The Beginning

In the beginning, there was only time and space. Then, Soul was born, floating in the Aether between all things. Soul soon realized that without hands to touch, no eyes to see, nor a heart to feel, then they hardly had been born at all. And so, with the great rumble of shifting stone, Soul made their body and nestled themselves safely inside. A while later, while reflecting on the blank slate of their skin, Soul grew restless and bored. They cut a splinter from the stone of their surface, and from that they carved a chisel.
Soul began to write, inscribing their fears and desires into the vastness of stone that comprised their body. It was then that Soul discovered the power of their words; their sonnets formed the sky and all the waltzing clouds. A ballad birthed the seas from Soul’s depths. A hundred haikus became the rains and the winds that pushed them.
They wrote an ode to the sun and an elegy for the moon, and their limericks caused the trees and grass to spring from the ground in a chorus of laughter. After writing a heroic epic that made the mountains swell with pride, Soul became lonely; beauty is meant to be shared. And so, on the only spot of skin that hadn’t been carved, Soul wrote the word Friend, and from it sprung the Stone Giants.

Soul was delighted by sight of the only other someone that they’d ever seen, and fortunately there were four of them. After welcoming their new children to existence, Soul created cradles for each one.
The first they made in the east, so one of the Giants could greet the rising sun.
The second in the west, so that the sun would have a friend to bid goodnight.
The third and fourth cradles were set in the north and the south, so that Soul could have a friend over their shoulder and another to keep them grounded.
The Stone Giants settled happily in their new homes and lived in bliss with their creator. Eventually, they all grew lonely together; life gets empty without the prospect of meeting someone new. Knowing that each of the Stone Giants deserved the right to create as well, Soul gave them the power to make life.

The Western Giant, inspired by all of the flora that their creator had made, decided to make those who would equally enjoy it all. And so, animals were created, and the Giant spread them around the world. The dominant species of those first animals were known as Ancients. Much later, Ancients would be considered by scholars as the First People of Wundera. Inspired by these creations, the other Giants got to work.
The Northern Giant, wishing to create children in their own image, made the Giants; smaller than their maker (but still quite large), and made from flesh instead of stone.
The Eastern Giant had the pleasure of being the first to see the night sky, and created the Immortals; ageless, glowing beauties that rivaled the stars themselves.

During this time, Soul grew weary. They hadn’t realized that all of this creation required a source of power, and that source was Soul. Each creature that was now in the world took a small piece of Soul with them. Seeing their exhaustion, the Southern Giant provided mercy for Soul. The giant took the few remaining pieces of Soul and put them into precious gems and minerals, and so the Great Mother Dragons, the mightiest of the First Peoples, were born. From there, the world was given the name Wundera, and its First Peoples reigned for millennia...

...until they no longer did.