The One Before All Else

In the ancient times, the eternal void was wrought with a stillness which lasted eons, and from it no sound, nor life, nor vision sprung. The one before all else, Vel’Entahl, basked in his perfection and glory. His existence was both harmony and discord, order and chaos, and the one before all else knew naught but satisfaction, for he was whole.

Yet such a time came when he, the one before all else, became restless. It was not from necessity, for Vel’Entahl could not need; his existence and essence were perfect. Nay, it was a thirst not unlike the thirst of men; his curiosity sprung forth and begot the universes of space and time, and with them the fragmentation of his being. Thus the first of the shards were born, and Vel’Entahl was no more. Altarian, first of the shards, burst forth from the darkness and declared himself eldest; and as he stood alone, he did what wise beings do and hearkened. From the erupting void sprang another, and she called herself Aliandra, and a great joy was felt for there would never again be loneliness in the universe; and as the two stood Aliandra inquired of her elder brother, and he counseled her to join him, and the two hearkened together. As they did, a laughter was heard from the abyss. Two more shards took form, first Armetra and then Affo, who then joined their siblings in silence and awaited the birth of their kind.

It was then there could be heard a great rumbling, and the four were concerned. The shards before them began to retract, and all at once there was a great noise. “It is the sound of pain and suffering,” said Armetra. “It is the sound of destruction,” whispered Affo. “It is treachery,” cried Aliandra. “It is all that you say,” stated Altarian. “We must be gone from this place, for there are no more brothers, and no more sisters that await us here. Only death.” Indeed he was right, and from the darkness came no more shards; instead a being of unimaginable visage emerged from the void, and his voice was a terrible whisper. “Brothers and sisters,” he spoke, and it was as if every word sought to drain the life force from them. He held out his right hand, wretched and vile. Clutched within was a shard, and the four could hear a faint cry for help, as it was reaching the end. “We are eternal, we must… return t-”

In this moment the light of the four flashed and the being was blinded, and from his clutches the dying fragment was freed of its prison. Armetra, being closest, swept up the shard and the four fled across the vast expanse of the universe. The being screamed and howled, and before they could escape he bequeathed to them a warning: that he, Vel, would pursue them, find them, and make them whole once again.