Free Chaos: The First by Tammy Fanniel

 
    Prologue
    History of the creation of the Lands
     
    In the beginning, as Earth was shaped within a yawning void of darkness Chaos ruled the universe.  No one has ever seen this divine being, not even the Gods themselves remember how they came into existence .  It was said that Chaos was lonely so he created his children, the five original elements .  He called them Gaia, Tartarus, Erebus, Nyx, and Eros.  
     
    N yx was the power of darkness, seductive and alluring, yet feared and respected by her siblings, lesser Gods and men.  She was the first of Chaos’s offspring to give birth to children.  Consorting with Erebus, she gave birth to Aether, Hemera, and the Fa tes.  Aether was the elemental G od of A ir, illuminated with heavenly light.  Hemera was the Goddess of Light, giving life to the infertile Earth, and mother of Thalassa.  The last of Nyx’s children were the Fates. 
     
    The Fates were neither good nor evil.  They were the first oracles who weave d the threads of destiny.  They are Clotho, the spinner of life’s thread, Lachesis, they giver of thread, and Atropos, the final one ending the life of the living.  It is said that fate cannot be altered, however the choices and actions of the living souls as good and evil befalls them , shapes their destiny.  There are many paths and the Fates see them all. 
     
    Of Nyx’s womb, the evils that plague the land gave rise to those souls that would find themselves in the burning abyss of Tartarus.  Doom, Death, Misery, Resentment, Deceit, and Strife were her children who further procreated to create Murder, Carnage, Battle, Jealousy, and Lawlessness.
     
    Tartarus was the underworld located in the depths of the Earth.  In the fiery depth of Earths womb, Tartarus held together the bottomless pits of hell.  He was the first ruler of the underworld .  W ith the creation of humans and their souls , Tartarus sank into nothingness as he judged and punished the guilty for unspeakable atrocities. There he stands as a silent witness to the sins of humankind and the Gods his brethren gave rise to.  It is thought that Tartarus never bore children of his own, despondent with the ways of Gods and men alike.   The innately good souls found another place, a heaven where they awaited their rebirth.
     
    Erebus was the gloom of Tartarus.  His gloomy mists blanketed Nyx where he father ed Charon, Thanatos, and Hypnos .  Unlike the incredible burden held by the Keeper of Hell, Erebus sat on the peripherals of Tartarus, offering his brother Tartarus strength when his burdens became too great.  As atrocities on Earth rose, he could not stop his brother from fading into the darkness of Hell and he feared that his brother would altogether disappear.
     
    Charon , child of Erebus , was also known as the Ferryman of the Dead, transporting lost souls into the fiery depths of Tartarus.  His brother Thanatos was the God of Everlasting Sleep.  When the Fates clipped the thread of life, Thanatos escorted the souls to the underworld where Charon escorted them to Tartarus to be judged .  Evil souls burned in the fires of ash and molten lava whereas those of light were later reborn to fulfill their destiny.  His last child Erebus’s was the God of Sleep , who rejuvenated souls for the trials and tribulations humans bore .
     
    Eros was the force of love, desire, and f ertility. He was a beautiful, golden winged, joyous God full of mischief and responsible for interfering in the affairs of Gods and mortals alike. Legend has it that that from his mating with Chaos , sprang forth the first mystical beings ; angels and humans. H umans were his children.  They were weak and primitive but he loved them in their innocence and frailty.  H e sent his firstborn children, the angels to look after their brethren. However, as time shaped his children, he began to turn his back on them as their cruelty flourished.  Their brethren gave silent watch, not yet ready to give up on their