The First Hotspring
Art and writing by Janalee
The newly created world was nothing like the one we have now; it was order.
Each quarter of the world was given to one of the elements. The first was given to Air- there, clouds continually hid any surface that might be below them, if indeed there was a surface at all, and the winds frolicked continuously in their limitless games. The second was given to Fire- flames ever flickered off of the roiling lava that melted back into itself before seeming to cool. The third belonged to Earth- every kind of rock or crystal nearly seemed to grow from that landscape, changing plains to hills to mountains, and back again. The fourth was devoted to Water- freshwater or salt, rain or mist, all could be found there, traveling with the tides. Sun and Moon looked down on the world, twirling in its continuous kaleidoscope pattern, and were pleased.
To oversee these quarters more personally, they created four Elementals, each with the name of the region they inhabited. These were the first of the mortal Samanayr kind, and it’s in their memory that nearly all Samanayrs treat Elementals with the utmost respect, and some on the outskirts of society even worship them. It’s also why they have one-word names, unlike all the other species.
Days, or perhaps eons, went by- it’s difficult to say which, for nothing really changed in that world. But then one unexpected day, it did.
While all of the quarters bordered two others, there were only two spots in the world where all four met together- and it was there that two more Samanayr-kin were born. No god could claimed them, and they clearly were not of Elemental stock, for their magic was completely different- in all, no one could guess how they had actually come to be[ in those places. And so, they were called Mysteries- Mystery of the North Pole, and Mystery of the South Pole.
Sun and Moon and all of the Elementals could not figure out how to feel about these two uninvited guests- should they be welcoming them, or keeping a distrustful eye open instead? In the end, they did neither, but left them in alone- for it was clear they were only able to move along the quarters’ edges, and then only to get to the places were all four elements met. With such a limited range, they could hardly be a threat or a friend to the Elementals, and so with time they nearly forgot that the Mysteries were there at all, and even Sun and Moon seemed overlook them as they gazed serenely on the whirling world.
But the Mysteries had not forgotten themselves. They met together at the poles, and measured out the lands that belonged to each quarter, and realized that while the Elementals had more than enough space for themselves and their descendents, they had barely enough to sustain the two of them. What if they wanted foals themselves? Were there not two of them for a reason?
They grew bitter together at this harsh reality, and resolved to change it.
Had they been freely welcomed initially, perhaps none of this would have happened, for no doubt they would have thought to simply ask for more lands for themselves then. And even if they had been watched nervously instead, Sun and Moon would have noticed their disappointments, and offered them something to keep the peace. But neither of these had happened.
Instead, the Mysteries traveled along the boundaries, leaving unnoticed pieces of magic lingering behind them as they went. Soon, they had walked all of regions they could, and both went back to the poles of their birth to await their agreed upon moment. As the sun moved directly over the Fire quarter, and the Moon over the Water quarter, and both Sun and Moon were at their most complacent, each Mystery lifted a hoof high off the ground…then bam! As each slammed their foot upon the pole, the spell started in its full strength, and could not be undone.
It spread inward from the edges, sweeping, mixing everything in its path. Air, Fire, Earth, and Water tried their best to keep their elements from that chaos, and their efforts are still obvious today- the space between the canyons, the erupting volcanoes, the highest mountains, and the roll of the mid-ocean, all form regions in this world that yet hark back to the earlier one. But for all their efforts, most of the world felt the full burden of the magic- and as the fire warmed the water, and the air pushed the water onto and into the earth, the first hotspring was created.
Before this time, there had only been the elements; but now, grasses, flowers, trees, everything we know and need today sprung out of the ground around that hotspring, and from all the ones that followed in its wake. The world was chaos now- but it fed the creative aspect of nature.
Sun and Moon rushed down, fearing for the Elementals and the world- but the Elementals were well, and even Sun and Moon had to admit that the world could support so much more of life now. It was difficult to say that what the Mysteries had done was immoral, considering all- but it was impious. The gods did not see how they could allow so much power to lie with the Samanayr-kind, lest something truly ruinous come of it next, and so they did the only thing they could think of, and carefully split the Mysteries in two.
The halves that keenly remembered all that had been unfair in old world, and bitterly felt the loss of some of the powers that had righted it, were renamed Miseries. They retained their back manes, as a sign that they had turned their backs to Sun and Moon, and all of society.
The other halves, which understood that they had indeed gone too far in their actions and could have justly earned the displeasure of the gods, vowed to use their remaining power in the service of the gods and all Samanayrs-kin. They were thus renamed Mystics, and kept the strands that framed their faces as a sign that they looked up to Sun and Moon.
It’s for this reason that Miseries and Mystics generally shun each other’s company today, even though it’s possible to find good in a Misery, and bad in a Mystic, as you can with anyone. The sight of each other still remains bitter, for it reminds them too much of what they had been and could no long be. And even though we all owe Mystery of the North Pole and Mystery of the South Pole our deepest gratitude for making the first hotspring, we can do little more than keep the pattern of their names alive in their honor- for what the gods have justly split apart, it is difficult to condone putting back together again.
