The Symbology and History of The Rainbow

Rainbows have been ascribed to gods, spirits, and dozens of other phenomena, but none are as widespread as the idea of Tarine's Rainbow. The concept of Tarine's Rainbow comes from the ancient goddess Tarine and even with her worship being defunct, the goddess of fate's pearlescent arch symbolizes that your destiny is on its way. Rainbows are often noted with Tarine's visage or her emblem displayed in the middle of the rainbow's arch. The rainbow is often used in ancient temples to Tarine and her pantheon and rarely used as the symbol of movements that believe their goal is what is destined.

Usage in Veiled Contexts

While the rainbow is often ascribed to Tarine, cultures that worship or attune to other figures of power have been known to graft the rainbow's symbology onto their gods. Most often, Axiothea, Fordara, or Nilus replace Tarine in the center of the rainbow. Axiothea fulfills the prophecy and the sky symbolism of the rainbows and is the most common goddess for the rainbow to be attached to. Fordara fulfills the prophecy symbolism with his knowledge. Whatever reason that Nilus is ascribed to the rainbow has been lost due to his abandoning his godly domains to become a traveler. The depictions of Nilus in the rainbow have very few instances and all of them are ancient, dating back to the seventh century at the latest.

Uses in The Forlorn Revolution

"It made me think about why a revolution would pick a symbol of destiny as their flag. I don't know if they belong on a battlefield, but maybe everyone needs to believe that someone is on their side, that fate is on their side"

- Andrejia’s Travels Through the Nikana Revolution in Daedala (19110)

The symbolism of the rainbow with Fordara in the center was used extensively during The Forlorn Revolution. Arranged on all of their bases and faintly on their equipment, it was the symbol that would become a major part of their identity as a force. It is theorized that Fordara was used with the rainbow symbol for lack of a better locally worshipped god by the inciters of the revolution regardless of the fact that other gods are far more accurate. Rainbow flags are now flown commonly throughout The Forlorn Godsake Empire on Nikana Day, a holiday that celebrates the revolution that gave the country sovreignty.

Uses in Wymmdon

The rainbow has also been known to appear on the tower of Wymmdon with Axiothea set in its center to symbolize the tower's fated rise towards the stars above. Engraved in the higher segments of the tower, each engraving is unique between Axiothea's pose, the stones that the lines of the rainbow are made of, and the size of the lines of the rainbows. All these differences are intentional and are one of the only symbols that is carved by hand each time it's used.

Usage in Spirit Attuned Contexts

Spirits themselves have often linked to fate and destiny already, so the rainbow has been merged into the most powerful of spirits in spirit-attuning cultures. Mostly, Raijhi The World Spirit, and Fjirin The Spirit of The Stream are common figures to graft the rainbow symbolism onto. Raijhi gets the fate symbology for his predictions based on his knowledge of global happenings, and Fjirin for her being the spirit of the stream of time and therefore the future itself.