In the Beginning

Written by Simon Smart

In the beginning, before the gods sculpted humankind from clay, they made the first people. The first people were made not of clay, but of gold.

The people of gold were immortal and the gods gave them great powers. They grew and flourished, and for a while the gods were pleased.

The people of gold grew stronger and stronger. They reached for the heavens, eager to become as gods themselves. The gods saw this and looked on their creations with fear.

The gods cast down the people of gold and took away their golden bodies, hiding them deep under the earth. The gods looked on the golden souls that remained and could not bear to destroy them. They would start anew and build a new people out of clay. Then they would put golden souls into clay bodies.

The gods made many people of clay. They did not shine like the people of gold. Their bodies were fragile, and their souls dull and cold. The golden ones did not belong among them.

The souls of the golden people still live today. The gods made them to last forever, after all. In their dreams they reach for the heavens, remembering the beginning.