Arkanos, Kulana and the Hero sat around a campfire Kulana managed to make while the two had gone hunting. The skinned boar had been placed on a spit and was over the open flame, portions of the beast's meat darkened as the fire cooked it. Arkanos was tenting to the spinning of the boar that would be the meal for the other two. The god had taken to eating the snake he had slain, snacking on the dead animal's cooked remains as he focused on making sure the boar was cooked just right.
Kulana and the Hero were looking to one another, still not sure on what to talk about in the presence of an actual god. They felt that anything they talked about would seem mundane to a being such as himself. Eventually, Kulana shifted towards Arkanos and gained the courage to speak up. "Arkanos..." Her soft voice broke the void that was between the three, causing the one eyed god to look at her. She cleared her throat before continuing. "...If you don't mind me bothering you with such a question, how did life come to exist?"
Both the Hero and Arkanos focused on the priestess, seeing her embarrassment spreading on her face. As a priestess, she should know how life came to exist. After all, she was one of the future head priestesses in training and was told about the history of their world and all of the different tales of how things happen in their world. The Hero was puzzled by her question, especially since he was going to be the one to ask that, but before he could do anything, Arkanos spoke.
"So, you want to hear a story, eh?" He said, a slight grin coming across his face as the words left his mouth. "A tale of the birth of our strange world and how we came to reside within?" Both the Hero and Kulana were focused on Arkanos now, their eyes wide in anticipation, waiting for this fallen god to enlighten them with his knowledge. He shifted forward, a hand still on the spit to cook the boar. "Alright then. I will tell you the story of how our reality came to be.
"Long ago, eons before either of you two were twinkles in your parent's eyes, there was a galaxy." Arkanos began to draw swirls within the sand, creating a spiraling shape in the sand with a large circle in the center. "This galaxy was called the Milky Way." He said dramatically as he began to poke dots in his spiral, leaving different sizes of circles in the galaxy he was depicting. "In this galaxy existed a number of stars, and surrounding those stars, were a number of planets. On some of those planets..." He began to draw lines with circles on top. It took a moment for Kulana to realize, but he was drawing stick figures, something her people had grown past almost seven hundred years ago. It was at this time that her opinion of the god had dropped slightly. "..life took root."
Kulana leaned forward, her hands pushing her forward towards the god. "But how did life take root? Who created it?"
Arkanos sat back, shaking his head. "That is a mystery that still plagues me to this day. The people of that time had many theories: That life was a biological circumstance: that we just formed into existence over time, or that there was once a being similar to myself, save for that he created all things, or that aliens bred us from primates..." He stopped, seeing that the two were now giving him looks of confusion. Defeated, he shook his head. "It does not matter now, for that galaxy is no more."
"What happened to it? Did it vanished?" The hero asked, his voice having a hint of confusion at that weird alien comment.
Arkanos' face went from contemplative to grim, his one eye rolling to focus on the Hero as he pondered how to answer his question. Finally, he decided to grab a charred piece of wood from the fire and drew a circle around the galaxy, creating a black ring. "The Darkness." He then grunted, throwing the wood at the galaxy in a fit of anger. The wood, instead of bouncing, crumbled as it connected, covering the galaxy with black ash. the two were startled by the sudden outburst, watching as Arkanos seemed to have entered an enraged state. "That blasted swarm consumed the entire galaxy within seconds, and trillions of lives snuffed out." He looked to the fire, his eye reflecting the orange glow as it danced around the boar meat.
"Well, at least ten thousand lived. Ten thousand sentient beings chosen from an entire galaxy got to live on in this new world which was created. I was one of those survivors, as was my brother." Arkanos paused, closing his eye. As Kulana gazed at the god, she could see a tear rolling down his cheek. "As well as the one who I loved." He patted the sand as those words left his lips. The god cleared his throat and continued, his familiar survivor aura returning. "The entity selected us to become gods of this universe that you live in. Some of us are deities of progress, while others..." He looked off into the forest, sighing. "...well, others became agents of chaos, causing 'necessary' trouble for the inhabitants of our new reality."
Kulana was beginning to see the big picture, while the Hero continued to focus intensively on Arkanos' tale. "So who are these inhabitants?" The Hero asked, eagerness filling his question.
Arkanos' face produced a smile, and he turned his focus onto the clueless lad. "Well, my child, you of course." Kulana looked up in realization, piecing together the stories she had been told. There was some truth to all of them. As she continued to make revelation after revelation, Arkanos continued. "You and your planet are considerably young compared to some of the other civilizations to exist. People of different species rise and group together, forming civilization centered around a patron god, particularly one that is ever-present in their culture. For example, your deity of choice is the All Mother, or Phrea. She is a goddess of fertility and water, and your your people survive through creatures from the ocean and the fertile lands on your islands. In her past life, she had a similar complexion to you all: tanned skin and dark hair with dark eyes." Kulana and the Hero both looked at one another, accepting that they did look similar in some aspect. Both their skin had been on the darker side, although they assumed that it was due to their exposure to the sun.
"The god created a world that they watch over and cultivate, and the sentient beings that take shape there are formed in that god's image. All of my children appeared liht skinned, with brown hair and colorful eyes." He said, opening his eye wide to show the two his emerald green iris. "It depends on who's planet it is, but there must also be another god to help create said life."
Kulana focused on Arkanos, breaking Arkanos' train of thought. "You were the All Mother's lover, the Thinking Man..." The Hero focused on Kulana now, his face displaying shock as Kulana claimed such a thing. Arkanos, grinning, nodded. "You helped her start life on our world by giving her her first son, Jonokaro, who raised the Islands from the sea."
Arkanos raised his hands as if to halt her explanation. "Now Jo had some help with those. It's not like his hook was all magical. There was some tech in there that caused the tectonic plates to rumble in the first place."
Kulana continued, ignoring the gods comment. "Then the second child, the Great Turtle Namorolani, is also the product of your union, yes?" She hopped closer to the god, her eagerness spread across her face as she confirmed each myth she knew. "It was said that she possessed the thoughtfulness of her father so our people could have his insight."
Arkanos sighed, looking out to the ocean again. "Yeah, I miss Nami. She's out there somewhere." He focused on the ocean, longing to see his second child once more.
Kulana's face then took a grim figure, as something else crossed her mid. "Does that mean your world was also..."
After hearing her comment, Arkaos' sighed, not looking to the two, although the Hero could see his somber expression. "Yes, she helped my world give life as well, although you already know what happened to them." The campsite returned to quietness as the three sat there in silence. After a moment, the god coughed and looked to the boar, which appeared slightly overcooked. Cursing, he took the meat off the spit and gave it to the Hero. "Cut that up and give some to her. I'm going for a walk." He then walked away from the site, leaving the two to ponder on what was just revealed to them.