Entry tags:

gods, myth, races

Gods & Myths
Bahamut
Race: Dragons
Element: Air
Terrain: Sky
Symbols: Clouds, Single Eye, Compass Rose, Dragon, Falcon
God of Storms, Life, Dawn, Spring, Birth, Wisdom, Literature, Scribes, Cartography, Song, Poetry, Crafts, Artists, Bards, Power, Lore, History, Secrets, Knowledge, Peace, Learning, Philosophy


Amasa
Race: Vampires
Terrain: Caves
Symbols: Blood Droplet, Hourglass, Runes, Bat, Crow
Goddess of Time, Death, Passion, Fate, Madness, Undead, Disease, Poison, Magic, Forgetfulness, Divination, Vengeance, Pride, Blood, Demons, Runes, Glyphs, Burials


Lorien
Race: Elves
Element: Light
Terrain: Forests & Jungles
Symbols: Moon, Stars, Trees, Lion, Panther
Goddess of the Heavens, the Moon, the Stars, Travel, Freedom, Dreams, Nature, Agriculture, Healing, Love, Mercy, Sex, Rangers, Fertility, Marriage, Purification, Tracking


Lolth
Race: Drow
Element: Darkness
Terrain: The Underdark
Symbols: Black Triangle, Dagger Dripping Blood, Spider
Goddess of Spiders, Evil, Chaos, Cruelty, Assassins, Thieves, Stealth, Deception, Lies, Loss, Night, Murder, Torment, Pain, Misfortune, Violence, Decay, Corruption, Rot


Tyr
Race: Phoenix
Element: Fire
Terrain: Desert
Symbols: Sunburst, Flames, Shield, Phoenix
God of Justice, Illusion, the Sun, Day, Truth, Hospitality, Homes, Oaths, Law, Balance, Guardians, Single Combat, Duty, Vigilance, Endurance, Protection, Vitality, Psionics, Order


Armas
Race: Humans
Element: Water
Terrain: Sea, Oceans & Lakes
Symbols: Sword, Dagger, Spear, Shark, Bear
God of Battles, War, Warriors, Honor, Valor, Victory, Hunting, Archers, Leadership, Strategy, Tactics, Planning, Loyalty, Cold, Winter, Nobility, Royalty, Glaciers, Sailors, Ships, Bravery, Adventurers


Gruumsh
Race: Orcs
Element: Lightning
Terrain: Plains
Symbols: Axe, Skull, Fist, Vulture
God of Conquest, Survival, Strength, Destruction, Territory, Hatred, Terror, Tyranny, Fear, Plunder, Rage, Strife, Suffering, Impulsiveness, Stupidity, Servitude


Sggordi
Race: Dwarves
Element: Earth
Terrain: Mountains
Symbols: Hammer, Mountain, Diamond, Goat, Eagle
Goddess of the Forge, Weapons, Ores, Gambling, Luck, Chance, Greed, Wealth, Mining, Gold, Mountains, Inventors, Earthquakes, Trade, Gems, Discovery, Stone, Outcasts, Rogues, Rebellion

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Ao and the World-Making
All was dark, and the world was formless and cold. Ao, the All and Present, dwelled in The Absence, which was naught but a great loneliness. But Ao, seeing that there was no good in The Absence, cried out with a loud voice, saying words that no ear could comprehend and no tongue could repeat. And a Great Light rose from the cry and cast out the darkness, for the light was hope and the knowledge of future things. Ao saw in the light that the the works of his days were yet incomplete, for the light was an illumination only and could not set out to do the things that must be done. But in the light he also saw the life of the world and its future histories, yea, even until the Ending of the World. And Ao, the All and Present, also saw that the light and the darkness could not be without each other, for they were bound as tightly as body and blood together. And he vowed never to share the Ending, for the darkness of it was powerful enough to destroy the hope in the hearts of His Own. The All and Present wept for the beauty of what was to come, and for the darkness that would fall at last in the Ending when he would leave the world for all time.

