Pottery, Mythic Pots & Urns
... what does it take for a lump of clay to become a vessel?
"In lands of forever frost, when the World was still dreaming, Vavaya of the Myths knelt by a large lake beneath a smoky mountain. The Sun-Child, Ao, shimmering, walked upon the crystal water. Vavaya reached for the hem of His golden vestment. "Teach me," Vavaya pleaded, "I must know what this is?" She held aloft a lump of clay; since emerging from the mountain, she had never seen anything but snow and stone.
Ao, in his infinite Wisdom, smiled warmly and began to instruct Vavaya on the secrets contained within the soft, wet Earth."
Vavaya of the Myths is the Matron Deity of the Myth Folk. Guided by Ao, the Sun-God, it was Vavaya and the Myth Folk that first implemented Pottery amongst the early tribes. Mythologists collect Artifacts from the Mythic Epoch, which include fragments of the earliest forms of pottery. Various bottles, jars, pots, and urns tell the stories of the early Civilizations.
The earliest bricks and containers were formed from clay harvested from the warmer volcanic zones of the Ice Age. Used for preservation and storage of food, water, and possessions, these items became sacred as reliquaries for the Folk Pantheon. As the Folk learned to enchant items using Magic, this led to the creation of Magical Pots & Urns.
Discovery & Invention
Invention of a Vessel
The discovery of pottery is inscribed as one of the earliest myths of the Myth Folk. They quickly learned how to form pots and urns from the local Micro-Climates , making the resources difficult to procure at times. Materials and containers were crafted before the cold seasons, when these inhabitable regions would become frozen wastes. Once forged, these vessels endured with the Myth Folk as the warmer seasons returned.
Magic allowed the Myth Folk to preserve water in special jars and bottles constructed of Magical Ice. Able to maintain the temperature of water within, there was no loss of volume through condensation nor freezing as the water is drained of its cold energy through the lattice of the Magical Ice. Different vessels, such as Blue Ice for cold water and Pink Ice for warm water, could maintain the relative temperature of the water within. These vessels would later create the baths and aqueducts of Mystomythian fame. As long as Magical Ice isn't exposed to intense heat, these vessels kept throughout long winters.
As the Disciplines of Magic and Enchanting became more nuanced, the utilization of magical pots and urns also innovated. Special slings were used to launch small, hand-held bottles of enchanted liquids, each of which contained powerful spells which burst from sharp impacts. Able to heal groups of people or harm their enemies at a safe distance, the Mystomythians holds the fossil record for most variety of Spell-Craft used to enchant their vessels than any other Culture throughout the Mythic Epoch. Used in offensive raids or as defensive fortifications, there were many kinds of Pots and Urns used by the Mystomythians.
Pots & Potions- Natural Evolution
The use of enchanted liquids to cause magical phenomenon resulted in the earliest forms of Potions, known as Pots. While Potions are consumed in a moment, personal Pots for healing or magical effects were consumed either in a group or over a longer duration. Healing Pots were often bulky containers, requiring the owner's attention when consuming whereas offensive Pots were made to be hurled or splashed in an area. As such, the term "Pot" came to describe the potency of a potion effect in modern days, evolving into slang to refer to almost any potion.
The following is a list of various Pots employed by early Cultures:
- Blue Pot
Source deals Cold damage. - Pink Pot
Source deals Fire damage. - Black Pot
Source deals Electric damage.
- Grow Pot
Causes Growth when splashed. - Magic Ink Pot
Magical ink for marks & tattoos. - Light Pot
Uses Light Source to heal damage.
"Ao's fingers glowed with His golden light as they traced the soft edge of the supple clay, guiding Vavaya's hands. She watched in amazement as the mound of clay transformed before her eyes.
"This clay," spoke Ao, " is the beginning of all things, a container of Source. It holds the secret of creation within. Shape the clay; find the secret I've hidden within."
Vavaya, puzzled, began moving her hands over the clay as the Sun-God observed in silence and tranquility. Shapes began to form, much to their mutual satisfaction."
Social Impacts
Early Pottery quickly led to stone-cutting and earth shaping in the early Clan/ Tribal Nations. Cultures quickly adapted the Mystomythian artifice for creating Pots and Urns, rapidly integrating similar practices of record-keeping, food and water preservation, and magical, defensive capabilities. Others developed clay moulds, for mass producing similar containers. The Aelves further expanded on the technology with their own forms of Snow Vessels, which were also made of Magical Ice.
