Rise of the Jin and Rexi

For all her intelligence, Jinju had not foreseen a rebellion from their creations. Without a plan in place and no time to create one, Jinju was soon overpowered by the rebelling races. Arex fought as if possessed to defend himself and his sister, but without a plan to follow he was outmaneuvered and fell shortly after his sister. The Jin claimed the heavens after the battle was over and banished all the lesser gods to the stars. Jinju and Arex were also banished but to opposite ends of the universe. The Jin felt that was the best way to prevent them from escaping to reclaim what was theirs.

The Jin decreed that they and the Rexi would rule the heavens together. The Jin would shine down on the world as the sun and become day, watching over the activities of the races they would create and promoting growth and knowledge. The Rexi ruled as the moon and became night, dictating the baser needs and desires of the races and ultimately providing the means for the strong to control the weak. Thus the new gods began.

Soon after the new gods had taken control of the heavens, the Jin realized that it was a hollow victory. They were gods of an empty world. The Jin decided that to bring life to the world they would create a race that had aspects of both themselves and the Rexi. When it was time to give the creations life, the Jin decided that they and the Rexi should each put one drop of blood into the creations. The Jin told the Rexi that this new race, which they named Eokuri or dragons, would be loyal protectors of the gods. The Rexi agreed, feeling that if the old gods returned, they would need the protection. The Jin, however, being a creation of Jinju and therefore devious, had actually created the dragons to protect themselves from the Rexi. Old hatreds and suspicions of the other race prompted the Jin to act out of fear. After they got the blood from the Rexi, the Jin gave the dragon's loyalty to only the Jin.

It took some time, but the Rexi found out about the Jin’s trick. Angry, the Rexi tried to attack the Jin but the loyal dragons defended them and drove the Rexi back. The Rexi, now angry and disgraced, tried to find a way to have their revenge. They created their own race, humans, and used their breath to give them life. Where the Jin gave loyalty to the dragons, the Rexi gave the humans their distrust and hatred of the dragons. It was their hope that it would drive the humans to wipe out the dragons, thereby leaving the Jin unprotected.

The Rexi had miscalculated the strength of the dragons, however. A few clans of humans succeed in killing some dragons, but the dragons either fought back or won by brute force, or used the magic they had discovered. Often the dragons would transform themselves to look like the humans that tried to kill them, hiding in plain sight. At first the Rexi were enraged that their race could not do what they had been created for, but soon they realized that their creation needed help if they were to defeat the dragons. The Rexi honored the most brutal and vicious clan, blessing them with the strength of five normal males, better eyesight at night, and the natural instincts of a hunter. That was the edge the humans needed to battle the dragons.

The clan, known as the Reh'kum, was determined not to waste their god’s gift and went at the dragons with brutal efficiency. Soon the dragon’s numbers dwindled and they were faced with a difficult choice. Stand and fight the Reh'kum or go into hiding to survive. Although the dragons were a prideful race, the need to survive won and the dragons went into hiding.

From their spot in the heavens, the Jin saw the suffering and destruction the Reh'kum clan caused to their precious dragons. They however did not try to interfere, believing that their creations were strong enough to overcome the threat. It wasn’t until the dragons were on the brink of extinction that the Jin realized that they needed to help. They decided to create another race to help the dragons survive, calling them the Pamao, or Watchers.

Using a drop of their blood like they had with the dragons, the Jin gave them life. Impressed that the dragons had used magic to fool their enemies that they were human, the Jin decided that the new race would look human as well. Unlike the humans, however, who varied in size and height, the watchers were all tall and wispy. This was to hide their true strength from the Reh'kum, who believed that size equaled strength. The Jin gave the watchers the knowledge of the humans without the fear of dragons, to help them blend into human culture.

With the help of the watcher villages, dragons were able to more readily pass as human and move easily to safer places. The last thing the Jin gave the new race was the ability to create a hybrid of the two races. Occasionally there would be a child born to the watchers that would be stronger and smarter than the others. They would also be born with a mark the watchers called the Eokuri Dumo, the bite of the dragon. This child, when grown, would be able to be mated to a dragon. Mating linked the watcher and the dragon together mind and soul. It was a deep connection between the two, even memories and feelings could be shared and felt. The Jin hoped that the combined efforts of the dragons, watchers, and their offspring would be enough to save their loyal race from the hatred of the Rexi and the Reh'kum.

With the three races created, the Jin and the Rexi sat back and watched with interest what would happen. Over time, the races lost their knowledge of their creation and the gods’ interference. The hatreds and allegiances that were the reason for their creation stayed with them, but the reasons behind it were lost. The multiple gods of the Jin and the Rexi slowly became the single gods of Jin and Rexi in the minds of their races. The Eokuri and the Pamao lived their lives in the day, while the Reh'kum moved by night in honor of their gods. Thus the world’s races were kept in a constant battle for survival, while the new gods sat in the heavens, watching and waiting.