The Shining Shards

The Shining Shards

Everything begins. Everything ends. Such is the way of all things. Of day, of night. Of summer, of winter. Of Life, and even of Death. All things begin and end.

It is, also, that all things pass from one form to another. Water becomes clouds, clouds become rain, rain becomes water. Time itself may begin and end, but upon its end it is recycled and reformed into a new existence.

This Universe will someday end, but it will reform, as did the previous Universe.

In the beginning of our Universe, there was nothing. No stars, no planets, no Light, no Darkness. No Thought, no Life. Only Void.

Then came the Two, the reincarnations of the entirety of the previous existence. They were Light and Dark, Life and Death, Eraq’niv and Anigh’niv. In a single instant, they came to the infinite understanding and wisdom of the previous universe.

With the spark of their consciousness, the realization of awareness, they perceived the nothingness of the Void.

To Anigh’niv, the Darkness was as wind. It rushed past him and left him unmoved, for Anigh’niv is the sum of Darkness.

Eraq’niv was weighted under the oppressive black. To him, it was a great smothering blanket, threatening to extinguish him, for Eraq’niv is the sum of Light.

Brother, said Eraq’niv, I am beset upon. I can feel the nothing, and it weakens me.

How can that be, said Anigh’niv. Darkness is harmless, darkness is substanceless, and has no cause to inflict upon you.

All the same, said Eraq’niv, I am wearied. I feel strained, as though I am exerting myself by merely existing.

Said Anigh’niv, if I am Dark, then you are Light. In this impenetrable blackness, I am well-advantaged. But you are forced to illuminate the Void by yourself.

That must be, said Eraq’niv. I am taxed to undertake such a task alone.

As if in reply, a speck of light glinted in the Void. It drew nearer, and they perceived it at last. It was a flat disk of glass, protruded by a plain silvery handle.

Eraq’niv grasped the Mirror in wonderment, and he peered inside. Deep within the pane he saw not his own face, but vast stretches of light and color. There were curtains of glittery blackness that gave way to pale blues and whites. There were endless pillars of stone that strained to reach the light just out of their grasp. And in every corner of the Mirror were beings of unimaginable variety.

Eraq’niv pulled away, almost overcome by the vision.

It is indescribable, said he. Beauty beyond compare, immeasurable life and wisdom. I can see the whole of existence from now until the final fading of time. Infinite possibilities.

Brother, said Anigh’niv, I beg of you, let me see.

And Anigh’niv took the Mirror from Eraq’niv, his eyes twinkling with eagerness.

But the glass gave Anigh’niv no insight, no powerful vision. As Anigh’niv stared into the Mirror, utter blackness met his gaze.

I see emptiness, said Anigh’niv. I see longing. I see… nothing.

Anigh’niv became enraged. Swiftly, he smashed the Mirror with his hand.

What have you done, cried Eraq’niv, who desperately sought to gather the pieces of glass that floated helplessly in the blackness. He had only gathered a few shards before he was made to stop, his hands torn and bloody.

And the two bothers beheld as the Mirror’s fragments fused with Eraq’niv’s shining blood. They became larger and brighter, igniting of their new powerful essence. The brilliant shards drifted onwards into the Void, which shrank back under their advance. Many Mirror shards were still untouched by Eraq’niv’s blood, and they did follow their shining comrades in yearning for the Light.

So came about the stars and planets. The Void had ended, and the Universe was begun.

- - -

This myth comes from one of the most widespread branches of Eraknian religion, Yitusei (roughly, "The Way of the Light"). In the eyes of the Yituists, all life is derived from Erakniv's essence, and all death is due to the workings of Anigu (also called Anigha).

Most traditional households hang pieces of mirrored glass near their doorways to ward off evil.

Many Yituist temples will line their interiors with mirrors, and stress the belief that in order to properly respect the Light, a person must respect every single aspect of the physical world.