CHICKENS

Key To Trees	Genealogy Of Serpents
Genealogy Of Gods	Genealogy Of Humans

Creation

At first there was a void. Dark and black and empty. Then there appeared a huge pale blue egg, the first ever thing to exist. After eons of developing in the cold the egg cracked, and split in two across its middle, the two shells separated to reveal a gigantic serpent of many vivid colours. This was the Great Mother Snake.

It took her so long to hatch that by the time she was born she had already made herself pregnant. She ate from the void and grew many times her original size. She became so gravid that she burst and fifty one snakes of various colours spewed out of her. She bled to death in her birth throes and her children ate her flesh and gnawed her bones.

The waters of her yolky egg mixed with the blood and fluids of her birth to fill the lower egg shell. This created a vast ocean in which the new serpents swam and thrashed into a storm.

First Golden King

The eldest of the serpents - a golden titan - decide it was his inheritance to take rule over his smaller siblings. He had managed to save his mother's beautiful heart from being eaten and set it, like a spectral gem in a crown made of her many-hued teeth. Despite his best efforts, they were so frisky they would not settle down to his rule until he was forced to kill seven of them. The many-coloured serpents became stained red by the bloody waters and bred amongst themselves. They were content for the moment.

The almighty serpent king had alone had kept his beautiful golden pew. He knew he would not rule for long unless he bore a son who would be fierce and frighten all the serpents into submission. So he curled up his great body and produced a shining egg, this hatched quickly under his warm coils into a beautiful shining child.

The father-king was destroyed instantly in the bright fierce light of his child and the other serpents fled from the expanding light as Assu stepped from his fathers coils. He took the egg shell he had hatched from and made from it a crown, declaring himself King of all his light shone upon. He blessed his father's body and he turned to stone beneath him. He walked to the edge of this new island and blessed the sea, which immediately calmed and changed from dark red to sea green.

Assu was not blind, he saw that the serpents which had fled would sooner or later return so he concocted a plan. As the masses of worms gathered outside the eggshell of the world he heard them discuss how to kill him - whether to rush in before the light could harm them or whether to wait till he slept. Alarmed at hearing such talk Assu reduced his light and swam to the edge of the world. He beckoned to the immense red serpent, named Ballost, who being the second eldest and second largest serpent, led the arguments. He asked him what he wanted form this, and told him that there was an easier way to become king. He made a pact that they shall never try to harm each other, they swore on their own life lives so that if they broke the pact they would drop down dead that instant. Assu knew that as Ballost, being by far the largest serpent he would rule for a long time.

Ballost vomited forth a crown for himself, which he had made from his mother's gnamed wishbone in which he had set splinters of bone. To keep this safe he had swallowed it.

The Two Kings of Light and Dark

The red snake king thought he had done well and ruled the other serpents in the dark as Assu ruled in the light within the egg shell. Assu made himself a crown of his own, taking the gem from his father's broken crown, he made a new circlet using his father's golden scales. Now Assu was wise and knew that the serpent king would be discontent with his empire and would seek to find a way around their pact.

In the meantime he realised he was lonely in his sanctuary, and produced a great goddess from his lips as a sweet breath into the sky. She was tall, slim and graceful and he gave to her the realm of the skies. She bowed with grace and took leave to her new realm. She reached up her great arms and commanded that her skies would lower, closing the gap at the edge of the world, so that only a faint crack was visible in the great egg shell.

Next Assu spat into the sea and the spittle became a great, finned and robust deity whom Assu gave the kingdom of the oceans. The god bowed deeply but asked of Assu how he should rule with no Queen or subjects? In answer he spat out a sister-queen for him and they waved and swam away into their realm.

Now the sky goddess gave birth to the winds and the rains and storms who filled the sky with clouds and raced across the island, bringing delight to Assu, who was the ruler of their ruler. And the sea monarchs mated and produced many sinuous children, and these water spirits jumped about in the water and their playful behaviour pleased Assu, whom they named ruler of their rulers.

