Dawn of Legends

And the Four Gods who remained in the west beheld the changing world, and their hearts grew heavy with longing.

For they had rebuilt their nations, and their faith had been restored, yet among them, there were no heirs to continue their legacy.

And they looked upon the mortals, who bore children and built families, and they envied them.

So they ascended to the highest peaks of their lands, where the heavens seemed near, and they bowed before the Architect, humbling themselves before His presence.

And they spake as one, saying, "O Great Architect, we, who have ruled the west, seek only one blessing: to bear children as the mortals do. For we have no heirs to carry forth our names, nor to shape the fate of our nations when we are gone."

And the Architect, who had watched them since their birth, listened but did not answer.

And they wept, casting aside their pride, prostrating themselves upon the sacred ground, and they cried out once more, "O Creator, we do not seek to defy Your will. We only wish to leave behind something greater than ourselves, that our lands may prosper beyond our time."

Then the Architect spake, and His voice was like the wind that bends mountains yet soft as the whisper of the river, "You who desire to bear children, how shall you prove yourselves worthy of such a gift?"

And the Four Gods, trembling, answered, "We shall prove ourselves by raising them well. We shall not see them as mere tools nor as rulers by birthright. We shall guide them in wisdom, and if they falter, we shall not seek Your hand to correct them but shall bear the burden of their deeds."

And the Architect, seeing their sincerity, spoke but a single word, "So be it."

And in that moment, the Four Gods felt their divine forms change, and they beheld their own bodies, and their wombs swelled with life.

And they were overcome with awe, for never before had they known the feeling of creation within them.

And the Architect spake once more, saying, "Each of you shall bear three children. Two among you shall give birth to sons, and the other two shall bear daughters. They shall be the future of your nations, and through them, the west shall find its destiny."

"Yet know this: you shall not bear more after them, for it is they who will continue your legacy. If they bring prosperity, it shall be by their own hands. If they bring ruin, I shall not intervene, for their deeds shall be written as the story of the world itself."

And the Four Gods, knowing that their prayers had been answered, wept not in sorrow but in gratitude.

And so, time passed, and in the fullness of days, each of them brought forth three children, and they were mighty in power, for they were born of the divine, yet bound to the fates of mortals.

And thus, the future of the western nations was placed into the hands of twelve heirs, and their tale had only begun.