Vǫlva Ormr (ˈwɔl.wɑ ˈormr)

(a.k.a. Baba Zmeya)

"Changing is the easy part. It's changing without losing yourself that gets tricky." - Vǫlva Ormr

When the Clarati waged their campaign of destruction against the Nakaal and their Empire of Muria, nearly all of the Zmei ethnic groups were either wiped out or displaced. This had significant consequences for their gods, the Bogovi. Like all gods, they are anchored to physical locations in the world, and depend on the power of collective belief to support their existence. Unable to flee with their followers, and cut off from the belief which sustained them, most of the Bogovi found themselves powerless and forgotten, and faded from the world soon after the coming of humanity to the Great Ring.

However, some were able to find a way to exist beyond this catastrophe by reinventing themselves for the new mortals that resided on the islands. This was an accident for most of the survivors, who never believed that their followers could be wiped out, and they barely scraped through by luck alone. But one of the Bogovi did forsee this possiblity, and had plans in place to handle the situation - Baba Zmeya, witch-goddess of the Hálendi.

Baba Zmeya

Her name means "Grandmother Dragon", and she was the ancient terror behind most of the Zmei folklore. Her descendant Gorynych was the creator of the Zmei species, but he used the coals from Baba Zmeya's fire to do it. She was depicted as a three-headed dragon with iron fangs in her natural form, with one always looking to the future, another gazing into the past, and the third looking at the present. She was also a shapeshifter, and would frequently appear as an old Zmei living alone in the wilderness. In Zmei folklore, Baba Zmeya was a manipulative schemer, who constantly tested the worthiness of those she encountered, by setting them impossible tasks that would destroy any who failed. Those who succeeded at her tasks would become her servants, and would be lavishly rewarded for carrying out her plots. While all feared Baba Zmeya, many also sought out her aid, as it was known that any cause she supported was bound to succeed.

Baba Zmeya's preparations for the end of the Zmei started long before the humans or Clarati were summoned into the world from The Dream. She inspired the creation of the Gortsy (who are now known as the Hálendismenn), a race of minor spirits that inhabit the Hálendi and serve Baba Zmeya. The Gortsy were hairy humanoids that stood barely four inches tall, and could shapeshift into a number of small creatures, most often a cricket or a mouse. Baba Zmeya instructed petitioners to leave food out for the Gortsy, and described them in detail. She also placed a magical compulsion on any she told of the Gortsy to ensure that they would spread the tale of these tiny Bogovi. In this way, Baba Zmeya harnessed the Egregoric Force to her own ends and gained an army of servants that looked similar to the humans yet to come.

The Coming of the Eyjamaður

When the Nakaal ritual drew the humans through The Dream and into this world, they arrived in those places most closely matching the lands from which they originated. Hundreds of humans appeared all over Eyju and the Hálendi in only the first few hours, with thousands more in the days that followed. The Hálendi is a mountainous lava desert at high altuitude, covered in ash, basalt, and glaciers. Very few places in the Hálendi are easy to survive in, and most of the newcomers would have perished in the first days if not for the Gortsy. They appeared out of the wilderness and guided the humans into the few oases where they could find shelter, food, and water. The Gortsy had prepared these places at the instructions of Baba Zmeya, and did their best to communicate who their savior was to the grateful humans.

Once they were gathered, Baba Zmeya made her way through the different groups, in the guise of an ancient human woman with iron teeth. She spoke to the humans, spinning out the version of herself she wanted them to know and believe in. When she left a oasis, the Eyjamaður were left awestruck and terrified, and very aware that they owed the witch-goddess a debt they might never be able to repay. She masterfully crafted a version of herself that would ingrain itself into their stories and memories, ensuring her survival through the transition from Zmei to Human. The Eyjamaður named her Vǫlva Ormr, the Dragon-Witch.

Vǫlva Ormr

While the other Bogovi faded from the island of Eyju, Vǫlva Ormr grew in power with the humans. The power of her story was such that her domain actually grew, and a series of volcanic eruptions shook the island and expanded the Hálendi until it made up most of Eyju's area. The Gortsy became the Hálendismenn and continued to do the bidding of Vǫlva Ormr. The new worshippers did impart changes upon Vǫlva Ormr that were unexpected - while she lost her three headed form, she gained the ability to appear in three human bodies at once, with the appearance of a young woman, a matron, and a crone. In all her forms, her feet were birdlike or reptillian - sometimes they were called dragon claws, but more often she was said to have chicken feet. She adopted crafts associated with women and the home that weren't gendered among the Zmei - most prominent among these was spinning, and she was frequently depicted with a spinning wheel. Even her relationships with the other gods shifted; while she had always been Gorynych's ancestor, but now became his grandmother in truth - a relationship which had no true analog in the Zmei species, but was important enough to humans to allow Gorynych to survive the transition as the god Reginn. She gained new responsibilities to the human population, and became the enforcer of proper behavior, especially for children; the Eyjamaður teach that Vǫlva Ormr will test children for their worthiness and devour any who fail to meet her standards.

Through all of this, Vǫlva Ormr did not lose her scheming nature, and continued with plans of her own. She had her followers and the Hálendismenn build a strange church in the heart of the Hálendi, and filled it with shrines to those gods of magic and witchcraft that were emerging among the humans. This place is called the Seiðr Hús and exists to create a corresponding location in The Dream, where the deities honored there can gather and converse without needing intermediaries. It is believed that Seiðr Hús is the first of the ecelectic churches, although others (such as the Meren Kirkko) are better known. Few worshippers ever come to the Seiðr Hús, but Vǫlva Ormr makes certain that a group of priestesses (known as the Vǫluspá) are always in attendence to provide the rituals that allow the gods to gather. Nobody knows why Vǫlva Ormr chose to create the Seiðr Hús, but it is certain that it has a place in her future schemes.

Current Location

Eyju

Family

Vættir

Other Affiliations

• Bogovi