The beginning and the end, as related by his most exalted Runepriest, the High Aleph-Omega, greatest of the Runepriests of the Eternal Twins, to the assembled Runepriests at the great conclave of Mountfast.
In the endless days before time began, the gods and demons warred.
The universe was in chaos-earth and fire, sea and sky, wind and water swirled without form or order. The demons were strong and the number was beyond measure. There names were Demiflage and Baalebub, Milquetoast and Orangewhip…(25 pages deleted, ed.)…All these demons were vile and corruption was their house, and the universe yearned for order. But the gods were little better than demons in those days, for they did not know order. They were divided and fought also amongst themselves. Some consorted with demons, giving breath to unnatural monsters and half-gods tainted with chaos. But the number of the gods was known and growing less, for many had been slain, driven into oblivion because the Underworld was not yet formed. And their names were Aetna the Rock, Midas the Muffled God…(another 25 pages deleted, ed.)
Now the mightiest demon was named Oodle-oo, and he wielded the fearsome hammer Crusher of Souls. Many were the gods that had smeared its face. There names are without number and will be left to the imagination of the reader. The mightiest of gods was the Fury, the Primal Warrior, who had in turn slain demons without number. But even he declined to contest Oodle-oo and the Crusher of Souls. But, second among the gods were Yultan, not yet Earthforge, and Mordak, not yet Deathforge, the Eternal Twins. And they were not afraid to challenge Oodle-oo, for it was their destiny to bring order to the universe.
Yultan challenged Oodle-oo for the honor of the gods, and on this day, all the gods put aside their petty bickering. Yultan had the strength of mountains, and the quickness of a goat, arms like tree trunks and a chest like a continent, but also, sadly, bandy little legs. And Mordak was his shadow. Yultan seized Oodle-oo before he could raise Crusher of Souls and threw him to the ground. But, Oodle-oo had the guile of a demon and the form of a snake, and quickly wriggle from Yultan's grasp. Again did Yultan strike, and again did Oodle-oo wriggle. Long did they wrestle, for days without number, for Yultan could not pin the demon, nor could he be struck with Crusher of Souls.
At last, the gods who were tainted with Chaos and suffered from a shortage of the span of attention grew enamored with the pretty ploys spun by demons to attract them. And soon they had distracted the other gods, without whose support Yultan began to lose heart. And Oodle-oo, sensing the growing restlessness of the watching gods, laughed and threw Yultan to the ground. Raising his hammer he exulted in his victory, and in his exultation, exposed his heart. And Mordak, Yultan's shadow, struck quick as death and slew the demon with one blow.
And the gods rejoiced in their victory, praising Yultan and Mordak and offering them a seat above all others. But the twins knew that the seeds of chaos still lay within the gods, and that without learning cooperation and discipline the gods were doomed to defeat by the demons. So they took up the demon hammer, Crusher of Souls, and renamed it the Hammer of Worlds and began the forging of the earth.
While the demons cowered in the darkness and the gods partied on, the Eternal Twins forged the perfect blank of the world. Mordak gathered fire and earth from all corners of chaos, fanning the bones of the earth with the flames of chaos. Yultan struck the earth with the Hammer of Worlds, nine by nine by nine by nine by nine by nine by nine by nine by nine blows he struck, no more or less, the perfect number, known only to the High Runepriest. And he forged the flat earth, twenty by thirty squares he made it, the perfect size. He forged a place where the gods could learn to rule their spheres, could cooperate in the act of creation, could tend to their flocks, and where the orderly progression of mortal life and death would generate mana for the gods to stockpile for the final battle with demons. And the demons gnashed their teeth in the darkness, for they knew the creation of the perfect earth foretold the final battle, but they could do nothing, and the gods slept on in drunken stupor.
When the earth was formed, perfect and complete, Yultan and Mordak rested. But while they slept, Byron/Valentine who through the taint of chaos had the most capacity for drink of all gods, awoke. Byron/Valentine came upon the newly formed and cooling earth, and saw a thing of perfect order. And a tear of sadness formed in his eye and fell upon the earth with a hiss, striking a tiny flaw in its very core. And Byron/Valentine slunk away, afraid of the consequences of his weakness.
When the twins awoke, they saw that their work was now flawed. And they summoned the gods together to ask who had done such a thing. But no god replied.
So Yultan said, "This is the earth that we have forged, to make a field for the gods on which to train for the final battle with the demons. But while we rested, a flaw has been struck in the center of the earth. And so, chaos will sweep the face of the earth. Mortal lives will be brutish and wasted. Gods will war in heaven and on earth, and some will die, and some pass into oblivion. But, from this struggle may still arise a god who will prove himself worthy to become the Supreme Deity and lead us to victory against the demons."
And Mordak said, "But beware, if the earth is allowed to exist beyond its appointed hour, the flaw in its core will cause divisions in heaven and once again set god against god. Do not succumb to the temptation of the earth. When the hour is called for the earth, I will destroy it with the hammer that forged it, and close the circle."
And the demons plotted to regain the Crusher of Souls.