As it was with men and the creatures, so with the world; it was young
and unripe (_k‘yaíyuna_). Unstable its surface was, like that of a
marsh; dank, even the high places, like the floor of a cavern, so that
seeds dropped on it sprang forth, and even the substance of offal
became growing things.
Earthquakes shook the world and rent it. Beings of sorcery, demons
and monsters of the under-world fled forth. Creatures turned fierce,
becoming beasts of prey, wherefore others turned timid, becoming
their quarry; wretchedness and hunger abounded, black magic, war,
and contention entered when fear did into the hearts of men and the
creatures. Yea, fear was everywhere among them, wherefore, everywhere
the people, hugging in dread their precious possessions, became
wanderers they, living on the seeds of grasses, eaters of dead and
slain things! Yet still, they were guided by the Two Beloved, ever in
the direction of the east, told and taught that they must seek, in the
light and under the pathway of the Sun, the middle of the world, over
which alone could they find the earth stable, or rest them and bide
them in peace.