Story Terraria's creation myth: Terra and the Tree of Life.

RainDreamer

Terrarian
This is the background story I wrote for my creation, the Tree of Life, explaining its origin and the relation between the Terraria world, the tree, and Terra, the goddess featured in the tree.

Before the earth and the sky, before day and night, before the moons, the sun and the stars, the whole universe was a single seed of matter amidst an ocean of void. Inside the seed, there were everything, existing in a constant state of turmoil and strife. Outside the seed, there were nothing but the calm and stillness of the void. After an eternity, the seed ruptured, and out came pure light and pure darkness.


Light and darkness, the two primordial forces that permeate the fabrics of existence, are locked in a paradoxical relationship: their very nature forbid their union, yet they are attracted to each other, for one cannot exist without the other. And so they clashed, violently, destructively, mutually annihilate themselves everytime they meet. But with each clash, a new being was born - Creatures formed through the fusion between fragments of light and darkness. They are the deities of the world, gods and goddess that inherit aspects of both darkness and light.
Despite being conceived by the same process, the deities are not created equal, for each clash between light and darkness has unequal consequences. Sometimes there are more darkness than light that broke apart, sometimes there are more light than darkness that get left behind. Thus some deities are more attuned to darkness, while others are closer to the light. This imbalance bestow upon them various powers of destruction, of corruption, and of consumption. However, it is also the source for a war without ends between the deities, as the light and darkness within them are drawn to each other, causing them to fight, kill, and devour one another in a mad desire to make themselves whole again. In all that time, the forces of pure light and pure darkness still clash, giving birth to more imperfect gods and goddess to fuel the unending war.
Gradually, more and more light and darkness was lost to the war, until at one point, only the tiniest fraction of light meets the smallest fragment of darkness for one final clash. Except, it was not a clash at all, but a perfect combination of light and darkness in equal, as nothing else can be separated from both light and darkness anymore. This, was the birth of the goddess Terra.

Terra was the youngest and the weakest of all her brothers and sisters, the last to be created from the least of light and darkness. She had none of their power. She couldn’t destroy, she couldn’t corrupt, she couldn’t consume. She was useless as a combatant in the war, bound to be devoured by others. However, the balance of light and darkness within Terra has spared her from the madness that plagued her siblings, and their harmonious unity grant her something that no one else has - the power of creation. She flee the battlefield, finding refuge deep within the void. There, she created the world.
Where as her siblings’ power involved taking something away from existence to make it their own, Terra’s power gives away aspects of her own to bring something to existences. First, she gave away her sense of touch, in order to create all things that can be touched. Then, she gave away her sense of smell, to bring forth all the fragrances of the world. Her sense of taste was the third to go, to bestow flavours, both good and bad. Her hearing was next, and sounds came to being. Finally she give away her sight, and there was everything that could be seen.


Her world was then created, but Terra felt that it was missing something. She gave away her tears, so there could be rain and the sea, but the feeling persist. She gave away her voice, so there could be melodies and songs, but it did not dissipate. She gave away her breath, and granted the world winds and storms, yet, her heart still longed for something else.


Then she realized, her world was missing life. Thus, she must give her own life.


Terra descended upon the world she created, and at the point her feet touch the ground, roots sprang forth. Her skin harden, her hair grows green as she transform herself into the First Tree, the Tree of Life. Fully connected with her world, she give away her life force. Plants raised from the grounds above her roots: grass, shrubs, and trees. From her branches, gigantic fruits grew, and as they ripen then fall on the ground and water, animals of all kinds burst out from each fruit: insects, fishes, mammals and birds. Finally, before her bosoms, where her heart beats and her twigs entwined, flowers blooms, and embraced in their petals were humans. Each life share a part of her life force, and every life is connected through her.

With her work done, Terra satisfiedly name the new world after her own : Terraria.
Terraria was like a beacon of light from the depth of the void, and soon, it attracts the attention of the warring deities. Just like Terra, her world is a balance of both light and darkness, thus both the dark and light deities desire to consume it and make it their own. The battlefield quickly advanced toward Terra’s world. With all her senses lost to create the world, Terra realized what has happened too late, when a majority of her world and countless lives has been lost to the influences of other gods, where monstrosities spawned from tainted lands.


With all her remaining life force, she create one final human, in hope to save her world. Sacrificing her own power of creation, she gives this human unimaginable power. And this human, this saviour that she gave up her life for, is you. You are Terra's final hope, and the one to decide the fate of Terraria.
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