His first tear was eaten by The Absence, but it struggled and fought against The Absence until, with a roar, came a great dragon. His birth cry filled the world with the breath of life, and ever after he was Lord of the Air. Ao plucked the dragon from The Absence and named him Bahamut, and gifted him with the greatest of gifts, and filled him with all the wisdom Ao could share with him, and set him on the face of the earth, and called his firstborn the force of creation.

His second tear fell to the earth and from it sprung a dark and beautiful lady. But the earth was a greedy thing and clung to her feet as she emerged. Enraged, she kicked down against the earth and a cavern opened beneath her might. The blow was so great that it sent the world to spinning, and she was ever after called the Lady of Time. The All and Present took her in his hands and named her Amasa, and gifted her with the keeping of fate, and filled her with all the passion Ao could share with her, and set her beside Bahamut, and called her the force of destruction. And he declared that they were to be as one, and to walk beside each other forevermore, and to bring forth the world. Then the All and Present shared with them the Great Light, and in it, the plans for the world that would be. But from the Ending, he shielded them.

But the world was yet still, despite its spinning, and no larger than the smallest of islands floating in The Absence. And Ao said unto his children, whom he loved above all, "I have given you what you are and what you can be. Nothing else I have to offer but the world. Take it, and bring it up to be what you have seen." And his heart was filled with joy for the things that were to come, and with sadness for the Ending of it, but in his wisdom he knew that all came with joy and sadness, for it was the Balance, and he was the Balance, and it was good.

And after giving his commandment, he descended upon the world and filled it with the power his children needed and all the substance with which they could create and destroy, and the world grew heavy and full with the power of Ao. But the All and Present was no longer seen from that day, and the world passed into the care of Bahamut and Amasa.

Bahamut & The Creation of The World Tree
When the world of Ao was filled with the makings of All, Amasa walked with Bahamut through the earth as he mapped its vastness. Her eyes were turned toward the dark places of the world, and his were on the brightness of it, and thus they each saw all that there was of the gift Ao had made unto them. And they envisioned the world as it would be. When they had seen all the world and knew each corner of the face of it, Bahamut drew her to the center of all, the place where last the glory of Ao had been seen, and together they laid on the ground for the evening.

When the dawn came over the land, Amasa woke and saw that Bahamut stood with his hands in the sky. Before her eyes, he caught some of the rays of the morning and with a shout, drove them deep into the ground. And the breath from his cry caught fire and joined with the rays of dawn, and the earth quaked, and the sky rained down tears upon them. Then Amasa said unto him, "What have you done, husband?" for she did not understand the trembling of the ground or the weeping of the sky. He answered, and said unto her, "Our world cries out, for I bring it the beginnings of life. Still your heart; had I slain the world, it would sigh for the quietness of it. But the tears of the sky and the quavering of the earth are heralds of life, and all life begins with pain."

Secretly, her spirit loved the quietness of death, though she knew it was not the fate of the world now. Still, she sought to pull his hands away from what he was doing, for she was angry that he had not spoken to her regarding this. But he grabbed her hands and made her to hold onto the dawn as well; and she felt light and darkness and fire and air and water and earth combine together with the will of her husband, though she fought it. Then bursting from the place where Ao had descended, a mighty trunk rose high and threw its branches high overhead and blossomed with life and the green of living things. And the trunk in its passing wounded her hands and the hands of her husband, and they bled.

The deed done, Amasa drew away, but not before she heard her husband name the tree. And its name was Yggdrasil, the World Tree, because it held the power to support all life and all life was destined to spring from it. Even in her anger Amasa knew that it was good. Then Bahamut embraced Amasa and caught her hands again and pressed his palms over hers. Between their hands he set two great leaves of the World Tree; and the leaves sealed their wounds and dried their divine blood and they were whole again. Amasa's anger subsided because of his gentleness, and seeing that he showed the same care for the World Tree, she began to love him. And seeking to please him and knowing the power of blood, she took the two leaves and ground them up and ate them. And from it, she became heavy with child.

And that child was Seldarine.

