It was a small house with shabby walls and simple, wooden doors and shutters. A small chimney decorated the roof, and a small barn was built at one side of the building.
The house had three rooms within: One big room that served as living room, dining room and kitchen, and two additional rooms with beds. The smaller bedroom had only one adult-sized bed within.
The other bedroom, on the other hand... there were no less than 9 child-sized beds within.
In every single one of those beds, a little child was lying, underneath its blanket and waiting for their nanny, as she gave every single one of them a good-night kiss.
The only one to cringe when the adult, green-haired woman tried to give him a kiss was the sole boy sleeping in the room.
"Aw, what's the matter, Mamoru?" the nanny snickered. "Aren't you gonna give me a good-night kiss as well?"
"Don't wanna..." the dark-haired boy mumbled as he hid his face in his pillow.
In the bed that was standing next to his, the small, blonde girl with the two pigtails giggled. "Awww, Mamo-chan's afraid from Setsuna's kiss?"
"Now, now, Usagi," Setsuna chuckled. "Don't tease the poor boy." She stood up. "Well, I hope you're all good children now and sleep until the light of Praios will rise again tomorrow morning..."
"Aw, don't go just yet," the blue-haired girl whined. "Can't you tell us a story before we go to sleep?"
"Yeah, a story!" her brunette, pony-tailed friend shouted in excitement. "With knights, princesses and evil dragons."
"No," the raven-haired girl protested. "With servants of Hesinde, who defeat the bad black mages in magical combat."
"No, even better," the blonde with the short hair yelled. "How the soldiers of the king fight the barbaric Orcs."
"Nooo, that would be to scary," her turquoise-haired friend that was lying in the bed next to her shook her head.
"I've got an even better idea," Setsuna smirked. "Why don't I just tell you the story of how this world came to be..."
"YAAAAYY!" almost every child in the room shouted. "The story of Sumu and Los!"
"Yes, exactly!" Setsuna nodded as she sat down on a stool, which she pulled in the middle of the room. "The story of Sumu and Los..."
She coughed.
"Once upon a time, there was nothing but the emptiness of space... and Los, the very first god, ruled over everything, for he was everything.
But then, his gaze fell upon the ancestral titaness Sumu, who was born out of herself."
Now, Setsuna added a hint of drama to her voice. "The first god got enraged, for there shouldn't exist anything next to him, and so he attacked Sumu.
The two of them fought a long time, but neither could defeat the other, for they were equally strong.
But then, Los managed to strike down Sumu. Without making any sound, the titaness fell down to the god's body, dead. The eternal Los gloated in his victory, but soon afterwards, he felt sad and mourned over Sumu's death. The tears of Los fell down, and as soon as they touched Sumu's body, they turned into the humans and all living creatures on Aventuria.
"Wow!" the raven-haired girl said. "All the living creatures?"
"Yes, all of them!" Setsuna smiled. "Us humans, and the grumpy dwarves as well as the mysterious elves... but also the tricky goblins and the brutal orcs, as well as all the animals living out there...
Sumu had managed to struck Los one time, however, and the blood droplets that fell down from his wound turned into the 12 gods we know about."
At the same time, the blood that came out of Sumu's body gave birth to her own children, the Giants and the Dragons. Sumu's own body turned into a whole new world, the world we are inhabiting today: Aventuria!
Because Los was feeling guilty for what he did, he swore never to directly interfere with life on Sumu's body again, and he instructed his children, the 12 gods, to watch over Aventuria in his place."
The 9 children had listened in awe.
Setsuna smiled. "Now, can anyone of you tell me the names of the 12 gods?"
"I can, I can!" the long-haired blonde with the red bow jumped up and down in her bed. "Um... there's Praios, and the strong Rondra, and Phex, and... oh yeah, Raya!"
The blue-haired girl giggled. "Silly! You mean Rahja, not Raya!"
"Oh..." her blonde friend blushed. "Of course, I knew that..."
"Seriously..." the pony-tailed brunette snickered. "You'd think that you should know the goddess in which month you were born, Minako..."
"All right, children," Setsuna spoke up. "Let's make a little game: I tell you the names of the gods in the corrects order of their months, and you tell me their functions. Okay?"
Seeing that they all nodded, Setsuna started: "All right... let's begin with our lord, Praios!"
