A Story of Beginnings - Ch. 2 - On Matters of Beginnings and Ends

Everything continued, unchanging. Like cogs in a clock. The guardians moved in motion with the animals, the elements, the world, and all other things contained within. However, that was all that was and all that would be; and so the Giver and Taker grew complacent. The work was wonderful and warranted their attention for eons, but surely there was more...Such was the conflicting nature of purpose. Yet soon they were joined. Guided by the string of lights and wonderful tapestries, another entity was drawn to the Giver's masterpiece and viewed with intense fascination. Eventually they broke the silence as all three watched on.

"This creation is wonderful, but there must be a beginning. There must be a melody and a transition of things. There must be, being." - The Beginning

Unfortunately the initial two did not understand...Their existence was simple in nature, and only recently made more complex by a need to progress. Like them, this being found their calling, and came to scatter their essence over the globe, and soon consciousness was formed and identity was shaped.

"These will watch after the woods and its creatures, of which there are many. They will reproduce with creatures of the same. They will tell stories and have wonder. You will see them feel, and from these feelings, they will grow."
And so they watched, fascinated by the new developments. It was true. The guardians could now feel the sting of the cold and of fire. They laughed, sang, courted one another, felt anger, constructed crude homes and formed primitive societies. Yet things grew quickly problematic. Even when crushed by nature, they continued to exist in never ending pain. A head separated from the body felt pain on both halves and never died. What's worse is the natural propensity for conflict. Elementals roamed the earth, helping the guardians by keeping watch over their respective domains, but fire elementals scorched everything it touched, resulting in trees that burned eternally without turning to ash, creating forest fires that burned most of the guardians inside, yet they could not die, and instead would burn until the flame went out. Water elementals flooded the plains and many animals lived in misery as their lungs filled with water.
"A simple fix."
The new entity, better known as 'The Beginning', stated, and with the help of the Giver, smaller planes were formed. Effectively these were copies of the current world but made to exist on a separate level of being, and these planes were used as ways to file and organize creatures that could not live in harmony. Fire elementals were placed on this fire plane. Earth elementals on an earth plane, so on and so forth, leaving the guardians, animals, and rest of the natural world, the latter of which had been changed by the elementals in their wake. A desert was created when the wardens of earth attempted to clean the destruction caused by fire. A swamp when water elementals trampled over earth, so on and so forth.
Yet this only fixed a small problem. Suffering still existed and was mostly eternal. Nothing died, but things were born. Overpopulation was rapidly approaching, as empty space was a luxury and nearly impossible to find.

"This is not sustainable..."

Came a voice from the void. A fourth entity and one who had been standing by to view, but had made no motion to intervene. Through their studious watch they took notes. Things had to change. There had to be an end.
"These creatures cannot be placed on separate planes. This must be handled on the same level of existence."
And so, with a sweep of their hand, essence began to be pulled from the planet. Tightly condensed populations were given breathing room as the eldest were quickly aged and their hearts ceased to beat. The suffering guardians, no longer having access to their limbs, lungs, or other organs, were spared their agony by the mercy of death, and their corpses quickly turned to essence, characterized by dust, which was whisked away back to the void where it came from. Trees began to wither and rot.

"Now these creatures can value, for what is there to value if everything is forever?" -The End

To ensure this was maintained, the animals and guardians were divided. There would be animals that would be prolific and feast on the land, while other animals would act as predators. The Beginning shaped their section of guardians to have soft peach skin, able to be molded by the sun, and with ears pointed towards the sky - A symbol of things growing upward. These beings would foster culture and new beginnings, helping shepherd animals and plants alike. The guardians shaped by The End would have their skin colored from hues of green and brown to symbolize the ground and grass that creatures and plants would rot into. They fostered a need for destruction and death, and while not mindless brutes, they acted more on violence, attuned to helping bring things to an end.
For billions of years the world was maintained. The two guardian species lived, fought, loved, and died, just as the animals had. They had developed spoken word and began to name themselves. The beings who protected the plants, trees, animals, and all other life titled themselves as 'Elfeshalinites', then 'Elfeshals', and then shortened to 'Elf' until that was their final choice. They were an Elf, or Elves as the plural. The remaining guardians, meant to create conflict and help maintain a balance of life and death through the use of war and consumption communicated primarily through grunts and warcries. Although they formed tribes and families and lives, their inner nature to conquer meant they did not cultivate culture and richness as the Elves, and thus they lived in simple means, even down to their language, and thus simply referred to one another in a grunting 'Orc'. They identified thusly as 'Orcs', and the Orcs and Elves lived in strife, but relative peace in their respective regions.
Balance was slowly being restored.

Summary

After eons, The Giver and The Taker are joined by The Beginning, another entity that found purpose, and their creation is given life. Overpopulation and a lack of an end creates several problems so realms are formed to house certain creations. The final entity, The End, joins and helps shape the end for creatures and plants. The Beginning and The End divide the sentient beings and balance is slowly restored.

Date of Setting

In the very beginning of Ayn.