The Nursery
Before there was a world, there was Great Fire Snake. He would dance around the heavens, creating light wherever he went. One day, in the darkness, he met Water Goddess. She loved his light and his warmth and was tired of the darkness. Water Goddess asked him to stay with her. In time, they became friends and eventually fell in love. And like what happens most times when there are two beings in love, they had children.
The first born was Snow the ground snake, whose white body resembled Great Fire Snake’s. Then Drakke the dragon was born next. He had a long body like Snow, but also had arms, legs and wings. He could breathe out fire, as well. Next came Eel, the water snake. Whose blue body also resembled his father’s. The last to be born was a daughter, a faerie named Manne. She had arms, legs and wings like dragon, but her body was short and not like a snake’s.
The god-children would run around the heavens and cause mischief, as children often do. So Great Fire Snake and Water Goddess decided to make a nursery for their children to play in. Water Goddess created a vast lake where the god-children could play. They were delighted and played for days.
Eventually, with the exception of Eel, they got tired and wanted to rest outside of the water. Eel was better able to breathe in the water and preferred to stay. Great Fire Snake agreed that it was time for the children to rest, so he dove into the pool of water, creating great plumes of smoke, which rose into the sky, becoming clouds, and scooped up dirt from the bottom of the lake. He made a pile from the dirt and then dried it off from the heat of his fire. The god-children then rested on the new ground. As Great Fire Snake started to leave, the children cried out that it was too dark and that they were scared. So the Great Fire Snake took some of his flame and threw it across the sky. It scattered and became the stars. The god-children still complained that it was too dark, so Water Goddess also took some of Great Fire Snake’s fire and put it behind a small pool of water in the sky. This is the moon. And while the god-children slept, Great Fire Snake would check in on them. His light would fill up the sky, lighting the entire land. But this did not wake the children. This is day.
As the god-children got older, they would create playmates which they would refer to as their children. Manne created other flying creatures and flew across the sky with them. Drakke created trees that he could eat to fuel his fire. Snow created all the creatures that burrow into the ground. They would chase each other through underground mazes. Since the other god-children didn’t like the water as much as he did, Eel created creatures in the great lake to swim with. Even though the god-children had plenty to play with, they agreed that they wanted another sibling. Great Fire Snake and Water Goddess felt they had enough to handle as it was and told the god-children they did not plan on having another child.
The god-children were so determined about having another sibling, they decided to work together and create one. Snow brought dirt and sand to Drakke who used his flame to melt it down. It was difficult work for him, so Manne beat her wings created wind to make Drakke’s flame even hotter. When his siblings were finished, Eel brought water to cool the body made of metal and glass. And together, they breathed life into their new sibling, Golem.
Golem mostly resembled Faerie, except he had a longer torso. He had a metal body with arms and legs, glass eyes and glass wings. The god-children tried to play with him. But when Golem jumped in the water, he sank straight to the bottom. Dragon and Eel had to carry him back out. Dragon and Faerie tried to get him to fly, but he was too heavy. Dragon once carried Golem as high as he could and let him go to see if Golem could glide down. But golem just fell. He hit the ground so hard; the land shook and broke into pieces. Golem’s fall also created a deep crater that filled with water, and mountains around the crater’s edge. And worst of all, Golem’s beautiful glass wings were shattered.
Wanting to know what happened, Great Fire Snake and Water Goddess checked in on the god-children. They were very angry that the children had created a sibling on their own and damaged their nursery. They told the god-children what they did was wrong and that they needed to destroy Golem. The god-children said they would, but when the time came, they took pity on Golem and decided to hide him in one of the forests. Great Fire Snake saw through this deception and told the children they could not return home until Golem was destroyed. Angry with the mistakes they had made, Drakke, Snow and Eel decided to look for Golem and destroy him. Manne decided that they should live with their mistake and protect Golem. Outnumbered, Manne went with her brothers to destroy Golem. But when they went to the spot where they had hidden him, he was gone. Drakke said, “I will take to the mountains created from his fall and search for him there.” Eel said, “I and my children will search the lakes.” “My children and I will search the caves and below the ground,” replied Snow. “And I and my children will watch the forests,” said Manne. And they all head off on their separate ways.
Although Manne said she would watch the forests, she did not say she would do so looking for Golem. One day, while tending the forests, she did come across Golem. “Please do not destroy me sister,” he pleaded. “I have no intention of doing so little brother,” she answered. And she kept him hidden in the forests which she and her children now tended.
Lonely, Golem too tried to make children. His toiling would create thunder and lightning across the sky. He was not as good a creator as his siblings were, and most of the time he was unsuccessful. However, occasionally he created lovely creatures. But many times he created terrible monsters. One day he created a beautiful creature. It looked very much like his faerie sister, with the exception that it had no wings. It was, by far, his best creation. He decided to repay Manne’s kindness by naming this creature after her and called it Man.
Appendix I
Seasons
As Snow got older, he did not get larger like his other siblings, Drakke, Eel and Manne (this is before Golem was created). He was very unhappy about being the smallest one of the group. One day he decided he would try something. He decided to peel away his white skin and see if he would get larger, which he did successfully. But the attempt left a horrible mess. His old skin turned into dust and covered the entire nursery. It blocked out the light and made everything colder. His siblings were very unhappy about this. Not only was it getting cold, but the plants and trees were dying. Snow was very sorry, but explained he didn’t want to remain small as the others grew. Feeling bad for Snow, the others cleaned up his mess. They agreed that it was unfair that Snow couldn’t grow like them, so they made an agreement. Every year Snow could shed his skin. Manne would put the trees and plants to sleep so that the coming cold would not kill them. Then Snow could shed his skin. Eel would then wash away Snow’s old skin with rain, which would also wake the trees and plants from their slumber. And Drakke would warm the air with his breath, melting any remaining skin, thus creating the four seasons.
Appendix II
God-child Associations
Name | Creature Type | Element | Color | God of |
Drakke | Dragon | Fire | Red | Fire, summer and mountains [later on] money / greed |
Eel | Water Snake | Water | Blue | Water, spring, birth sea creatures |
Snow | Ground Snake | Earth | Brown / White | Earth, winter, land animals, death |
Manne | Faerie | Wind | Green | Wind, forest, autumn, flying creatures, life |
Golem | Construct | Metal | Gray | Metal, lightning, tools, monsters and man |
Copyright© 2011 by Michael Rosado
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