The earth shuddered, and then shuddered again, sending river water, mud, trees, and other debris flying. In the nearby town of Sakleyv, the children huddled inside a ring of adults, in the center of the village. All around there were mad cries of animals, crocodiles stranded on islands that were just a few minutes ago underwater, hippos separated from their babies, and birds by the hundreds were flying around, looking for a safe spot to land. The smell of mud and rot filled the air, and dust coated the village. The earth shook again, but weaker than before.

"Come, let us clean some of this up, then we may sleep for the night," spoke the shaman, Ilan, "Tonight, children, I shall tell you why the earth shakes." The men that were protecting the children began moving around to start cleaning up the houses that had fallen. The older women, who could not clean or gather food stayed in the center to watch the children, while the younger ones went about to clean up the fallen food, and to find any that might have fallen to the ground from the tropical plants and trees around village.

After several exhausting hours of work, in which several of the conical, bamboo walls and thatch roofed huts had been put back up, the sun went down, and it was time for the nightly story telling by the shaman. As he had promised, the shaman's story that night would be about why the earth shakes.

"In the Ancient times, there was only one god- many believed in him, but all beliefs were shattered over a short period of time- years, only. His greatest enemy rose up, as he predicted, but over the span of millennia, he had waged titanic wars, armies the size of our jungle verses others, draining the power from each of his opponents into himself. The end had come for mankind- Lucifer, angel cast out of Heaven, had achieved godhood. In that last battle, humanity discovered the Anvil of the Universe, and God, eternally lasting, had to sacrifice himself to destroy Lucifer and allow the continuation of humanity. Such was his love for his creations."

"Now, when humanity found, the Anvil, God promised 3 of those who found it godhood, to be bestowed when the power of himself and Lucifer was released into the universe again. He had said that every millennium, they would gain the power to grant 3 more people or creatures godhood- and God, being all knowing, picked the 3 that would never hold the power for themselves. And continually, for the past twenty-one thousand years, a new Triumvirate has been picked."

"The original Triumvirate- Gloval, Breetai, and Ailneyr- One for good, one for evil, one for neutrality. Since then, the 21 newer gods have sided- 7 of them to each section of Order- Urin, Loit, Juri, Kof, Trer, Balo, and Quet have formed the structure of Neutrality on the scale of Order. Nuo, Yitrin, Pokil, Erijo, Zertoy, Laltif, and Chitro have formed the base of Evil on the scale of Order. Tyrunea, Nuaie, Aylverin, Kiron, Avatre, and Aket'ten have formed the base of Good on the scale. Neutrality provides the material that is forged on the Anvil, Good the forging, Evil the bellows."

"For each new God brought to the order, armor, weapons, and armies must be forged, and wars waged to test their strength. If, within one year, they fail the tests, their power is taken, they are sent back to us, and a new lot will be picked. The earth shakes during the forging- it is on sets of three. One shudder for the mining, a second shake for the forging, and then the third in the release of power when the job is complete."

"The Gods have revealed to me the most recent picks- Urin, Nuaie, and Chitro, have just finished their testing, and all passed. The Gods are more akin to the Titans of Greek history, of the True Ancient times- towering behemoths, their bodies representations of their brand of power. Nuaie is in the shape of a dragon, which is commonly accepted as refined, noble power. Chitro that of a spider, a strong weakling. Urin the form of the horse, who runs most of the time, but is a deadly opponent when cornered. When they wage war, towering hundreds of feet above the ground, they shake the earth with mighty force. Their armies are made of clay and diamond mixes, and strong as can be, and they are like the Viking lords of old- not gigantic, but towering in comparison to mortal men."

"All of these together, the mining, forging, releasing, and fighting form the earth shakes- this is why they are so rare. Mining, forging, and releasing only happen once a millennium- these form the shakes that we still tell about. The wars, which are a recreational exercise, happen more often, every fifty to a hundred years. Now, off to bed children!"

Off the children scamper, to find their beds and parents- while Ilan remains there, brooding.

"ILAN. YOU ARE TEACHING THEM WELL. YOUR DEBTS WILL SOON BE REPAID, AND THEN YOU SHALL BE CONSIDERED ONCE MORE FOR GODHOOD."

"Yes, my lord Gloval."

"ILAN. THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE. MAKE A MISTAKE, AND YOU WILL BE GIVEN TO MY REALM FOR ETERNITY."

"Yes, Master Breetai."

"ILAN. I SHALL DO WHAT I CAN TO ENSURE YOUR RAPID REJOINING OF OUR RANKS, BUT DO NOT MAKE A MISTAKE. I CAN NOT PROTECT YOU FROM GLOVAL AND BREETAI ANYMORE. THEY WILL HAVE YOU FOR A DECORATION IF YOU MESS UP."

"Yes, my lord Ailneyr."