The Endless Dark

According to Ztavayë folklore, the Shardscape realm of Ztavsk plays host to two entities of incredible power: the Ouzhi Bazha, the Great Grandmother, and the Ouzhi Rozha, the Great Grandfather. It is said that the two were lovers in the distant past, and that the mountains of Ztavsk rang with the sound of their joy until wicked fate drove them apart. Now, the Ouzhi Rozha resides at the bottom of his lake, the Rozhivy Nivoc, while the Ouzhi Bazha spends most of her time at the summit of her mountain, the Bazhivy Troka.
Tales about these entities often revolve around the darker aspects of their personalities but the more generous stories present an altogether more altruistic side to their actions. Later myths about the Ouzhi Bazha and the Ouzhi Rozha portray them in a more sympathetic light. These tales, penned at a time when Astarum interest in Ztavsk was reaching its peak, paint the couple as the guardians of the realm against the unwanted incursion of the stars of Rhaddin's Rest.
Where the authors are sympathetic to the Ouzhi Bazha and the Ouzhi Rozha who had traditionally been portrayed as cold, callous, and unfeeling monsters, they are vicious in their attacks against the stars of the Astarum. Some stories go so far as to describe the Astarum as evil spirits wearing the hollowed-out husks of stars to hide their darkness. In any case, the Ouzhi Bazha and Ouzhi Rozha are pitted against the Astarian vitian of the Council for many long years, which serves to explain their capricious and cruel nature.
These stories, however, allege that the balance between the Astarum and the Ouzyhi Bazha and Ouzhi Rozha is tenuous at best and that the time will come when the scales will tip further to one side or the other. The tales seem to believe that it will tip to the side of the Astarum who have vastly more resources to pour into the war effort. It is said that when that day comes, the Ouzhi Bazha and Ouzhi Rozha will perform a working of magic so grand that the like has never been since seen the beginning of time and that in a moment of desperation they will plunge Ztavsk into a darkness so deep and all-encompassing that not even the stars could shine. On that day, life on Ztavsk will cease to be.