Goblins & Orcs: Strength in Weakness & Weakness in Strength

To the peoples of Sublanarya, there is little difference in the orcish and goblinoid invasions from across the waters between the Dead and Dragon Seas. They are merciless conquerors, like locusts, who devour their crops, demolish their townships and enslave their peoples. They have sharp teeth, red, green or grey skin, pointed ears, speak strange tongues and worship strange gods. And yet, these two different groups fight each other as often as they fight the native population. They are, despite the surface similarities, psychologically opposed.

Goblins find strength in weakness and orcish weakness comes from their strength.

Goblinoids are a race that dates back to the Wyrd Wars. They were created by Gob the Horned Master, a diabolical duke associated with conquest and slavery, to serve him as his soldiers in his conquest of the material plane. Their legends say that he first tried to conquer a dwarven hold with his diabolical minions until both forces were decimated and brought to a standstill. The dwarven leaders offered a parley for peace. Gob was so disgusted that he hocked a mouthful of mucus onto the blood soaked mud at his feet. An army of diminuitive humanoids, green of hue as his mucus, rose up and finished off the dwarves. These were the first goblins and Gob imbued them with his ambition and cruelty.

Gob was slain by Urd the Forgefather, the patron god of the dwarves, and left the goblins without a master to guide them and a millenia long hatred for dwarves. The goblins were scattered across the world without leadership.

Goblins are a diminutive race, standing between 3 and 4 feet tall, with a dexterous frame with yellow to green colored skin (with some variance). They have sharp teeth, long & pointed ears, broad and pointed noses, beady yellow or red eyes, and with black hair-- males are prone to varying signs of baldness. They make up for their size and weakness with ferocity and numbers. Goblins breed and mature quickly, reaching adult age within 10 years, and often having broods of two to six per short pregnancy. This feature allows them to quickly fill the numbers for any horde.

Goblins live in familial tribes, usually building their lairs in caves far from other humanoids, and have a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. From a young age, goblins are taught that nothing is fair, that you have to fight for your own survival and that ruthless aggression is rewarded. Male goblins spend a lot of time gathering resources, usually through theft and banditry, and making short-term alliances with other tribes and monsters to raid villages. Goblins know they value of strength in numbers because it is their biggest strength. Female goblins usually rear the young and maintain their lair but, just as often, join the males in their raids.

Bugbears are the outliers of goblinoid society. With yellow skin, furry bodies, sharp claws, short-carnivore snouts and a hulking muscular form, bugbears are easily the most physically intimidating of the goblinoids.

They were created by Gob's son, Zorguhl the Brute, who valued strength above all else. Zorguhl is a cruel god who demands sacrifices from his priests who, unfortunately for Zorguhl, are few because of the inherent laziness of his creations. Bugbear are predators who live in small family units, but just as often prefer to live on their own or seek out a tribe of goblins to bully into servitude. Bugbears, like their god, are afflicted by laziness. Bugbears are opportunistic and cruel but lack the ambition or intelligence to lead like their hobgoblin counterparts. In goblin hordes, they most often serves as scouts, hunters and as brutal bodyguards for hobgoblin warlords.

Zorguhl was no replacement for his father Gob and he was leading the goblins with disastrous results of the goblins and bugbears fighting each other and making reckless decisions. Mal-Dorig the Dread Conqueror subdued Zorguhl and took the reins. Under Mal-Dorig, the goblinoids reached the zenith of their civilization. His biggest contribution was the creation of hobgoblins, from cross-breeding humans and goblins, to create a race of medium sized soldiers that are stronger and more menacing than their diminutive goblinkin and smarter than the brutish bugbears. They are leaders of goblinkind and the driving force behind any goblin horde.

Hobgoblins have shorter noses and ears than goblins, with orange to reddish hued skin, dark hair, often with facial hair, and stand between 5'6'' and 6'6''. Some hobgoblins have unique features with "blue-noses" being common among famous warlords. And there are plenty of famous hobgoblin warlords.

They are far more disciplined than their lesser kin, being born and raised as part of a warband mercenary group or an army. By nature, they are more "civilized" than goblins and bugbears, living in tents and forts, making their own weapons and armor, and making powerful alliances to form armies capable of conquering wide swaths of territory. They also are notoriously proud and haughty, feeding into the already caustic temper goblinoids are infamous for, and fly into violent rages when challenged or humiliated. Their reputation is more important than their own children.

Rank and position is the measure of that reputation. Unlike lesser goblinoids, open revolt is frowned upon. Instead, hobgoblins are expected to rely on earning their rank, challenging their superior to a duel, or, valuing subtlety, successfully assassinating a superior. Hobgoblins that are caught using subterfuge to get rid of a superior are admonished but are often let off easy if the performance of that superior had been lacking. Hobgoblins live for the glory of battle.

On a side note, hobgoblins are also famous for employing warmages in combat. Goblins are also attracted to the potential uses of magic but hobgoblins, who desire respect from their adversaries, have actually established scholarly keeps dedicated to learning and teaching magic to the most talented of their kind.

Ironically, the biggest survival trait of goblins is their weakness. They often survive situations that would otherwise decimate them by hiding, running or begging for their lives. The competitive and violent nature of goblinoids puts the smartest, cruelest and strongest on top. The problem is that while goblins are loyal to the tribe, leaderships is constantly challenged by rivalry and mutinies are a weakly threat. The best way for a goblin leader to survive is to make sure their rivals are occupied and nothing occupies goblins like making war. This all feeds into the ruinous cycle of goblin conquest, inevitably ending in their decimation.

The best way for a goblin to survive and thrive? To be weak, pathetic and cowardly. If other goblins don't see you as a threat, they won't see you as a rival, and they won't take you out. The most successful goblin tribes are those that are the most cowardly.

Some goblins have even escaped the cycle of violence and cruelty by taking on a new philosophy: profit! Goblin miners, merchants and bankers have built a new identity for goblins who leave their kin behind in the city of Mithrak. These entrepreneurs worship at the altar of gold and follow the teachings of Zreebo the Goldgoblin.

