Liberty versus Gaia
Summary
In the early days of human settlement on Freehaven, the planet was called Blue Oasis. A few generations after the first wave of settlers, Blue Oasis had a single settlement named the Citadel. The Citadel was ruled by a man named Claudius. Worried that, left to their own devices, the settlers would ravage the natural resources and native life on Blue Oasis, Claudius instituted harsh restrictions on the settlers, preventing them from farming the land and ocean. The settlers prayed to the goddess Liberty to help them overthrow Claudius. Despite the favor of the goddess, the rebellious settlers faced numerous setbacks and defeats, with Claudius always somehow managing to avoid their plots to overthrow him. Knowing that she could not be defeated by a mere mortal, Liberty visited Fortune to find out why Claudius was so lucky. There, she discovered that Gaia was taking advantage of Fortune's blindness and attaching a weight to her wheel whenever she spun it to determine the outcome of Claudius's rule. The attached weight caused the wheel to always land favorably for Claudius, despite the odds stacked against him. Liberty went to see Dionysus and asked him to make a wine so powerful it would be strong enough to knock out a god. Dionysus agreed to provide the wine, on the condition that Liberty sleep with him. She agreed, and Dionysus delivered the wine. Liberty gave the wine to Gaia, causing her to black out. Liberty then attached the weight to the other side of Fortune's wheel, causing Claudius's luck to suddenly run out. Before Gaia awoke, the rebels on Blue Oasis had already overthrown Claudius and taken control of the Citadel. Liberty then told Fortune what Gaia had done, but Fortune was angry with both goddesses for interfering with her role to determine fate. Liberty promised that her followers would build a temple to Fortune and honor her role in determining fate from then on. This pleased Fortune sufficiently. When Gaia woke up and learned that Claudius and the Citadel had fallen while she was unconscious, she became furious with Liberty. Gaia enlisted the help of Artemis and Poseidon to help her punish Liberty. These deities had also supported Claudius for holding back the settlers from despoiling their world. To escape the wrath of the other gods, Liberty became one with the planet itself. When Dionysus arrived for Liberty to fulfill her part of their deal, he was distraught to learn that she was no longer in womanly form. He pleasured himself and spilled his seed onto the ground. A grove of trees sprang up from the spot where he masturbated. To celebrate their victory, the settlers chopped down the trees to build a temple to Fortune, fulfilling Liberty's promise. This is why the temple to Fortune is located on that exact spot and why the priests maintain a sacred grove around the temple to this day. The settlers then changed the named of the planet to Liberty, which later came to be called Freehaven once the planet became a haven for people fleeing tyranny on other planets.
Historical Basis
As one of the few planets discovered with indigenous life, the Federal Government attempted to limit the spread of human activity across Freehaven in the early days of the settlement. This led to conflict and the overthrow of the Federally-appointed governor. The conflict between Gaia and Liberty in the story represents the conflict between the Earth government and the settlers on Freehaven.
Spread
The story of Liberty versus Gaia is popular on the planet Freehaven as an explanation for why the planet has such a lavish temple dedicated to a goddess other than the local protectoress. The story has spread and appeared in compilations of myths. This particular story has gained popularity within the People's Alliance as an allegory of the people democratically fighing an oppressive Earth government.
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