Mythologists believe that these Cultural adaptations were regularly and mutually learned once these long-lived Cultures began trading with each other in earnest, as many relics from this Time could be found in each other's domains, as either commerce collateral or plundered trophies. The Myth Folk, Myst Folk, and Aelven Cultures were the three largest demographic populations during the thawing of the Ice Age. As such, their Cultures had distinct myths, legends, and traditions surrounding the use of pots and urns.
Burial ceremonies and cremations were common amongst Mystomythians- especially those who were suffering from the Titanothage. Aelves also believed that the contents of an urn or jar in itself held magical properties, as Jar of Plenty, or Plenty Pots, were favored items amongst Travelers through dangerous terrain where critical encounters were anticipated.
Myth: Obo, the Empty Vessel
Of the primordial terrors, the Eidolon, Obo, was a menace to early Cultures. It was unwise to peer into any unfamiliar vessel without another in observance, as often this is where the Eidolon would hide. Inside empty or broken pots and urns, this entity was said to conceal itself, waiting for someone to release it, wherein it will trap the unfortunate soul within its' body, draining its' soul until nothing but a dusty husk remains at the bottom of an empty urn. Dead insects and other creatures found within these containers were said to have been slain offerings to Obo, Ob-Em, or Obinemic; each aspects of the same hideous monstrosity. Unusually, the corruption of fermented matter to alcoholic spirits is often attributed to Ob-Em, who becomes drunk on the entropic energy, but there are only uncommon references in the greater work of the Folk Lore.
It was said to appear as a clay or stone statue with large, bulging bug-eyes and a stone expression. Orbital orbs formed its' arms, each with a funnel spewing black, heavy volcanic sand or black ink, depending upon the aspect Obo has chosen. It has never been recorded as an Eidolon that directly speaks to mortals, making its' ambitions much more sinister, but some suggest that an impression can be felt surrounding this bizarre Eidolon; thus, it communicates through telepathic empathy, where it is said to wear down the will of the imprisoned.
This Eidolon has attempted and succeeded on several occasions to confine powerful Mortals & Deities, as its' appetite for the psychic energies of fear and isolation is insatiable. Usually, they were broken free by breaking the Eidolon or outwitting it, but as with the Eidolon, it always returns, in some form or another. Obinemic is another aspect of Obo, which suggests the Eidolon as the progenitor of the Abominations, Mimics. As such, both are said to shape-shift from the forms of common pots, urns, and containers, eager to consume unwary individuals.
Obo is highly related to Dungeons, as some consider it an architect of these demi-planes. For this reason, Obo is considered a traveling Eidolon, able to transport passengers between Worlds or out of Dungeons; if one can trust Obo won't imprison them forever. Unlike lesser Eidolon, Obo owns a Dungeon known as Empty Space, where Obo is said to collect countless rows of broken pots and urns, making it the Eidolon's habit of piecing them together. Contained within are countless ghosts and spectres, waiting to be unleashed. Obo can interact with Pathon whether Empty Space has formed a Leyline or not. As long as any Dungeon remains open in Pathon, Obo and its' aspects are free to interact with the World, where it inhabits the empty, forgotten pots and urns abandoned by Time.
"Ao instructed Vavaya to cast her clay shapes to the warm stones near the hot, red rivers. "Return in three days," the Sun-God commanded, "and I shall reveal to you the secret within your labors."
Thus, for three days, Vavaya awaited patiently, dreaming of shapes, until the day she returned to the red rivers. There, Ao await her above the slab of stone where her creations basked in the morning sun.
When she cracked the first stone, she found within a Golden Spiral. "Use this", Ao decree," to measure and know this World, as its' perfect arc will guide your creations, Vavaya of the Myths. Seek this form in Nature and you shall find it."
Ao, departed beyond the clouds and sky, as one last golden lance of light shimmered upon Vavaya's face.
Sculpting History
Magic Pots & Urns
Availability
Bottles: Small, personal use Pots. Used to contain liquids or powders. Lesser splash effects.
Pots: Common Pot. Use can be extended to others. Range of effect- large splash zones.
Urns: Potent version of normal Pots or Bottles. Usually has additional Meta-Magic or specific purposes. Multiple applications.
Pots: Common Pot. Use can be extended to others. Range of effect- large splash zones.
Urns: Potent version of normal Pots or Bottles. Usually has additional Meta-Magic or specific purposes. Multiple applications.
Pottery seems like such a basic thing to write about - but you made it your own. The history, the addition of magical pots and even a danger associated with them made me pick this one for my reading challenge.
Thank you for including this piece with your reading challenge! It was a joy for me to see it included with so many grand entries! I appreciate your kind words, always, and best of good luck to you, friend!