Orcs are strong. Orcs stand between 6 and 7 feet tall, powerfully built with grey to green skin, dark eyes, long hair, snort and flat noses, and pointed ears. Their most iconic aspect is their tusks which protrude from their lower jaw. They mature at a similar rate to humans, perhaps a little earlier, and breed often. Twins are extremely common among orcs.

Orcs live in small tribal groups, building tents and hunts or living in cave systems, led by a chieftain and a shaman. The chieftain is a position passed from father to son and they serve as the martial leader of the clan. The shaman is the spiritual leader who provides medicine and religious guidance to the tribe. Shamans communicate with spirits of the dead and share the teachings of Namu the Cave Mother. Orcs have no strict line of leadership outside of these roles, positions being based on meritocracy with the strongest being warriors, fastest being scouts, stealthiest being hunters and everyone else serving the tribe as caretakers of the young and elderly.

Unlike goblinoids, orcs are inherently neutral.

Orcs, ideally and by default, prefer to live unmolested, hunting and gathering, in their ancestral territory. When they need more resources or feel threatened by outsiders, they seek to expand their territory, often resorting to a psuedo nomadic lifestyle, and to expel outsides with extreme prejudice. They treat orcish and non-orcish outsiders alike and rely on their own strength and tenacity to overcome them. When their strength fails, orcs turn to drastic measures and seek power from a willing shaman's contact with a darker force. This is the source of all corruption of orcish society and leads them to a path of violence, conquest and savagery.

The orcish distrust of other races can be traced back to the primordial age when Namu the Cave Mother awoke after her brothers, the patron gods of elves, gnomes, and dwarves, and found herself alone. Namu was a capable huntress, strong and beautiful, but without her family-- her tribe-- she was lost. Orcs resent the other races for leaving her behind in the World Below. Namu wandered for some time before she was found by a handsome demon prince, Nago the Furor in the Dark. He deceived her, knowing of her importance, and used magic to enchant her to fall in love with him. When she gave birth to twins, Brother Rom and Sister Rem, he tried to steal the godlings away to corrupt them. Namu took the form of a great wolf, repelling Nago in his true form, a great demonic boar, but he left his mark on orc kind.

Their tusks are symbols of his influence and the fury of orc kind is his curse. Rom and Rem also bore the curse. They fight constantly. This symbolism is often represented in orcish heraldry with the symbol of two wolves chasing each other to represent inner struggle, growth and balance. Namu guides her children as a symbol of elders, wisdom and tradition. But some orcish tribes turn to Nago and other demonic forces for power. This leads them down a darker path.

Orcs that allow demonic influence to overtake their tribe become the cruel and violent brutes that other cultures think of. They destroy everything in their path, aligning with other evil forces, and make hordes that threaten to destroy civilizations.  They become stronger, their territories expand beyond their ancestor's greatest expectations and they destroy the very thing they were trying to protect by losing their sense of family to become power hungry beasts.

The temptation of power that is bred by this curse has defined orcish history but it doesn't have to be that way in the future. Half-orcs are often the end result of this cruel conquest but they can also be a bridge to their people to peaceful coexistence with their neighbors. This means throwing off the shackles of demonic influence and learning to trust the other races.

But this is only possible if the other races give them a chance.

Faiths of Sublanarya: The She-Lion and the Buffalo Demon (Mahisha, Durga)

It was during the Wyrd Wars, that the battle between the She-Tiger and the Buffalo demon came to pass. The lesser Raj-Hamutian gods, the Devi, has been at war with the asura, their fiendish enemies, led by the buffalo demon, Mahisha. Indra the Storm King led the devi bravely and it seemed assured that he would lead them to victory over the asura but Mahisha gained a powerful boon that tipped the war in his favor:

He gained the gift that no man could kill him. The devi were defeated and forced to retreat into the mountains. There they prayed for help and the goddess Shakti hearing the devi, who were like her own children, crying out in despair came to render aid with her mercy. Their prayers coalesced and the Mother-Of-Many transformed into a form that was as terrible and mighty as it was beautiful and serene: Durga the Merciful.

Their leader, Mahisha, laughed heartily as he thought that he could hear the wailing of his foes atop the mountain. He led his army up the mountainside, slowly, soaking in the assured victory that would see him reign over all of Hamutia. But the sound he heard wasn't the wailing of the gods. It was the warcry of just one goddess. Durga came down the mountain astride a golden lion like a sunrise coming over the horizon. The demons fell back at the sight of her majesty but Mahisha stood to meet the goddess in combat. He had not considered the technicality of his invincibility.

No man could kill Mahisha. But Durga was no man. Durga was a goddess.

She knocked him off of his own buffalo and the lion that durga rode upon swallowed the buffalo in one bite. Mahisha's joy turned to fear. He backpedaled and tried to join his fleeing army. The goddess and her lion maimed and devoured his forces as they chased him, turning the soil red with their blood, until finally the lion pounced upon him. The demon was scared, overwhelmed and desperate but the goddess was calm, collected, and serene as she took his life.

The buffalo was slain and Durga, the merciful counterpart of Kali, completed the female Trimurti.

Durga the Merciful

Title(s)

The She-Lion, The Serene, The Warrior Princess, The Wailing of the Gods

Pantheon(s)

Hamutian

Power Level

Greater Deity

Alignment

Lawful Good

Symbol

A warrior goddess astride a lion

Portfolio

Singing, mercy, grace, female warriors, combat

Domains

War

Worshipers

Warriors, righteously vengeful women (especially mothers), catfolk, dancers

 

Favored Weapon

Trident

Mahisha the Buffalo Demon

 

Title(s)

The Stubborn Bull, The Invincible General, The Iron Buffalo

Pantheon(s)

Hamutian

Power Level

Lesser Deity

Alignment

Chaotic Evil

Symbol

A water buffalo's horns with an upside down crown

Portfolio

Strength, durability, pride, determination, cruelty

Domains

War

Worshipers

Warlords, minotaurs, beastfolk, demons, cultists

 

Favored Weapon

Swords

Faiths of Sublanarya: The Ramayana (Sahasranama, Brahma, Shiva, Padma, Sharada, Ravana, Vayu, Hanuman, Jatuya, Mithras, Agni, Indra)

The story of the Ramayana is a central story in Raj-Hamutian religious beliefs but also plays a big part in the cultural oeuvre of the modern Raj-Hamutian. It tells the story of Rama, a prince born in the kingdom of Yodhya and the seventh avatar of the creator god Sahasranama, and his hero's journey. It is an epic that champions of the four sutras: accordance, pursuance, love and liberation. His story is split into tomes of his life.