"That's easy!" the boy grumbled. "Praios is the god of the sun, of justice and order."
"Very good, Mamoru," Setsuna nodded proudly. "And can you tell me about his symbolic animal?"
"Um... yeah, that's easy, it's... ummm..."
The girl with the twin pigtails giggled again. "It's the Griffin, everyone knows that."
"You're right, Usagi, the noble Griffin is the animal of Praios. Like the sun wanders over the sky every day, the Griffins soar through the clouds and keep their keen eyes on any evil.
Okay, let's move on... The next goddess is Rondra. Haruka, what do you know about her? After all, you have been born in her month."
"Rondra is the coolest!" Haruka exclaimed. "She has her sword and her cool chariot and throws thunder at every demon she sees. And her animal is the grrreat lioness... right?"
"Correct! Rondra, goddess of bravery and honor, of the honorable duel and swordmanship, but also of thunder. And her husband... who can tell me about Efferd?"
Michiru, who was lying right next to Haruka, smiled. "Efferd is the god of the ocean and the sea. He controls wind and rain, only the thunder is thrown by his wife. And his holy animal is the dolphin."
"Of course, you are right, Michiru! All the fishermen call upon Efferd whenever they pray for a good catch.
Now... I probably don't have to tell you about Travia, do I? The gentle mother Travia, who looks over our homes and over every married couple as well."
"Uh... isn't her animal the goose?" Ami asked.
"Correct, Ami! Okay... Hotaru, what can you tell us about the god of your birth month?"
The purple-haired girl, who was the youngest in the room, smiled shyly. "Boron is the silent one... The god of sleep... and death."
The other shuddered. "Brrrr..." Usagi grimaced. "He's a nasty one..."
"Now, now, Usagi..." Setsuna scolded. "He's just as important as bright and righteous Praios. Boron doesn't only guide the dead in their way to the afterlife, he also grants you the much deserved sleep after a day of heavy work. And you like his favorite animal, do you, Hotaru-chan?"
Hotaru smiled. "Yes... the raven."
"Yeah, I like those too," Rei nodded. "So Boron can't be all bad."
"I know who the next one is," Minako suddenly grinned. "It's the goddess in whose month you were born, right, Setsuna?"
Setsuna had to smirk. "Right, Minako! Hesinde... goddess of wisdom and science - my own patron. She rules over magic, the elements, as well as over the arts and anything mankind has created. Her holy animal is the snake."
"Creepy and slithery," Makoto giggled, and the others had to laugh as well.
"Right after Hesinde comes the most cold month of the year... the month of Firun. You have been born in that month, right, Ami?"
"Um... yes," the blue-haired girl nodded. "He's the god of winter, the white hunter of the north. His animal is the white bear..."
"All hunters pray to Firun for a good hunt," Setsuna nodded. "But, little Ami has been born early in the winter, close to Hesinde's month... That probably explains why she is as eager for knowledge as I am."
She looked into Ami's crystal blue eyes. "I suppose you have more in common with Firun's daughter, the gentle Ifirn... She's not as grim as her cold father, you know?"
She coughed. "But let's not digress and stay with the 12 main gods for now... Okay, has anyone of you ever heard of Tsa, the young goddess?"
The children looked at each other, before Usagi meekly raised her finger. "Um, isn't she supposed to be the 'reincarnating one' or something like that?"
"Well, I admit there aren't many followers of Tsa, so I don't blame you for not knowing much about her... Tsa, you know, is the goddess of rejuvenation and rebirth... Whenever she feels like a soul has deserved a second chance, she goes to the silent Boron and pleads with him. And if Boron agrees, he gives that soul to Tsa, so she can help that soul with its reincarnation, to be reborn in the world. And so, as Tsa helps to start everything anew, her sacred animal is the lizard, who more than often sheds its skin."
The girls had listened intently, eager to hear more about the gods.
"Now, how many gods are left, kids?" Setsuna asked.
"FOUR!" most of them shouted, although Hotaru got confused and said 'five'.
"Four, exactly. Fine then, let's move on to the god of the moon..."
Usagi clapped her hands. "That's mine! I've been born in his month. I can tell you everything!"
Setsuna smiled and nodded, as if she was going to say: 'Go on, tell us!'
