From Balthazar’s Illuminated Manuscript:
The Three sat by the Pool in the Morning of the World. Each morning after they explored the Hidden Valley, when they grew hungry they returned to the side of the Pool and picked fruits from the trees, and drank from the Pool and looked upon all that they saw with Wonder, for in the Morning of the World, all was bright and wonderful, and there was no death or sorrow.
And once the Three had eaten, they spoke of the things they saw with each other. On this day, they each pledged to spend the afternoon looking for something that none had seen before, and to bring it back so that they could share what they found, and - as the youngest brother said - they could change this beach by the Pool so that it would better suit them, and all that they found most wonderful would be near to hand. He had thought a new thought - that they should order the World about them to make it fit for beings such as themselves, rather than simply accept what the World offered them.
And so, each left the side of the pool, and explored the Hidden Valley for something to show their siblings.
The youngest brother took a stone from the river, and began to shape it with his hands so that he could use it. And he formed it into a circle, and was glad that he had created something that the World could wonder at, for there had been nothing like this before in the world.
And She of the Twins climbed a tree, and when she reached the highest branches, she listened to the sound of the wind in the leaves, and began to make the same noises with the wind that she found in her mouth, and she made other sounds also, and spoke to the wind in its own language. And she heard that the birds did the same, and copied their songs, and then crafted new ones that spoke to the World in a language it could understand. And she was glad, because she saw that she was a part of the world, and could speak with it, and that she was first.
But Old Brother searched high and low, and found nothing that he felt was worthy of the Three. And so he kept walking, and scaled the walls of the Hidden Valley, until the hills became mountains, and reached upward into the sky. And still he walked. He walked as the trees grew harsher, and he had never seen things that hid their beauty within twisted shapes. He saw a branch of one, which was dead, and the bark was removed by the wind, and he had never seen wood and it’s grain before. And he seized it, and pulled it from the tree and carried it with him to aid him as the terrain grew more difficult. And the trees grew shorter, and the wind grew harsher, and he heard his sister’s voice on the wind, and knew then that there were other voices too - voices he did not understand, and from those who came from he knew not where. And the sound unnerved him, but still he climbed on. And trees grew shorter, and the land became rocky, and he saw in the stones shapes his brother could use for his will to bring order to the world, and he saw that the stones, too, knew shapes that his brother did not, and would not ever know. And this unnerved him as well, but still he climbed on.
He climbed until he reached a peak, a giant thrust of rock, and he looked out beyond, and saw that the world was much greater than the Hidden Valley, and contained many things and many places. And he knew now that the world was not created for himself, and that there were Others, and this thought frightened him, and then gave him strength. And as he stood, the wind blew around him, and the clouds descended, and he found himself enveloped in cloud and mist, and the world disappeared from his vision. He held the branch he had pulled from the tree out in front of him to help find his way, and to hold back whatever Dark and Greater things he suddenly thought might lurk there in the swirling darkness, though as yet neither he, nor his siblings had ever thought of fear before.
And even as he stood amidst the cloud, he saw a flying shadow, and suddenly it took shape, and landed on the branch he held in front of him. He had seen birds before, but never a bird such as this. It’s wings spread as wide as his arms, and were shiny black, and the bird looked at him with an intelligent eye of night. And he spoke to it saying “What are you that lives in the place?” and the bird said nothing, but continued looking at him quizzically, as though trying to understand him. And again, Old Brother spoke “What do you bring to me, for I think you bring both harm and benefit?” And again, the bird looked at him, and answered nothing. Then suddenly it leapt into the cloud and wind and disappeared into the darkness. And Old Brother heard a voice on the wind which whispered to him in strange words that he understood. The wind said My child, each will be rewarded for the measure of their boldness, and their reward shall be of both joy and woe. And you, Oldest, will always be most my child. Boldest, for though you fear pain, you do not shirk from it, and so the greater reward shall be yours. Pain and perhaps torment, but wisdom, too, and foresight. You shall know no home, and so be at home everywhere - even as I am. And with that, the sky shook, and a great arc of lightning struck Old Brother’s outstretched branch, and for a moment, he saw flame - the first eyes to ever behold it. And when he brought it close to his face, he saw that the flame he had seen was gone, but that inside the heart of the wood, red embers glowed, and when the wind blew on them, the flame was renewed, and he saw that at last he had something to bring to show his brother and sister. And he began his long journey down into the Hidden Valley.
The Youngest of the three was the first to come back, and brought with him his round stone, and he played with it endlessly, finding new ways to use it, and to change the Hidden Valley in ways that his brother and sister would not imagine. Long he waited, and was glad to wait, for their World was still beautiful, and he knew not darkness.
And when Sister came back down, she sang endlessly, weaving her words with the wind, and spoke to all things by their own names. And she taught her brother what she could of these songs, so that he could use them in his pursuits, but she had little interest in his round stone, for she could lift herself up with song, and see many things that were hidden, for the wind travels many places. And she called out for her twin that he might return to them.
And after a time, they heard the footsteps of Old Brother, and he emerged from the trees, and for the first time, they knew fear, for it was plain to see that this was their brother, and that also, he was changed in ways they could not understand. He walked calmly through the water of the Pool, and approached them, and sat with them on the pebble beach next to the Pool. For a long time he spoke no word and they watched as many things swirled behind his eyes, and they looked at him in awful silence. And then he said: “I know the things you have brought here to this place, for I have heard our sister’s voice upon the wind, and though I shall never sing like her, I understand the wind’s whispers. And you, brother, the stones know the work of your hands, and shall yet know more of them, and I will work stone when I must, but this is your great skill, in taking a thing, and seeing something else within it to be the tool of human hands. But I have passed through mist and darkness, and have felt fear and pain, and know that there are Others, though we may never meet them face to face as we meet each other now. But I have brought you both a boon, from a Black Bird that flies high upon the winds of storms. And I know that this bird brings many things, trouble, but also knowledge, and I think that we have much to learn from him, because I believe that he comes from our Mother.”
And his siblings knew not what this meant, for they had never heard of Mothers or Fathers or Children, knowing only themselves. And Old Brother took from his cloak a bundle of dried sticks, and blew them into flame using the coals in his staff, and looked to his brother and sister and said: “These are the marks of our people; to make things for our need, and to speak their names, and to carry this, which I call fire. And always we will know each other by these things. For I see now that we are both too big and too small for the Hidden Valley, and I shall not stay. And I think you, sister, will travel with the winds, but always long for this place. And brother, you will stay here, and hear what you can of the world and try to bring some of it to this place, but you will fear the world, and try to change it.”
And with that he stood, and he turned, and walked out of the Hidden Valley. And Old Brother walked farther in the World than any other, and when he returns is always hard to recognize, and none know whether he rests, or where.