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In ages long past, when our planet was naught but a barren chunk of rock, the twin deities of Chaos and Order fought each other in the sky. Their battle was long and unwinnable, for they so evenly matched each other that neither could gain the victory they so desperately sought. Their fighting bathed our world in flames and destruction, keeping it sterile, as they danced their path of flames across the skies. After eons of fighting, they reached a stalemate, each with his blade at the other's throat. They knew that neither could kill the other without dying himself, so they stood there, locked motionless. Solus, god of order, seemed to have an advantage though. By his nature, he was still, calm, and he remained motionless without any apparent effort. Belluosis, god of chaos, fought hard to keep his blade at his enemy's neck, but his nature was capricious and agitated. He could not go long without moving, and the strain of remaining unchanging for so long quickly began to tell. Belluosus knew that his brother could wait far longer than he could, and both brothers knew he need not wait much longer. In the language of the gods, he spoke to his brother.

Brother, why do we fight?

We fight because we have always done so. I am order, and you are chaos. We cannot exist together.

You say that we cannot exist together, but are we not doing so now? Straighten your back and rest a moment, we have fought long enough to know that neither of us can win.

I do not trust that this is not one of your tricks.

Regardless of his statement, Solus backed up several paces before finally standing up straight and letting his guard down.

For ages, we have fought, yet nothing has changed.

So it is, and so it should be. I am happy without change, that we may continue on without pause.

But we have done NOTHING. Surely our existence must mean more to you than petty combat.

Loath as he was to accept his brother's words, they rang with truth. Though Solus hated change, he did feel like part of him was missing. Like there was some duty he had not and could not fulfill. Belluosus took his brother's silence as the answer it was and pushed forwards.

Look at this world between us. Look at its barren plains and rocky deserts. Would it not look wonderful filled with life? Let us fill it together. Let us create something rather than simply destroy.

Solus looked down upon the world between them and felt that his brother was right. The empty world was ugly, but it would indeed be beautiful if brought to life.

You speak the truth. Let us leave our daggers in the heavens and descend to this worlds surface, that we may create something beautiful.

The gods left their weapons in the heavens where they shone brightly, lending light for the brothers to work. The first thing they did was fill the rock's great valleys with oceans of clean water, to clearly separate the land. On his half of the world, Solus created vast fields of ice. He painted a masterpiece of unmoving beauty, ethereal grace locked in a frozen embrace. It was a land that would never know change; It was frozen in its beauty for eternity. When he was done, he stepped back to admire his work.

On his half, Belluosus created a great desert, a vast continent of constantly shifting sands and raging storms. It was a land of constant upheavals, where the shape and form of the ground was constantly changed by the ever changing wind-born sands. It was a land that could never know peace; Chaotic storms danced with beautiful precision, endlessly drawing and re-drawing lines in the sand. When he was done, he stepped back to admire his work.

Brother, I have done as you suggested and have filled this half of the planet with beauty.

Likewise, I too have filled my half with beauty. Let us each gaze upon the other's work.

They returned to their places in the heavens and reclaimed their shining weapons. Slowly, one step at a time, they edged around the planet so that they could see what the other had done. Solus gazed upon the shifting deserts, and though he hated the chaos they created, he could not deny that there was an elegance that the storms lent to the sand. Likewise, Belluosus saw the unchanging fields of ice, and though he detested their immobility, he grudgingly admitted to himself that there was a serenity in stillness that his sands could not capture. Upon viewing the other's creation, each became less certain of the beauty of his own. Solus saw that his ice fields would not, could not change, and though they were beautiful, they were not perfect, and they could never be improved. Likewise, Belluosus saw that his sands never stayed in one place long enough for him to truly enjoy the beauty they had created. They constantly rushed off to re-work the landscape. Each looked upon what he had made and was dissatisfied.

Brother, though this world is beautiful.. We have created our wonder, and enjoyed it, but I fear we must soon return to our struggle.

Brother, I agree with you that this world is beautiful, but it is badly flawed, and our work is not yet done. I am dissatisfied with what I have created, and I sense that you are too. Let us begin again, but this time, let us work together. I shall use my chaos to create change, and you shall use your stillness to temper it.

I have humored you once, and will do so again. Let us create Life together.

With a single sweep of their daggers, they removed the desert and the ice, rending the world back to rocks and clean oceans.

Let us create soft soil, that Life need not cut its heels on sharp stone.

Let us create many animals so that Life may have sustenance.

Let us create many plants, that the animals may eat, and that Life may be sheltered.

Let the water flow in cycle. My heat shall raise it from the oceans and your cold shall return it to the ground, that it may nourish all who live there.

