Pantheons+Yun+Magic Era

  Ah yes, gather around young ones. As Lokida Keeper, I have to ensure that you are all prepared to know about our great history as a people. You are all of the age where it is time to venture off to a very special place for our tribe; the Wall of Many Suns. It is there that we will explore what our ancestors have left for us at the base of the Grand Burial Mound. I am glad to see that your elders have prepared you for this journey, as many of you have supplies. This is more than just an outing; this is a pilgrimage to a very unique landmark for our people. In time, you will come to learn why. Follow me, children. Our journey begins now.

 

Days pass, and the fires of the village grow more and more faint. The tall grasses appear wilder, shaking in the wind that seems to be pushing the group towards the Grand Burial Mound. Some of the children appear frightened by the raw force of nature and the sheer darkness of the night. The Keeper assures them all is well, and that this is merely the Gods beckoning us to engage with them and learn more about their world. Soon enough, the group is greeted to a morning light slipping over the top of the Grand Burial Mound as if praising them for accomplishing their task at hand. The Keeper looks upon her students with pride, although some of them appear heavily taxed due to the length of the journey.

 

Young ones, we are here! The Grand Burial Mound stands before us. Many of us have traveled across the plains to get here, including your fathers and mothers and their fathers and mothers. A question? Ah, you have sharp eyes. Those markings all along the rock are what we came here to see. Those pictures are here for us to learn about beings older than the village elders. Some of them were like you and me, others were creatures of immeasurable power, and some were even creatures we know of today. When our tribe was very new, their elders made their way out here, just as we did, and took the painstaking labor of carving these pictures and messages into the stone so our past can be preserved for all time.

 

Come here. Feel the rock beneath your fingers. Feel the indents and ridges left here just for you to learn. Feel the history of the cool stone on your skin. All of these markings tell grand tales and the rich history of our Lokida heritage. They are as old as the Stone Horse and as mysterious as the Everburning Pyre. Let’s start here, and learn about how our guardian deities took control of this land from a tyrannical titan.

 

PART I: ATAGUAE AND OLA

 

During the Magic Era, the Titans looked to control all that lay before them. With such a barren landscape, this was a simple feat. There was no one to challenge their claim to the land. However, one Titan was not pleased with what he had. He craved power. More specifically, he craved power over sentient beings. This Titan’s name was Ca-Tesh. Ca-Tesh did not want to just have, he wanted to control.

 

Ca-Tesh quickly grew bored with what he had. He heaved the ground in his hands and formed the thranger, the grand ancestors to the centaurs. Ca-Tesh gave these creatures just enough sentience to satiate his hunger for domination and control, even going so far as set up gladiatorial brawls between armies of his creation. Centaur after centaur was slain, all for the amusement of their Titan master. Ca-Tesh piled the carcasses until they reached the sky. Over time, this pile of thrangers melted back into the earth and hardened to stone to become the Grand Burial Mound.

 

One of these creations proved mightier than the others. Time and time again he would emerge victorious from battle. He was the peak of Ca-Tesh’ creations. This centaur continued to succeed, and Ca-Tesh decided that this creation was deserving of a name. Ca-Tesh deemed him Ataguae, and started to formulate a plan for how to use this creation as an actual soldier.

 

Ca-Tesh’ monster battles were massive in scale, and as such caused quite a riot. In fact, they made so much noise that even citizens from the Upper Conclave peaked down to see what all the commotion was. It was then that Ca-Tesh realized there was something else out there; something else he can control. Promoting Ataguae to the role of a Commander, Ca-Tesh led his centaur army up the towering pile of dead ones to invade the Upper Conclave. The beings who lived there were not accustomed to visitors or violence, and Ca-Tesh easily made his way across the sky. One member of the Conclave, a being known as Ola, pleaded with Ataguae as his raiding party rampaged across the clouds, causing thunder to crash with their stampede. It was Ola’s emotions that touched Ataguae to the core, for he had not known that such feelings even existed. His brethren saw this change take place in Ataguae, and realized that perhaps this could be their chance to impress Ca-Tesh. As the thunder bellowed once again, Ataguae’s raiders charged at him and Ola. Bringing their heads to Ca-Tesh would be the best trophies, they thought. Ataguae roared. Determined to protect Ola, he galloped past her into the fray. As brother after brother fell by his hand, Ataguae let a tear fall from his face. These tears all fell into what we call the Lake of the Defender.