"Um, his name is Phex, and he is called the god of thieves... but he is not only that, he is also the god of the merchants, of the mist and the moon. And his animal is the fox."
Rei snickered. "Figures that Usagi's birth god would be such a sneak..."
"Heeeyyyy!" Usagi shouted angrily. "Don't call him that! He only takes from those who don't deserve what they have."
"Well, many have said that Phex is a belligerent god," Setsuna admitted. "He longs to be the god of the mist... which Efferd is. And he longs to be the god of the night... which Boron is. But in the end, Phex is one of the gods that perhaps loves the humans more than his siblings."
"Can we go on now?" Makoto whined impatiently. "My goddess is next, you know?"
"Oh, then why don't you tell us about her, Makoto?" Setsuna asked. "Tell us about Peraine, the tenth goddess..."
"Well, she is the goddess of plants and arg... archi... agriculture. She watches over the farmer's crops, but also over the trees in the forest. And her animal is the stork."
"Ah, but she's not as awesome as my birth god," Rei grinned smugly. "Ingerimm is the god of fire and smithery, of the mountains and mining."
"And what's Ingerimm's sacred animal, Rei?" Setsuna asked.
"Well, it is... um, it is... it is... wait, it's on the top of my tongue..."
Setsuna shook her head. "Rei... Ingerimm is the only god NOT to have a sacred animal... but surely you knew that, did you?"
"N-n-not?" Rei stuttered. "But w-why?"
Makoto grinned. "Hah, your 'awesome' god doesn't even have a sacred animal. Some god he is!"
"Makoto you shouldn't anger any god," Setsuna scolded her. "Even if he has no sacred animal, he may very well hear you."
Makoto cowered underneath her blanket. "Sorry, Setsuna..."
"Now, for the final one... Minako, you're the last one for today. Tell us about your goddess!"
Minako nodded while smiling widely. "Raya... I mean, Rahja is the most beautiful of them all. While Travia watches over married couples, Rahja is the true goddess of love. She makes sure that every woman gets her man... she also likes to drink and dance, and her animal is the horse."
"Not just the horse, Maniko," Setsuna smirked. "The fiery mare. And yes, it's thanks to Rahja that people fall in love with each other, but she's also the goddess of joy and delight."
"If the gods are so different from each other, don't they often fight?" Haruka wanted to know.
"Well, they argue quite often, that's true," Setsuna nodded. "But still, they know they have to get along with each other, so they can protect all of the living beings on Aventuria - the humans, the dwarves, the elves, the animals and even the brutal Orcs - from the demons of hell... and from the 13th god: The Nameless One!"
The girls shivered in their beds. "I don't wanna hear about HIM," Ami shuddered.
"And you won't! It's very late anyway, so I suggest you all close your eyes now and go to sleep."
A chorus of 'awww' was the answer, but Setsuna didn't want to take 'no' for an answer, and soon the 9 kids were huddled underneath their blankets.
"G'night, Setsuna," they yawned.
Setsuna looked one final time into the room before closing the door. "Good night, little ones... and sweet dreams!"
----
As she closed the door to the children's bedroom behind her, Setsuna gave off a small sigh.
The black cat that was lying on the wooden table in the middle of the main room raised her head. "So you told them about how this world came to be, right?" she asked.
Setsuna nodded. "Yes, Luna. I know a normal resident of this world wouldn't normally know as much as I have told them, but... we want them to be prepared for what's waiting for them, once they are grown up."
"And..." Luna sat up. "Didn't Mamoru ask one single time about the month he was born in?"
"No, he didn't... it would have been difficult to explain, I know," the green-haired woman sighed as she sat down at the table. "He will probably find out one day, you know that, do you?"
"I know," Luna replied. "But we have to delay that day as much as we can... who knows what he's going to do as soon as he realizes that he's not born in one of the 12 months, but..."
"During the days of the Nameless One..." Setsuna whispered.
Read the comments on this episode
See other episodes by Shritistrang
(Posted Wed, 17 Jan 2007 15:27)
Questions? Problems? Suggestions?
Send a mail to addventure@bast-enterprises.de
or use the contact form.
らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
All other series and their characters are © by their respective creators or owners. No claims of ownership of these characters are implied by the authors of this Addventure, or should be inferred.
The Anime Addventure is a non-profit site.