The First Breath
This page proposes a creation account for the world, the event of which is commonly known as The First Breath, Bhrenor's First Breath, Bhrenor's Last Breath, or just The Breath.
The tale
Nothing is truly known about the First Breath, when exactly it occurred, who Bhrenor was, how he died or why it happened. However, the basic facts held to be true by most inhabitants of Ard are evident from the commonly recited classic poem Excelsior, attributed to an unnamed saint of the Church of the First Breath:
Legends say when Ard was new
Rivers ran to oceans blue,
But nothing lived.
And nothing cried
Until the day when Bhrenor died. The stone, the sea, the wind, the flame
The stone, the sea, the wind, the flame
They all must know, and speak his name
There is no life, there is no death
Without the gift of Bhrenor's breath For he awoke the titans four
For he awoke the titans four
Aora, Stend, Hehter, Equor
Strong they stood, the mighty few
Calamity was all they knew Their struggle shook, and shaped the world
Their struggle shook, and shaped the world
With every bolt and stone they hurled
Bringing them untimely death
Spilling all their vital breath Where it collected, life ensued
Where it collected, life ensued
Seed and sinew, soil imbued
Little things, like mice and men
Weaker than the titans then Living, breathing, flesh and blood
Living, breathing, flesh and blood
Growing like a rose's bud
Mice are small, but many still
And even ancients can be killed. Now the age of men's begun
Now the age of men's begun
And our Calamity is done
As brother Bhrenor was, become
Humanity, thy time has come!