Assu looked around him at his island and although it was golden, he despaired at the barren and plain flat rock that surrounded him. He knew that none of the other gods could help him, so he wandered around and gave life to parts of the rock by stooping and kissing it. The rock cracked and from the earth sprang giants with many arms and legs each. To these he set the task of molding and carving the island into beautiful shapes.

As they labored Assu helped them, and soon he became weary. Though he realised that if he fell asleep his light would dim and the serpents would be free to enter the world. He called to his first daughter and she descended from the heavens on great white clouds. He beckoned her to his arms and they made love. She conceived and gave birth to three great glowing children. A yellow buxom daughter, a pale blue slender son and a maiden of white. They were equal in their brilliance when they were born, and their faces shone with a powerful light. He told them to return with their mother to the heavens and made them promise that they would make sure there would always be at least one of them in the skies as the others slept beneath the seas.

The Serpent War

All seemed to be going as planned, the world felt safe. Assu fell fast asleep in a deep cave within his island and the giant carvers went about their work slowly and quietly. Despite this the worm king chose this moment to gather the greatest of his brethren - the other forty eight of the first ones and many of their strongest children to invade the world. They slipped through the cracks at the edges of the world. They saw Assu's fiercely bright son awake in the sky, as his sisters slept. The snakes were not afraid of his light that was lesser than his father's and attacked, the moon was viciously bitten by these great serpents. Many snakes and sky beings were killed in the battles of the heavens.

Other serpents crept through the waters with plans to kill all they found. Tragically the dainty sky maiden was killed by the serpents as she slept. The noise of her sister's death awoke the sun and she barely avoided being murdered herself, she smote great vengeance on her sister's killer and slew a great many serpents.

The snakes were driven from the other realms and now invaded the lands, crawling from the sea and descending from the skies. They found many of the giants slumbering and killed them, others fought with the serpents and killed a great many, but eventually the giants lost the war and fell dead. As the serpents discovered Assu's cave they crept down slowly, but he felt their presence and awoke. With the light from his eyes and face the serpents nearby were killed. Angry he stormed up the cave tunnel and as he rose, his light destroyed all the remaining serpents.

The Tears Of Assu

Assu saw his dead giant children and he wept. He then heard news of the death of his daughter and maiming of his son, and wept even louder. The sky goddess took water from the sea, and used it to produce grat storm clouds that she agathered to rain upon the island, washing the serpents corpses into the sea. The ocean spirits gathered all the dead serpent bodies together and tied their tails together to form a vast raft. The serpents eventually turned to stone as the life-warmth left them.

With tears in his eyes Assu stood in the rain and saw the great snake flotilla that had been crafted. He realised how he could make a great monument to the fall of his sons and took them to the new land and as he placed their corpses in lines upon the ground and they became the mountains. He carved the earth in the manner his sons had learnt and made the land beautiful. He wept on each of his sons and where the tears fell, springs appeared and rivers came forth from them to wiggle across the lands to the sea. Many of the water spirits in the sea traveled up these rivers and made them their homes.

Eventually the winds, rains and rivers softened the rocks of the islands and soil and clay was formed on their surface. Finally Assu demanded an end to the downpour from his daughter of the sky.

The earth was sodden and muddy. Assu called his daughter the sun from her grieving in her chambers beneath the seas. He gave her great power and blessed her for being so valiant in killing so many vicious serpents in the sea, she shone brightly in love of her father and once again rode up into the heavens.

The Tree People

On the first new day after the great war, Assu made the tree people. He took earth from the massive new land mass and created a tall strong race and set them the task of making the world beautiful. In answer to his command they set about creating green things of all types and planted them the length and breadth of the vast land. Assu slumbered as they worked around him and the plants nearest his sleeping glow sprouted flowers as they did ever since. When the lands had become covered they had completed their task and Assu was pleased. They had little left to do and remained so still and patient that they became stiff and immobile, their children became the trees who never walked and were kings of the plants.