This article also details of most raj-hamutian dieties.

Faiths of Sublanarya: Gods of Felterra (Bung, Durel, Far Ray Nuff) Bonus: Lyssa the Rabid

 BUNG THE SMILING GOBLIN

"All monsters are not monstrous: If they have a mind, they can be taught. If they have a heart, it can be softened. If they have soul, they can be saved."

Bung was a goblin born in the Great Spine of Felterra. He was born on the path of the monster-- to fight to kill to survive.

Goblins short and violent lives and die meaningless deaths. The highest purpose of a goblin is to die for the leader or to become the leader. They do whatever it takes, without any philosophy or morality, to just make it out every encounter. They're reviled by society and they revile society. They are treated like monsters and they become monsters. And, if not for fate, Bung would have become a monster too. Eventually, he would've been killed by a rival goblin, a hungry creature or a bored adventurer. Goblins don't live long lives or die of natural causes.And Bung would've died too. He was attacked by a random adventurer and left to die. That's when he was saved a wandering monk and nursed back to health in their monastery.

The monks accepted Bung, they treated him like a brother, they shared their wisdom and, as his body grew stronger, so did his heart and mind. Eventually, Bung decided to stay and learn as much as he could from the monks. Eventually, word got around of the monster sage and goblins from all over the mountains, those desperate to learn or have their problems solved, sought Bung out. He made his home on the top of the mountain and, after much meditation and contemplation, he attained enlightenment and became a living idol.

He taught the monsters, not just goblins but orcs, ogres and all monstrous humanoids that were willing to seek out peace, that they need not submit to their baser nature. He taught that through compassion, through education, through charitable acts, through hard work and through suffering, even a monster can become a person and all people deserve to be saved. Adherents of Bung are found throughout Felterra, using his simple lessons to inspire themselves and their actions, as they seek to abandon the greedy and violent lives of their ancestors. For this reason, goblinoids can be found in Felterra's greatest city, practicing their discipline, and hoping to prove themselves worthy of respect and trust from other peoples.

BUNG

Title(s)  

The Pacifist, The Role Model, The Green Guru, The Smiling Goblin, The All-Friend

Pantheon(s)

Naryan

Power Level

Lesser Deity

Alignment

Neutral Good

Symbol

A smiling face

Realm

Elysium

Portfolio

Peace, redemption, balance, tame monsters, charity

Domains

Life, Protection

Worshipers

Goblinoids, pacifists, monstrous peoples, outcasts, vegans

Favored Weapon

Unarmed Strike

Holy Day(s)

Bung Festival

DUREL THE COLLECTOR

A library made of amber crystal has been seen by scholars rising out of the deepest depths of the ocean and sinking into the dunes of the desert in Felterra. The library is said to hold more scrolls, more tomes, more valuable artifacts, more priceless treasures, more powerful magicks, more collected specimens and more mysteries than all other collections of the mortal plane combined. It even has books that contain entire demiplanes.

It's master is said to be a great amber dragon who guards the treasure trove jealously. He is Durel, the immortal, ingenious and implacable collector, and he will greet those that find their way into The Library provided they impress him with their knowledge, provide him with a gift to add to his collection and, most importantly, earn his trust. He is willing to borrow out items, sometimes even using his power to create temporary copies of items, to aid would-be colleagues in exchange for increasing his collection.

But thieves? Well, there is always room for more specimens in the Zoological Wing.

DUREL

Title(s)  

The Amber Dragon, The Librarian, The Knowledge Hoarder, The Draconic Academic, The Book Wyrm

Pantheon(s)

Naryan

Power Level

Greater Deity

Alignment

Neutral

Symbol

An hourglass in the claw of a dragon

Realm

The Library

Portfolio

Knowledge, treasure, collections, history, preservation

Domains

Knowledge, Arcana

Worshipers

Dragons, magic users, scholars, writers, collectors

Favored Weapon

Staves

Holy Day(s)

Bung Festival

FAR RAY NUFF THE COSMIC JOKE

Sometimes what doesn't kill you doesn't make you stronger. It makes you...stranger.

In the case of the deva Fah Ray Nuff, his final mortal incarnation was driven to mad impulse by the intense visions of the future. His visions were not merely a gift from the gods but a temporal side-effect of his future meddling in time and space. Fah Ray Nuff was an adventurer.

He tried to help his friends. Even when they didn't want his help. Even when his madness caused him to do terrible things. Through a series of misadventures initiated by the Dice of Many Things, he and his friends nearly destroyed the great city of Beniro and threatened the very fabric of reality itself. But via self-sacrifice in the final battle against the transdimensional entity the Murder of Crows, Far Ray Nuff fulfilled his destiny and achieved a higher state of being.

His purpose is still a mystery. For now, he is a curious god that uses his powers for his own amusement.

FAH RAY NUFF

Title(s)  

The Cosmic Joke, The Chaos Mage, The Mad Prophet, The Purple One, The Pancake God

Pantheon(s)

Naryan

Power Level

Lesser Deity

Alignment

Chaotic Neutral

Symbol

A stack of pancakes

Realm

Terra Nada

Portfolio

Madness, whimsy, randomness, glee, stupidity

Domains

Arcana, Trickery

Worshipers

Magic users, fools, beggars, anarchists, rabbits

Favored Weapon

Staves

Holy Day(s)

-

LYSSA THE RABID

When the Primordial Ouranos was struck down by his own son, Kronos, his blood rained down from heaven. Born from this brutal betrayal was Lyssa, the embodiment of madness and rage, she is the progenitor of mental illness among the mortals of Narya, especially the sort that cause violence like rabies. It is Lyssa that is called upon by the gods who seek to punish mortals for their wrath by causing them to misdirect their rage.

