Fire Heart, Bringer of Life

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A heart holds many things that show the true nature of a person but those who know love shall never feel the cold for it is the fire that shall keep them warm. - Priest of Velkan

One of the oldest tales ever spoken on the Continent of Norria for it was said to have come at the beginning of all things when nothing but ice covered all and life had yet to come into being. It was from one being that all life came and through them, all things came into being. All of which came from love and compassion as their heart burned so bright and hot it melted all that it touched.

Summary

A Flame of Purpose

In the time of the two realms Rolfvel, the land of eternal ice, and Hulfral, the land of everlasting fire, both existed in a world of nothingness around them. In Rolfvel, no light touched its barren plains, no warmth stirred its silent lands. However in Hulfral lived a being that ruled over the flames known as Sola, the Mother of Fire, and watched over this frozen world with sorrow. Though the warmth of her heart brought fire into existence and created her realm living in it in peace for a time, that time had passed and loneliness filled her heart as she gazed beyond her own to see a realm locked in endless cold, untouched by her light. Sola, unable to bear the lifelessness any longer, descended from her radiant realm of flame, being light to the empty void as she passed through with the ember of her flames that she left behind burning into the emptiness and creating the stars forever burning throughout it until finally reaching the edge of the frozen world. As she walked across its glistening, icy plains, her warmth melted the frost beneath her feet, leaving a trail of steaming earth. But the cold was relentless, reclaiming her steps as quickly as she could leave them. No matter how brightly she burned, her warmth alone could not break the power that gripped this land.
In doing this she awakened the ruler of this land, Manue, the Father of Ice, and confronted her for trespassing on his lands. Yet rather than arguing with the ruler of this barren land, Sola showed comfort and compassion to him for they were the only beings that existed and in doing so began to change Manue bringing a strange feeling that would lessen his icy heart. From their interaction love was born and both would spend time together wanting to be with one another forever. Yet Sola, desperate to bring life, sought to grant a gift to the love of her life in the hopes of him seeing the possibilities of bringing life to his world. Manue agreed to his lover's gift its Sola reached deep within herself, summoning all the fire within her being, her very essence pulsing. With a whisper of love for Manue, she tore her heart from her chest and offered it to him. As her heart left her body, it ignited with a brilliant flame, filling the sky with warmth and light that had never been felt before. This gift of her fire heart finally made Manue truly understand what Sola truly wanted and his icy body began to melt and her flame began to dim as they buried the fire heart deep within the frozen soil, and at once, the world began to awaken.
Ice cracked and melted, rivers began to flow, and green shoots pushed their way through the thawing ground. The once-frozen realm breathed its first sigh of life, as forests sprouted and creatures emerged, drawn by the heat radiating from the fire heart beneath the earth. Mountains, rivers, and valleys formed, each pulsing with the warmth of Sola's heart. Now weakened, Sola began to fade away without her power and so did Manue as his land of ice no longer sustained him with both of them embracing one another to become water to become the seas and the rain in the sky. From their deaths came about their children that would inherit their new world, Rulfver, the god of the sky, Minya, goddess of the earth, and Eldoniv, god of the Sea. In the aftermath of the creation of the world, a large chunk of ice would break away from the world to create the moon and birth the moon goddess Yothi the same is said with Hulfral becoming the sun once Sola passed but from its change gave birth to the sun god Ulthir with these gods becoming the divine powers that maintained the world.
It was from the Heart Fire of Sola that maintained the world, rekindling the memory of her sacrifice, and reminded the world of her undying love. Her heart remained as a hidden fire within the earth, a core of molten warmth that would keep life flourishing even in the darkest winters. Sola would be forever the "Dawn Mother" for her aid in the birthing of the world and Manue " Dusk Father for allowing the end of his world to create a new one. This ensured her lasting legacy, Sola turned a frozen world into a living realm, where her warmth would forever sustain life, and her heart of fire would forever beat within the earth. All that learned of her gift have come to learn that of all the powers in the world that can be achieved none are far greater than love and what one achieves by giving it to those worth giving it to.

Spread

It is a common tale across the land of Norria that has come to believe that is how the world came to be and hold reverence to the one that brought life to all.

In Art

It is often depicted in woven tapestries of the Heart Fire and the tale surrounding it as a depiction of its beauty in bringing life to the world.

Related Ethnicities

• Norrian

Heart of the World

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by Jester%

All things have a heart to breathe life into them, even the very earth beneath us beats to give us that very life. - Old Mystic

It is often said by the people of Norria that life will always flow into the world so long as the Heart Fire burns with the passion given to it deep beneath the earth as its roots connect all things to it. All have learned to respect this belief for it cannot be taken for granted, this does not mean that no one has tried to find it, believing that they will gain untold power and riches from its eternal flame that is said to end winter and cure any sickness or wound, only to never reach it no matter how far they try to reach the center of the world. Often is said that the only way to find a way towards it is to share a connection with it through a deep love for something or someone to heart its heartbeat to guide the way knowing their cause is true.