There was an immense tree that gave strong wood and sweet fruit. The goddess Masira thought, This tree makes life too easy. Man grows weak. She tore it from the ground and shook out its roots, spilling grains of sand and drops of water. From the sand, Eiqab was born. From the water, Wahir.

She was fascinated by her Sons and grew so possessive over them, she desired that none else should have Sons of their own.

From this point forward, Masira said, there shall be no more trees that give life. And so, the desert was born.

The Sons were exhausted by the world’s bleakness and angered by the weak people who caused it.

Mother is right, Eiqab said, People must be made hard from a hard life. So Eiqab crafted a great light above his head, so hot the ground desiccated beneath his feet. Now, Eiqab said, the people will suffer as they deserve.

Seeing his brother’s searing light and dried earth, Wahir was repulsed. He said, Mother, Brother, man cannot live in the world you have made, and cruelty will not lead to strength. He stepped through the sand, and in his footsteps, people found cool water and a respite from the sun under the small trees that grew there. Seeing how man swaddled his body in cloth to protect himself from Eiqab’s light, Wahir fashioned a dark sky and pale light that split the world so that they would have cool nights to break from the day.

Masira watched her Sons and saw that they were both right. She was satisfied, for her Sons were of her spirit, and she proclaimed all living things, but man most of all, shall likewise be of both light and dark.

—Excerpt from the Litab Almuq