Kiwano's Universe
Kiwano's Universe is a set of short stories writen by Père Simón that depict the creation of the Material Plane, Reveri, the first humans, and more.
Long, long ago, when Kiwano was a young man, with not even a sign of stubble on his chin, he wandered the cosmos, alone and blind. He had nothing but his thoughts and the empty darkness of space. Eventually, Kiwano grew tired of this lonesome, quiet existence. Gathering his strength, he sat, and plucked a hair from his head. Between the titan’s large, deft hands, he used the hair to form a small glowing ball. It lit up his face, and for the first time, Kiwano saw his own hands. Just as he began to smile at it, the orb quickly dimmed to a twinkle. The young god’s expression soured at his first creation and he tossed it aside. Kiwano began the process again, plucking a hair, turning it into a brilliantly glowing pearl that quickly diminished, and throwing it with the first. He did this over and over, growing more and more frustrated with his amateur work until he stood up and kicked the giant heap, shouting in anger as the little orbs flew in all directions. They stuck in place around him, scattered light in a fixed matrix of dots, and filled Kiwano’s eyes with the reflections of thousands of stars.
Having seen light for the very first time, Kiwano craved more. His eyes adjusted to the dimness of the stars and wished to see more of himself in a brighter glow. In his first attempt, he took three stars, and bound them together with a hair from his head. It quickly turned cold and pale, and ceased to glow. Kiwano scoffed and tried again, refusing to let the failure get him down. This time, gathering twelve of the brightest stars he could find, he bound them together with a golden thread from his cloak. In his rugged hands, was a light that now blinded him and blocked out the radiance of all the other stars. It burned the hairs on his arms and he placed it high in the air, feeling its warmth. It was then that he saw the failed light start to shine. It reflected the light from the sun and well, it was charming in its own way. The god smiled as he placed the moon across from the sun, and again found joy in what he thought was a mistake.
This, of course, was not enough for the titan. He could only watch the stars, sun, and moon glitter for so long before he grew tired of them, lonely even. He thought, perhaps, there should be something else here, something he could care for. Kiwano wandered the star field, looking for the perfect spot to put his newest project. This little thing he would call life. Finally, he found a place where he noticed the stars began to line up in spots all around him. The brightest ones formed shapes that inspired the god. Taking the sun and moon with him, Kiwano began his work. This time, he knew a single hair would not be nearly enough. And by now, Kiwano had grown a beard. He took a few beard hairs, along with some fibers from his tunic, and made a stretch of land. He kept weaving and weaving, until he had a large, soft plain. It was perfect. The god stepped onto it, feeling the new ground under his feet and looking out at the endless field of creamy white, lit up by the sun and moon. This, he thought, could be a lovely place to live. So Kiwano waved his hand over the ground, attempting to grow grass, only to watch it wither as soon as it sprouted. Once again he grew disappointed. How unfortunate that his other creations couldn’t share this beautiful place. At least he could watch over them from up here. From Reveri. This was not the time to dwell on that however. He was still determined to give life a place to flourish. Again, he sat down, took one of the stars, and started weaving around it. He wove for ages, stitching pieces of land together for what must’ve been decades until the last plate was in place. His hands were tired from weaving Reveri, and only grew more so as he went, so the stitchwork was messy. The land rose and fell, split in places, some holes even showed the warm glow of the star at the center. Kiwano was unsure of the planet, but once again tested it by sprouting grass. The god was proud to see it took, despite the imperfect land. Soon, he filled all the land with grass, placing fresh water in ponds and lakes for the grass to drink. By now, his hands were mangled and his fingernails bled from the effort of weaving the world. He knew he wouldn’t be able to weave all the animals with the state of his hands. So, taking the metal from the earth, he formed a mighty hammer. With this, he forged every creature that walked, flew, and swam. He pounded on them with the hammer, thus creating the heartbeats that would echo his efforts for the rest of their lives. The warmth within creatures’ bodies today is the heat leftover from when they were forged.
