Four Great Beasts

The Four Great Beasts are mythical creatures of massive size and power that have roamed Azimuth for all of known history, said to have been made during the Age of Creations. The Four Great Beasts are:

• The Great Leviathan, the Tidal Great Beast of Water
• The Great Phoenix, the Ignited Great Beast of Fire
• The Great Tempest, the Gusting Great Beast of Air
• The Great Behemoth, the Quaking Great Beast of Earth

These beasts are forces of nature and are often calamitous, destructive, and incredibly dangerous. The Four Great Beasts are lesser idols, and some cultures and cults worship them as demigods.
The existence of the Four Great Beasts isn't debated, as their effects on the history of the world have been recorded in cultural stories and histories across the ages. However, their nature, origin, and motivations are unknown. They are seen as mythical or legendary figures, and it is unclear if they are natural, phyiscal entities or if they are manifestations of some other force and exist only rarely.

Description

Origin and Purpose

Stories related to the creation myths of The Severance allege the Four Great Beasts were made originally to battle against the Primordial Elementals. These Great Beasts were created to destroy elementals and ignore elemental energy, thus would be best suited to push back against these energies.
Writings in The Decayed Tomes claim after the old gods' war with the Primordials, the Great Beasts became the holders of the Severance Keys. After the old gods were separated from Azimuth by the events of the Severance, these four were left behind and would continue to guard the Keys.

“A mechanism that fuels the Tear. Four Siphons and Four Keys. The elements shall now prevent the divine.”
“Great Beasts forged to quell the elements shall now be the guardians of the Severance.”

- The Decayed Tomes

Abilities

Each of the Great Beasts are incredibly large and powerful entities. Their size and forms give them massive strength and physical ability, and they are able to both manifest and control elemental energies. It is unknown if this elemental energy is what fuels them or if some other force powers them.
Despite appearing to be phyical creatures, they do not seem to require rest or food. As such, they can perform actions beyond what other creatures can achieve, such as eternal flight, sleeping for centuries at a time, or surviving in barren wastes.
The Great Beasts have been seen to cause strange weather effects in the area around them, even to many miles away. Often, these changes in weather can be portents to their arrival. Additionally, they can control their associated element in the region around them, seemingly at will, to do their bidding.
Though the Great Beasts are massive forces of natural destruction, there are stories and myths of figures and armies battling against the Great Beasts. However, the Great Beasts have seemingly never been pushed to near death. As seen during the Great Leviathan's battle with the Zenethian Champions, they are able to sustain grievous damage and remain alive.

Hunting Grounds

The Great Beasts do not appear to be limited to specific regions of Azimuth, and over the course of history, each has been spotted across the width and breadth of the world. However, some behavioral patterns have been noticed that match cultural and historical records.

• The Great Leviathan has been seen most commonly in the western waters of Azimuth, including the Leviathan Sea, the Azimuth Ocean, and the waters near the Seaward Isles and Stancia.

• The Great Phoenix has been seen most commonly ranging the southern skies, bringing it over regions including Tarteria and Haradren Gaer Arnad.

• The Great Tempest has been seen most commonly ranging the northern reaches of Azimuth, such as in the lands of Iluvitar, northern Gimora, and Parthenia.

• The Great Behemoth has been seen most commonly among the deserts of the world, such as the Flat Peaks Desert, the Fire Spire Sands, and the Dry River Desert.

History

The First Age: The Age of Creations

How the Great Beasts came into being is unknown. The oldest stories of the Great Beasts claim they were created by old and forgotten gods from the Age of Creations and made to do battle with Primordial Elementals.

So the gods made protectors, four powerful beasts
And unleashed them to Azimuth, on elements (to) feast

They made them with thunder, and fire, and swell
The oceans rose up, and the mountains fell

- The Four Great Beasts Shanty

Scripture found in The Decayed Tomes from before the Third Age states, "Great Beasts forged to quell the elements shall now be the guardians of the Severance."

The Third Age: The Age of Zenethia

In the early Third Age, Styrke's wanderings in the far reaches to the frozen northern coasts brought him to combat with the Great Tempest. Styrke was killed in the frigid north.
In Veldrinus, it is said the area of the Baruun Forest that burned in a massive forest fire was caused by the Great Phoenix. This fire and its aftermath set off the chain of events leading to the Battle of Charcoal.

The Fourth Age: The Age of Shadow

A section of the Parched Mountains suffered an earthquake and rockslides, believed to have been caused by the Great Behemoth. These rockslides displaced a Fire Giant that caused damage and destruction to the Salt Hills before it was slain by the Greenscales.
It is rumored the massive flood of the Bay of Rust was caused by the Great Leviathan, which created the area known today as the Barrens. This flood removed much of the topsoil of this region, leaving it sparse with little plantgrowth.
In 4A 996, the Great Leviathan sunk two vessels in the Leviathan Sea, including the ship captained by Petra D'Silva. Petra is the only known survivor of this attack.
Later in 4A 996, the Zenethian Heroes on the Black Barrow battled the Great Leviathan. During the battle, Aoth Stormwind was swallowed and later rescued. Ivan and Joseppe formed a magical wall of iron suspended above the Leviathan and dropped the mass onto it, and the group repelled it.

The Fifth Age: The Age of Beginnings

The firbolgs of Dorfaren refer to an area of the Dorr Wood as the Soot Crown. Their oral histories tell of a great storm in the early Fifth Age that killed these trees with lightning and gales, presumed to be from the Great Tempest.
In mid-Jeran 5A 351, the Prophets of Regression tracked down and somehow defeated the Great Leviathan in the Leviathan Sea, and they claimed the Leviathan's Severance Key. A journal written by Maalik stated the battle took everything the Prophets could provide.
On 29 Madaet 5A 352, the Provideniye came to the aid of the Testudo at Rune Pike. After a battle against harpies, the captain of the Testudo, Damu, said, "Blessings only go so far with dark things on the horizon. Bad luck being in the Leviathan Sea with no Leviathan."

Legacy

• The Leviathan Sea takes its name from the Great Leviathan, and is the area with the most confirmed sightings of the creature.
• The Four Great Beasts Shanty seems to describe the potential origin of the Great Beasts.
• The Unsigned Paintings of the Great Beasts are a set of four rare, masterwork paintings that depict each of the Great Beasts. The artist of these paintings is unknown.
• Chaka painted a masterwork art piece of the Great Phoenix for an art showing at the Watermill Gallery.
• The Santeemite novel, The Star Colossus, depicts a stylized creature some say was based on the Great Behemoth as a central figure in the narrative.
• The Wild Lands tradition of the Rime Rite is said to have started after a storied hero battled against the might of the Great Tempest.

Divine Classification
Demigod

Members
Great Leviathan
Great Phoenix
Great Tempest
Great Behemoth