TILUKIAD: THE GREAT SONG

A MYTH OF WE THE IMMORTALS

LONG AGO, BEFORE the eldest Angrews, who the people call Ossi-rew-im, and even before any living thing moved along the ground, there was the True Mother: divine progenitor of all. She came from a place the people did not know, not even the wise, and her form was that of a fruit-bearing tree. Her roots drank in the light of Heaven above, and her canopy stretched across the void below; when dew from the light she drank fell into the deep darkness, so were the first stars born.

     In time, the True Mother's branches yielded fruit, but these were no commonplace fruit; they were living worlds, though there were no creeping or crawling things upon them at the beginning. One of these worlds, as the people know, the Mother called Daya, and, over many uncounted epochs, plants and trees began to grow out of its rich soil. Animals sprouted from the soil soon thereafter—all living creatures great and small—until the globe was teeming with life on land and sea.

     And the True Mother said, “There should be a people to watch over the creatures of this world, to shepherd the beasts of the field, birds of the air, and fish of the sea!"

     Then the True Mother curled a small root hair towards Daya’s surface, allowing two tears of Heaven's essence to fall on the ground, and they brought forth beings unlike any that had emerged thus far. They resembled one another, yet they were different, and the True Mother called them Ang-rew-im and Ug-rew-im; or, the Sibling Races: angels and humans.

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NOW AT THAT time, being still in the early epochs of creation, Daya's surface was one mass, stretching further than any Angrew or Ugrew could see. Then the word of the True Mother came to the Sibling Races, summoning them to the center of the world, to a place called Nu-gal. When the Siblings arrived, they beheld a mighty shoot rising from a great, high mountain; it climbed into the unassailable heights and attached to the True Mother's arm, for all fruits bear a stem. To those on the land, the stem appeared to be a vast tree in and of itself. Like the Mother’s very body, this tree sprouted numerous branches with fruits that were good to eat.

     And the True Mother said, “You will watch over all life as my representatives. You will tend to the beasts of the field, the birds of the sky, and the fish in the sea. You will see no harm come to them by any means and will guide them into the knowledge of all Truth. To accomplish my purposes, I give this yield as a Birthright. Consume its flesh and you will receive power, wisdom, and immortal life.”

     To the angels, the word of the True Mother seemed good, so they climbed the stem and ate of its crop.

     But the humans were skeptical, and they deliberated among their group for a good while. At last, they said, “How can we know all of these words to be true when we have lived in the world but a short while? Let us first venture into the land and search for whatever truth may be found there, be it of other gods or the confirmation of one. If your words prove accurate, we will surely return and do as you have asked of us."

     Thus, the human race departed from Nugal and was not seen again for a long time.

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MANY YEARS TRANSPIRED. Far and wide did humankind wander in that period, and the further they roamed, the more marvels they beheld. But when the Ugrews concluded their travels at long last, standing on the furthest shore of the sea, they found no other gods among the many strange and delightful creatures encountered along the way. They had also witnessed death and its terribleness, both in the animals they observed as well as a few of their own number.

     Therefore, the humans returned to Nugal to fulfill their vow and gain immortal life. But when they reached the mount and the place of the stem—the lands where they first awoke in the world—they saw that the angels had become powerful and beautiful and had sprouted wings from their bodies like that of birds. The beauty and grace of the Angrews were to such a degree that some humans mistook them for gods and fell down trembling.

     Seeing that the fruit imparted power as the True Mother had spoken, the humans approached the stem to partake of its crop. Immediately, the angels flew across the path to bar the way, flashing their magnificent pinions so that no human might taste even the tiniest morsel of the Birthright.

    “Why now have you come back?" said the angels. “After forsaking the word of our Mother who wished to bless you in the long spell before you left? Should you return now and be allowed to partake of the fruit of power?"

     “It is our Birthright!" the humans said. "We seek only what was promised to us!"

    “What you forsook! You have spurned the heart of our Mother and made yourselves unworthy of the Birthright."

    Upon hearing this, the human race became incensed. They rallied themselves to take the Birthright by violence, but the angels stood steadfast against their mortal relatives, prepared to defend the yield unto death.

     This is how the first struggle between the Sibling Races began, as the people know.

     Now as these things unfolded, there were some among the human tribes who recognized the evil in doing battle, and they implored their kinfolk to make peace with the angels in lieu of war. Yet the anger of the Ugrews could not be cooled, and in a great horde they charged the stem and its crop. The humans struck at the angels, and the angels mustered their extraordinary powers and struck back, slaying many in their terrible wrath.

     Humankind fled for the foothills below, but some of the Angrews pursued and slayed an even greater number of people until the mortal race was nearly stamped out entirely. And it would have been that the flame of the Ugrews was extinguished forevermore if it not for the True Mother, who, at that moment of decision, dispatched her holy servant, the white eagle, which swooped down and shielded her children under the shadow of its wings.

     “What have you done?" said the Mother. “Why have you used my gift to treat your relatives this way?"

     And the True Mother said, “Because you have done this, you will be cursed! You who have used your power to spill blood shall live the life of a murderer, and your form and spirit shall be as hideous as your soul. All living things will revile you as you have reviled my gift!"

     The angels who had used their power to kill were suddenly changed, their gleaming skin becoming gray and cracked as shale. The plumage of their wings turned to something like the hide of an animal, and horns sprouted from their heads in grotesque crowns.

     This is how the first devils came to be, as the people know.

   Turning to her human children, the True Mother said, “Because you doubted my words and attacked your fellows, the Angrews, you shall also live under a judgment. Your days will be limited always, and you will never partake of the Birthright ever in all the ages of your people."

    But to the few clans who sought to make peace with the angels, who protested war and bloodshed, she said, “Because you desired peace in your heart, and because you did not partake in the spilling of blood but stood opposed to it, you will be granted longer days in the world. You will also know a small measure of power, yet not the full might of the Birthright. Let your light be the beacon that guides your people in the ages to come."

     True to her word, the Mother picked a morsel from a single fruit of the stem, bidding the few blessed humans to eat. When they obeyed, they, too, were changed, becoming the first in the line of Ugrews whose days are a little more on Daya, and whose works are recounted in the songs of their race and never forgotten.

     It is as the people know.

     Lastly, in a final act of judgment, the True Mother plucked Daya from her body and placed it into the void among the dew-stars. The stem was torn from the center of the world—that no creature should eat of the Birthright and procure its power again—and the land was broken in two great pieces. The Sibling Races were to be kept separate from each other: the angels in the west, humans in the east, with an ocean too far to fly or swim across between their shores.

     This is how the Sibling Races came to live apart from each other, as Daya came to live apart from the True Mother, as the people know.

     It was the darkest hour in all the ages of history, for the light of Heaven was taken away, and there was nothing to illuminate the sky except the little dew-stars. But before she left her children entirely, the Mother issued a Promise of hope: if the Sibling Races determined to live humble, contrite lives, and if they strove to harm no living thing in the ages forthcoming, she would draw up the world and graft it back into her divine branches never to be parted again.

     As a sign of her Promise to the Sibling Races, the True Mother set new dew-stars in the sky, one to give light to the day and the other to give light to the night. This is why the Angrews revere the sun and moon, for they are reminders of the Promise.

     It is as the people know.

    Ever since, the Angrews have strived to keep the Promise alive in their hearts; it is why they practice their strict codes—so that their good deeds might pay the cost of penance.

     It is as the people know.