LYSSA

Title(s)  

The Rabid Goddess, Furor, The Redblood, The Twisted Knot, The Biter

Pantheon(s)

Naryan

Power Level

Lesser Deity

Alignment

Chaotic Evil

Symbol

A twisted knot of snakes

Realm

Limbo

Portfolio

Madness, suffering, violence, confusion, disease

Domains

Death

Worshipers

Mentally ill, caretakers, ill wishers, dogcatchers

Favored Weapon

Spiked chains

Holy Day(s)

-

Faiths of Sublanarya: The Trial of Reynard the Fox

The Twilight Realm of Dawn is a queer place of wonderful, wondrous, and whimsical beauty and grim, dark, and deadly horror. It is called by many names The Land of Fairy, The Nth Kingdom, and Fantasia. Yes, even a world of magic like Narya, the Twilight Realm of Dawn is considered to be even more inherently fantastic. After all, it is the nexus through which all positive energy, an important element of magic that makes up the magical conflux of Narya, travels and is a sometimes disturbingly and always twisted bright reflection of the material world. There are many odd nooks and crannies, as well as crooks and nannies, in this odd plane and, in one corner is a place where a genre of children's stories become manifest and/or manifest from. The genre that involve talking animals in fancy clothes and moral lessons and rhymes. It is a very real country in the fey realm. This country is called The Kingdom of Animalia.

It is in Animalia that the famous Trial of Reynard the Fox.

Faiths of Sublanarya: Aequitas the Invisible Hand

Aequitas is the daughter of the prince and the stolen bride responsible for the War of the Golden Apple. The apple that Erys had created was imbued with divine powers that could tempt jealous gods to compete for the attention of a mere mortal and so, when consumed by the pregnant bride, she gave birth to a girl who was as radiant as gold. Her beauty rivaled that of any god or goddess and so it was that the gods take turns wooing the unimpressed goddess, Aequitas.

The result of a war that devastated the mortal realm, as the gods wooed Aequitas they gave her so many treasures that she became the very goddess of wealth itself, and her personal collection is a testament to her wealth. It is said that she lived in a heavenly realm with seas of gold. Despite the strife that greed causes, Aequitas is a goddess that promotes peace. While merchants compete with each other, those who pray to Aequitas believe the market is best when merchants follow rules of conduct and ethics, when contracts are upheld, and when the trade is fair. 

So valued is the goddess's peaceful presence that many banks have statues in her honor, often depicted holding a balanced scale with coins on one side and a heart on the other, and they also print currency with her visage.

There is also a famous story in which Aequitas taught a wealthy king a very important lesson about greed and priorities.

King Midas of Izbarda was the wealthiest king in all of the mythical sea of Geleda. And yet, no amount of wealth seemed enough for the god and his greed pushed him to overtax the people, force his armies to fight profitable wars, and to turn the markets in the favor of the crown. Greed had turned the kind-heart of a king into that of a tyrant.

One day, a satyr with golden horns, hooves and fleece was found in the garden of Midas. The satyr had become drunk and passed out from his festivities. The guards of the king went deal with the intruder but, upon recognizing the satyr as a servant of the trade goddess, the king commanded them to take care of the satyr. The satyr was given a place to sleep and given good food & drink upon waking the following morning. Aequitas came to collect her companion and, when she did, she asked Midas to name his reward.

Midas had seen the satyr turn the roses he had slept upon into gold and asked for that power. Aequitas warned him that the power should only be used lightly before giving him the golden touch.

The king ignored her warning.

King Midas turned his entire palace estate to gold: every brick and tile, every door and mirror, every piece of furniture and decor, every tree and bush, every bit of every into glorious and vibrant gold, all the while he grinned like a maniac with insatiable avarice in his heart. It seemed his greed was boundless as he turned everything to gold. He forgot and ignored the goddess's warning.

As the king sat before his dinner feast, all carried out golden dishes and accompanied by golden goblets and pitches of wine on a golden table cloth covering a table of gold, he rested and basked in the radiance of his work. His daughter, upset that her roses had lost their scent and became hard to the touch, came to he father to plead with him to obey the goddess's warning and use his gift more carefully. As he reached out to comfort her, he accidentally embraced her with the golden touch and, to his horror, she turned to gold.

He cursed the gods and begged for help from his servants. To his anguish, he no longer could control his golden touch. When the servants saw that their king had turned his own daughter into gold, they abandoned him. He was left in his palace, surrounded by his wealth, and soon he began to starve for, though the kitchens were plentifully stuffed, every piece of food he pressed to his lips became gold too. He had chose to disobey the goddess's warning.

And so the king would've died, wasting away in a tomb of gold surrounded by useless trinkets and treasures, and haunted by the visage of his own daughter. His heart was heavy and he wished to take his own life. And, as he suffered for his greed, he may have gone mad with anguish but his wails and curses and begging rants aimed at Aequitas were answered.

The goddess returned and asked the king what he wanted now. The king begged to have the goddess's gift taken back. She explained that taking away the golden touch was easy enough but it would not undo his handiwork. He begged that he would trade away his riches, his crown and even his life to just see his daughter returned to her living form. This seemed to please Aequitas.

She told the king to take everything from the palace, every piece of gold, every golden statue, every golden bench and brazier, and every golden brick and tile, down to the sea and toss them into it at once. The king obeyed. Midas threw all of his riches into the sea, every coin and every treasure, until the place his palace had stood was but dirt and rock. Lastly, he was told to take his daughter to the sea and to set her in the shallows. The king had grown weary but he dragged his daughter's golden form to the sea and collapsed just short of the tide. He feared he had not been strong enough, that his greed had done him in, and that he would die having failed his daughter. But the gods took pity upon him and fair Delphina washed a wave over him and his golden daughter.