Eventually the sun had to rest, she realised that she could not take leave with no-one to replace her duties in the sky. She went to Assu to ask for guidance and shook him awake. He went beneath the seas and found his son, still suffering from snake bites being tended by the queen of the sea. He healed him with a touch of his palm and beckoned him to take his turn in the sky. He cried it was impossible that ever since the snakes had maimed him his light was much reduced and waxed and waned. He could never deter the serpents from the world with his feeble light. Assu saw his plight and took the limp body of his dead daughter and took it up to the skies and broke it into pieces and commanded the winds to scatter them across the skies and these became the stars. The moon-son was now happy to rule the dark night with these stars to remind him of his pretty sister. He had wished to marry his sister and he imagined the stars being alike to their children. At last the sun could rest in her bed beneath the waves.

The Animal Goddess

To make, sure the night was still as bright as day, Assu stayed awake and his light filled the world as his daughters had as he was asleep. He realised that the lands were now quiet again and yearned for other things to share his quiet green realm. He called forth his son from the sea and they decided that they needed to create another deity. Assu and his son embraced and their semen mixed and spilled on the earth. From the seed a beautiful, yet beastly goddess sprang. She was multiform and had the power to change into any shape she wished. At Assu's command she wandered the lands, changing form as she went. Each time she invented a form she liked, she gave birth to creatures of the same shape and in this way the earth was filled with animals of all kinds.

Some of the animals strayed near the sea and the sea spirits saw them and brought forth their queen who delighted in them and beckoned them into the sea, giving them the gift of swimming. The animals were the first fish and whales and all things that ever since have lived in the oceans and waters. The sky goddess had also noticed some of the animals that had climbed the highest mountains be near her, she was delighted and gave them the gift of flying. These animals became the first birds, bats and flying insects.

The passing of Assu's crown

Assu finally grew tired of his realm and ruling became a burden to him. He longed to return to his island of his birth. He gave his crown to his eldest daughter, the sky goddess and prepared to leave. So he roused the remaining quiet tree people and took them, along with many seeds of their children and set forth southwards to retirement. As he walked he was caught up by the animal goddess, she begged to go with him as there was no longer any room for her to make any more children. He agreed, and closed her womb, and together they went to the island and planted it and tended its golden soil until it became ever more beautiful than the northlands.

Meanwhile the goddess of the sky was quick to find the crown of Assu cumbersome. She was almost as old as Assu and was content with her smaller realm of the sky without having rulership of the entire world. After only a few years, she decided to abdicate and as her sky children were unwilling to be crowned, she passed her crown to her next eldest daughter Assu - the sun.

The Sun goddess was first very pleased to be queen of the world and was so proud that she stayed in the sky for longer and longer periods, watching over her domain. As the days became longer, then the world became hotter and plants began to wither and animals fell hungry.

The first human

One of the animals that the Animal goddess spawned was named Ea and she was the first human. She was amongst the most blessed of the animals and she was pregnant so wanted a safe place to rear her children. She dreamt up a cunning plan and prayed to the sun queen. The sun was intrigued by Ea and descended to visit her, she shielded her eyes from her powerful queen and asked if she could have a kingdom of her own, in which to raise her children safely. The sun goddess laughed and asked what she would give in return. Ea replied that she had forseen the future, and some day one of her sons would be so beautiful that the Sun would fall in love with him. Ea told the sun that she would condone the marriage and gave the sun her permission to marry her son. The sun was so amused by her tale that she agreed and gave her a kingdom to the west of the land in which she and her descendants would rule.

Ea was delighted and she wandered west to give birth in her new realm. She gave birth to a son Ri and took him as her husband. Together they had many children, first came a wise daughter Nadi, then mighty Bor, pretty Sil and sprightly twins Mit & Mech. Next came burly Mard and sturdy Sala.

Nadi took Bor as a husband, and they had two sons Ribu and Put and two daughters Nao and Dia. Sil married both Mit and Mech, by Mit she had sons Ton and Tola, by Mech she begat daughters Sama and Eli. The youngest son Mard married Sala. Ea smiled upon their marriages and the grandchildren they bore.

People of the East

Ea knew that she and her husband would live much longer than her children so she passed the ruling of her land to her eldest daughter Nadi, who in turn passed it to Nao when her time came. Ea and Ri went east to new lands and gave birth to seventeen other children before they became old. Their youngest son was named Noji and when the sun saw him she immediately fell in love.

