The Legend of Creation
Thylea was of the Old Gods—ancient even when the
world was young. Gentle and generous, she was born
into a time of war and chaos among her kind. Refusing
to take sides in their disputes, she lived her entire life in
contemplative silence, never speaking a single word.
Yet though she was silent, she possessed a powerful resolve that the other Gods sensed and respected.
Even Kentimane of the Hundred Hands—the most
violent and warlike of them all—was drawn to her quiet
strength. She alone of all the Gods could quell his furious temper with her calming spirit.
Eventually, Thylea grew weary of the endless strife
and conflicts. She isolated herself from the other Gods,
seeking respite on the farthest edges of the ocean.
Kentimane—now her lover and protector—followed,
turning his back on war and violence to walk with
Thylea on the path of tranquility.
Alone, the pair were happy for a time. But Thylea still
felt all the pain and suffering in the world like a million
arrows piercing her gentle soul. In time, her joy gave
way to despair until, unable to bear it any longer, she
drowned herself beneath the water.
Yet her death was not a surrender... it was a glorious sacrifice. Thylea’s body came apart; her head and
torso floating back to the surface to become a chain
of virgin islands. Her heart burst from her chest and
transformed into a great tree rising up from the center
of the continent she had birthed. Her limbs sunk to the
bottom of the sea, stretching and twisting into great
roots that connected each island, nurturing the fertile
plants and gentle animals that sprang into being on the
islands’ surface.
Kentimane’s grief over his lover’s death was inconsolable. Without Thylea to temper his moods, he succumbed once more to his most violent urges. Screaming
his fury at the heavens, he thrashed and raged in the
oceans around the body of his lover, unleashing terrible
storms and massive tidal waves that threatened to swallow the new-born islands.
Yet even after her death, a part of Thylea’s spirit
remained in the great Heart-Tree at the center of the
islands. She reached out—silent as ever—and brushed
against her mad husband’s mind, soothing his tortured
spirit with a soft caress. Sensing her presence, the
hundred-handed giant transformed his grief into a new
purpose. Binding himself to what was left of his lover
with a solemn vow, Kentimane became the ward and
protector of the islands, taking up an eternal vigil in the
waters around their untouched shores.
Fed by Thylea’s generous spirit—and with Kentimane
keeping the evils of the outside world at bay—life in
the Forgotten Land flourished into a perfect, unspoiled
paradise. And finally, the Goddess who never spoke was
content.
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
Comments