It was on a fine sunny day that the weather of Macu (the human world in Sumric mythology) presented a beautiful and calm day to those that dwelled in that realm. The blue sky battered the ground and caused the ice to recede for a short while, the strong sky even shown bright light into the rocky realm above it where the trickster crow god Żponja lived. Blue beams of light snuck through some cracks in the ceiling of the world and the ground of the world above. This caught the attention of Żponja who was entranced by the beauty of the beam. This inspired him to fly down into Macu to enjoy the lovely weather. There he flapped his wings gently as he soared over the land, the sun giving his black feathers a bearable and pleasant warmth. The weather was so pleasant that he dozed off while he was gliding in the sky.

When he woke up, Żponja found that he had glided a great distance over many horizons. The crow was now far to the south and headed directly for the sickly realm Bësowirmau, the land of death. When the trickster god saw the foul mist that smothered Bësowrimau, he flapped his wings to halt himself, in doing so he created a great gust of wind which blew away a chunk of mist to reveal the land and beasts that it covered. Suddenly a bat was exposed but quickly it fled to the nearest cover. Not exactly one of the barbaric and bloodthirsty bats said to live in the land of the dead. By this time the day was growing old and the sun had nearly finished her journey across the sky so Żponja flew back home to his own realm.

The next day the crow god returned to the same spot and once again he wafted a great deal of wind to move some of the foul mist, this time on purpose. Once again he saw the same bat. This time the bat didn’t flee for cover, rather she flew further into her realm so that she could observe the strange corvid god from a safe distance. “Such a timid creature” Żponja thought. Once again the sun was setting and once again Żponja flew home for the night.

The next day the crow god returned to the same spot and once again he wafted a great deal of wind to move some of the foul mist. Once again he saw the same bat as she was exposed. This time she didn’t retreat, rather she hovered in the sky and looked curious at the crow. Żponja gave out a croak and a caw and he asked what her name was. “I am Cylpirhtic (devastated claw)”. By this time once more the sun was setting and once again Żponja flew home for the night.

The next day the crow god returned to the same spot. He had been thinking of Cylpirhtic, compared to what he had heard about bats, how they spread their filthy scent as they slithered through the air, and how they harassed any innocent being that dares to exist, that this one bat seemed quite meek in comparison. Rather it seemed she was a poor soul among bad company, such that Żponja pitied Cylpirhtic. This day he decided he wouldn’t leave her in that filthy land, that instead of using his deception and trickery for mischief (as he would usually do), he would use it to rescue Cylpirhtic. So Żponja flew North this time and he found the most bountiful forest that stood on the land, and he plucked a single berry from a bush, ripe and red. The crow squished the berry with his beak and he rubbed the juices over his feathers, giving him the appearance that he was bleeding. Next he flew south to that same spot and once again he wafted his wings. When he found Cylpirhtic exposed from the mist once again, he called out to her for help. “Cylpirhtic! Oh please help me, I was attacked by a horrific tiger and I am wounded! I would clean this blood myself but I can’t preen my feathers in this wounded state, could you come here and lick the blood for me?”. The bat perked up this time, both excited at the prospect of blood and at the chance to help. She flew to the trickster god and she licked every feather clean, unknowingly swallowing berry juice instead of blood. She let out a single sentence before flying back to her usual spot, “Why, what sweet blood you have”. But when she tried to enter her realm she was met with an invisible wall keeping her out, no matter how hard she flapped she couldn’t penetrate the mist. The crow’s trick had worked. For the berry wasn’t pluck at random, it was plucked from Erotru’s own bush. Any being to eat the fruit of that bush becomes a subject of Erotru, and in turn…banished from the land of the dead.

Leaving Cylpirhtic no choice to return to her putrid home, the two flew North where Żponja showed the bat what a wonderful and pure home she now had. The bat was amazed with the sight of green forests, blossoming flowers and juicy fruits. With the help of Żponja the bat had become a peaceful and pure spirit, and soon the two became enamoured by each other and Cylpirhtic fell pregnant. While they were together, each night Żponja had to return to his own realm in the sky, while Cylpirhtic was forced to remain in Macu as she was now a subject of Erotru. This was no issue for the pair however as they visited each other every day.

This was an issue for Emesdât…Żponja’s wife. Emesdât became deeply jealous and enraged when she discovered her husbands unfaithfulness. Such so that she sought to take her anger out on Cylpirhtic. As Emesdât was a crow herself she looked very much like her husband, even Cylpirhtic thought that the angry wife in the sky was her own lover so didn’t dare to flee. Emesdât took advantage of this, she flew right up to the bat and pinned her to the ground, using her sharp beak she tore Cylpirhtic’s wings off so that the bat would be grounded forever, so that she could never meet her husband in the sky. The angry wife then flew back home in a rage.

Cylpirhtic, now wingless, scurried on the ground to seek cover. Now she was a small wingless furry being, she had become the first rat. Soon after she gave birth to four children, each of them rats like herself. They were Abegël the goddess of persistence, Madylain the goddess of invasion, Muildŕ the god of cunning, and Scyli the goddess of obstacles. And so rats had come into the world.

Thanks to @confabconlang and her rats for inspiration of the names!