The Saga of Ragnärok
As the age of the Bä’Er’s assistance to the Vé’lyn came to a close, they had a mind to establish settlements for themselves. The Vé’lyn offered them a place in their land and amongst themselves, but only some took this offer. The rest chose to travel the realms far and wide searching for suitable lands. As they went, they chronicled all that they found and named all living things.
In their travels they discovered many things, but it was the Le’Tä, who set out to distance themselves from all human settlements, that first discovered the Rephím, guardians, of Ä’Resh. There were seven brothers, each of great stature, that were entrusted with an aspect of nature itself: fire, ice, sky, stone, earth, tempest, and the wilderness. Unlike the gods, who tended and kept the order of things and could use the world’s power, the Rephím embodied the world itself. Both protecting and being a part of the thing, they protected. Their mother was Ä’Resh, and they were born from the magic that created the world.
One clan of the Le’Tä settled near the Rephím. The lord of this clan was Stregä, and born to him was a maiden who was the fairest of them. She liked to walk the paths along the banks of the stream that flowed near their settlement. This stream meandered through the lush countryside and hills and flowed from the forest that sat at the base of the mountains.
The brothers caught sight of this elf maiden as she made her sojourns, and each would try and find a way to get her attention. With each day the brothers grew more and more infatuated with the maiden. Finally, they all decided that each of them would try their hand at wooing the fair elf maiden. They decided that a contest between them would settle things. The elf maiden could choose the best display of their affection. The fire brother created a flower of molten rock that dazzled with different colors of red and orange. The ice brother made a frozen waterfall and an ice statue of the elf maid gazing at it. The sky brother shaped the clouds like pillows and painted them with many dazzling colors, some say creating the first sunset. The stone brother brought forth many jewels, gems, and precious metals creating out of them a fresco of the elf maiden’s settlement. The tempest brother created a great snowstorm far into the sky and had many flashes of lightning light up the sky and shake the ground. The wilderness brother left a bouquet of every beautiful and sweet-smelling flower just off the path. The earth brother, however, could not think of any suitable gift to give her. In his desperation he took the elf maid while she trod upon the path and stole her away to a fortress he made in the hills.
Stregä clan was very distressed when the maiden did not return. They sought the help of the Vé’lyn and called upon them to search for her. The brothers also sought to find her, looking high and low, but they could find no trace of her. It was then that a naiad of the river told the wilderness brother of the treachery of earth brother. He and all the brothers confronted earth brother, who denied it at first, but finally confessed when he was hard pressed. The brothers demanded that earth brother take them to the elf maid.
Meanwhile, the Vé’lyn also heard from the birds where the elf maiden resided. They rushed to earth brother’s fortress, and there they met the brothers and confronted them about the elf maid. The Vé’lyn had never before met, nor heard of the brothers, so they mistrusted them. Thinking that they were all complicit, the Vé’lyn attacked the brothers, and a mighty battle ensued. The ground shook, the sky flashed with rage, and rain and giant hail stones fell. The Vé’lyn's clash with the brothers left the whole area devastated. Trees were uprooted, boulders lay cracked and smashed, and large craters gouged the land. As the battle started to subside, many of the Vé’lyn lay about with great wounds, and some of them lay dead and dying, but the brothers were all unharmed. During this battle the elf maiden managed to free herself from her bonds and fled from the fortress. However, she was caught in the carnage and was struck down and killed.
Wilderness brother was the first to notice her demise and sent forth the greatest shout. The Mäl'Äk suddenly appeared, having been summoned by his cry, and enforced a peace upon them. Though the Vé’lyn and brothers complied, a deep hatred remained in their hearts for the other. The Vé’lyn were sent away, and the brothers were left upon the field. Each brother was granted a keepsake from the elf maiden to remember her by. All that is except for earth brother. The other brothers turned their back upon him, for what he had done to the elf maiden they were not able to forgive. He fled from the other brothers, and it is said that his powers diminished as Ä’Resh also judged him.
Of all the brothers, wilderness brother was the most broken. For he and the elf maiden would share conversation beside a great pool, and he truly loved her for all that she was, not just her beauty. His love would not diminish for the elf maiden, for his heart longs for her still.
Over time the other brothers took wives for themselves amongst the demigoddesses who took no part in their feud, even earth brother found himself a wife. The six are the forbears of the races of giants today.
It is said within the lore of the Le’Tä, that one day the Vé’lyn and Rephím will battle again, only there will be no Mäl’Äk to stop them. Then the world itself will be torn apart, the Vé’lyn will die, and the world will end.
