The First Story
Na-Maruk, Na-Rashil, and Na-Yatam
- Back before people, before the world, before day and night, there were only the Anem and the greatest of the Anem was one called Na-Maruk who ruled over all.
- Then Na-Rashil, who was jealous of Na-Maruk's power, tried to overthrow him.
- They wrestled for many eons until finally Na-Rashil became tired and was beaten.
- Na-Maruk was not satisfied with winning though, for Na-Rashil might decide to attack him again, so he filled Na-Rashil's stomach with dirt and stones and threw him into the Great Ocean.
- Now the Great Ocean lay at the center of Anemim, and it was a bitterly cold and empty place where none of the Anem ever went.
- Na-Rashil lay at its bottom, unable to move or breathe but also unable to die.
- After a long time the dirt in Na-Rashil's stomach made some gas, and he blew up like a baloon.
- Na-Rashil grew bigger and bigger until he filled the whole of the Great Ocean, and then he threw up the stones and the dirt and the gas and was flung free.
- He went off to hide and to recover, not realizing that the stones and the dirt and the gas had become the whole of creation.
- The whole of creation had taken its character from Na-Rashil, so it was dark and cold and no one paid any attention to it for a very long time.
- Then Na-Maruk came back to the Great Ocean to check on Na-Rashil and found the whole of creation there instead.
- Na-Maruk was curious, so he played with the whole of creation, moving parts around and seeing how it was all put together.
- He soon became concerned though that Na-Rashil was not there, so he left the Great Ocean to find him.
- Na-Maruk continued to think about the whole of creation however, and how it moved and was all put together.
- Being one of the Anem, Na-Maruk's thoughts were power and power was reality, and so the whole of creation began to move again.
- Then deep within something something moved of its own accord.
- It was the first creature and it moved about in search of something to eat.
- At that time, Na-Yatam happened by looking for something to do.
- Na-Yatam sometimes liked to throw stones into the Great Ocean and watch the ripples.
- He didn't notice the whole of creation until after he'd picked up a sharp stone and thrown it.
- To his surprise the stone flew into the whole of creation and struck the first creature, splitting it completely in two.
- Na-Yatam was horrified because he thought he might have killed something, so he took the halves and made each of them complete and they became the Twins.
- Then he created food for them and a place for them to live within the creation.
- He watched them for a long time, a hundred years or more, and then thought perhaps that they'd be happier if there were more of their kind.
- Na-Yatam didn't want to cut the Twins in half again though, so instead he made thousands of little copies of them.
- He watched the people he had made for a long time, and then he covered the whole of creation with a blanket to keep it warm.
- Then Na-Yatam left the whole of creation to do as it would.