Under Sleeping Suns: Let Us Not Talk Falsely Now

Moving away from world-building theory this week, and getting into actual world-building practice, I thought I'd talk a bit about the Gods Of The Nine. While last week I spoke about mythological themes, theories, and meta-plots, this week I will dive into the meat of The Nine, and what makes them who they are. In part two of this topic (next week), I'll also cover a bit of what their respective clergy are responsible for in the day-to-day goings-on in the world. Unfortunately, I can't go into too much detail on the events that presage the arrival of Moran and Kolas, or their discovery of Graalis and Astares, without doing an entire post on the destruction of Kever and the circumstances surrounding that event, but I can (and will) give a decent amount of information as we proceed.


As previously discussed, it was the Gods Of Light And Dark that made the world safe for Man, separating the various layers of The Knot out into their current state. Their own home was made in The White, separated from The Waking World by The Veil. Into The Lower Dark they cast the forces of pure evil and chaos, imprisoning them behind The Howling, where they might never again be a curse and blight upon the world of Man. The Veil and The Howling served then - and still serve today - as barriers to the power of the other worlds, preventing them from wreaking havoc upon the Waking World. Though Man might sense The White or The Lower Dark through dreams and nightmares, the creatures of those realms could no longer walk freely upon the surface of Loris. Although the legends left over from the Kever Age clearly tell tales of the Gods coming into the Waking World to interact (or, if you prefer, interfere) with Man, it is commonly held in the modern era of The Nine that most of these tales are just that - tales. Moran and Kalis, for example do not frequent the temples of their followers. Kolas, for all his mad power, does not sit upon the Throne Of The High Inquisitor in Arthoriun.

Warning: Some of this is rather prosaic and uses the language from the game texts. It gets a bit Holy Book in a few places. Bear with me.

Some time toward the end of the Reign Of Kings, then, Moran (called The Keeper) and Kolas (called The Seeker) opened the Silver Door standing at the crossroads of The White and The Veil, and came through into the world of Loris. Where they came from, what they were leaving behind, who they had been before they arrived - these questions remain unanswered even today. The Keeper and The Seeker do not speak of such things to their faithful, and if the other Gods Of The Nine know the answers, they are not saying. At the foot of this door they found two infants, swaddled in the stuff of dreams and hope - these would be the babes who would grow to be Graalis The Seabeard and Astares The Starmaiden. Moran and Kolas looked out through The Veil and saw that the light that bathed Loris came from Alzin The Blazing and Alfin The Bright. The Keeper and The Seeker would have woken the Sun Sisters, had not Graalis and Astares grown to adulthood in the span of a dying man's last breath, and now urged to The Keeper and The Seeker to stay their hands. Though The Starmaiden and The Seabeard did not know how they held such knowledge, the both of them knew that to wake the Sun Sisters from their slumber would spell the end for the world of Man. And so The Four sang sweet songs to the Sun Sisters, and so they left The Veil behind and stepped fully into The White, and there they made their homes.

The Seabeard and The Starmaiden came together and from their union came Goran The Thundermaker, with a voice made of storms. A second time they knew each other, and from this came Shakur The Restbringer, who spoke little but said much. A third time the sea and stars met, and when they parted Astares birthed twin girl children: Tara The Woundhealer and Kalis The Lightbringer. The Woundhealer and The Lightbringer, inseparable in all things, joined with The Thundermaker each in turn and in their turns each bore a son. To Tara The Woundhealer was born Jengo The Luckbringer, while from Kalis The Lightbringer sprang Thalo The Starhand.

Ten Gods now lived within The White.

Moran The Keeper brought to The Ten the wisdom of ages, for he was old beyond reckoning.

Kolas The Seeker brought knowledge to The Ten, for he was driven to find the truth of all things.

Astares The Starmaiden brought the powers of magic and love to The Ten, for her heart was large as the night.

Graalis The Seabeard brought domain over the seas and waters to The Ten, and like the waters that made up his domain, his touch could bring relief or destruction if not given his proper respect.

Goran The Thundermaker brought storms and rain, and the clash of righteous battle. His temper was matched only by his love of seeing the growing things after a storm.

Shakur The Restbringer, who moved himself away from his kin so that he might know quiet contemplation, brought justice to The Ten, but also brought death, for he would become the Final Judge of all Men.

Tara The Woundhealer would take up domain over the protection of mothers, and would grant succor and healing to the Waking World, as befit her name.

Kalis The Lightbringer gave inspiration to those who sought out beauty and joy in the arts, and struck away ignorance, shedding light on the dark places of the mind and of the world.

Thalo The Starhand did take up the twilight duties of the world, finding his way into the dreams of Man, heralding the arrival and departure of the Sun Sisters, and striking the dew upon the leaves each day.

Jengo The Luckbringer, with his coins and his cards and his unending laughter, spread fortune to Man - and this made Jengo most important to those happenings that would end The Reign Of Kings, as for far too long had Man had no good fortune of his own to draw upon.

Moran did take Tara The Woundhealer as his bride, and their children were born still, without life. No blood stirred within them. Tara did cut open her own flesh, so great was her grief, and poured her blood into the mouths of her babes. They drew no breath, and would take neither milk nor blood from their mother. The Woundhealer's powers of healing could not relieve that which was not a wound, and so while Kalis bound up the wounds of the Woundhealer, so did the Restbringer take away the two silent forms to cast into the Final River. Then, between the twin Goddesses was born the Grim Rite. Pray for those mothers who have sung those words and taken up the ash and oils on their tongues, praise to The Nine that such words were never sung for you.

