No matter the reason for their existence, legends have been a part
of our history from the dawn of mankind, as they will assuredly be a
part of our future, for as long as this world survives.

People have always asked questions about things around them,
They have always wanted to know why the sun seems to rise in the
morning and set in the evening, what makes an echo call back to
them. Likewise, they have always wanted to hear the deeds of valor, to
believe that there are men and women who triumph over misfortune
and human frailty.

Today we have books on astronomy to teach us that the sunrise is
caused, not really by the sun rising, but by the turning of the earth
upon it’s axis. As we have books on physics, to teach us that an echo
isn’t an answering voice, but merely the same sound thrown back to
us.

People who have not been so fortunate as to have scientists tell
them what they wanted to know, often made up their own answers to
their questions, weaving them into some of the most beautiful stories
and fancies the world has ever known.

This does not mean that the same wise man simply invented, out
of whole cloth, the answer to a question. Rather, the explanation
tended to develop gradually as certain questions were asked.

Why is the sun so powerful, able to both give life, by showering it’s blessings on
crops, and death, through heat sickness and droughts?

The sun must be a god.

How does it move itself throughout the sky?

On a chariot.

Why do the tree leaves rustle?

It is the goddess who lives in the tree speaking to us in murmurs.

Why are some stars set in patterns?

Why does the Aurora Borealis dance in the sky?

There are four theories about how gods and myths are created.
One is that the ancient gods were patterned after heroes who actually
lived at one time. Secondly, there is the theory that men, repeating
things their grandfathers said, understood them in a different sense
and out of that misunderstanding created myths. Third is that of
personifying thing of nature to explain their causes. Fourth is the
viewpoint of myths arising from society as a whole.

In regards this fourth theory, the situation might go something like
this: A group of people become really excited during tribal festivities,
as well as a bit drunk, and begin thinking a great power was coming to
them from some object in their camp.

This object would then become sacred. Soon other objects become
sacred by their association to this first object. So, if someone noticed,
for instance, the sun shining on the object and how warm the sun
made it, they might tell a tale, the starting of a myth, about the great
god of the sky who powers the sacred object which in turn imparts
power to the people.

The myth of the beginning, as told by Greeks and Romans, and in
simplified form, would go something like this:

First of all, there was just as vast hole, known as Chaos. From this
there rose love, which created the goddess Gae. From these two came
the sky, mountains, the sea and animals. Chaos also brought forth two
gloomy creatures. Erebus, and Nex. From these two black beings
sprang Light and Day.

These legends have been passed down from father to son, from
mother to daughter, slave to master, carried from town to town and
country to country by thespians, bards and any other travelers with a
tongue in their head and a hole in their stomach.

All of this serving, with varied degrees of success, to provide the
people with a few hours in which they could take their minds off their
problems of everyday life. This is true for all persons, whether the
problem be how to capture their true love’s heart, how to protect
themselves from roaming panthers, choosing the right semi-formal
evening wear, battling Satan as he sneaks into their residence through
a child’s stereo, or trying to decide which cardboard box would provide
the best shelter during a snow storm.

One such legend comes to us from a land far away. The land of
which I speak is Ordine: a magnificent, verdant continent that lays
firmly23 upon the beautiful, if slightly deranged, world of Ordem.

The legend from this ever so green and lovely continent tells of a
journey which, if you were to undertake it, would lead you into the
only area upon the face of the continent that is neither lovely nor
prone to having the word verdant used to describe it.24

Fraught with danger, this journey is only to be undertaken by
those with the bravest hearts, the purest souls, the most unshakable
wills and the strongest flesh.25

Starting at the gates of the capital city of Ordine, the glittering
Kaenisbeth, one must travel for twelve days and twelve nights, in a
southerly direction, upon a white steed. During the whole of the
journey, not a drop of water, nor a morsel of food must pass your
lips.26

On the twelfth night, you would find yourself caught up in the
misty veils of the Sacred 0ctagonal One.27

If you were to dismount and lead the steed for five more days and
nights through the misty veils, you would find yourself at the gates of
the small and mysterious town of Piccolo Rancido: home to a
demigod26 of most enigmatic nature.

Turning left at the gates and riding another ten miles28 would
deliver you into the sands of a vast desert wasteland. If you were to
dismount from your horse29 and walk downhill for two miles, on your
knees, you would come upon a beautiful oasis.

Once there, a person of noble heart and generous spirit would
behold a hand emerging from the fresh, cool, thoroughly undrinkable,
waters. Of flesh would it be, but with the pristine beauty of the finest
pearl. In its grasp would be borne a sacred, jeweled sword that would
only allow that one to be its wielder.

“…. to be continued …. ":http://www.redbubble.com/people/arletta/writin...