Eventually, the dredge retaliated with vengeance and hatred, ravaging human and varl lands in a bloody struggle that lasted nearly a decade. As the tide turned, the varl began venturing into the deep north and slaughtering dredge settlements for sport. The mighty varl pushed away the legions of dredge, driving them farther and farther into the northern territories. Panic spread among the gods, and thus began the war among the gods which left every god unmade. The dredge, it turned out, could be killed, but only through bloody battle.ĭisgusted, the Loom-Mother punished the errant god, but in her anger accidentally killed him.

Some believed them to be the dead returned to the world to punish the living. The dredge became hated and feared among the mortals. Their god prodded the dredge into waging war against the other creations. With unending threads of life, the dredge numbers grew along with their need for more space and more food. One spiteful god took the humans and twisted them wretchedly, hid them away in the depths of the earth, and they became the dredge. Others wove her creations together, making cross-breeds of human and animal, and so were created the varl and the horseborn.

Some gods twisted beasts into new shapes and monsters. Other gods attempted to mimic her, but lacked the skill or patience necessary to master the art.

All of these threads - some short, some long - had a beginning and an end. She created the beasts of land and sea, and wove the elements of reason into her creations of humans. Deep in the shadows of the Age of Myth, the Loom-Mother discovered how to weave life into her tapestry, the fabric of the universe.

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