But the Sun queen despaired as she knew that if the tried to embrace her love, he would be consumed by her fires. Sick with grief she fled to her bed beneath the sea and refused to rise the next day, and for many days after. When the moon was going to bed after his night's watchfulness he was surprised to see his sister crying and bawling when he returned home. He discovered the reason for her upset and promised to help her.

The Serpent Man

The serpents outside the world had grown black in the darkness. When the red king had invaded the world he had left his eldest son to rule in his place should he not return. The son was now king and was full of hatred for the people in the light, as were all the serpents.

When the black king saw the sun had not risen he was pleased and smiled a wicked grin. He sent his fourteen children to invade the world secretly and to take up other shapes to spread mischief and trouble in disguise. The eldest took human form and took the name Kepra. He approached the west human kingdom and he roughly took hold of Sala and raped her viciously, when her husband Mard came to her aid he slew Kepra with his bare hands. Unfortunately Kepra had managed to bite him and he was poisoned and died soon afterwards.

Sala knew she was already pregnant by Mard with their first child, but did not realise that the child of Kepra also grew in her belly. When she gave birth, her daughter Mali was strong and beautiful like her father, but Sanna was terrible to look upon, with sly eyes and a reptilian tail. Sala hid him until she could fashion a knife with which to cut off his tail.

Noji the Star Man

When the sun returned, the serpents who had invaded hid in caves and dark places, knowing the strong light of the sun would kill them. The next night, the moon took the slumbering handsome Noji and carried him up to heaven, he took the six brightest stars and placed one on his forehead to make him wiser, one on his tongue to make his voice more beautiful. He placed one in each of his eyes to make his sight keen and he awoke. He asked the moon what he was doing and he told him that the sun queen loved him and he was making him immortal so he could embrace her safely. Noji was full of awe and allowed the moon prince to place the last star in his breast to give him immortal life and an immortal love.

At last the moon finished his work and laid Noji upon the earth asleep and went to his chambers beneath the seas. The sun queen awoke early and rose quickly in the skies. Immediately Noji awoke and looked upon her unflinchingly with bright eyes, and she knew it was safe to embrace him. Together they bore a powerful daughter they named Mawi, with the power over night and day and the sun queen passed on her crown to her. Mawi remained with the people of her father in the east.

The beings of the world were much relieved as the sun visited the world less frequently as she spent more time with her new husband. So the drought was ended and the world grey lusher again.

Seven husbands for seven women

Now Sanna was as wicked as his father and as he reached adulthood he plotted evil things. One night he murdered his mother and kidnapped his sister as a mate, and fled with her southwards. Together they had ten children, seven sons and three daughters.

Realising they had to hide the serpent part of their blood, he took a knife to the tails of his daughters and turned the tails of his sons into large members. He filled his children's ears with deceit and told them he could make the rulers of all humans. They listened to his talk eagerly.

Meanwhile Nadi and Sala's children became married. Nao married Ribi and had three daughters. Dia married Ton and they had one son and two daughters. Put married Sama and they had one son and a single daughter. Lastly Tola married Eli and together had three sons and a daughter.

Sanna wanted the daughters of Nao, Dia, Sama and Eli to marry his own sons, but he knew they would marry their brothers unless he stopped them. He sent his daughters to bewitch them when they were playing and bathing in a pool of water in the forest. They took them into the trees and poisoned them as they made love.

Sanna now sent his sons to court the seven daughters. Eventually they agreed and they were married. The daughters of Sanna grew jealous of the daughters as they wanted to marry their own brothers. On the wedding night the daughters of Sanna stole into the bedchambers of three of the brothers as killed them along with their wives. Before they could kill any others the parents of the daughters broke into the chambers and strangled the three sisters.

The People Travel East

The remaining four sons and daughters had many children, who married and had many children themselves. Yill was the only surviving daughter of Nao so she became the next matriarch and ruled with her husband Sek, who was the eldest surviving brother.

Sek eventually discovered his fathers evil deeds when Sanna tried to get his son to murder his wife so he could be ruler instead. Sek refused, and managed to discover many his fathers secrets before he killed him. He kept most of these secrets, but told enough to the others to justify his patricide.