His daughter pulled her father's head up into her bosom, crying and laughing, and the king realized that no treasure in the world was worth the simple pleasures of life.

Faiths of Sublanarya: Frigo the Enigma

Frigo the Enigma is one of the more obscure cults of Sublanarya. They are a god shrouded in mystery and ambiguity but there are enough facts to give some clues to scholars of their origins and place in the cosmos. Frigo's story can be broken up into three acts: birth, death, and ascension.

Frigo was born as the son of Hecate but the mysterious god's father is a mystery himself but usually attributed to a scandalous meeting with Grimnir Blue-Cloak himself. The amiable rivalry between these two gods is well known. While Hecate schemes to unthrone Grimnir as the patriarch of the gods, their rivalry has bred admiration. Adherents to both gods would probably deny this relationship but most who follow Frigo agree that this union is the most probable for the outcome.

Regardless, Frigo was raised by his mother as a girl. But this is not why Frigo is called "The Androdgyne".

It is said that Frigo used the magic gifted upon him by his mother to travel freely throughout the planes under her careful watch. On one fateful afternoon, Frigo in a sacred place forbidden to male eyes: the Baths of Pallas.

The Baths of Pallas were constructed for use by the goddesses and their priestesses after the adherents of Soffia and Fiona demanded a tribute from defeated forces that had insulted the goddesses with their brutalization of women. The defeated kings built a massive temple complex atop a natural spring. It is said the spring water had many curative properties and that the goddesses themselves visited them from time to time. Lastly, the Baths of Pallas were forbidden to the eyes of mortal or immortal men.

And so it was that poor Frigo, a more feminine and beautified male there may have never been, found himself interrupting a bath between goddesses. The gaze of male eyes were detected by the goddesses and he was struck dead for the blasphemy. When the goddesses discovered that the boy was the son of Hecate, they realized there would be consequences and acted quickly. They lay his body in the healing waters of the Baths of Pallas and, miraculously, the powers of the water resurrected Frigo. Except the curative powers of the water had transmogrified the young god.

Frigo was no longer a boy but nor was Frigo a girl. Frigo had become both and neither. Frigo had been transformed into "the Androgyne God". Straddling the boundary between the worlds feminine and masculine, Frigo represents the unknown and the intangible. Frigo's worshipers are scholars seeking to unravel the mysteries of the universe and magic users seeking to push the limits of their magic.

Furthermore, Frigo's complexity makes them the god of identity and peoples with self-identity outside of the normal paradigm seek guidance from the god of freaks and outcasts in how to accept themselves and how to seek acceptance from others.

FRIGO

Title(s)

The Enigma, The Mystery, The Secret Keeper, The Androgyne, The Punished Soul

Pantheon(s)

Naryan

Power Level

Lesser Deity

Alignment

Neutral

Symbol

A crucified humanoid

Realm

Astral Plane

Portfolio

Magic, Identity, Mystery, Knowledge, Solitude

Suggested Domains

Arcana, Knowledge

Worshipers

Magic users, scholars, philosophers, LGBT, loners

Favored Weapon

Staves

Faiths of Sublanarya: Goddess of Witchcraft Part 5: "Grandmother" Baba Yaga and Hylda Fairer-than-a-Fairy

The final part in our series on the "Goddesses of Witchcraft" is the fairy tale of Baba Yaga and a young girl named Hylda.

The daughter of a merchant's first wife, little Hylda was a small girl when he mother became very ill and was confined to her bed. Hylda cared for her mother while her father was away on business but Hylda did not mind. She was a sweet child, doting on her mother and caring for her without a complain, and her mother loved her so that she called her "Hylda Fairer-than-a-Fairy". As her mother lay in bed, wasting away, Hylda would sit with her and, in turn, the girl's mother would tell her lessons and stories from her home. Some of the stories were so fantastic that they were difficult to believe. Hylda's mother had come from a far away place that was very different than the land of her father and the stories she told were fairy tales of fairy kings and queens, the lessons she taught her were of the old ways and traditions and manners too, and Hylda hung off of every word.

Eventually, Hylda's mother passed away but not before giving her a gift: a small wooden doll. Her mother told Hylda to give the doll a little to eat and drink every day, to care for it as she had cared her own mother, and that when she needed it most, it would help her. Hylda fed the doll and gave it a little to drink and it did give her comfort.

After a time, Hylda's father remarried: the new wife had two daughters and all three were very cruel to Hylda. Hylda and her father moved into their home, where they made her do all the cooking and cleaning, but with the doll to comfort her, Hylda managed. One day, the stepmother demanded they put out all but one light in the house. When the older daughter put it out, Hylda was told to go to fetch a light from their "grandmother" in the woods.

Hylda was not from this land and did not know that the the "grandmother" was Baba Yaga or that the stepmother intended to rid herself of the girl. She knew that there was something sinister about her stepsisters smiles and yet, the doll advised her to do as told. And so she did.

They told her the direction to go and she set out for the old woman's house.

She walked for hours and, just as dawn arrived, she saw a tall white rider followed by another rider dressed in red. The doll told her to wait for them to pass and they continued. Eventually, she found the old woman's house.

Baba Yaga's house, or hut, stood upon a pair of large posts that to the girl looked like a pair of chicken legs. The hut was surrounded in a fence and, upon each post, a skull was set staring outwards from the hut. Hylda was so terrified that she wanted to run, but the doll advised she stay. And so she did.

As night approached  a black rider, like the ones in white and red, passed her by and the eye sockets
of the skulls lit up. Hylda wanted to run, but her legs wouldn't move. That was when Baba Yaga returned, flying in on a giant mortal and rowing it with a giant pestle, before landing in front of the girl. She cackled as she approached, landing with a loud thud, before climbing down from the pestle and looking over the girl. Despite her age, the old woman stood tall and had a terrifying strength about her.

Before the witch could speak, Hylda spoke up, "Good evening Grandmother. My stepmother has sent me to you to borrow a light."

The witch paused at being called "Grandmother" when, for a moment, it seemed she was about to kill Hylda.

