Star Harbor Nights

Once the three entities, the messengers of Light and Dark and the one who was a mixture of both, had devised most of the rules that would provide the shape of creation to come, they found themselves faced with the growing problem of what to do with all the rules they were not using. The third messenger had simply been holding on to them, and while his capacity for doing so was theoretically unlimited, the attraction of them to their opposites was growing increasingly difficult to deal with.

"I'll take those," a voice, strange and new and feminine, said from behind him.

"Thank you," he said absently as the mass of rules and boundaries was taken from him before he had processed that something had happened which was as new and as entirely unprecedented as his appearance had been.

The three had been joined by four more entities, each substantially larger and more impressive.  The Primordium itself, drawn by the sudden appearance of the third messenger and the unorthodox steps that the three subsequently undertook, had stirred to action... its two principle halves divided themselves in twain once more in order that they might more closely interact with their servitors.

Thus, the principle of Creation had become the Father, which I shall continue to refer to as the Light, and the Mother, who can be dubbed Chaos, the potential for all things. The opposing principle of Destruction had likewise split into the Darkness and the Void, the potential for no things.

It was Chaos, who naturally saw the potential in the collection of discarded rules, that had spoken to the middle messenger and taken the growing accumulation of exceptions off his hands.

"My Father," the Messenger of Light said, bowing deferentially to the Light that made him.

"My Lord," the Messenger of Dark said, smiling obsequiously at the Darkness that had formed him.

"Howdy," the other messenger said, feeling not especially beholden to either.

"So this is how you've taken to occupying yourselves," the Darkness said, eyeing the space which was now defined by a number of axioms and rules. "Well, I suppose it is more interesting than a pointless and unending stalemate."

"Much!" agreed the Light.

With that, they both threw themselves into the task at hand, giving suggestions and commands and guidelines to their servitors on how the world should be shaped and what its rules should be. Each side was trying to stack the deck in its own favor, of course, and the middle messenger was trying to blunt the effects of such meddling while preserving his own inscrutable interests.

Finally, they had a framework with which all sides seemed to be equally dissatisfied, which is a decent definition of a fair compromise. They were about to take the final action that would give body and substance to the universe when the feminine powers interrupted.

"You know, we've sat here this entire time and contributed nothing to the process," Void said. "How is it that neither Creation nor Destruction can take place without us, but we have been allowed no influence over the coming universe of creation and destruction?"

"We have to be allowed some power," Chaos agreed. "For balance. We must be the equals of our counterparts, after all, or else the whole system upon which creation now rests will prove false."

"You are equal, in theory," the Light said in what he assumed was a reassuring fashion. "But remember, you are the passive aspects... potential, not action."

"But just as there is some darkness in the Light and some light in the Darkness, there must be some of us in you, and some of you in us," Void said.

The male entities considered this, and conferred among themselves until they came up what they considered to be a reasonable concession to the demands of the feminine principles.

"Very well," the Light said at last. "Chaos, as you embody the potential for everything, you shall be given the power to do anything you wish... but each thing only once."

"And you, Void," the Darkness said, "who is the potential for no things, shall be able to do nothing... but you can do it as often as you please."

"You can't ask for a fairer deal than that," the Light said.

"Well, you could," the Darkness said. "But we wouldn't give it to you."

"I suppose we'll have to be satisfied with that," Chaos said.

"If there's no further objections?" the third messenger asked. When none of the assembled powers said anything, he raised his hands together in the space above Creation, and then parted them... separating out a universe of positive matter from a body of anti-matter. The resulting explosions, though confined within the relatively tiny space occupied by Creation at the heart of the infinitely more vast environs of the Primordium, did not fail to impress either of the primary male powers. The Light felt pride and awe at the brightness of the energy released, and the Darkness felt a deep appreciation for the destructive power unleashed in the blasts.

The two female powers, still stinging from their snubbing, were not amused by the spectacle. They watched the universe forming, growing, maturing, and taking shape along the lines the male powers had devised... each of them still absolutely convinced that the coming world would favor their interests, due to their machinations.

Finally, the female powers found they could stand the males' smugness no longer. They exchanged a knowing glance... which, incidentally, would form the template of many such glances between women in the world that was forming... and then Chaos acted. For her, it was little more than a shrug of her vast, semi-corporeal shoulders... but all of Creations shuddered.

"What did you do?" all five of the other entities demanded at once, sensing their designs had been disrupted.

"Everything," Chaos said. "Once."

"Why didn't you do something to stop her?" the Darkness demanded of his consort Void.

"I did everything in my power to stop her... nothing" she said. "Shall I do it again?"