The Story of the 12 Kingdoms

[micheledelbon]

Does anyone here understood and could explain to me the story of how the 12 kingdoms were created?
I remember some serpents and branches, and some fruits but honestly, I never understood it well. o__O

[Shokou]

My best attempt at summing it up, and I'm not sure if everything is 100% correct

a) Initially, there were 9 provinces and 4 kingdoms.
b) But their rulers were unfair and neglected the will of the skies, so Tentei destroyed the world, and was to build it anew.
c) Tentei chose 5 lesser Gods, and 12 humans, and turned everything else into eggs.
d) Tentei gave each human a branch with a snake + three fruits attached to them.
e) The snakes created the sky, and the fruits fell to the ground, creating the Juuni Kokki land.
f) The Junni Kokki land was divided in 13: Houzan and Koukai(the sea in the middle) + 12 kingdoms to be ruled by the 12 humans.
g) The branches became pens, to be used in a way that they rule with fairness and humanity.

I don't know what happened to the lesser Gods...it's been a long while since I read the first novels, so this is mostly my anime memory(which was rewatched more recently than the novels, as it's easier to), so I apologize for mistakes.