The Happiness To Sleep

They had their beginnings where we all did, in the Greater World. According to tales written later, when God finished making the Lesser World, he invited all the souls in Heaven to look upon it. The ethereal crowds drew close at first, but the fires of making had not yet cooled upon the Earth, and in fear of the heat they drew back, all save seven. These were so entranced by the beauty they saw, they stepped without hesitation onto the Earth. They could not be burned, for they were still spirits without flesh, but God tied their immortal hearts to the heart of the Earth, and named them guardians of the Lesser World unto its ending. As long as they are there, close to the planet's heart, its life and continuation are said to be assured. Should they step away, the Lesser World becomes vulnerable. God help us, we stepped away.