Den Art by a Moonlight Skulk Forager named Drosera :::The Cleansing::: Elder Story Long ago, before the Skulks had their names or laws, the world was young and wild. The children of the Sky-Father and Earth-Mother, Foxes, lived in scattered groups, hunting without honor, killing without restraint, and living without purpose. The Sky-Father watched from above, delighted in their wild, untamed nature. He laughed as they ran freely through the forests and hunted prey without reason. "They are free," He said. "As they should be." But the Earth-Mother did not laugh. She watched her children with a heavy heart, seeing them destroy the very land they depended upon. The Rivers ran red, the forests grew silent, and the grounds became torn. She saw foxes hunt not for survival, but for greed. The weak trampled, the reckless perished, and the young and elders suffered. She turn to Sky-Father and spoke. "This cannot last! There is no balance. If they do not change, they will destroy themselves." The Sky-Father simply scoffed. "They are our children," He said. "Not our slaves, let them choose how to live as we gave them free-will." But the Earth-Mother growled at his words. She raised her paw and struck him hard and the world they made reacted as such as both gods fought. The winds howled, the Rivers overflowed, and the ground trembled. A great storm ascended the land, splinting it into six regions and breaking the sky, turning it to blood red. For five days and five nights, the foxes faced the wrath of both the Earth-Mother and Sky-Father as they fought in the world past the Endless Rest. Lightning struck forests and floods washed anything in their path. It was only until the fifth night when an elder named Song took a journey no Fox had, a journey to the land beyond the Endless Rest. There, she stood between the gods, sacrificing herself. Once her body fell, Earth-Mother and Sky-father stopped. "What have we done?" Earth-Mother asked. "A horrible mistake," Sky-Father agreed. The two tried to save Song, but it was too late. The elder foxe's soul was split in too. Using both their powers, Earth-Mother took one soul, breaking it to thousands of pieces and sending it to her children, so Song could live on in every Fox, while Sky-Father took the other half, blessing it as the guardian of the Endless Rest, taking foxes when their time has came. As for the rest of their children, they saw the error of their ways, forming laws and Skulks in the new six regions and listening to both Sky-Father and Earth-Mother. At day, Sky-Father watches through the Sun, his eye while during Night, Earth-Mother listens through the moon, her ear.
Art by @-Wasp-, edited on Canva
