Origin & Development
9.1 Creation Accounts
According to legend, the first Aeriels were born from the union of a sky spirit and a mortal scholar, inheriting a love for the heavens and a thirst for knowledge. An alternative creation account holds that the Celestials created the Aeriels as one of the first beings to inhabit Landorya, alongside Dragons, Nereids, and Sylvan creatures, assigning each a realm and a role. The Aeriels were given the stars to watch and the skies to tend.
9.2 The Cosmogonic Myth
The most elaborate origin story, preserved in Aeriel sacred texts, tells that in the beginning there was only the vast, empty expanse of the sky. From this ethereal void emerged the first Sky Gods, Zephyrus and Celeste, born from the breath of the cosmos and the light of the first stars. As they danced across the heavens, their love gave birth to Solaris, Lunara, and Astraeus. Together the Sky Gods shaped the universe, crafting sun, moon, and stars, winds and clouds and rainbows. Finding the universe incomplete without witnesses, they gathered stardust, moonbeams, and the breath of the winds and formed the first Aeriels. The Aeriels awoke to a universe of endless wonders, bestowed with wings to traverse the heavens, a thirst for knowledge, and a spark of creativity.
9.3 Historical Development
Over time, the Aeriels developed their air magic abilities and built their floating cities to be closer to the skies they loved. Their culture evolved around their growing understanding of astronomy and air magic. They developed unique abilities like weather sensing and star navigation. The Aeriels have faced threats from sky monsters and magical storms, but have always persevered through their knowledge and unity.
9.4 Oral Tradition
Stories and legends are used to pass down important knowledge and values to younger generations, forming the bedrock of an oral and celestial tradition that binds the Aeriels across time. The practice of recounting histories during evening stargazing ensures that even the youngest Aeriels absorb the lessons of the past as naturally as they learn to fly.