The Divorce of Seldarine
To their firstborn, Bahamut gave the children of Yggdrasil, which were the forests and the jungle; and heavens, which were to hold the moon and the stars; and the power of love and fertility and union; for Seldarine was tied to all these things from her creation. Also to their firstborn, Amasa gave the great deeps under the earth, which had been created when Amasa kicked the ground to free herself; and the darkness of night, which was to protect all manners of danger; and the power of pain and torment and decay; for the influence of Bahamut was strong and Amasa sought to give her daughter equal parts of herself. For the balance of Ao was ever in her mind. Together, Amasa and Bahamut instructed Seldarine in the ways of the world that would be and taught her how to call forth the power of Ao for the purposes of the world's fulfillment. And Seldarine grew twice as quickly as normal, for the power within her was strong. In the fullness of time, Amasa commanded their daughter to go into the world and show her influence, for the world was yet new and needed to be brought up. But Amasa and Bahamut stayed by the World Tree, for it was time for them to bring forth a son, who would be named Tyr.

And Seldarine traveled into the world of Ao, and sought to do all that her parents commanded, but she was deeply troubled in spirit. For the strife at her creation had made her of two minds, and without the balance that her parents created, she fell in conflict with herself. Her works in the world were great and mighty, admired from afar by her parents, but a great chasm had begun within Seldarine's heart, and grew ever wider with each calling forth of Ao's vision. But she felt the weight of her parents' command, and continued her work. And her parents did not know, for another son was born unto them, who was called Armas.

The spinning of the world passed the years by in succession, and the world was filled with the works of their family, and the addition of Tyr and Armas' skill hastened the finishing of the world. But when Ao's vision was nearly completed, there came a scream that shivered the trees and sent the caves to groaning. At that time, a whirlwind of light and dark appeared in the east, and was seen from all over the world. And Bahamut looked to the east and saw a storm that was not his; and Amasa looked to the east, and saw madness that was not hers; and at once, they sent Tyr and Armas to the center of the whirlwind to see what could be done. In the east the brothers found Seldarine, who had taken both hands and ripped open her chest. And from her chest rose the whirlwind; and one hand was covered in blood that shone like the moon, and the other hand was covered in blood that ate all light. And on one side, a sea of spiders swarmed in chaos from the split in her chest and entered the darkest places of the world; and on the other, misty dreams swirled into the atmosphere and waited for those who were to come. And the brothers showed no fear, but took their sister up and carried her swiftly to their parents.

Amasa saw her daughter's pain and keened for her death, that it might approach quickly and end Seldarine's suffering. But Bahamut in his wisdom immediately clove their daughter in twain, and in the presence of his family covered each raw half with the leaves of Yggdrasil, the World Tree. And he threw back his head and gave his voice to song, rich with power and filled with strength of Ao, whose gifts unto him were vaster than any other's. And he sang rebirth into his daughter, whom he had split in twain. But Amasa was filled with anger, for under the voice of her husband, she heard her daughter crying out from the pain. And she loved her, and wished again to bring death unto her. Seizing on one half of her daughter, she covered her single ear and tried to stop Bahamut from his task. But Bahamut's power overrode her own and could not be undone.

And Seldarine became two: Lorien, whom Bahamut filled with those gifts he had once given Seldarine; and Lolth, whom Amasa held in her arms and unwittingly filled again with her dark gifts.

The Competition of the Sisters
Between the sisters Lorien and Lolth grew a rivalry stronger than any had seen on the world before. And through this rivalry sprung many great things - the growing of green things, and the decay of lifeless matter; the peaceful shelter of the forest, and the haven of darkness in the great Underdark; the brightness of the moon and the stars, and the blackness of night - and each completed their duties in full balance.

In the gloaming of the night when the world was fulfilled in accordance with the vision of Ao, The First Ones called their children together. Bahamut took record of each of their children's achievements and Amasa created a grand celebration in honor of the world that was. And all arrayed themselves in their finest trappings, and they had wine and merriment, and were filled with the goodness of what they had brought forth. But neither sister could celebrate peaceably with the other. When the others of their family, having taken their fill of celebration and duly taken to their beds, the sisters remained, arguing with tongues thick with wine and rivalry. Each listed their achievements as they had been given to Bahamut, and each countered the other with their works. It was decided between them that whichever sister bore the stronger child, then, would be the greater between them. And having turned their eyes upon the making of their children to settle their dispute for all time, Lolth hied herself to where Armas made his bed and Lorien went thusly to Tyr.

