The Grand Voyage

Summary

500 years ago, a terrible plague was sweeping across Aighol Auran. Cities were turned into empty shells of life, and villages were left devoid of civilisation. The plague did not discriminate, old, young, healthy and not, there was no pattern in who it would take or how to protect against it. Desperate, survivors cast aside blood feuds and clan rivalries to search for a cure. The people began to talk of their sacred northern land, and the Fallen Ice Bridge, a large span of frozen ocean that used to connect Aighol Auran to the North. This land was said to hold divine secrets and forbidden knowledge, which led many to believe it contained the answer to the plague. Gathering the able-bodied and those willing to make the perilous journey, they embarked on The Grand Voyage. The journey was treacherous, and the voyagers faced many trials. A number of ships never found their destination, becoming lost, or falling to foul weather, sea beasts and pirates. But those that did found the mystical northern city of spirits, Tuanda. The frozen land sapped the physical essence of life from them, but the souls that survive the weakening of their physical being found enlightenment in their pure spiritual form.
Of those that found the city, some did not stay long, choosing only to study the knowledge required to cure the plague, and returned to Aighol Auran as the Shae. They became known as the Summerling Shae, because they did not stay to face the long winters of the North. Most deities worshipped and honoured by the Aernish are considered to be Summerling Shae. The other Shae are the ones stayed longer, becoming cold to their previous life, greedy for all the mystical knowledge they could find, and became known as the Cold Shae. Instead of only seeking curative magic, they sought out all types of knowledge. The most harmless of the Shae use this power with a mischievous spirit rather than malicious, but many fear for the day they decide to take their land back.

Historical Basis

It is likely that there was a plague, as it is a common theme of stories from this time, and the catacombs confirm a significant increase in deaths around this time. Evidence of increased shipbuilding activity also suggests that there was a large exodus from the land, but the more sceptical attribute it to people attempting to escape the plague, rather than in search of a magic cure. Many of the most revered Aernish deities make their first appearance around the time the plague subsided, whether it be because of true divine intervention, or just that those names became associated with good fortune and protection is unknown.

Cultural Reception

Aernish

For the Aernish this myth is regaled with the importance of a creation myth. They are the descendants of the ones who stayed behind. Those that stayed to care for the ill, or those that were too cowardly or sick to leave. Their most honoured deities are considered to be the Summerling Shae, their ancestors that returned to strengthen and protect them. The rest of the Shae are portrayed as selfish, more interested in attaining knowledge for themselves than being benevolent to the people of Aighol Auran. Stories of the Cold Shae range from mischievous to malevolent, from hiding a farmers tools to blighting the year's harvest.

Khairok

As this myth is the widespread belief of the land, instead of outright rejecting it, the Khairok reworked themselves into the history of it. They claim to be the descendants of those that left on the voyage but never made it to the north. Instead of finding enlightenment in the north, the lost people of the voyage discovered the Halls of the Dead at the bottom of the ocean. Here the souls of the dead rest, and meditate on their past life, before reincarnating into a new life. As the myth was retold and altered, modern Khairok were offended by the implication that their sailing was inferior to those that reached Tuanda. They introduced a version where their ancestors were betrayed by the greedy Cold Shae. They were sabotaged and sunken, but because of that they emerged with the true secret knowledge of enlightenment that cannot be found in Tuanda, but by meditating in the Halls of the Dead.