Creation Myths from Across Aedelwynn.
So Many Stories, So Little Time...
"The clansmen of Aedelwynn believe, mistakenly, that the world was fashionned through two forces of Light and Darkness, denying the existence of the Great Balance held by Her Majesty's very presence. The body of the Great Wyrm isn't even an occurence, their ignorance is evident through every aspect of their lives. It shames me to admit that such a barbaric peoples has not yet been enlightened by the brilliance of Her Immortal Radiance's very reign, and though our work in converting these savages through missionary work advances, it does so at a snail's pace. Of course, assimilation is a complex balance between reward, compromise and punishment, however it is this humble chronicler's opinion that the Empire ought to send in their armies and burn whatever temples they have erected their demonic overlords. These 'Divine Three' are clearly fiends in divine clothing!"- An Encyclopedia of the Northern Folk and Tribes, Chapter VII: Philosophy and Spiritism, Holfr Sturlursson.
Overview:
The many peoples of the world have different interpretations on how the world was created. Usually these creation myths stick to the fashioning of Aedelwynn, however many foreign cultures have imported some of their myths and traditions with them from overseas. This article summarizes the various myths present as of 1265 P.R in Aedelwynn, be they Clannic, Wilder, Kasharrii or from beyond.
Author's Note: I will be updating these as I see fit, depending on what characters my players choose to make with every campaign.
Summary
Creation of the world according to An Tuana.
At first there was nothing but light and dark. These two dichotomous forces opposed one another, and following their conflict, light shone down onto the darkness below, revealing its corpse. The world was fashioned from light cleansing away the darkness and from this clarity rose the first elves, men and other people of Aedelwynn. Under the light of the sun and stars, they came to live until the elves enslaved humanity, and pushed back the other folks of Aedelwynn deep into the wilds, forever banished from the celestial skies.
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Creation of the World According to Ferdiankin (An Fir-bholg).In a world where there was no light, darkness reigned. When the Ferdiankin were born, a bright fire joined them and suffused all things. The firbolgs were the first born amongst all races, shaped from embers and clay. Imperfect, they were followed by their many brothers and sisters, the giant kin we know today. They grew alongside their siblings, and protected their youngest of brothers: mankind. Yet a temptation befell upon the Ferdiankin, and for the glory of reign and rule, blood was shed.
The eldest brothers, the Fir, left for their havens wishing to draw blades on none of their siblings. The mountains bellowed in anger. A curse befell the children of the hills becoming no more than ravenous beasts (most depraved of the family), the children of the storm fled from their obligations never to be seen again, the children of the flame laid siege deep beneath the earth, at war with their brothers of stone. The sons of frost turned to darker arts seeking weakness to supplant and rule. The children of the skies taught the Edel the powers of the clouds, in exchange for aid in their war.
As the Shattering of Kin erupted in a rage, and the family tore itself apart, the Ferdian were betrayed. When the siblings were at their weakest, the Elves rose to the occasion and swiftly defeated them. In their victory, they took away the youngest brother, mankind, as a wergild - their tribute.
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Creation of the world according to the An Edel.Once was the sky, and the sea. The two of them fought one another in a rage fitted war that saw the very sky perish from the sea’s claws, whilst the latter was slain by the sky’s spear. At the end of a long, bloody conflict, the sea’s corpse gave birth to the land, the mountains, and from her dead flesh the first Elves came to be, followed by humans, orcs, and other races of Aedelwynn. They beheld the world and swore to protect what had come to be their home: Edelin, Aedelwynn, the Land of Light and Snow.
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Creation of the World According to An Sidhe (the faeire folk).
According to Sidhe, the land was at first simply a forest. This fruitful, verdant landscape began to die as the archfey turned away from their people, and the trees fell, revealing stone mountains, and massive expanses of sea water. The sidhe retreated to the depths of the forests, where they lurked and reveled in the remnants of the Courts, using their ruins as homes. They allied to what remained of the elves, sometimes betraying them, sometimes helping them, but never truly taking a specific stance. Eventually, their presence became an endearing mix of myth and frustration to many.
