Gods and Valar

## MAKRUMM AND AEN

Though their religious practices differ devotees of both Valar acknowledge the existence of each other and the rivalry of the two.

The story goes that in the beginning there was the stars and then came Lux and Nox Creation and Destruction, Beginning and End. Gods in the Truest sense these beings had Many Children called Valar or Celestial's. Two such of these Valar were Makrumn and his sister Aen. Makrumn was small and covered in hair and Aen was tall slender and graceful. Lux created many worlds for his children, while Nox surrounded them all in darkness. The world of Makrumm and Aen was simple and made of stone, it was quite vast and empty Save for the Two Valar that called it home. Makrumm found himself most comfortable In deepest delves while Aen, she found herself wanting more. Saddened by the plainness of the world she cried and from her tears spawned the first Ocean. Some of the stone became wet and fertile, realizing this Aen created the first plants so she could watch something grow and change. A long time passed and Makrumm surfaced from exploration underground and saw the world changed, he did not like it at all, these growing things had covered the beautiful Stones and Gems that once glittered in the beauty of the Sun. Not realizing these were his sisters creations he began chopping the tree's down and trampling anything that came in his path. When Aen eventually realized what her brother had been doing, she swelled with anger and they fought.

Their first fight had shaken their world. After some time they realized they would destroy the gift Lux had given them, if they did not stop, neither wanted to destroy their home. So begrudgingly the two came to terms. Makrumm settled that he owed Aen no apology, but that he would no longer fight her needlessly. A feature they shared was pride, and that was why neither of them would ever talk to each other again. Aen continued tending to her growing forests, experimenting with and creating new kinds of tree's, while Makrumm found his way to the center of the world where he used the energy of the core to forge new minerals. An eternity alone could drive even a God-like Valar to madness, again both Makrumm and Aen shared something in common, a disdain for being so destitute. To combat these feelings of alone-ness Aen set to work trying to create something with a soul and mind of its own. Her forests may have been alive but their souls were all merely extensions of her own.

Seeing her sadness Lux made creatures to keep her company. And although these creatures amused her for a time they never quite reached her standards of perfection. In her own image she created a race of beings to keep her company and help her tend to her vast forests. This race was ageless and Immortal, full of the same love of Magic and life as her, but also wracked with Pride and a sense of superiority. Flaws in her own character she passed down. These were the Ancestors of the Elven race, though they were were far more powerful then the modern elves. This power attracted a child of Nox to Makrumm and Aen's world.

One day while tending to her Gardens, Aen noticed something new, something that had never happened before. One of her beautiful tree's and began to wilt and shrivel, its life disappearing. She quickly noticed the source. A decrepit old man with empty eye sockets slumbered amidst the roots. Angered by his presence she woke him and told him to leave immediately. Ignoring her blind rage this being introduced himself as Aois and asked if she liked what he had done with her tree. Her Fury was unbridled as she insulted his putrid appearance. He simply smiled and told her she should not have been so rude. She attempted to smite him where he stood but he was very strong. Before he left her he named his father Nox and warned her that there would forever now be a curse upon her creations and her world.

Sure enough the affects of death and decay began to take hold. She could not keep neither the forests nor her children the grips of Aois's curse and her Perfect Elder-race was now a shadow of its former self. Aen's sadness was so great that it Makrumm could not bare it. So he created Dwarves, hoping to cheer her up by showing her the beauty that could be found in such a short lived thing. His sons were truly magnificent craftsmen and built with the greatest of strength and constitution. They shared these qualities with their father and so too his negative ones. His hot temper and his wrathful nature. Though created for Aen even such a gesture from her brother could not cheer her up and she cried until the world was flooded.

Their father looked on and seeing the destruction his children had wrought, he was saddened. In an act of kindness to the world he had made for his children Lux Banished Aen to the moon. She needed very little convincing also seeing the destruction her despair could cause especially in a world now governed by the laws of death. The moon became the perch from which she could watch the world grow and change. She agreed that she would control the flow of the tides in the ocean's she had created. Lux Tasked Makrumm to find his forge in the worlds core and from there build up new mountains. Before he returned to his home In the stars the great god created man, an intentionally imperfect race which could serve as a buffer of balance between the Children of Makrumm and Aen.

Thus the world we know today was born. The many races of old endure As the Valar hold their places in keeping the world turning.