Maybe Baba Yaga liked the girl or maybe she just wanted to draw out her end.

Baba Yaga told the girl that she could borrow a light but would need to complete some tasks or be killed: Hylda was to clean the house and yard, wash the laundry, and cook a meal. Also, before Baba Yaga returned, she was to separate the good from the bad corn and to desperate poppy seeds from grains of soil in the yard.

The girl toiled while the witch was away, collapsing from exhaustion and despair, but the doll offered hope again: it told her that she would complete the tasks and the girl should sleep. And so she did.

When she awoke, at dawn, she saw the three riders pass the house, the black chased by the white and red, and Baba Yaga was messing about in her hut. She seemed pleased with the girl's completion of the tasks, sets of invisible hands preparing the corn, as she greeted Hylda. She then told Hylda she could take a light home but first asked Hylda about herself. Hylda told her everything and the women seemed to be in a dower mood by the end. She then asked Hylda if she had any questions.

Hylda asked about the three riders and Baba Yaga seemed to like that, explaining that the white rider was the Sun, the red rider was the Day and the black rider was the Night, and that all three were in her service. She asked Hylda if she had another question and, when Hylda considered asking about the invisible hands preparing the corn or the skulls on posts, the doll begged her not to. And so she didn't.

Upon hearing she had no further questions, Baba Yaga asked her how she completed her tasks and, upon hearing "my mother's blessing", the witch seemed to have no further questions either. She told the girl she had no desire to spend any more time with any blessings about her house and so she gave the girl a skull lantern as payment, filled with glowing coals, and bid her "Goodbye Granddaughter" and "Good luck and give my gift to your stepmother and her daughters!"

And so, Hylda walked home through the woods, and to her stepmother's home. She opened the door, stepping inside, and when her step family saw her, the glowing coals exploded from within skull, striking her step family...

...and burning them to ashes.

The doll told her to sweep the ashes out into the yard and to bury the skull. In some versions of this story, a prince comes upon the house and marries Hylda, but that's not how witches tell it. In some versions of the story, she returned to Baba Yaga, who may or may not be her grandmother, and the witch teaches her the Craft and in others the doll teaches her but, in the end, the two became opposing forces.

 Baba Yaga the Bad Witch and Hylda the Good Witch 

Baba Yaga is a potent political force among the Fey Court, though she is as often found in the material plane as the outer planes, and is rarely turned away from the Seely or Unseely courts when she comes a-calling in her flying mortar or in her walking house. Her daughters are the gorgeous Veela, powerful fey, and serve her in any number of ways alongside her more famous champions, the Three Horseman of Baba Yaga.  She is a serious contestant against the likes of Morgana La Fey and even tiptoes in the shadow of Hecate herself in her mastery of the Craft.

As for Hylda, she has become a patron saint for all "white witches" or "good witches" that wish to use the craft to help people, carrying for the poor, the sick, the old and the downtrodden, using a mix of folk wisdom, arcane power and divination to fix the problems. She is a popular character among little girls and is often painted or carved in artwork meant for children. As for her presence in the world, it is much less prominent as Baba Yaga but she is invoked by any witch who fights against the dark and demons of the world and from within themselves.

Faiths of Sublanarya: Goddesses of Witchcraft Part 1: An Introduction and Hecate, Queen of the Night

WYRD SISTERS:

THE GODDESSES OF WITCHCRAFT

In Naryan legends, there are many powerful female spell-casters that have attained enough power and longevity to stand toe-to-toe and spell to spell with the gods.

 

Queen Tytanya, for instance, has attained supernatural longevity for even a high elf, has assumed mastery and control of both the domains of ward and mirror magic in Sublanarya that give her, and her subjects, protection from outsiders and incredible awareness of all magical activity in the realm, and is a supreme monarch to her people. Her decisions have not only shaped the material plane but the immaterial as well-- as the militarization of the iaurdin has changed their patron god Iaur to better reflect their more imperialistic nature. That is the power of a great witch. And yet, Tytanya's power in firmly drawn from her mastery of the arcane. She is a wizard. She is not a witch.

In the world of Narya, a witch is a female spell caster that not only uses arcane magic, but also taps into the spheres of the divine and the natural.

Usually, witches are fenale humans whose magic sensitivity is higher than normal, drawing them towards it instead of away, and are often eccentric by nature. In places like Thule, magic and druidism are discouraged, especially for women. This makes it difficult for these magically gifted people to seek proper magical education and thus they turn to "The Craft".

The Craft of Witchery, witchcraft, is what some elitist spell-casters would call "common magic" or even "country magic". The most common witch practices a mix of medicine, fortune telling, and, for a price, putting hexes on people. A witch does specialized jobs from midwifery to exorcism. In many communities, such women have learned the trade from an older witch, even passed down from mother to daughter, and are respected cornerstones of country living. While reclusive, some witches form small groups called Covens. It is generally considered bad luck to gather more or less than three witches at a time: the Elder, is the oldest and is usually childless (called the "Crone" in evil covens), the Mother, has children and may even have a family, and the Maiden, a childless youth. They generally gather at special meetings to discuss local occurrences and collaborate on solutions to problems too big for a single witch.

These "good witches", according to those that call themselves such, help people. This doesn't mean, necessarily, doing what people want. Good isn't nice. Good does what's needed. Sometimes this means witches manipulate people, often relying on their knowledge and cunning over actual magic application, but always for the greater good. A good witch is a welcome member to any community in need. And yet, witches have a bad reputation in places, such as Thule and, perhaps, this is a mix of superstition and misogyny. After all, most spell-casters and those who seek and use power are at risk of being corrupted. But still, the prevalence and infamy of bad witches in folklore is indisputable.

There are plenty of reasons for a witch to go bad: they live alone, they are touched by magic, they are eccentric, they are persecuted and they meddle in the affairs of the outer planes. Some witchcraft relies upon drawing upon patrons, like demons or devils, for magic and that takes a toll. Their interests in the community turn from helping to hurting; they give potions with bad effects, they steal away livestock and children for dark purposes and, generally, become crazier and crueler. They basically become hags. And then somebody has to stop them.

