Monday, March 18, 2013

Secrets of Desylinn: The Fall of the Nameless One



by John Belliston

Ishari, Goddess of Truth and Running Water, married Mar, God of Law. Their courtship was a clap of thunder, shattering Mar’s love for the Goddess Ariga. Though each regretted it, the two gods' attraction drew them together stronger then than any previous promises. Like a great and beautiful clock, exact in its motion and intentions, they coupled on the night of their wedding. From their love came the beautiful Mar’ies, God of Ice.

Mar doted on and spoiled his son. Every desire that crossed the young god’s mind he immediately met. Mar’ies returned his father’s affection a hundred fold, crafting grand creations of Ice and Cold. The pride of the father blinded him to the flaws in his son. Mar’ies’ arrogance grew to dangerous levels, eventually leading him to challenge the king of the Gods, his great grandfather Nhoj, God of Knowledge and one of the Firstborn of Chaos. Nhoj’s face became the hungry mask of the Destroyer as the whelp of a god challenged him for kingship.

The sweet voice and charms of Ishari stood between her son and her father’s father. They alone calmed Nhoj enough to prevent Mar’ies’ unmaking. The young god didn’t understand the danger he had brought on himself, and Mar refused to chastise his son. The debate between the God of Law and the Goddess of Truth lasted long and eventually their fury turned to passion. This coupling roared across the Realm of the Gods like a war of fire and screeching metal, and Ishari was once more with child.

After a time, she gave birth to her second son. Unlike the beautiful Mar’ies this babe was terrible to behold. His face was a mass of fangs and deformations. His body swelled and shriveled at random with each shuttering breath. His loud wheezing stank of ash and brimstone. Behind his ill formed eyes a great and hungry flame burned. This broken creature reached up with it’s gnarled hand and touched his mother’s cheek.

She wept. Her voice choked in her throat as she thought to speak. No name could comfort such a creature. No offering of her voice could portray the deep and mournful love she bore this child. She merely stared into his eyes as her tears bathed his flesh.

Elsewhere, Ishari’s mother Tiala, Goddess of the Sea, was giving birth as well. Her twin sons Tlal God of the Angry Heavens, and Daikado God of the Angry Earth burst forth from the womb deeply engrossed in their own hateful conflict. They screamed and howled and tore at each other and all of creation shook with the furiosity of their War. So terrible was the battle of her new brothers that Ishari left her newborn child unattended to help stop them.

Mar’ies looked upon his brother, filled with terrible bile and rage. No creature so hideous could have come from his beautiful parents. Before him lay an abomination that could not be, should not be. While the other Gods fought and wrestled with his uncles he cast his brother high and flung him down to the mortal plane.

The Nameless One’s twisted body struck the earth, breaking into three great, bloody pieces. His legs and loins fell and created the FertileLands, filling them with vibrancy and life. His torso landed in the heart of the Geato Marsh his blood creating dangerous fire-swamps deeper within. His twisted limbs and bloated head fell on what would become the lands of theKindred.

He fell with such force that when his head struck the ground his teeth were knocked from his head and buried deep in the earth. His blood and brains dripped from his shattered skull and watered the buried teeth. The ground shuttered and from each hole burst an Orc, Troll, Goblin, Minotaur, orOgre.

By then Ishari had noticed the fate of her child.

It is said there are parts of the Stew of Fate that still vibrate with the horrible sound of that scream.

The Goddess of Truth rushed to the broken body of her child and wept. The tears fell down her face and down onto the corpse of the Nameless One. Where each tear touched the mix of blood and marsh and water an Abira, the Lizardwoman children of the Marsh, rose up and scrambled to comfort her.

Ishari looked upon all the life her son's death had created. The many peoples created by his death and she sighed at the beauty to be found in this horror. Her sigh mixed with her tears and so were born the Krishtog frogmen. With a laugh and loving smile she blessed each of them, and returned to the Realm of the Gods.

Mar’ies was cast to the mortal plane for his sin. But that is another tale.

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