It is said that before Lapida came to be, the gods were not fully fledged and our world was but a small rock in the great vastness of space. Back then, gods were not the fully fledged beings we know them to be, but rather pieces of energy. To become more than just this energy which could do nothing on its own, they needed to find a suitable body to lie in, and they would have some influence and power. Past that, they needed to be given the energy of other creatures in the form of belief and worship to become great.
While floating along, seeking a place to set themselves and become properly powerful, it was Melicha, the youngest of the gods at the time, who saw Lapida, then just a rock in the middle of nowhere, helpless and alone, and she quickly began to love it.
She saw promise in it, and she called to the other gods that this would be a good place, and that it was worthy of their time. The others were not convinced, but as she saw our little rock battered by the ravages of space unprotected by any gods, she could not ignore its tragedy any longer, and took space dust, compacting it near the rock until it formed its own, even smaller rock, and she pushed her energy into it, until it properly became a moon, and her body. Circling fast to protect from any outside force, with her energy she pushed back against the danger the universe presented, and protected the planet from harm. However, though it was no longer quite as in danger of being destroyed, it was still empty, and try as she might, Melicha could not do anything for it.
Wishing only the best for the planet which she had fallen in love with, she called out to her sister, Mechala. She begged that her sister would join her in finding a body there, that she could also defend the planet, and make it as great as it could be. Caring for her sister, Mechala agreed, and plucked off bits of the planet until there was enough that she could form a moon to settle her body into. With her strength, much more than her little sister, Mechala took a deep breath and blew onto Lapida the beginnings of life, and Melicha rejoiced, for there was hope for the planet she so loved.
However, the life was weak and small, and seemed doomed to die before it got a chance to really live, and Melicha cried out to the other gods. She begged that one might help, that one might make sure the small living things would not disappear into the dark with no hope and die there. Her words touched Cete's heart, who gathered the movement and energy loose in the universe to form a ball of pure energy to inhabit, and as he melded himself into it, the energy burst into light, bright and warm, and the life, now given light so it would not disappear forever in the dark, survived, and knew time by where he was. The ice, which sat on the planet, began to melt.
As the ice melted, energy burst into existence, fully formed from the warmth and safety, and split into two-- the water became Laila, who knew the worth of feeling and gave worth to life, and the land became Pida, who let rest things which had lived and presided too over death.
However, the two were exhausted from their own becoming, and needed rest, but could not properly with Cete's blinding light and power. Degam, then, took the blackness of space and, fashioning it into a cloak and then his own planet, began to circle Cete too, lending to Lapida the knowledge of rest, and a reminder that the darkness was still there.
For a while, this was enough, and the life flourished with the kindness of the gods, while the others watched on. Eventually, though, the space around the little system became threatened, comets circling dangerously close to the little planet, and Melicha cried out again that someone help them, the living things so new and good, and Laila and Pida both bound to the planet.
Ever a warrior, Selem stepped in, calling Medel to help, and he fashioned their planets like swords, Selem defending the little planet and Medel aiding them, making sure all had the ability to take up arms as needed.
When the danger passed, the gods celebrated, and the life beginning to spread out and become more powerful sought to celebrate too, but it had no way to honor what had occurred. Finally, Temera decided to make their home with the others, fashioning a small planet for themself before extending their reach to Lapida, planting the concept of art and stories into their minds, so that they could properly speak of those who had defended them.
Finally it seemed the planet would be fine and flourish, but then a great darkness began to descend, something greater and more unkind than Degam would ever call or than Cete could bend back with his light. It descended on Lapida and tried to destroy the planet that the gods had worked so hard on, and demanded sacrifice, demanded the destruction of the precious life they had created. Refusing to let the world go so easily, Melicha stepped up to the unknown, asking it take her energy instead and let the life continue to grow. The unknown took her sacrifice, leaving her much weaker than before, but still alive, and it left the planet alone. However, she could not ever grow back to the way she had been before, now circling slowly and needing to depend on the other gods to keep her little planet safe. The planet had grown on them too, however, and they promised her that her sacrifice would never be in vain.
And this is how the gods came to be.
