In the beginning, there was only AIO, perfect and without need.

AIO took it upon himself to create as a manifestation of himself, and four incorporeal beings sprang forth. The first was one of goodness, which he named Devon. The second was one of strength, which he named Korah. The third was one of knowledge, which he named Basil. The fourth was one of beauty, which he named Jasper. These are the archetypes.

These four delighted themselves in AIO, and existed in harmony for the first ages. They became familiar with one another, and worshiped AIO continually in their thoughts. Their focus was AIO and his attributes, and their existence was one of contentedness and joy.

After untold time, AIO began to stir himself, and shot out into existence certain laws. A grid of order settled upon the emptiness of all that was, and the archetypes marveled at the vastness of his wisdom and power. He then set his focus upon a single point and began to conjure into existence a single white stone, perfectly round and smooth. The archetypes again marveled, but there was a new feeling. There was sorrow in them because, although they could see the creation, they could not spread their being to it to interact with it. AIO caused them to want to try – to reach to it with their being – to focus upon it. As they did, it seemed to grow larger to them. They focused more and more until it became so large that they found themselves suspended above it as though it were the earth beneath. They found themselves on a hazy edge separating the featureless, smooth stone from the dark watery void without, and a grey, featureless, twilight sky spread above. AIO no longer seemed as near to them. The vast waters troubled them, and they began to huddle together in fear.

After some time, AIO brought forth four statues before the sight of the archetypes. Each was in the form of a man, and each seemed to be fashioned of the same material as the stone beneath them. The archetypes each drew near to one with their minds and reached out to them. As they made contact, they found themselves within the forms, and they became as flesh to them. They now felt the laws that AIO had spoken before acting upon them. The laws pulled their feet toward the stone’s surface, while also keeping them from passing through it. They could now feel the air, thick with fog, and they could hear the watery void beside them. For the first time, they heard the voice of AIO as he spoke to them, “Go forth and shape the stone. Break it and mold it. Take hold of it, and do with it whatever you will. Take the sky and the waters also, and cause them to act as you will. Make of all this something of which you will not be ashamed.”

At his command, they each went forth, breaking the stone into pieces, raising up parts and bringing low others. They crushed it as fine as sand in some places, and left enormous mountains in others. Devon looked to the heavens and sought to master that which was above. He set out, creating winds, clouds, rain, and snow. Korah set his mind to dig into the stone until it was hot as fire. He fashioned caves, cliffs, canyons, and volcanoes. Basil took to the peaceful inner waters, and brought forth rivers, lakes, glaciers, and falls. Jasper pressed into the outer waters that remained on the edge, and sought to pull its chaos into order, creating patterns of tides and waves, as well as beaches and bays.

For untold ages, the archetypes worked together and individually, creating a landscape of fathomless beauty. They never ceased to find an aspect of their design that could not be improved upon in some way, and once discovered, each lacking feature was beautified. They longed for their works to be judged worthy by AIO.

After a time, as they worked, they heard AIO’s voice again: “Your hearts to work have been judged and found worthy. Truly, you have not tired in the task you have been given to do. The earth is now ready to be enjoyed.” With that, four women came forth, each unique, yet perfect in beauty. “These have waited for you these long ages, watching your unceasing skill, and yearning to be permitted to join in fashioning it with you.” As they stepped forward, each archetype knew which was to be his wife; her having been made for him, and his mind having been created to enjoy her perfectly above all others. To Devon came Aeva, formed of purity. To Korah came Andora, formed of joy. To Basil came Avellia, formed of prudence. To Jasper came Aurora, formed of grace.

“Now, gaze upon the beauty that you have distilled from this stone that I have given you, which you labored untold ages to bring forth.” They all looked over the stone, the archetypes pleased with their work, and their wives proud of their husbands. “Now, gaze upon the beauty that I speak forth at an instant from nothingness.” With that, AIO flung forth lights from himself into the sky – the sun in the west, the moon in the east, and constellations, nebulae, and galaxies to occupy the whole of the heavens. The archetypes and their wives fell to their faces, overwhelmed by AIO and his power. Their own works and wonders seemed to wither in comparison.This marked the beginning of days and years.