Lolth found Armas yet awake, for Armas was possessed of a restless spirit and was troubled that there was nothing left of the world to make. For they had made it all. When Lolth heard all that troubled her brother, she turned his despair to her own purposes, and whispered of offspring, and things yet to be made, and the pleasure of the making. Though Armas found no attraction to his sister, he took her to his bed to seek to ease his spirit for the night. And when they had finished, Lolth left him. From their union was brought forth a son, and Lolth named him Gruumsh, and immediately gave to him the last of the great gifts, so as to rob Lorien's child. And Gruumsh was given lightning to do with as he saw fit and was made lord of the plains.

Now, Tyr had long looked upon Lorien with favor, for she was to him the brightest of all things in the world and the embodiment of loveliness. But when she woke him with gentle words and comely looks, he resisted her advances. For Lorien had never before looked to him with eyes that burned, and he believed the wine from their celebration had gone to her head. Again, Lorien tried to rouse his interest and set herself beside him as a lover might. With tremors that he could not hide, Tyr rose from his bed and moved to leave her, that the morning not bring shame upon them. But Lorien caught his hand and drew him to her. And giving him words heavy with seduction, she filled his palms with the softness belonging to a woman. The strength of his convictions failed him and he lost himself to her. But in the morning, Lorien returned to her forests. And from their union was brought forth a daughter, and Lorien named her Sggordi and to Sggordi went the mountains, the last of the world to be assigned. But there were no great elemental gifts to give to Sggordi.

Having bore their children, Lorien and Lolth named a time for their offspring to prove which was the mightier of the two. But when the time came for Sggordi and Gruumsh to challenge each other, neither child was the stronger, and both their powers - one having been gifted, and one having been won - canceled the other out, and the Balance of Ao was yet retained. But the rivalry between Lorien and Lolth continued, more bitterly than before.

Sggordi's Challenge
When Lorien saw that Sggordi had come of age and knew that the time of the reckoning between her daughter and the son of Lolth grew near, her heart quailed in despair and fear. For although her daughter had grown strong in the ways of her terrain and held the most knowledge of the loneliness of the mountains, she did not possess the power of an element, for Lolth had given the last of them unto Gruumsh. At the last of her reserve, Lorien turned in desperation to her brother and the father of their child, and went to Tyr.

Now Tyr had long yearned for Lorien's favor, but yet remembered how Lorien had left him upon the creation of their daughter. And although he had no hand in the rearing of their child, he felt a great attachment to the girl and called her daughter and named her his own. Though Tyr's heart was yet loyal to his father and mother and loved them, he advised Lorien to urge Sggordi to challenge Amasa for the element of Earth. For he knew that their mother was above all things a proud goddess and could not countenance the challenge without answer. And then he discussed at length the power and temperament of their mother, saying all things that were no mystery, but in such a way that revealed the weaknesses of Amasa and the way to ensnare her for Sggordi's victory. And Lorien, being a clever and canny creature, understood all that Tyr said and did not say, and left her tears in his desert home. And Tyr remained, and turned his eyes away from Lorien forevermore. For though he had shown her the path, he could not respect her if she walked it.

And having whispered to Sggordi the way in which to ensnare Amasa, the daughter of Lorien returned to the World Tree. In a loud voice, Sggordi boasted that through her knowledge of mountains she could form from the earth a thing more wonderful than Amasa had ever fashioned. Against the counsel of her husband, Amasa came and stood in front of her granddaughter and scoffed at her. Then Sggordi offered up her mountains unto Amasa if she could not manage such a feat. Not to be outdone, Amasa offered up her Ao-given gift of dominion over the Earth. And thus, the challenge was set.

