The Argument Of Ivia And Mima

In the beginning, there were two gods, almighty creators, who had formed the whole universe together in nearly perfect harmony -- except for Hifar.

The Great Pair argued fiercely when the time came to form people, each wanting the Hifar to look like themself, rather than the other.

To prove their points, each crafted a lesser god after their own image, using bits and pieces of all the Isker that resembled them.

Ivia, the Elder, took a feather from every kind of bird. She adorned a cloud with these feather, using mud to carve the beak and feet.

Mima, The Crafter, took clumps of fur from every kind of mammal except two. Whales and dolphins, believing themselves superior to their land dwelling cousins, had shed their fur coats. Mima took a log and carved it into a fine shape, expertly weaving the fur onto its form.

Each god raced to show the other their creation, entirely sure that their point would be proven and they would win.

But in their competition, they were careless. They ran into each other, dropping their creations and shattering them into thousands of shards.

The gods, angry, turned on each other. Neither Ivia nor Mima were willing to admit the fault was their own, choosing to place the full blame on the other.

But their screaming and accusations were put to a halt by a tiny voice. It was a lesser god, pleading with them to look around and see how the shards have given form to gods for every species.

Except for two. Two shards had stuck together, one from Ivia's creation and the other from Mima's, to form the one that spoke.

Hrifon, the Wise, asked that the lesser gods be allowed to create the Hifar, to take the decision away from the Great Pair. Let a kind of Hifar be created for every god.

The Great Pair agreed, but each put forth a condition.

Ivia, the Elder, said that since the Hifar would have gifts unique to them, they must be lacking in the gifts of the Isker. The powers of flight, the danger of venom, the use of night sight -- these things must not be theirs.

And Mima, the Crafter, added that since these Hifar would all live together, they must have enough similarities to do so easily. They must all be of similar height, be able to grab things in similar ways, and be able to speak similar languages.

Hrifon agreed to their words, relaying their messages to the lesser gods. Their conditions were met, for the most part, by all except the Twoshard himself.

Hrifon, the Wise, created two creatures, neither in his image. To make up for the two shards that had formed him, he brought forth Hiflions and Hifeagles.

And so the races of Avian and Mammal first took to the world, in all their various forms, because of an argument and an accident.

We must never forget that even the gods have their flaws, even they make mistakes.