the Icelands to the north and led his army of demons on a rampage, destroying and consuming everything in their path. Against their rage, the sharpest swords and keenest minds were powerless, and it surely would have been the end of everything had the Sun, watching from the Heavens in grief, not taken pity on the mortal kingdoms. She saw how they suffered, and resolved at once to help them.
When the kings and queens of the land convened to discuss their plight, the Sun left the Heavens with a portion of Her power and appeared before them as the brilliant and wrathful Maiden of Flames, a being of light and fire far greater than any mortal. She told them all to bring Her the purest of heart in their kingdoms, and She invested them with Her own power to transform them into the first phoenixes, beings of light and fire as She was. She taught them to wage war and shape the world as She did, and made them Her generals. Together, they raised mighty armies that the Maiden of Flames led against Windigo.
For days and nights and days and nights they warred, until the Maiden of Flames took another portion of the Sun's power and crafted it into mighty artifacts that could cleanse even the worst of Windigo's taint from the land. Wielding these six Elements of Purity, at long last the Maiden of Flames broke Windigo's fell power. She bound and shackled him, and sentenced him to darkness everlasting. He was brought back to the farthest reaches of the Icelands and imprisoned in Yomi, a cave where no light could reach, with his worst demons. A great boulder was rolled over the entrance, and a great gate adorned with powerful enchantments was built, sealing it forever from the world of mortals.
The land was poisoned, and so the Maiden of Flames release the power of the Elements into the world, and taught the people to use water to cleanse the soil and the ringing of bells to clear the air. She taught them to use prayer to call good spirits and words to drive away bad. Slowly, the land and people began to recover, and the Maiden of Flames returned to the Heavens to become the Sun once more, leaving Her phoenixes to rule. All was peaceful for many years, but unlike their Mother, the phoenixes were still mortal, and eventually age claimed them and their power passed back to the Sun.
Their descendants tried to rule as they did, but with each generation, disharmony between the Ten Kingdoms grew, threatening to plunge the land into war not seen since Windigo cast his frozen grip across it. Evil,spirits grew ever more brazen until even the loudest bells and harshest words could not keep them away. The few demons who had not been imprisoned with their master began to terrorize the Kingdoms again. Once more did the Sun leave the Heavens, this time in the form of the wise and loving Philomena, not an avatar of fire as she was but a phoenix as her children were.
Under her guidance did the people again begin to see reason. With the power of the Sun, Philomena relit the fires in the souls of the phoenixes, and once more did they walk the land, born now to mortal parents. She released her gift of creation to the world, and those who could hear its song learned to shape the world from nothing, and to use their power to fight and destroy the demons and their dark power.
With balance restored, the Ten Kingdoms united as one, and named Philomena the Empress of Light, pledging loyalty to her. Under her rule, the people and the land again grew strong, and so did Animalia stand together for one thousand years.
So did it stand until the gate sealing Yomi began to weaken, and darkness again threatened to consume the land.