Creation of Azarth (AZ-arth)

Every citizen of Polira knows the myth of how Azarth came to be. Perhaps other places in the world have different stories, but this is the truth of creation, as set down by the Maionene Temple. Take heed to the teachings of the temple, which this scribe will now relate.

The source existed, whole unto itself.
It floated in the nothingness before time. It was all that there was.
A thought arose, then a feeling, and the source began to change.
Pulsing slowly at first, then more and more rapidly,
Until it could bear no more.
The source gave birth to another like itself, yet unalike.
The source named itself Maion and its mirror was Zolgar.

The story tells of a spark, a source, that was everything within nothing, and then that source felt loneliness, and created another out of itself, a mirror image. They were twin deities. These are the gods, Maion and Zolgar, eternal and unchanging. They are not like humans, although They can take human form. They have no gender, no ethnicity, none of the divisions that humans make among themselves. Maion is whole unto themselves, and Zolgar is Their shadow.

Maion laughed with the joy of creation,
And the laugh transformed itself,
The nothingness began to change, creating form and light.
But Zolgar wept in frustration, for they wished for a creation,
And the bitterness of their tears became darkness and decay.
And so Azarth was created, and all the heavens with it,
But a darkness was within it.

The myth goes on to tell how Maion created Azarth from a laugh. For an instant, all was pure and perfect. The jealousy of Their sibling, Zolgar, however, infected the creation. They destroyed the purity that Maion had envisioned. Zolgar brought all that is evil to the world: death, darkness, and corruption. As all know, the Temple teaches us that Maion is known as the God of Light and Life, and Zolgar the God of Destruction, Darkness, and Magic.

The twins strove against each other.
What Maion would create, Zolgar would destroy.
The perfect creation was marred with death and sorrow.
Finally, Zolgar's jealousy could take no more,
And they shaped a creation of their own,
Tainted and twisted, they called it magic,
And placed it deep within the creation of Maion.
And thus did Azarth and all its creatures come to be.
And thus were the seeds of the Shattering sown.

Maion creates all the various things living upon Azarth, one by one. But Zolgar's jealousy knows no bounds and curses each being with death, giving different spans to each, so that nothing was alike in its dying. This was not the worst of Zolgar's crimes, however. It is They who formed magic, as Their own creation, and hides it deep inside the world of Maion. They also curse certain humans with the ability to sense and wield this unnatural power, and use it as they wished, to alter all that Maion had said would be. This is the sin of Zolgar, but the use of magic, that is the sin of humankind. This is why Maion punished us by sending The Shattering, reshaping Their creation and tainting the evil power that Zolgar had made. Humankind must now atone for these crimes, and beg forgiveness of Maion, so that They might look down upon us with mercy. This is the story of the creation of Azarth.

Date of Canonization

168 AS at the Council of Narleme

Related Locations

• Azarth

Related People

• Maion
• Zolgar

Related Organizations

• Maionene Temple

Alternate Tellings

There is a non-canon version of this text contained within the Maulogne Codex, which places Maion and Zolgar as co-equal and co-creators, neither evil or good. This codex has been condemned as heretical by the Maionene Temple, and all good worshippers are forbidden to read it.