As he continued to work, he created a smaller being, shaped vaguely like himself. Immediately after, he made a mate to go with the first. He imbued life into the two figures with his hammer and smiled as they looked at each other, and then at Kiwano, full of curiosity. He could feel something special with these two. A potential much greater than any of the other creatures. Perhaps he was being a little vain, seeing as they looked quite a bit like him in comparison, but he felt that these two could be the beginning of something beautiful. The god bent down and placed a hand on the man’s shoulder. “Your name is Ficus,” he said, then placed a hand on the woman’s shoulder, “and yours is Malory, my dear.” “Um… Who you?” Malory asked, squinting up at her creator. “My name is Kiwano. I am the god who created you. This world is yours to explore.” He stood up straight and gestured to the landscape. The couple looked at each other and squinted as they looked into the blinding sunlight. Noticing this, Kiwano waved his hand up at the sky, blocking the sun with clouds. “Ah! Better!” Ficus nodded and looked over to Malory, smiling and reaching for her hand. “Better to see Malory…” Malory giggled. “Better to see Ficus too…” Ficus guided Malory away from their creator, off to explore the expansive landscape.
Satisfied with his work on Earth, Kiwano left the humans to work on his palace, now equipped with his hammer of creation. He went into the heart of Reveri, lifted his hammer into the air, and slammed it into the ground with such force that the shockwave turned solid and formed a dome around him. He continued to build inside this dome, forging tall Colonnades and fountains around him. Finally, Kiwano found himself wanting to follow the lives of Malory and Ficus. So, he formed a throne for himself, and decided that from now on, anything that happened between the humans would be recorded on this Throne of Time. Right now it was blank, except for the shifting forms of Malory and Ficus holding hands. From then on, he watched them grow closer, fall in love, and make more humans. Eventually, their descendants took over and filled the throne with ever-moving carvings that follow all of our lives to this very day.
The Stars
Long, long ago, when Kiwano was a young man, with not even a sign of stubble on his chin, he wandered the cosmos, alone and blind. He had nothing but his thoughts and the empty darkness of space. Eventually, Kiwano grew tired of this lonesome, quiet existence. Gathering his strength, he sat, and plucked a hair from his head. Between the titan’s large, deft hands, he used the hair to form a small glowing ball. It lit up his face, and for the first time, Kiwano saw his own hands. Just as he began to smile at it, the orb quickly dimmed to a twinkle. The young god’s expression soured at his first creation and he tossed it aside. Kiwano began the process again, plucking a hair, turning it into a brilliantly glowing pearl that quickly diminished, and throwing it with the first. He did this over and over, growing more and more frustrated with his amateur work until he stood up and kicked the giant heap, shouting in anger as the little orbs flew in all directions. They stuck in place around him, scattered light in a fixed matrix of dots, and filled Kiwano’s eyes with the reflections of thousands of stars.
The Moon And Sun
Having seen light for the very first time, Kiwano craved more. His eyes adjusted to the dimness of the stars and wished to see more of himself in a brighter glow. In his first attempt, he took three stars, and bound them together with a hair from his head. It quickly turned cold and pale, and ceased to glow. Kiwano scoffed and tried again, refusing to let the failure get him down. This time, gathering twelve of the brightest stars he could find, he bound them together with a golden thread from his cloak. In his rugged hands, was a light that now blinded him and blocked out the radiance of all the other stars. It burned the hairs on his arms and he placed it high in the air, feeling its warmth. It was then that he saw the failed light start to shine. It reflected the light from the sun and well, it was charming in its own way. The god smiled as he placed the moon across from the sun, and again found joy in what he thought was a mistake.
