Silver

Bronze

Lead

Spun from Light and Darkness at the Universe's dawn
There is a Sacred Garden where the Unicorns were born

The Age of Gold is the Heart Age. To a Human, it is the Dawn of Time; the earliest of Ages. to a Unicorn, it is the Origin of Time; the innermost and truest of realities.



The First Unicorn

In the Beginning there was darkness. In the Beginning there is always darkness: the darkness formed by the absence of anything - even true Darkness. This darkness was simply an absence and it held no matter, no energy. Time and Space were not in evidence yet; there being nothing happening to define them by.

Then...

Something occured. Space exploded into being as the darkness rippled and undulated in shock. Time was less certain, but there was at least Duration. There was a Now, and the Past and the Future evolved from Nows previous and Nows yet to come. A Force had appeared: a Mover; a Creator. Whether travelling from some other Plain or spontaneous evolving, it didn't matter: it was here Now, and it meant business.

The Creator took the unending darkness and stretched it, forging two opposites so unalike that they might never merge again, and the Creator named these Light and Dark. And this amused the Creator mightily for a long duration, for the Light and the Dark battled, and the Creator marveled at how the Light would spread its shining illumination in the Darkness yet at the same time the Dark would cast shadow into the Light.

Then, in the tides of Light and Dark, the Creator perceived a strange thing. Where Light and Dark came into contact there was a vibration, a resonance, and he gave this vibration voice. It sounded throughout the Universe as a proud, triumphant note, so pure and beautiful that the Creator wished to take it further, and being a little lonely in the void, He gave the Note consciousness so that the note became a Spirit.

Encouraged, the Creator formed substance: an opposite to the emptiness of the void. He made a world; a solid surface of rock to serve as a canvas for his Purpose, and the Spirit would be his pen.

"Will you go for me?" He asked the Spirit. "Will you dwell upon this world I have made that I may work Creation through you? Will you take on solid form and become the first of my creatures? And you may choose, since both are within you, whether you be of Light, or of Dark."

And the Spirit joyfully ascented. Above the Earth, a mighty wind sprang into being, rushing over the barren soil and the desolate mountains, the empty valleys and bare plains. The wind swept in a wide circle then began to narrow, circling tighter and tighter, faster and faster. The winds became a tornado: a tapering spire of air that began to glow as it spiralled ever tighter, giving of waves of dazzling light, for it was Light the Spirit had chosen. At the tip where tornado met ground the light became brightest of all, and within this light the Creator's first creature appeared. Tall, and four-legged, standing upon cloven hooves, the dissipating wind whipped his flowing mane and tail, and upon his brow, still glowing with the golden fire of his forming, rose a slender spiral horn, as if the tornado of his creation had left the tip of itself behind.

The Creator looked upon this first Creature with pleasure, and said, "I will name you, now and forever, for the single horn that springs from your brow: I name you Unicorn, and forever will you be foremost amongst all my creatures. You shall be my standard: my symbol of beauty."

He bade the first Unicorn touch the tip of his marvelous horn to the top of a hill, and where the horn touched burst forth a torrent of clear water. This spring became a stream, then a river, and from the waters, life began to emerge. Grass spread out in a rippling ocean. Flowers and bushes blossomed, then trees erupted to form woodlands and forests. Fish swam in the waters, then animals began to creep forth, first the smallest, but rapidly growing: a multitude of infinitely varied creatures that walked and crawled, slithered and scurried, swam and flew, jumped and climbed.

And this pleased and amused the Creator mightily. This great and marvelous garden, which has since gone by so many names, was perfect and flawless. All creatures spoke with a common tongue, and all lived in accord. There was no Death, and there was no Time: a perpetually perfect place. And the Unicorn, sacred above all other creatures, gave names to each and every one, and for a timeless time, dwelt in true joy and happiness.



Of Dragons and Men

When the First Unicorn touched his horn to the barren earth, the life-bearing waters of that first spring spread out across the surface of the earth into streams and rivers and oceans. But they also descended through cracks and fissures, and at length found their way to a deep, lightless cavern. Here, in the Darkness, a new creature emerged. Truth to tell, she was second only to the Unicorn, but in her lightless and lonely world, she did not know this. It seemed to her that she was the First, and that she ruled the World. In ages yet to come, Men would name her Tiamat, Yaldabaoth, Night-Wing.

Huge was she, powerful and magical, and full nearly as beautiful as the Unicorn, her ebony hide encrusted with gem-like scales, and vast wings like cloaks of night. In order to see her world, she created her own light, breathing fire into the air about her: magical, living flames that danced, never-dying around the cavern. A lake of fire she created about her, and brought forth treasures from the earth: islands of diamond; mountains of gold; gems and metals of every hue so that her light was reflected back on her from every direction.

There too she created life, bringing into the world thirteen children. Some of these would grow to become legend: Behemoth, and Tarasque; Kaliyat and Serpens... Long slender Serpens it was who found the fissure that led upward, far upward, to a place where golden light suddenly dazzled his large eyes. Thus did the first of the Dragons enter the Garden of the Golden Age.

When the Dragons entered the Garden, they understandably caused great awe, especially amongst the impressionable race of Man. As yet, they commanded no fear, for in a world where death and pain were unknown, there could be no fear.

Then Tiamat learnt of her origins: how the sacred water that had sprung from the horn-touch of the First Unicorn had seeped down into the earth. In her heart awoke the awareness that she was not first among all creatures, and a terrible envy was born. Tiamat looked upon the world with new eyes, and she did not like what she saw. To be the oldest and foremost among all things was her birthright, stolen from her by these fragile-looking creatures that trod the ground on four legs: these Unicorns. And it seemed to her that if this race could be in some manner displaced, then there would be no obstacle to her ascending to her rightful place in nature.

So she bent her formidable mind to the problem, and tried this strategy and that. She knew that outright force would never be tolerated by the Creator, and so more subtle means were necessary. And her great eyes turned to the race of Man, and saw how vulnerable his heart was to flattery and greed, and she knew how her goal might be achieved.



The First Great Evil

Tiamat sent forth Serpens. Most comely of all the Dragons, he was also the most beguiling, and similar in size to Man. Easily he won the confidence of Men and brought them gifts from the earth's heart: gold and diamonds and all the stones of beauty. They loved him for it and revered him, and heeded his soft, sly words. And sly they were: Serpens told no outright lies, but he knew how to make Men's eyes look at the world in slightly different ways: to notice how the Unicorns had been gifted beyond all other creatures: more swift, more beautiful, more favoured by the Creator. He breathed the Dragon envy into Man's heart, and it fell on fertile ground, and grew.

Man became secretive and suspicious. He drew apart from the Unicorns and ceased to play their games. The Unicorns noticed, and were saddened, but Man's children were still as carefree and innocent as ever, and women, softer and more forgiving, retained their love and trust for the Unicorn – a bond which was to ever endure.

The Creator however saw his Work beginning to unravel: if the world were a perfect jewel, then this growing discord was an increasing stress that threatened to shatter it. In growing alarm he saw Man fall further and further under Serpens' spell: saw the ugly darkness welling in Man's heart, and knew he must act before resentment became hatred and violence.

So it was that the Creator brought into being a mirror world: a pale reflection of the original, and here he banished all Humankind and Dragonkind in order to rethink how the Three Races could fit together harmoniously.


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