Bogovi (ˈboɡəvʲɪ)
The Bogovi are the family of gods and spirits associated with the Zmei cultures, including the Balaur, the Pozoj, and the Tugarin. During the fall of Muria, the Clarati bound many of the Bogovi with magic before wiping out the populations that worshipped them. This condemned those gods and spirits to the death of memory - they were forgotten in the physical world, and would fade slowly in The Dream. Some of the Bogovi escaped their bonds and found new worshippers among the human population. The most famous former Bogovi is Reginn, the great dragon of Eyju. The other survivors of the Bogovi are primarily anchored in the Korabovi Islands or the Myteyar Archipelago. There were also a number of new Bogovi born on the island of Buyan after the Tugarin and the Balaur migrated there; while the old Bogovi could not leave their physical anchors and flee to Buyan with the Zmei, their stories were carried there and became the seeds of newly reborn iterations of the old gods.
General Characteristics
The Bogovi are gods of their people, and almost always manifest as either giant Zmei or as dragons of varying sorts. They tend to have the same personality traits as mortals, both for good and bad. Each individual Bogovi has their own agenda, and they are frequently in conflict with each other. On the other hand, many Zmei stories tell of lasting friendships and camraderie between members of the Bogovi. Ultimately, the Zmei do not see the Bogovi as fundamentally different from themselves, merely operating on a grander scale.
Major Figures
- Dadźbóg - One of the few Bogovi to survive in the Great Ring, Dadźbóg is the patron of the island of Selig.
- Korab - The god of the Korabovi Islands and patron of the Empire of Vlast.
- Reginn - One of the most powerful gods on Eyju, and one of the few Bogovi to transition to human worshippers.
Significant Times & Places
Of all the great temples to the Bogovi that were once found in the Great Ring, only the Temple of Korab on Jelen remains. It is located on the mountain named Vojskovođa Gora, and retains shrines to many of the lost Bogovi in an attempt to keep them from fading entirely away. There, and in the other remaining Zmei communities, they celebrate several of the old holidays. The most important of these are held at the beginning and end of winter, and are called Den Teney and Den Ognya. Den Teney is the Feast of Shadows, and is held as the autumn ends and winter begins. It is a time to honor the dead, tend graves, and drink toasts to the community's ancestors. Den Ognya is held when winter finally releases its grip, and is marked with a week-long feast and a great bonfire to chase the winter away.
Related Pantheons
Although world-walkers claim that there are echoes of the Bogovi in other worlds beyond The Dream, there are no pantheons related to them in the Great Ring. Once, the Bogovi might have been considered to be multiple families of gods themselves, but are today so diminished that they have collapsed into a single pantheon.
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