In the beginning there was only sand… the sands of time and eternity…

Then there was Lute.

"The God of the desert, Xoron, was the sole inhabitant of the desert, aside from the giant wurms who lived in the northern mountains at the boundaries of his territory who were there ever since the God was. The God lived in a small hut in the very center of a vast desert region he had claimed, which he had named Lute. For another eternity he was content by himself. But one day, he felt something he had never felt before. He was lonely and desired someone to share his life with so that he would not be by himself. So he took up his great bow and traveled across the desert until he came across a fast-flowing river with sky-blue water. He crossed over it with a bridge he conjured, which was as blue as the water that flowed beneath it. Then he crossed another desert, and came to the northern mountains, where his territory ended. He called into the mountain, 'Is there any being in the mountain who would ease my loneliness and keep my company?' And a large wurm whose great head touched the sky, the largest he had ever seen, slithered out of a great hole in the mountain. It said to the God, 'No, Xoron, God of the desert. No being in this mountain would keep your company. Instead, we will eat you. I will give you passage through the mountain so that you may continue your search, but be warned: If you attempt to pass through the mountains from the desert again, I will devour you, and your bow would not stay me, for my hide is stronger than flakstone.' And so the wurm slithered back into the cavern and opened a pass through the mountains for Xoron to walk through. After he had passed his territory, it was night, and there was only more desert. He wept his misfortune, and cursed himself. He would not be able to cross through to his territory again, and he had not found another being to keep his company. He wept himself to sleep. When the morn came and he woke, there was a magnificent forest standing before him, with trees as great as mountains, and each leaf glittered with a pure green glow as the sun shone through their boughs. Curious and excited, the God walked to the trees and called, 'Is there any being in the forest who would ease my loneliness and keep my company?' As he said this, a fair and beautiful being appeared, who wore a dress made out of magnificent flowers and glowed brighter than the forest. She said to the God, 'My name is Giintaras, and I will keep your company.' And so they spoke to each other about the wondrous beings and blessings in each of their lands. In the forest of light they kept each other's company until twilight, when Giintaras told Xoron that the forest disappears at sundown and does not return until the morning. Xoron said that he would wait for her and the forest, for he had to sleep at dusk anyways, when she did not. So when the forest disappeared, he slept, and Giintaras watched over him, driving off the wurms and night creatures with her divine light. In the morning, Xoron woke and confessed to the forest God that he loved her. She replied that she loved him as well. The forest God wanted to visit the desert, but Xoron replied that if he went through the mountains, then the great wurm would devour him and that there was no way around them. But Giintaras was clever in the ways of the forest. She told Xoron to take his great bow and shoot a great bird in its tail, but not to kill it. When a bird was brought down, they mounted its back, and soared over the mountain. But when the great wurm came up and reared up to eat him, Xoron took his bow and shot the great wurm in its vulnerable eye. The great wurm screeched, and thrashed, and fell. When Xoron and Giintaras examined the carcass, it disappeared, dissolved into a fine dust that blew through the desert. But a small fragment of golden stone lay behind in its place, in a cube shape. When Xoron asked Giintaras what it was, she replied that it was all the power the wurm had consumed, and that it was powerful enough to protect the land from any dangers. But when the pair went to Xoron's hut, they discovered it in ruins, and the whole desert buried within the dust of the body of the great wurm. When Giintaras touched the sand, she looked to Xoron and screamed, for she saw a great monster come to devour her, and Xoron was not there to protect her. She struck out at it, but it was really Xoron, and he was confused, for she was attacking him. He then realized that the sand was poisonous and made her see something different, and not even the amber cube could protect them from it. But since it was his realm, he was immune to it. So he took Giintaras away. But by then Giintaras was ill. So before twilight arrived, Xoron took her upon the bird and flew to the forest, where he lay her down so that she would be safe. She disappeared with the forest. When dawn came and Xoron woke, Giintaras was dying. The dust of the great wurm had invaded her veins and body, and poison now coursed through her rather that blood. She thought he was a monster again and tried to fight him. Xoron looked down at her in pity and anguish. He decided that he would leave, for that would be best for her. He left the amber cube with her, and fled back through the mountain pass, weeping all the way. Wurms did not oppose him until the end of the pass, where many waited to devour him. In his anguish, he took up his bow and slew many, and the rest, fearing for their lives, fled back into the mountains. Xoron crossed the blue bridge spanning the river and ran through the desert until he came to the place where he once lived. And he wept and he wept. Where his tears fell, small beings reached up through the sand in his shape. When he felt their presence, he looked at them. Then he smiled. He spoke to them. 'My children. My love would have wanted you to be happy, so I will teach you to speak and dance and build, and you will populate the sands until your deaths.' And so he taught them to speak and dance and build, and they built many a city along the land. They lived and died mortal lives, but still Xoron loved them, and watched over them always. Xoron still remembered the day that his love had been left behind, and felt that it was he who killed her, for he was a man and men, in their foolishness and sense of responsibility, believe that it is their fault for the evil in our world. And over time, he crossed over the desert again, past the blue bridge and the sands of illusion, and over the mountains, until he came to the forest of light. He felt that his children were safe, for he gave them protection against the sands of illusion. He exsisted there for many an eternity, searching for his love, until darkness took him. And there he found his love. So he watched over his children always, and will for the next eternities to come.