The Creation of Mist

"Tell me a bedtime story, Father."

"Alright. How about I read from 'The Book of the Learned'? That sound good?"

"Yeah!"

"OK. This story is called 'The Creation of Mist.'

"A long time ago, before the natives dwelt in the Deep, the Cliffs used to be their homes. To this day, their faces are filled with empty holes and passageways. They have been empty ever since the inhabitants left when it became too dangerous to live in the caves.

"They used to be happy, living in their Cliffs. They found passages under the water that connected each cliff to its neighbors. They had built bridges to take them above the water as well. The tops of cliffs were reserved for their temples, since they needed to see Skaia's light through the glass bubbles. Their boats traversed the surface of the Deep, and they used to have tremendous barges with glass bottoms to view the depths. Their maritime celebrations were legendary, and festival ships were in high demand.

"Far below, in her underwater cave, Sphinx grew restless. She knew that I was coming, and that I must never find Skaia's light. With the help of the inhabitants, I would certainly have made it much faster. To rid the land above the water of its inhabitants, Sphinx inhaled deeply, and then let out a Vast Screech. It shattered the natives' stained glass structures, and the glass dust scattered in the breeze. The Cliffs rocked, snapping the bridges. She Screeched again, and the dust broke down even smaller, into microscopic particles. She let out a final Screech, and the glass became tiny photons, particles of multicolored light.

"But Sphinx was not done. She emerged from her lair, and the inhabitants saw her for the first time. They were terrified by her form. She had a woman's head, a lion's body, two enormous wings, the tail of a monstrous fish, and seemed to be made entirely from stone. She flew up high, higher than the greatest cliff, then plunged straight into the water below. Upon impact with the surface, the water turned into vapor, which mixed with the glass photons, creating the Mist.

"The Mist blinded the inhabitants. It floated throughout the land, obscuring their vision with shimmering light. They often tumbled off the Cliffs and fell into the Fathoms. It became too dangerous to live in the cliffs. The natives packed up whatever they had left, and began rebuilding, under the water, the only place where the Mist could not harm them. They fashioned new glass bubbles for their buildings, and adapted to life underwater. Away from me, the only one who can save them from Sphinx."