The Ten did speak to the Men of The Waking World. Through dreams cast out through The Veil, through signs left by The Starhand, and omens writ in the sky by The Starmaiden. The Ten sang songs down to the Eternal Kings, and said "The Power you use is ours by right of Primacy, for we live within The White, from whence that Power comes. Bend knee to us and that Power we will share, and the Waking World will be yours to rule as our Good Right Hands."

The Ten sang these songs in good faith, and in good spirit, but the Eternal Kings were wicked and cruel, and did not wish to share their power. Of the more than ten-score Kings, only four did heed the words of The Ten. They were:

Almaria Rex, King Of Flowers. His was the power of the growing things, and so his heart heard the truth and love in the songs of The Ten. He, most of the four, wanted only life and happiness for his people. He would lead a great exodus from Harak-Ur, ensuring the safety of the people of four Kings.

Lyradan Rex, King Of Rivers. He could hear the deep voice of the Seabeard and the Thundermaker in the ebb and flow of the waters, and so his soul rang with a yearning to stand at their side. Lyradan entrusted the welfare of his people to Almaria, and stood with the armies of Theleva Regina and Karabas Rex at the Battle Of The Last Days.

Theleva Regina, Queen Of Schools. Long had Elari Rex, King Of Books, taken away from Theleva's domain and diminished her power and her followers. She felt the yearning for knowledge that burned within Kolas, and trusted his voice. Like Lyradan, it was to Almaria Rex that she entrusted the safety of her people, while her small army stood to ensure their escape at the Battle Of The Last Days.

Karabas Rex, King Of Outcasts. Once he had been King Of The Small Things, holding sway over the tiny animals, insects, and plants that all the larger things depended upon. Once he was a great and powerful King, but now his power was only that of watching over the Small Cousins of Man, and that power waned as more and more of the Eternal Kings turned his charges to slaves and chattel. He had no army with which to stand at the Battle Of The Last Days, so he stood tall and proud in the face of his death. Of all the four, it is said that he is the only one who did not doubt that Almaria Rex would see his people to safety.

So it was that Almaria Rex, The Last Good King, led the faithful out of Harak-Ur and into lands long forbidden to them. The Rain Of Glass fell, and new nations were born from the ashes of the old.


It would come to pass, as these new nations rose, that Kolas would move his faithful in secret. They stole sacred texts from the holy shrines, and robbed items of worth and power from the sacred cairns. In quiet and with great stealth, the faithful to Kolas removed themselves from the Four Nations, and ready themselves for an unmistakable sign from The Seeker. They would receive it on The Night Of Burning Eyes.

In his time, Kolas The Seeker had become Kolas The Mad, though his followers now call him Kolas The Truth Bringer. In his madness, Kolas struck down and killed Jengo The Luckbringer. Severing the songs of the God Of Luck from The Knot, Kolas brought an end to Jengo's light and laughter, and with it split the world asunder.

From the far north of Vetris to the western isles of Cymrik to the eastern cities of the Cualish folk, and strongest in the proud lands of Angarn, the tearing of The Veil as Jengo's power was pulled away from the world and The Ten became Nine. From their beds, their screams said to echo through the very world itself, the Luckbringer's priests rose, their eyes aflame. Though the flames burn the sockets to ash and the pain cause them terrible madness, they did not die as did their God of Luck. Each of them saw what Jengo saw in his final moments - the terrible face of a trusted friend, the visage of Kolas The Seeker - and heard those final words: "Thus an end to my madness."

The rage of The Thundermaker at the death of his son was great, and again, Woundhealer and Lightbringer wept as one. The Seabeard swamped the coast with his grief, and as The Starmaiden mourned, stars fell from the sky and the moons turned to the color of blood in the night. Goran forged a new weapon, then, pouring his rage and grief into the blade. When his pain was gone, and he saw what he had forged, he was struck with horror, for he had not forged a weapon meant for righteous battle - he had created a tool for murder. Goran cast away the weapon, to a secret place that only he and his brother The Restbringer knew, where it lies to this day.

So it was that The Ten became The Nine, though in truth they are but The Eight. Though he is gone, the seat at the Great Table that once belonged to Jengo The Luckbringer is kept in good faith. Though he lives still, that seat that was once held by Kolas is broken and burned, its ashen remains left as a reminder of the treachery wrought by the Seeker upon those who loved him most dearly. Within The Waking World, no statues of Jengo remain, pulled down and replaced with eternal flames to show respect for the dead. The statues of Kolas remain, their eyes and mouths carved out, so that The Mad God may not see or speak through them, but may forever hear the condemnation of the truth faithful.

Kolas fled The White, but to where is unknown. Shakur The Restbringer journeyed through The Howling and with Goran Thundermaker at his side braved The Lower Dark in search of The Mad God, but did not find him. The agents of The Nine, for though he was dead, Jengo was still counted among them in reverence and remembrance, began to scour the lands for signs and portents of the new home of Kolas - and found it when the flag of Kolantha was raised in the southlands of Saron. Though The Nine, peering through The Veil and singing down to their faithful, could not see the power of The Mad God within the new nation, they could see its influence. Here was the seat of power for a new and terrible foe, and here was where evil stood.

... And that's that for this week. Bear in mind, as I've brought up in the past, that all of these events have taken place in recorded history within the game world. These aren't world-creation-level myths and legends. These are verifiable facts that have left their marks upon the game world. In many cases, those marks are still fairly fresh wounds, with all the emotion and all the consequences that come from such things.

Next week, more meat-and-potatoes world-building in regards to the role The Nine and their church plays in the game world, and some discussion on why it's important to have active, detailed goings-on in that regard as opposed to the usual way such things are handled in games.

See you then!