The Sidhe were there before men, and present in the woods when they began to build their houses of carven stone and thatch. They served the Courts, yet with them gone there was little purpose to them. None knew how they were created, only that they were and that was well enough. They watched from a distance, lurking to the warmth of the fire at night, or leaving some presents behind in hopes to be let in. Eventually a sort of symbiotic, fable-like relationship was naturally born of these interactions. Humans left offerings behind, many sidhe (now leaderless) decided to aid the clanfolk.
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Creation of the World According to An Sidhe (the spiritborn).
The Spiritborn tend to believe the earth itself is alive, calling her the Great Mother. From the Great Mother were born twelve spirits called the Twelve Children: 4 triplets of water, air, earth and fire. On the last day of labor she gave birth to Fire, she was slain by Shade who hated the light it shed. With ravenous hunger, it devoured the Mother's stomach and left her to die. The twelve spirits, upon seeing their matron bleeding in agony, pushed Shade to the very edges of the world, and created the realm at her behest, so that she might recover peacefully, for the pain gave her horrifying nightmares. They now protect the world from their mothers’ nightmares, and the horrors corrupted by their sworn enemy. Mortals were born to tend to this realm, and heal the Mother from her wounds.
Foreign Creation Myths
Visions of creation...
Date of First Recording
As long as memory can tell.
Date of Setting
Some before time began, some after.
Related Ethnicities
Creation of the world according to Dragonsworn.
At first laid amidst the depths of the seas, a great wyrm, coiled and curled around itself. In its slumber, the wyrm dreamed and bore children from its sleep. First came the ancestral dragons, who breathed life unto the slumbering wyrms’ scales, thus fashioning the world in the wyrm’s image. Then came the fellthralls, who were born of the wyrm’s nightmares. These nightmares sought to corrupt the ancestral dragons’ creations, and thus the latter prophesied a champion, who would break the chains of the demonfolk and save them from slavery. Thus came the Immortal Empress, who threw down fiendhood's yoke and bound her people to her soul and that of the great wyrms that ruled over all things. They became the dragonsworn, whose chosen by the Empress would be ascended to dragonborn.
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Creation of the world according to Tortles.First was an ocean, its depths were lush and green. The waves, the currents and the flowing breath of the water, came to give life to the shells and conches on the sea bed. From those shells came the first Tortles, whose father was the great Wanderer. Though impassive, the Wanderer cared for them until they reached the shores of the world. The Tortles found Unn, the Land of Dreams-Made-Flesh, and claimed its coasts and rivers as theirs.
The Great Sleeper, the Maze Weaver, and the Dreaming Dark is the oniric trinity of Unn. The Great Sleeper is the creator God of Unn, whose conscience is now asleep and whose dreams shape the very nature of the gigantic jungle. He is depicted as a great slug or snail. The Maze Weaver is the prophet of Unn, whose apostles allowed the people to traverse and understand the landscape they lived in; she may be dead though her teachings continue through these immortal apostles.
The Dreaming Dark is the heart of corruption within the Dreams of Unn, a seed sown in ancient times, whose nightmares bring forth demons and devils from the depths of the oniric abyss. He is depicted as a black panther with a blind eye. Through these dreaming woodlands, the Wanderer cut river paths for his children to wander, and for the forest dwellers to use safely.
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Creation of the World According to Katari.
The Jaguar Lord is a mysterious trickster figure of abyssal black skin, and married to the Mother of Panthers. They dwelled within the depths of the giant dreaming jungles of Unn, yet bound within its shifting maze-like body, they could not elope together. Thus, they created the katari race, their children whom they wished to set free that they might explore in their stead. It is said that all Tabaxi are windows for these two spirits to see what remains of the world beyond the thick green expanse. The purpose of Katari is to thus wander, to explore, to encounter and experience. Adventure, for adventure’s sake!
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