This is the story i've been posting excerpts of's prologue. Its rather short but chapter 1 is still being written lol
The Mandate of Heaven. (Short story) (Prologue) Before reality, there was time. Time was everything and nothing at all. Some legends said that he was a clock with a billion hands. Others claimed he was the motion of the moon and stars. Yet the form he took in the beginning was an owl. Neither rare nor common, neither ugly nor beautiful. The watcher, never the changer. It was in the endless rush of time that creation rose from the void. She was a bright white dove with six wings. She flew and flew over the rushing dark, her wings beating once every ten thousand years. As she grew tired, she flew low and flapped once more. Mountains rose from the sea. Time watched and did not intervene. With the mountains, the need to destroy was born. The sea roared, and destruction rose from chaos. A raven with six wings and no eyes. Senseless, endless, and a perfect mirror of creation. Creation built a nest on the highest mountain and fell to sleep, with every breath allowing a new mountain to rise from nothing. Destruction flew blindly, weaving between the mountains and the sea. He cried, and the rock dissolved beneath his tears. Within the rock and the water, things began to mix and grow. From the mountains, life arose. She was a phoenix with six wings and no legs. She was forced to fly and fly for eternity. As she cried and as her wings grew heavy, plants grew from her tears. Small animals appeared in caves made by Destruction. Time watched his daughter’s suffering and did not intervene. As Life’s children matured, they grew weak and injured. They cried in pain and awoke Creation from her sleep. From her imagination, Death was born. A vulture with six wings and a keen sense of smell. As the scent of blood reached his nose, he swooped down and ended their suffering. For centuries, they worked in tandem. Creation dreamt of seas and streams and sand, and they came into existence. Life flew over the earth, bringing along with her the seeds of sentience. Destruction roared through the world, his tears forming storms and thunder. Time watched it happen in his domain. Nothing could move without time, and time would not interfere with the actions of gods. ...