For three days, the goddesses toiled, and on the fourth, Amasa revealed The Great Canyons of the West, vast and deep, colored with the stripes of the earth, and holding columns of stone and archways that seemed to capture the sky in their yawnings, and capable of folding a voice back and forth many times across its magestic wideness. And it was marvelous, and all who looked upon it were filled with wonder. And Amasa believed her victory to be complete. But then Sggordi led them deep into the heart of her mountains and revealed a great hollow under the stone, filled with minerals that glistened in the walls like stars. And Sggordi had broken open the mountain so light entered the secret hollow through the cracks. And over these fractures, she set the crystals from the earth, polished and cut so the light created rainbows that showered the cavern. And there was a stream that flowed through the center of it, and the sound of the water sang off the stones embedded in the ceiling. Then beholding it, Tyr wept, for he knew that Sggordi had won. And it was so.

And Amasa was forced to grant Sggordi dominion over Earth. But Amasa retained her terrain of the Caves, and vowed to yet restore her own greatness through the power that lay within her.

The Creation of the Races
The world was called into being in accordance with the vision of Ao and all shapes and forms of the world were complete and the children of Yggdrasil flourished, but it was yet incomplete. For the world of Ao was inhabited only by the gods who had fashioned it. Then the First Ones again called their children together. Once they had gathered, Bahamut stepped forward and stretched out his hands to the sky, as he had done at the creation of the World Tree. And lo! From the sky he called down the first of the races, two pair of dragons created in his own image. "This is the race I have created. Unto them do I pass my gifts, that they may find a place in the world of Ao." And they were beautiful, and in their eyes shown an intelligence that all marked as belonging to Ao. For until that moment, there had been many creations that roamed the earth - insects and furred and scaled and feathered animals and creatures neither animal nor sentient - but none of them held the Light within them.

Then Bahamut reached up into the World Tree and broke six branches from the outstretched boughs of Yggdrasil: and to his children he gave them. But he did not give a branch to Amasa. And Amasa was angry and proud, but kept her thoughts to herself and stood beside her husband and remained silent. Then Bahamut spoke again, saying: "Go to your land again. With your gifts and the extension of Yggdrasil, create for the world of Ao a race fit to your terrain." And the children of the First Ones went to their set places in the world and began creation. When they were gone Amasa also left Bahamut, for her anger was great and her pride still stung from losing Earth to Sggordi. Bahamut saw her heart but did not pursue her, for he held the wisdom of Ao within him and knew the fate of the world.

And when the gods returned to Yggdrasil, Bahamut stood alone as each child of the First Ones revealed their creations. Lorien brought forth the elves, who were as fair as she; and Lolth brought forth the drow, who were as dark as she; and Tyr brought forth the phoenix, who were as enduring as he; and Armas brought forth the humans, who were as adventurous as he; and Gruumsh brought forth the orcs, who were as brutish as he; and Sggordi brought forth the dwarves, who were as enterprising as she. And when all the races had been revealed and named, each gave of their gifts unto their races, that their final creations should find a place in the world of Ao. Night fell ere all had been completed, then the races were released unto the world that they may flourish. But as they dispersed, Bahamut was seen to take a step aside. Amasa revealed herself from where she had been secretly watching, and with her she brought a single being, a strange creature of her own making.

Before her family, she named the vampire as her own and filled it with her gifts and said unto them, "My vampire has not been gifted a branch of Yggdrasil, but was created my own blood. With secret power in runes and glyphs I have given her form. And now she will take life from the veins of your own creations and she will create life from the same." But before Amasa could send the vampire into the world with the rest, all of the gods except Bahamut stepped forward to destroy her creation, for they were much afraid. But Bahamut gave counsel and halted their intent with words both large and powerful, for there was wisdom in destruction as well as creation. And through his words were the gods swayed to allow the vampire to live but to be placed in the ground until the world was filled with the life of the other races.

And the races flourished on the world of Ao until they were more numerous than the leaves of Yggdrasil. Then at the appointed moment was the vampire released, and she created her own race in the fullness of time.