 

At long last, Ataguae was victorious. However, this victory did not taste like the other ones had. There was no celebration. Ataguae realized that for Ola to be truly safe, he would have to defeat his master. Ataguae and Ola spent a passionate night together before he set off to finish what he started. After killing countless more of his thranger kin along the way, Ataguae stood before Ca-Tesh. He declared Ca-Tesh’s reign of enslavement was over. All Ca-Tesh did was laugh. I made you from dirt, Ca-Tesh scoffed, and I can simply put you back. An epic battle ensued above the clouds between the centaur warrior and his Titan father, lasting from full moon to full moon. With a final charge, Ataguae slew his creator, toppling him from the clouds. The impact of Ca-Tesh hitting the ground is now the Red Basin.

 

Ataguae returned to Ola to tell her the good news of Ca-Tesh’s defeat. Both were overjoyed. Ola’s home was a battlefield of gruesome memories, and so she decided to descend to earth with Ataguae to start their lives and a new family together.

 

PART II: THE BEGINNINGS OF YATCHU AND JURAVA

 

Ataguae and Ola spent centuries learning about this world without a tyrannical Titan over them. Ataguae learned the secrets of his former master when it came to earthen creations, and Ola adapted to a home beneath the clouds while honing her own skills utilizing the air and winds. During this time period, both Ataguae and Ola grew in power and ability to the point of godhood.

 

At the cusp between the Natural and Tech Eras, Ola came to Ataguae bearing joyous news; she was pregnant. The two were ecstatic. As the time came for Ola to give birth, the pair ascended the mountain now known as Skypierce Peak so Ola can be closer to her natural element. As the full moon showed, Ola gave birth to the first child, who they called Yatchu. Ataguae anointed Yatchu with symbols smeared in clay to celebrate his arrival. Shortly after, Ola screamed, causing a wild storm to start as she realized there was another child yet to be born. Among the thunder and the rain, Jurava came to be. Ola used the prevailing storm to bless this second child. The clouds soon grew lighter and parted, and the gods looked upon the heirs to their lands and smiled.

 

As the twins grew up, their demeanors and paths diverged as well. Yatchu was a quiet boy who enjoyed molding clay into various forms, while Jurava was a curious one who always carried his beloved drum and loudly asked why things were the way that they were. As they continued to grow, Yatchu experimented with other materials, such as stone and metal, while Jurava grew tired of the monotony of his surroundings. As soon as he was able to, Jurava left the lands of his parents and set off to explore new places. Yatchu stayed and utilized the abundance of natural materials to build and create, eventually gaining quite a following in the Lokida area.

 

PART III: JURAVA, THE SON WHO QUESTIONS

 

Armed with his wits, some supplies, and his drum, Jurava set off from his homeland to find answers to some of the questions he always had. Why are things the way that they are? What causes change? Not being keen on seeing things remain static like they seemed to be in the Lokida grasslands, Jurava wanted more from life. The first place he set off for was the Upper Conclave, since he only heard of it in childhood stories from his mother. What he imagined was a wondrous place of light and air all set for exploring. However, after ascending the Grand Burial Mound and reaching the clouds, he seemed to be experiencing the opposite. The remaining beings of the Conclave were slaves to twisted creatures who bore a striking resemblance to his father, Jurava thought. The Conclavians were unable to speak, and quietly served their captors in agony.

 

Jurava attempted to question these creatures as to what happened here, but was immediately pushed aside. Unsure of what to do, Jurava started to beat on his drum in anger. The Conclavians watched as the clouds below them grew dark with rage. Thunder bellowed and lightning sizzled. Jurava called out to the creatures that what they were doing was wrong. He beat his drum faster and faster, and soon the Conclavians heard their voices echo in the rhythmic pounding of Jurava’s drum. The creatures grew frightened at the storm surrounding them as well as the voices shouting in protest from the drum. Most of them retreated, but a handful of them charged towards Jurava in an attempt to protect their slaves. Before they could lay a hand on the young god, bolts of lightning turned their bodies into charred bits of viscera and clay.

 

The Conclavians finally freed after eons in bondage, cheered in joy and let loose beautiful colors across the Conclave. They threw a grand feast in Jurava’s honor and pleaded for Jurava to stay. Clearly, he was one of them, and they wanted him to lead them into a bright future. Jurava, although flattered, refused. He now knew his calling to be a liberator. Packing up his drum, Jurava left the Upper Conclave and set out to find more of the oppressed who needed to have their voices heard.

 

Yatchu myth?