MagiStream

Whispering Crystal

In the beginning, there were only ordinary creatures in the world. Wolves, horses, fish in the rivers and birds soaring on the winds; lions, hunting the savannah, bats in their caves, bears roaming the
woods. Every sort of creature was the creation of a god or goddess, who gave them whatever they
had, whether it was strength, or speed, or sharp teeth, or wings, or beautiful colors.
Humans came last of all, and to them was given two legs rather than four, intelligence, and magic.
The other creatures were no match for the magi. Humans quickly overran the animals' territory,
and killed or enslaved wild creatures.
Three of them went to the Sky Father, distressed. There was a great narwhal to speak for the sea's creatures, a proud eagle who had the leadership of the skies, and a wolf that ran with the pack
through dark, deep woods.
"Father, this creature you have made treats us cruelly," they told him. "Take away his magic. It is not fair."

"What is given by the gods can not be taken back," the Sky Father told them.

Yet he was troubled by what he had heard, and what he saw, when he looked out upon the world.

His daughter, a wise maiden goddess, came and spoke with him. "Why are you sad, Father?" Upon hearing the creatures' tale, she said, "I will make a creature that will help the others."
She went out into the world, with the other three creatures, and came to an empty meadow near a
town. A dragonfly came and landed on her wrist. She smiled, and nodded.

The goddess breathed upon the dragonfly, and before the creatures' eyes, it changed, becoming larger, its body shining bright gold, with jewels of blue and green along the span of its wings.

It turned its head, looking at each of the three creatures in turn, then at the goddess that had created it.
"Fly," the goddess whispered to it. "Carry their hope, their dreams, and the fires of creation," and indeed, for a moment, the newly-made crystalwing seemed to glow more brightly than a star.
It flew, high and far. Where it passed, people rarely looked up to see it. Yet, their dreams every night changed. They dreamed of the joys of flight, the pleasure of running alongside a pack, the songs of the deep sea dwellers.
Some listened, even after they woke. Humans had discovered a new gift, that of imagination.
Finally, the first Crystalwing came to the end of the world. It paused beside a running stream, sorely tired, and landed on the shore.
It laid four eggs there, hidden under the sand. They were golden and magical as their parent. The first Crystalwing began to shine, ever brighter, blinding all that could see it. It slid into the stream's cool waters.
The light faded, and when it was gone, so was the Crystalwing.
The original three creatures came to the shore of the stream. They watched, as a brightly colored
egg, and then another, appeared, being carried down the stream. More followed.
These hatched, holding the same magic as the Crystal, formed by the hopes of the three creatures.
Dire wolves, phoenixes, koi, pegasi, and many more.
Magi came to the stream, but not to hunt. They took one or two of the eggs, no more, and raised them. The creatures that hatched became their companions, to live with and learn from.
So it has been ever since.