Bad witches give their good counterparts such a bad reputations that, generally, good witches don't advertise their talents widely. After all, nobody wants to be burned at the stake.






The most famous and powerful witches attain godhood and today I'm discussing the first goddess related to witchcraft. (Expect more in part 2 and so on).

 HECATE

QUEEN OF THE NIGHT

Hecate is a goddess as old, if not older, than Grimnir himself-- which is appropriate given her status as his only rival in the realm of magic. She is a contemporary of the Titans, descended from Primordial Asteria the Star, and has dominion over magic that is only rivaled by Grimnir. Oddly enough, despite having opposing goals, their relationship is oddly amicable and she is often depicted in the company of the other gods.

When Corona was stolen away by Nergal, in some version of the tale, it is Hekate who lends Terra her torch to search the night for the missing girl. She also helped Bellerophon and the  storm brothers in their quest to find Brigid and defeat Mal Dorig. She even was said to have shown particular pity for Puck, granting him a torch for light when he was imprisoned in the darkness, and from the shadow of that light Darkheart was born.

Also, famously among religious scholars, considered apocrypha by the stuffiest shirts of Grimnir and the crankiest crones of Hecate's cult, there are several tales of friendly wagers between the two gods in time:

They once held a magic duel, each taking turns at taking various animal forms in combat, until one came out a victor. When one took the form a mouse, the other took the form of a cat, and then mouse became a dog, and then the cat a snake and the dog a mongoose and then the snake a hawk and then the snake a leopard and then the hawk an elephant and then the leopard a mouse and so on and so forth they went back and forth. The story goes that the gods watched this battle rage on until, finally, a victor was crowned when one of the two became... a germ of a deadly disease. Some say it was Grimnir who came out the victor but others say only a master of medicine like Hecate would've come up with such a clever ruse.

Hecate is said to meet with mortals in the oddest of places; sometimes, found where the road splits, under the light of the moon on a foggy evening, a strange party is held. Often accompanied by a black hound and a company of ghosts, the dark mistress waits on company. With a head full of dark hair, eyes like stars, and wearing a gown of midnight, the queen of the knight is beautiful and terrible sight for ill-prepared mortals to behold. And yet, her true nature is even more impressive.

Hecate is said to be a tri-fold goddess. She has three heads or forms that she takes separately and all at once: the torch-bearer guides those lost in the dark of the night and reveals the truth to seekers of fate. The key-master reveals doorways to new possibilities and the means to open them. The dagger-maid is said to give the wronged a means for revenge and helps those who seek power. In a way, each of these forms is similar to the witches that make covenant with Hecate: the dagger-maid is the maiden, the key-master is the mother and the torch-bearer is the crone.

Faiths of Sublanarya: Of Life, Love & Death (Kleeona, Mort, Nergal, Tammuz, and Korona)

OF LIFE, LOVE & DEATH

This article sinks its teeth into one of the deepest legends of Naryan lore that is a cornerstone of the Naryan religiosphere and will serve as an introduction to five very important gods.

Kleeona Fair-And-True is the wife of Grimnir Blue-Cloak, making her the matriarch of the Naryan pantheon, and is the mother of some of the most powerful gods in all of creation. Her domain and concerns relate to love in all of the myriad matters of the most powerful forms of love: she is the love between two soul mates, the love between siblings and the love between parent and child. These bonds are more power powerful than any contract. Her doctrine is that love conquers all.

And yet, despite the faithful bond between Kleeona and Grimnir, she is not infallible. None even the gods are perfect. She has had an affair, not with one of countless suitors wishing to win the attention of a goddess and they are countless for her beauty is a terrible and wondrous sight to behold, but with the strangest of suitors; death itself.

Or rather, death himself.

Death in Narya takes on so many shapes and sizes, befitting the task of being the personal guide of souls between the land of the living and the dead, from the smallest and seemingly insignificant creature gifted with consciousness to the most legendary of heroes to even gods. Death has been under the domain and influence of many gods and taking many forms but, at least as far back as this tale, came the existence of a particular death god; Mort the One of Many Names

No one is sure how Mort charmed Kleeona but some believe it was a matter of impressing her with a philosophical debate of some sort. Either way the two fell in love and the resulting union, temporary as it may have been, bore fruit.

Kleeona gave birth to twin sons; Tammuz and Nergal.

But she knew she could not care for them for, not only did she fear the reprisal of Grimnir Blue-Cloak against her or even death itself, but she was shown a prophecy by Null the god of divination. He shared with her a prophecy that as long as the two dwelt in the Heavens neither would be safe. Furthermore, she was told Nergal would never survive long on the material plane as, in his state, he would die. Lastly, she was told a terrible prophecy: Nergal would kill Tammuz in a contest of love. Convinced of the danger, Kleeona asked Mort to take her sons away to separate planes where they would be safe to grow.

The Faceless work quickly.

He took Nergal to raise as his own son.

As for Tammuz, he left the boy to be found by shepherds in the wild. The legend goes that the shepherds saw a flock of white doves stealing food and valuables from the village. They sent one of their kind to follow and, by a pristine lake and under a flowering tree, he found the doves were bringing the stolen items as gifts for an infant boy. The shepherd took the boy back to his village where he was raised as one of their own. He grew up to be a kind lad who had a supernatural way with animals; he used his harp and voice to soothe the animals, his flock seeming to follow the melody, and he never lost any of his sheep to predators. He was known to offer his services in helping anyone in the community, with little in the way of repayment, and always faced adversity with courage, a skip in his step and a song in his heart. His fair visage, his kindness and his talents earned him the title of the Shepherd Prince.

It also attracted a very special admirer.

Terra Earth-Mother, has had many children but none were more beautiful than her daughter Korona First-Flower. Terra was very protective of Korona, whose smile was as warm and inviting as the loveliest day, and did not let her leave her sight. As her daughter grew to womanhood, she feared that she would have many suitors and that they would steal her away. But, after a particularly harsh and long Long-Night season, the prayers from the mortals for her aid in growing new crops and returning life to the land were many.  She did not wish to leave Korona's side but the teenage girl pleaded for her to see to her work. Aurelian and Fiona offered to watch Korona while she tended to the crops. That settled it and Korona left her daughter under the rule that she not leave Elysium.

