Ai and Phee
“All are free and all must fly, someday, someway before they die.”
Epithet: The Twin Winds[edit]
Introduction[edit]
The fourth and fifth spirits given form by the Dragons were the twins Ai and Phee. Small in stature and strength when compared to the rest of their kin, the duo were given dominion over the skies that covered the world. While Eschen and Vaiel fought for territory and Hysena claimed the depths of the earth, Ai and Phee found joy in reaching every corner still left untouched. They have flown together and apart, they have mingled with the Dragons as well as the lowliest of beetles. While the other spirits have long strived to create some sense of order in the world, Ai and Phee have subverted their plans, they have spurred on spontaneity, and they have reminded mortals to enjoy the time they are given rather than toil it away into the grave, for the memory of the soul is short and Limbo leaves neither accomplishment nor legacy to pass into the next life.
Background[edit]
As the oceans rose and fell and life spread across the world, there was something missing to the world that the Dragons wished to provide. Their creations were meant to experience this world rather than simply live upon it, and with a beat of their wings, the Dragon of Air beat two wind currents to circle the world, both meant to entice and encourage travel and exploration and movement. One stream ran toward the east, the other to the west, and though Eschen tried to claim these wind currents in addition to the seas, the Dragons denied him and cast two spirits upon them.
Ai journeyed west, and her current was warm. The summer and spring followed with her and the world celebrated her arrival. She blew away Eschen’s storms of anger and even soothed his ire while simultaneously fanning Vaiel’s flames to spread farther and farther. Ai came to know what tomorrow would always bring and promised to ensure its gifts were not spoiled.
Phee, on the other hand, journeyed east, and with him came the snows of winter and the rest of autumn. He reminded the forests of yesterday, of their work and their diligence and bid them fair sleep. Phee brought the harvest bounty to the civilized people and turned them around so they might look back on the road they walked.
Over time, many came to seek out the twin spirits, and as they journeyed around the world, the spirits gifted the nomads behind them with the means better suited for following their trail, and as they did, the Aiphe became the fourth and final mortal race created through spiritual blessings. The Aiphe knew no fixed home, for neither did their patrons, but rather they rejoiced both in meeting new friends and discovering new places, and where they met the Twin Winds themselves, they held celebrations that lasted for weeks on end.
Order and structure were the boundaries for most, but Ai and Phee tell all they meet that each day is a choice; a choice to exist as one always has, or a choice to act and try something new.
Trivia[edit]
Ai and Phee have been known to knock over monuments and temples dedicated to them, for they oppose anything that would anchor their worshippers to one place
The twin spirits hold little care for the constant fighting across the world, be it between Rhystian powers alone or against the Void and the Fae
Some believe the two spirits are the halves of one fuller form, but when asked, Ai and Phee insist they are separate but bound to one another
Unpredicted moments of happenstance and minor acts of misfortune or luck are often chalked up to the unseen interventions of the Twin Winds