Prologue
In the beginning, the Goddess of Life bore a seed from chaos. The seed spun nothingness into order, thus establishing the great black sea. Having imprinted herself onto existence, the Goddess cleaved herself to pieces. Fragmented, and torn, her body was hewn into a countless multitude of burning pearls to adorn the vast expanse of darkness.
When the pearls cooled, and settled, vast dust scattered in the sea, and formed the earth. From the dust was the world created, and in sand was the earth conceived. The Goddess, who had lost control of the spinning torrent of creation of her body, could do naught but weep for her lifeless offspring. In these tears, came the substance of life, and water swelled into the earth's womb. Thus did the great basin rise, and four entities after the manner of the Goddess come forth.
Embued with the soul of their mother Goddess, the entities took domain over the formation of their kingdom to be. The First was to be entitled Thane of Flame, Cedario. The Thane of Flame would hold domain over the energies of life, heat, fire, lightning, and fury. The Second was to be entitled Thane of Spring, Erdis. The Thane of Spring would hold domain over water, ice, rain, snow, and kindness. The Third was to be entitled Thane of Wind, Kiree.
The Thane of Wind would hold domain over wind, beauty, knowledge, and wisdom. The Fourth, being the mightiest, was to be entitled Thane of Sand, who is nameless. The Thane of Sand would hold domain over earth, time, death, and fear.
Together, the Four Thanes of the Goddess each gave a part of their essence to the basin in return for creating them. In turn, the basin brought forth four beings of likeness to the Thanes. Their bodies burned with the energy of the First. They held the flames with water of the Second. They knew with knowledge of the Third. And they existed with the earth of the Fourth. The Thanes in thanks for receiving the gift of offspring, raised the basin into the heavens, where it became a shimmering purple moon to watch over the children of the Goddess.
Since the first dawning of the purple moon, the land lay barren, and without seed. The children of the Goddess, whom the Thanes named "man" flourished and prospered with blessing. In time, the Thanes grew weak and unable to support man any longer. With their remaining essence, the Thanes agreed to let their spirits into the land, and guide man to enlightenment. But the nameless Fourth, who was the greatest among the Thanes, refused to see his work unfinished.
In anger, and desperation, rather than succumb to his own power of death, the Fourth brought his curses upon man. Men began to see death, and the earth fade slowly into sand. After his anger abated, the Fourth regretted his actions, but could not undo them, and remained forever stuck between life and death as a soul of sorrow and hatred.
To undo the great suffering caused by the anger of the Fourth, man sought to raise four heroes, one from each tribe of Thanes, to end the plague of sand consuming the earth. Soon men too, began to feel hatred and follow the sand. In their wicked ways, they worshipped death, and desired to see the anger of the Fourth spread throughout the whole of existence, and in turn, end existence itself.
Those who spoke the word of the sand would come to be called Sandspeakers, for they would command the forces of death and fear before them. Those who did not follow death, would call upon the spirit of the Goddess Thanes for mercy, that they might see a new seed of "Thanes of Men" to end the growing world of sand, death, and fear.