Long ago, Athiliel created the universe and everything within it. He simply spoke and all that exists came into being in an instant. He created a race of good and pure beings, called the Ilyri, and they worshiped Athiliel because of His power and His goodness. They watched in wonder as space and time were formed out of the nothingness with just a soft utterance from the All-Powerful One. Athiliel then hung the stars and the planets upon the fabric of space and stretched everything out like a tent. The Ilyri sang their praises to Him, overjoyed with the splendor of His creation. In the midst of His handiwork, Athiliel created the world of Anarra and formed the sun as a means to light and warm the world by day. He fashioned two moons to cast light upon Anarra during the night.
Athiliel then filled the world with all manner of plants and animals. Anarra was beautiful beyond description and the Self-Existent One was pleased with what He had done. The Ilyri continued to worship Him. They watched in amazement as He created an incredible variety of life to fill the entire face of Anarra. But one of the Ilyri secretly desired the power of Athiliel for himself. His name was Muurdra, and his heart was darkened with his own jealously. Instead of worshiping Athiliel as the others of his kind, he harbored thoughts of rebellion, seeking for a way to steal the power of creation for himself.
In the midst of Ythira, the eastern continent of Anarra, Athiliel fashioned a garden. There, he formed Man from the dust of the ground and placed him as caretaker in the Garden of Adonath. In obedience to Athiliel, the Man was to tend and nurture all the growing things within the garden. The Man and his Wife obeyed Athiliel and worshiped Him also out of the depths of their hearts. But Muurdra disguised himself as an animal and deceived them, causing the Man and his Wife to disobey their instructions and to turn their hearts away from Athiliel. At that time Muurdra openly rebelled against Athiliel, managing even to lead many of the Ilyri astray with him. As a result, they became known as the Neffeluur, the Fallen Ones. Muurdra himself was called the Cyr Nilth by Athiliel, meaning the Adversary. The entire universe was corrupted and affected by their fall, including the pristine world of Anarra. Weeds and thorns now began to spread across the rich land, bringing death and decay to the beauty of Anarra wherever they touched.
Athiliel cast Muurdra and all his followers out from His presence, consigning them to the regions of the Outer Darkness, a place where the goodness and light of Athiliel was not in evidence. The bond between the All-Powerful One and His creation was entirely affected. Walking now in disobedience to the words of Athiliel, the Man and his Wife were also cast out of the Garden of Adonath forever. And in his great jealousy and hatred, Muurdra would utterly stop at nothing to destroy all the races of Mankind from the face of Anarra. The Adversary sought, instead, to place his own hideous attempts at creation into the world. These unholy shadows of life strive endlessly to undermine Athiliel’s own handiwork, endeavoring even to make war upon His children in an effort to eradicate them completely from the world.
Yet throughout the pain of life and the sweat of their brow, Mankind would somehow manage to survive. And by the grace of Athiliel, they slowly began to fill the land with their progeny. But the time of Muurdra’s imprisonment in the Outer Darkness is almost at an end and the road for Mankind to return to a place of open fellowship with Athiliel will be extremely long and filled with heartache.