Ultu Ulla

The Ultu Ulla is a mythical text containing the entire story of Fortis, both past and future, written in cryptic verses. In the absence of any real evidence that the text exists, it is considered to be nothing more than a fairytale by scholars of history.

Summary

Long before the Courts were established, before Valtarus was settled, and even before the mines of Gilfrost were hacked out of the Northern Mountains, there was a powerful sorceress named Ninhursag that dwelt in the region of modern-day Priyanka. She had two brothers, one who was older and ruled the fields of the western continent, and one who was younger and ruled the desert, while she reigned over the mountain ranges.
At that point in time, the mountains were verdant and filled with life. Clear rivers poured out of the rocks and animals filled the lush forests because Ninhursag knew the magic of creating plants and animals. She spent her days transforming her realm into a beautiful garden and formed rocks into statues to ornament it. Sometimes she would visit her older brother, Dimuzi, who was dim-witted but strong. He spent most of his days plowing the soil, tending fields, and building pens for livestock because his magic was destined to give strong roots to civilization.
When Dimuzi was done building the pens for livestock, he asked his sister to create them. She created a sheep, which can give wool, milk, and meat, then asked what else he would like. He was not very bright so he asked for some that were bigger, some with pointy horns, and some with shorter legs. That is why most of our livestock looks more or less the same.
Ninhursag and Dimuzi would often go hunting together, the sorceress slowing their prey with her arrows before her brother dealt the killing blow with his axe. They would invite their younger brother, Namkuzu, to go hunting but his magic was that of deception and denial, so he did not hunt but rather set traps to get his meat. Because of this, Ninhursag and Dimuzi were close, but the younger brother felt that he was left out. Dimuzi was too dim-witted for anyone to blame, but Namkuzu slowly grew to hate his sister and his dark heart led him to believe she was turning his brother against him.
Whenever Ninhursag visited Dimuzi, their laughter would destroy the silence of the western fields and the noises would carry across the desert to Namkuzu's ears. Many nights he had lain awake, cursing their joy. Even her plants and animals were ruining his desert, disturbing the dunes and covering the sand. After seeing his siblings again return triumphantly from their hunt, laughing and singing together, Namkuzu decided something must be done; he would have his revenge on Ninhursag.
Her most prized possession was a book in which the story of every living thing was written, so all the knowledge of what had transpired and all that would come to pass was recorded in it. When she went to create a new form of life, she would refer to Ultu Ulla to determine how it would fit in with the rest. Surely she would grieve if the book were lost, so he determined that he would steal it and hide it where Ninhursag would never be able to find it.
After Dimuzi had finally completed the first house, he decided the world was ready to start civilization, so he asked Ninhursag to create man and woman. She brought Ultu Ulla with her and spent almost an entire day reviewing her previous creations and deciding what role man would play with all the other living things. Very late in the afternoon, Ninhursag was done with studying and had written the entry for man and woman. She laid aside Ultu Ulla and set about to the work of creating mankind. When she was finished, she was extremely tired and fell into a deep sleep while Dimuzi took her creations and showed them how they should tend the animals and fields, and that they should return home before night falls.
When Dimuzi left, Namkuzu saw that this was his opportunity to steal the book. He crept past the sleeping Ninhursag and silently slipped it into his knapsack before slinking back to the desert. When Ninhursag awoke the next morning, she was overcome with grief at the loss of her precious book. Dimuzi helped her search the western continent for it but they could not find Ultu Ulla. Inconsolable, she went to her younger brother to ask if he had seen it but he said he had not. Ninhursag cried and sceamed and tore at her hair, but the book could not be found because the devious Namkuzu had hidden it deep in the desert.
From that day on, Ninhursag ceased creating new life. She stopped caring for her garden and the animals in it. Her beautiful statues became overgrown and the land grieved with here, crying salty tears into the rivers and poisoning the soil of the mountains. Stripped of her purpose, she threw herself into the ocean and the land became angry at the loss, boiling up molten rock and tearing itself apart. Man and woman huddled in their homes in fear but Dimuzi could not help them because he, too, was devastated at the loss of his sister and fell into a deep sleep from which he could not be awoken.
The devious Namkuzu appeared at the door of mankind's home and showed them a protective sigil in exchange for their worship. Thus magic was born from the tragic death of Ninhursag.