Feloran Epic Myths
In Feloran Culture, the Epic Myths are an anthology of myths related to the rise and fall of the Feloran Empire. They break down the Empire into a series of "ages", distinct from the eras used by historians to describe the chronological progression of the Empire, in an attempt to contextualise modern Feloran societies. The thematic link of these varying myths came about as the Feloran people tried to make cultural sense of the preceding 200-300 years.
The Founding Age is the earliest in the "chain", starting with the Miranèlis Family and the Getninian Cataclysm. Then there is the Expansion Age, when institutional power of the Feloran Emperix was near-absolute, and empire's borders were expanding and the Feloran State could finance massive infrastructure projects with the use of forced labor, ending with Thröm & Yuileïa. The Golden Age follows, and is the period of equality, social mobility, and freedom within the Feloran Empire that saw much of the modern values of Felorans take hold. The Imperialist Age starts with the House Kaelbryn's Return to Power, and lasts until the The Sacking of Soren.
Summary
Known as "the Mythic Chain" to the Feloran people, the earliest of them details the mythological narrative surrounding the Getnian Cataclysm. The term "chain" refers to the common view that the myths interlock with each other to form the mythological narrative tethering them to their earliest myths and ideas about their origins.
The next story in the chain is related to the Abolishment of Slavery & the Je'thor Reformations, ad tells the story of companions Thröm and Yuileïa, orc and elf, who introduced the reforms that started the Feloran Golden Age.
The penultimate myth in the chain is House Kaelbryn's return to power, once viewed as an epic heroic story but increasingly re-evaluated as the inflection point between the Feloran Golden Age and the beginning of the end for the Empire.
Spread
The concept of the "Chain" was formed in the communites along the Grand Feloran Canal, during the Feloran Mass Famine and spread between them by Canal Janitor and barge merchants.
Cultural Reception
Amongst the common Feloran Elf and Dotharan half-elf, the popular attitude towards these myths is that they tell stories about how the Feloran Empire was a mistake and reinforce the idea that acts that reduce freedom weaken the Yīra of those who lose their freedom and poison those who take it.
Feloran Orcs have a more critical view of the mythology, in which it shares many of the same figures and basic stories but with varying degrees in the characterisation of many figures in each. For them, it is the story of the betrayal of promises and the failure of Elven allies to follow through on their ideals. By the time citizenship of the Empire was restricted to only "Felorans born to parents with Inner Feloran or Ekoran blood," hundreds of generations of Orcs had been working and living as fully integrated and equal citizens of the Empire, while comparitively few generations of Elves, meaning pre-Je'thor Feloran views persisted in much of the Elven population.
The Sovereignty of Soren and other revanchist elements of Feloran society are the most reactionary to the concept, viewing it as traitorous to the legacy of the Feloran Empire. They believe the narrative defames the achievements of the Empire of Felora, and is antithetical to their own narrative of an Empire brought down by lesser peoples, especially Orcs and non-Feloran Elves.
Related Ethnicities
