Legend of Jer

Prolog

The Legend of Jer is a tale of the fabled origin of all the peoples of Otan. It was not written so much as it was assembled from various diverse sources. From every corner of Otan, rare individuals claim to have dreams, fleeting recollections, or distant memories of the long-forgotten land known only as Jer. Scribes, wizards, clergy, and kings have sought to piece together this mystery.

From the Tsars of Ortalyk to the Flowers of Aspan, great leaders of Otan have sought to assemble the glimpses of this tale winding tale of Jer into a complete story. No other things on Otan have brought so many of people together for a single cause. Through interviews, divinations, sorcery, and witchcraft; through dreams, prayer, and mind-altering substances, the wise and the powerful from all corners of Otan worked together to assemble this tale.

No aspect of the tale that was not corroborated by another distinct source has been entered into the book. Thus, apocryphal texts exist telling alternate stories of the Legend of Jer do exist, though they are generally held in low regard. When sects arise in Otan touting the wisdom of an apocryphal text, they are often met with scorn and ridicule by the common people.

And now, as compiled by the many peoples of Otan; the Legend of Jer.

Genesis

In the beginning, Jer was but a cloud, which swirled about the mighty light of Sol. As it swirled it took shape and divided into halves; the sky and the ground. Those halves split into halves, for the sky was sometimes blue and bright and others dark and mysterious. This was called the day and the night.

The ground split into halves as well, forming the land and the sea. These lands and seas, traveling through day and night came to be known as Jer. It was not long before Jer came to be filled with creatures. There were creatures who walked on the land. There were creatures who swam in the sea. There were even creatures who flew through the sky. Some of these creatures of Jer preferred the day. Some of these creatures preferred the night.

Without cause or reason, a time came when these creatures found themselves among humans. The humans soon gained dominion over all the creatures of Jer. The humans hunted the fur-bearing creatures for their fur. They hunted the large and meaty creatures for their meat. They hunted the creatures on the land and in the sea. No creature was safe from these tribes of humans.

As the tribes gained dominion over creatures, they gained dominion over the land. They learned to sew crops and reap bountiful harvests. They ate and they prospered and their numbers grew. Their tribes grew. Soon they found a need to have dominion over one another.