Tso Lao

Some of Tso Lao's teachings

In the beginning there were two; Illurai the life giver and Ceros the trickster. Illuari saw the void and meant to fill it. She created the world of Vallia and filled it with mountains and oceans, flowers and trees, animals and humanity. She stood back and admired her handiwork, but something was missing, a spark. She created spirits and gave them to all she made, the mountains, the trees and the animals. She gave to all, all except the races of humanity, to the humans and the elves and the dwarves she had something special; souls. Unlike the spirits, the soul would be made directly from her flesh and would be able to return to her bosom. But as she was making the souls for her children, Ceros began to take notice. He admired Illuari’s work and he too felt it was missing something. He knew that what had been made would be boring to look upon and boring for its people, so he put part of himself into Illurai’s souls, this why the races of humanity have the potential for great evil as well as great good. The forerunners past down this myth through many generations, but as with most cultures, they were conquered. And as with many conquered societies, its language, culture and beliefs were co-opted by the new regime. The concept of Illurai became all but lost. The name of Ceros became the name of an evil demon who would corrupt men’s souls, then became the word for the corruption itself, before being forgotten from the lexicon all together. Today only the most devoted of historians even remember this legend.