Reveri And The Planet
This, of course, was not enough for the titan. He could only watch the stars, sun, and moon glitter for so long before he grew tired of them, lonely even. He thought, perhaps, there should be something else here, something he could care for. Kiwano wandered the star field, looking for the perfect spot to put his newest project. This little thing he would call life. Finally, he found a place where he noticed the stars began to line up in spots all around him. The brightest ones formed shapes that inspired the god. Taking the sun and moon with him, Kiwano began his work. This time, he knew a single hair would not be nearly enough. And by now, Kiwano had grown a beard. He took a few beard hairs, along with some fibers from his tunic, and made a stretch of land. He kept weaving and weaving, until he had a large, soft plain. It was perfect. The god stepped onto it, feeling the new ground under his feet and looking out at the endless field of creamy white, lit up by the sun and moon. This, he thought, could be a lovely place to live. So Kiwano waved his hand over the ground, attempting to grow grass, only to watch it wither as soon as it sprouted. Once again he grew disappointed. How unfortunate that his other creations couldn’t share this beautiful place. At least he could watch over them from up here. From Reveri. This was not the time to dwell on that however. He was still determined to give life a place to flourish. Again, he sat down, took one of the stars, and started weaving around it. He wove for ages, stitching pieces of land together for what must’ve been decades until the last plate was in place. His hands were tired from weaving Reveri, and only grew more so as he went, so the stitchwork was messy. The land rose and fell, split in places, some holes even showed the warm glow of the star at the center. Kiwano was unsure of the planet, but once again tested it by sprouting grass. The god was proud to see it took, despite the imperfect land. Soon, he filled all the land with grass, placing fresh water in ponds and lakes for the grass to drink. By now, his hands were mangled and his fingernails bled from the effort of weaving the world. He knew he wouldn’t be able to weave all the animals with the state of his hands. So, taking the metal from the earth, he formed a mighty hammer. With this, he forged every creature that walked, flew, and swam. He pounded on them with the hammer, thus creating the heartbeats that would echo his efforts for the rest of their lives. The warmth within creatures’ bodies today is the heat leftover from when they were forged.
Humanity
As he continued to work, he created a smaller being, shaped vaguely like himself. Immediately after, he made a mate to go with the first. He imbued life into the two figures with his hammer and smiled as they looked at each other, and then at Kiwano, full of curiosity. He could feel something special with these two. A potential much greater than any of the other creatures. Perhaps he was being a little vain, seeing as they looked quite a bit like him in comparison, but he felt that these two could be the beginning of something beautiful. The god bent down and placed a hand on the man’s shoulder. “Your name is Ficus,” he said, then placed a hand on the woman’s shoulder, “and yours is Malory, my dear.” “Um… Who you?” Malory asked, squinting up at her creator. “My name is Kiwano. I am the god who created you. This world is yours to explore.” He stood up straight and gestured to the landscape. The couple looked at each other and squinted as they looked into the blinding sunlight. Noticing this, Kiwano waved his hand up at the sky, blocking the sun with clouds. “Ah! Better!” Ficus nodded and looked over to Malory, smiling and reaching for her hand. “Better to see Malory…” Malory giggled. “Better to see Ficus too…” Ficus guided Malory away from their creator, off to explore the expansive landscape.
Mesocarp
Satisfied with his work on Earth, Kiwano left the humans to work on his palace, now equipped with his hammer of creation. He went into the heart of Reveri, lifted his hammer into the air, and slammed it into the ground with such force that the shockwave turned solid and formed a dome around him. He continued to build inside this dome, forging tall Colonnades and fountains around him. Finally, Kiwano found himself wanting to follow the lives of Malory and Ficus. So, he formed a throne for himself, and decided that from now on, anything that happened between the humans would be recorded on this Throne of Time. Right now it was blank, except for the shifting forms of Malory and Ficus holding hands. From then on, he watched them grow closer, fall in love, and make more humans. Eventually, their descendants took over and filled the throne with ever-moving carvings that follow all of our lives to this very day.
— Written by Père Simón D’Speer, after many years of meditation and prayer, and a deep connection to him, I feel confident that I have transcribed our lord Kiwano’s experiences
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
Comments