A long time ago, when the world was new, the [Passions] met to discuss
what could be done about their sister, Death. The world had been created
to contain the essence of each Passion, but Death by her very nature
negated the others. Not wishing to see the new creation unravel as they
watched, the Passions decided that something must be done.

[Astendar] created a beautiful painting depicting love and hope and the joys
of life, and showed it to Death in the hopes of changing her heart. Death
gazed on it in fascination, and the paint faded and crumbled to dust.

[Chorrolis] tried to bribe her, offering wealth beyond imagining if 
she would only leave the world be. The only wealth Death desired
was life, however, and the bribe went untouched.

[Erendis] tried to contain her, and bound her in orderly chains, and for
a time all things lived an equal span. Then a hungry hawk killed a
mouse out of turn, and the chains were broken and Death walked free.

[Floranuus] invited Death to dance, in the hopes that his boundless energy
could wear her down. But Death was tireless, and Floranuus himself broke
off the dance.

[Garlen] begged Death for mercy, and sealed her Namegiver children safe in their
homes. But Death was already inside, and the defense
went for naught.

[Jaspree] made the green things grow as fast as they could, so that Death
could not keep up. But the mad growth of the vines strangled the trees,
and the soil could not support the crops, and so they died anyway.

[Lochost] ran as far and as fast as he could, to stay out of Death's reach.
But Death ran alongside him, and could not be outpaced.

[Mynbruje] sought a less direct route, for scholarship outlives generations.
He set down laws and philosophies and great writings, confident of their
eternal nature. But the thoughts were forgotten, the books crumbled,
and eventually even the languages died.

[Rashomon] stood in front of Death to block the way, ordered her to cease.
For the sake of the world he demanded her surrender; but as he stood
there, she passed him by.

[Thystonius] challenged Death to a duel, and after a short fight put his
sword through her heart. And so Death died, and in doing so was born again,
and the fight went to her.

[Upandal] forged a complex device, of rings and balls and chains of steel,
to give to Death as a present. An impossible puzzle it was, designed to
entrap the mind and spirit in contemplation, but as Death touched it the
links broke, and the puzzle was easily solved.

And so the Passions gathered together to ask their last remaining sibling
for assistance in preserving the world from their sister. [Vestrial] heard
their pleas, and went to speak with Death.

"My sister, I have a gift for you. It is a place where you alone have
dominion, a place of peace and repose. It is called a grave, and it is
dedicated to you. Will you come see it?"

And Death thanked him, the only one of her brethren to truly understand her,
and they went together to the grave he had prepared.

"Wilt not get in, Sister, and see how you like it?"

And so Death climbed into the grave, and quick as a wink Vestrial sealed
it over with earth, and let water in above, so that an ocean lay over Death's
tomb. And thus was Death imprisoned. For ages she has fought to escape,
and Death's Sea has become a lake of fire and angry earth, but Vestrial's
trap has sealed her fast. She still exists, and so death remains, but
as I myself can attest, its grip is not so strong that souls cannot be
reclaimed. Thanks to the Trickster, Death herself no longer walks the land
as the Passions do, and the world is safer than once it was. 

The debt the world owes to the Deceiver has yet to be repayed.