Sek and Yill had many children, but the eldest were daughter Mui and son Kae. These children argued with one another over which was the best way to rule. Mui argued that when women ruled, peace reigned with them, as was shown when Assu chose his daughter, not any of his sons to rule. The sky queen was the first of three great goddess rulers.

In return Kae argued that the first ever kings were male, both in the darkness outside the world and Assu himself within the world. They were the strongest and most powerful rulers.

In answer Mui argued that the first people have been ruled well by four generations of daughter-matriarchs and would have lived in peace but for Sanna and his children.

Kae grew angry at this insult of his fore fathers and the argument between them grew to angry shouting. Many people heard the raucous and gathered around. Lek, the youngest of their uncles asked them what they were fighting about. After they told him, he wondered why they would argue about who was best to rule, instead of whom they should rule?

All the people were astonished by such talk and urged him to explain his meaning. He told them that while they rules over the west, a great empire of people was left unruled to the east. He knew this to be a lie as he had wandered afar, and he had not been pleased with the rule of Mawi when he and his brother had been promised rule over all men by Sanna.

Hearing his words, the west people packed all their belongings and walked to the east. When they reached they they discovered that Mawi had recently died when her husband succumbed to old age. Although she was half immortal she chose her husbands mortal life so they would never be parted. Their daughter Salah was now ruling the empire of the east.

The End of the Matriarchs

When the people came from the west, Salah was surprised because for all she knew she ruled over all humankind. She called up to her mother for council. The Sun informed her that these people were indeed descendants of Ea, her first children before she came east to begat the founders of her empire. She told her of Ea's pact with her and the violent happenings in the west. Despite worrying over violence, Salah welcomed these people and beckoned them to live in her fruitful lands.

The western people grew angry and demanded her throne. She was puzzled and asked for a spokesman so she could find a reason for their demand. Mui and Kae stepped forward and told her that they were the rightful rulers of mankind. Both astonished and angry at their audacity, Salah asked them which of them would rule in her place. Immediately the two siblings began to quarrel over who was best to rule. The fight grew more vicious until Kae strangled Mui in front of Salah. He then stepped up to her throne and asked to marry her.

In fear of her life and for the lived of her people, Salah reluctantly agreed. Kae and Salah ruled uneasily together. Their son Rikko replaced them in his turn, he was dominant over his wives and was the first true patriarch.

The Great Deluge

As the people from the west brought serpent blood with them. The blood of east and west people became mixed. The peace of the east was eventually worn away by increasingly frequent quarrels and fighting. The fights became battles and eventually civil war broke out. The royal family was slaughtered and a series of tyrants ruled ruthlessly.

The noises of war eventually disturbed the peace of Assu in the golden island paradise. He decided to ride up with the Sun when next she rose and he saw the spoil of the land he had made. Many beasts wandered the lands and the people had become warlike and violent. He suspected the chaos serpents of causing such upset.

He descended to the earth and wherever he discovered places of beasts he found a snake in beast-form and slew it. Although he tried to kill all the serpent's children and descendants there were just too many for him.

Eventually he decided he must flood the world, making it sink beneath the waves so drown all the evil things. He chose a single mother with her husband and three daughters to save from the deluge. The animal goddess took as many of her children as she could up a high mountain to save them.

Assu then commanded the spirits in the water to pull down the earth beneath the sea and they all pulled with mighty strength. After a month of soaking Assu ordered the spirits to release the world, and it floated itself above the waters, revealing a deserted muddy land.

Survivors of the Deluge

The sea goddess had taken pity on some of the thrashing people as they drowned and gave them the gift of breathing underwater. They became the storm-causers and ever since they periodically whip up the ocean into a mad storm.

The world was cleansed by the flood. Eventually the surviving animals, plants and people began to repopulate the world. Most of the terrible things that lived in the land before were destroyed, as were many beautiful things.

The well-natured people that Assu saved had very little of the serpent taint in them. They were Lai and husband Tun, with their three daughters Fah, Saf and Bia. As there were no other men left, Tun impregnated his daughters.

Eventually there were many people descended from Lai and Tun, they filled the entire world and split up into many nations.