The archetypes and their wives spent the first days and years enjoying each other, gazing at the new wonders in the skies above, and continuing to beautify the earth below. Now with the help of their wives, the archetypes were able to improve even further upon their work. Then, one day, AIO spoke to them again: “A new gift, I give to you. Cultivate it, and work wonders with it as you have this stone.” At his word, a single seed descended to them. As if by instinct, they knew exactly what to do with it. They crushed and softened a patch of ground, and buried it beneath. They gave the ground sunlight, and brought gentle rains to it. In time, the seed took hold of the minerals in the stone, and began to grow. Over the years, they all loved the plant that grew, and took great pleasure in caring for it. Eventually, it grew to become a tree, and gave off golden fruit with its seed inside. The archetypes and their wives found themselves able to alter these seeds and the plants they grew into, and thus to produce all kinds of new beauty. They created varieties of trees, grasses, shrubs, vines, cacti, algae, ferns, and shoots. They made flowers in every color, shape, and aroma. They made fruit in every flavor, form, and texture. They made landscapes of grass, forests, swamps, and jungles. Eventually, these new plants would wither and fade, but even in their end, they gave off beauty as they relinquished their elements back to the earth for the future generations to use. New worlds of possibility opened before them as they worked tirelessly and excitedly into the ages.

One more time, AIO spoke: “This last gift, I give to you. Take it and fashion it as you will, but be cautious, for in its nature lies that which has the potential to create strife among you.” This time, a worm descended to them, wriggling and ugly. It buried itself near the foot of that first great tree, which had lasted through the ages. The archetypes and their wives were confused. They had no intuitions about how to interact with this new thing, as they had had with the seed, and so they simply observed. Its pace was much faster than that of the clouds, glaciers, trees, and grasses with which they had become accustomed to working. The worm started feeding and growing, day after day, until one day it seemed to die. It lie motionless for quite some time. The archetypes and their wives considered abandoning the little worm. It was not beautiful. It did not give off some pleasant sound or odor. It did not seem strong or noble, or even purposeful. They were perfectly contented to work in their garden for the ages to come, but they knew that this was a gift from AIO, and so they tried to think of ways to proceed.

Then, seemingly for no reason, the worm began to split from the inside, and dozens of smaller worms crawled forth from inside. The archetypes and their wives decided to take hold of them as they had the seeds of the tree, and to try to alter them in some way. They found that they were able, and their minds flamed forth anew with even more worlds of possibility. They gave the worms mouth-parts to help them in feeding. They gave them appendages, bones, and eyes. They gave some scales, some skin, some hair, and some feathers. They gave them voices to howl, sing, grunt, and bark. They put them in the forests, jungles, grasslands, swamps, rivers, seas, caves, and tundras. They filled their tiny brains with instincts and appetites that would guide them in surviving and multiplying their own kind. They worked rapidly and excitedly to improve them and make them better suited for their environments.

Then, one day, a new and startling thing happened. One of Korah’s creatures, a reptilian sort of thing, used its gifts to latch on to a weaker creature, a mouse, kill it, and begin feeding on it. The archetypes and their wives looked on this with horror. This was needless. There was no shortage of resources. There had been no competition among either the archetypes or their creatures up to this time. This was the first evil: not that one creature had killed another, but that Korah, zealous to see his own creations succeed, had fashioned this creature’s mind to value its own pleasures and impulses above the good of another, weaker creature. Nevertheless, at this time, Korah was not pleased. He was shocked at how the scene lay before them all: teeth, hair, blood, and hunger. The archetypes each withdrew in different directions with their wives, filled with sorrow.

After many days, Devon emerged from his mourning to find that Korah’s reptiles were swarming, devouring all types of animals, and some even killing those of their own kind. Devon and Aeva set to work at strengthening and equipping their own creatures to be able to compete and survive in the face of this new reality. Soon, the others discovered what Devon had, and got to work on their own. They worked rapidly, out of fear and anger, in stead of creativity. They invented claws, shells, fangs, stingers, spines, and whatever else they could dream up to help their own creations. Animals became monstrously large, and obtained a strength that had been un-needed before. Resources became more and more scarce. Generations passed, and the landscape changed. Eventually, the archetypes did not see the earth as the canvas that it had once been to them. Their frustration grew. Their fervor diminished. They gave up. The world was a savage place, now broken. Their friendship and unity was broken. They retreated, jaded and discouraged at what they had done with their gifts, and fearful of how AIO might judge them.