Together, they filled the world: with plants and animals, crystal caves and great mountains, Calm oceans and stormy seas. They then met in the center of the world's landmass to create sentient life. They agreed that it should walk on two legs. They agreed that it needed mobile hands to craft tools and wield weapons. More than that though, they could not decide. Opposite as they were, each brother wanted something different, and just when they would reach a compromise on one thing, Belluosus would change his mind about something they'd already decided. Eventually, Solus grew frustrated.

Enough. You cannot satisfy yourself on any one thing long enough to finish it. This is what we will do. Let us Cleave this land in half and separate it with great oceans, so that they may be separate. We will create Life separately, we cannot agree on doing it together.

Belluosus saw the logic behind this, and so with their mighty weapons, they cleaved the land itself in half, and great oceans rushed to fill the void between. Solus went immediately to his land and began to create what would be the first of the Solusian people, and he crafted them with his favorite of the animals in mind. He gave them strong, flexible scales so that they might have armor against wild beasts. He gave them sharp fangs and nimble claws, that they might defend themselves. He gave them keen senses and sharp eyes. As they took form, he looked at them and felt that something was missing. Acting on a whim, he gave them large leathery wings not unlike what many bats had. They were strong and fast and graceful. They could fight like savage beasts with fang and claw, but also had the capacity to create tools and weapons, and elevate themselves above the beasts. He created many tribes across his land, and separated them by the markings and colorings of their scales. He taught them how to hunt, and how to till fields to raise crops. He taught them how to carve and cut wood, and how to turn hide into leather. Most importantly he taught them how to fight.

He taught them of the glories of war and honorable combat, and told them of the paradise that awaited any who lived a warrior's life or died a warrior's death. After all of this, he looked down on what he had done and was happy. His people would easily be able to survive, and the different tribes quickly began to fight with one another, eager for battle and glory. Thus satisfied with all he had done, he ventured to Belluosus's continent to see what his brother had made.

Just as when the brothers had been trying to work together, Belluosus could not make up his mind long enough to create a single, well made life. Instead he crafted many different kinds, dozens of sentient races each based off of a different animal: almost every species the brothers had created had a sentient counterpart. Many were weak, and they soon died. Some were strong, and they managed to live on without their god's guidance. When Solus arrived on his brother's continent, he found Belluosus in an empty glade, staring forlornly into the distance.

Brother, I have failed.

By what token have you failed?

I did too much, too fast. I have split my strength over dozens of different creatures, and now I have nothing left.

This information surprised Solus greatly. Though he had made life of his own, he had not contemplated actually giving it his power.

Are you too weak, then, to return to the sky to battle with me?

I am unsure if I may even return at all. Even if I return to the sky, surely you could fell me with a single blow.

You have strength enough yet. Return to our home in the sky, and I will contemplate what to do.

Moving slowly, as if every inch pained him, Belluosus returned to the sky. He still burned with light and heat, but his soul was all but spent. Solus looked with pity upon his brother, and wondered what he could do. The brothers lived for the glory of battle, yet Belluosus could not even move from his place in the sky. Solus returned to his continent and crafted a forest glade while he worried about what to do. He allowed his work to consume him, and he poured all of his attention into the task, until he had finished. The result was unlike anything else on the entire planet. The trees overhead wove their branches together to create a roof, and soft water from a hillside babbled quietly over rocks. He felt drained, almost wounded by the event and he realized that he had done what his brother had. The clearing in the forest was infused with a part of his soul.

He could not think of any way to heal his brother, and he wondered if such a method was even possible, so instead of healing Belluosus, he wounded himself. He gathered up all the might of his soul and flung it like a net over the entire land he'd created, and the fragments of his spirit found homes within the hearts of the dragon's he'd made. With the last of his strength, he managed to remove himself from the surface of the planet, arriving in a spot in the sky exactly opposite his brother, with the planet between them. With his last breath, he named the planet "Paenitentia." With his task done, he fell into a deep sleep much like his brother. His blue light shone down on Paen, like his brother, but his light shone cold, without the searing heat his brother had.

The scattered splinters of Belluosus's spirit manifested among his various species as creativity and ingenuity, which would in turn lead them to great inventions and technologies.

The focused fragments of Solus's spirit manifested among his dragons as pieces of his power. Like him, they could shape the world to their will with nothing more than a thought.

This is the story of our creation, this is the history of our world. Every warrior is born with a new fragment of his god's power, and when a warrior dies, his soul rejoins the wounded gods in the sky. Those who die in battle, their souls shine bright, and they help our gods to heal. Those who die as cowards are tainted, unworthy, and they are locked beneath Paenitentia's cold rock to fester and rot for an eternity. Be brave, young warriors. Fight for yourself, fight for your families, and fight for your tribe, but most importantly, fight and die so that our gods may heal.