Unfortunately, Korona was terribly clever and convinced the twin gods of the sun and moon to let her see and smell the new flowers of the season that shared her name. Reluctantly, they agreed. After all, who would dare or could even manage to steal a girl under the guardianship of gods as mighty as themselves. They took her to a secluded field and let her enjoy herself. They expected they might need to scare off a potential suitor and so Aurelian stood nearby, bow ready, and Fiona roused the animals of the woods. They could not have predicted what would come next.

A beautiful song was carried by the air. Combined with the warmth of the sun and the refreshing breeze, Aurelian and Fiona fell into a stupor, and he became lost in music that could only be described as divine. The power of the harmony also calmed the beasts that Fiona had stirred so that, when Corona approached the hill, they did not attempt to stop her.

At the top of the hill, she found Tammuz and he found her. It was love at first sight and sound, as their eyes met and so did their voices, harmonizing and creating a song so powerful that even the dead could hear it. And their king was listening.

 While Tammuz had grown to become a goodly and kindly man, as a result of the love and support of his upbringing, his twin brother Nergal had become his opposite. Nergal had been spoiled by Mort, who failed to see and stifle the boy's ambitions or cruelty, and he had used his divine power to become the King of the Underworld. While each region of the underworld, from the fiery pits of the Abyss to the grey wastes of Hades to the nine layers of Hell, have ruling princes and lords, Nergal had asserted himself through manipulation to being the master of all three.

When a person dies, Mord, or one of the other Thousand Death Gods, guide mortals to their rightful place in the afterlife. The journey is different for each soul, some are taken through a vast plane of whiteness and others take a short carriage ride, but the destinations are more limited. While many souls are claimed by their respective deities, by outsiders who have made a contract with a mortal, such as devils, and faithless souls wind up in the Paradox City, most evil souls are guided through the Gate of Murgahn and into Nergal's personal kingdom of Kur in the center of Hades. There he plays king in his Court of Lions at the Castle of Kurnug. Nergal serves and plays the role of judge and jury of the unclaimed evil dead. There he takes his time, playing games with his subjects, instantly banishing some and keeping others around for entertainment or servitude.

Those he does banish have the following fates: the lawful evil can bargain their way to servitude of a devil or will find themselves sold to devils at auction; in the latter option, they will be inevitably be tortured and turned into the lowliest of devilkind. Chaotic evil souls are often kept around for sport by Nergal but eventually wind up transported to the Abyss either by invasion by demons or by Nergal losing interest in them. Neutral evil are eventually banished out of the kingdom of Kur to wander the endless gray wastes of Hades until they lose all hope and turn into grub-like larvae that are a valuable commodity among fiends.

 But few are as fiendish as Nergal.

He delights in all sins from the pleasure of domination to the ecstasy of cruelty. That said, while evil is his domain and specialty, he has a weakness for innocence and beauty. That weakness was triggered when he heard Tammuz, his long lost brother, play the harp for his first true love. Nergal raced to the material plane for the first time, crashing through the earth and, when he saw the beauty of Korona, he immediately knew he wanted her as he had never wanted anything. And stole her away to the kingdom of Kur before Tammuz could blink.

The impetuous king took Korona to his court and played the part of a far-away and lonely soul in need of a worthy queen. She refused his proposal, bravely, and demanded he return her at once to her mother's side. The king refused, showing himself a spoiled brat, and locked her away. Each day he flipped between tormenting her and courting her, trying to break her will and, most importantly, trying to win her heart. But she resisted as long as she could.

Meanwhile, in the land of the living, this crime had serious repercussions.

When Tammuz's song was interrupted by the theft of Korona, Aurelian and Fiona snapped from their stupor and immediately sped toward the source of the music. Aurelian pinned Tammuz to a tree by his cloak with a flurry of arrows and Fiona threatened to feed him to the wolves. The young man told them what had happened, insisting his innocence and vowing to help them save the girl, and the twins believed him. But they were at a loss. They could not venture into the Underworld, not without great risk, and when they sent an envoy to beseech Nergal to release the girl he replied, with extra snark at his victory over such powerful siblings,

"She shall be my Queen and you shall not interfere. Deep down below the heavens and mortal world, your light will not reach me. In my kingdom, I am the Sun and the Moon. And one day I will be the King of all things."

The twins were helpless and ashamed when Terra returned. They could not bare to tell her the truth of their failure. Instead, Tammuz stepped forward, told Korona's mother of her kidnapping and once again offered his services. Terra fell into a fury and sadness that rocked the world, crops spoiled and even burned, and the natural order began to break down. The gods held a council on the hill where Tammuz had played and the crime was committed. Tammuz was in awe of their majesty, kneeling before them, but a fair hand lifted him to his feet.

It was Kleeona and something about her sad smile seemed so familiar and reassuring to the shepherd that he found new courage.

The gods bickered and argued about responsibility, action and more but none were sure if they could venture into the Underworld without great risk. Such places can corrupt even the gods and losing another god to the darkness would result in even more evil. They even suggested bargaining with the Lords of Hell or even the Yugoloths to overthrow Nergal. Desperation hung in their air as they tried to come up with a solution.

That was when Mort stepped in.

Mort apologized for his son's behavior but he too could not venture past the Gates of Murghan: if anyone had enemies in the Underworld, it was Death, and the Dead would recognize him and beset him. He knew he could not reach the Kingdom of Kur. But he knew who could.

Mort chose Tammuz as his champion in this quest. He told the lad that he was destined to face Nergal, some day, and said it was he, with true love in his heart, that should venture into the realm of the dead. The gods gave him gifts: They cloaked him in their vestments to protect him from evil and remind him of their support. They also gave him a pair of sturdy boots for the long journey ahead. And last of all, they gave him a beautiful harp with strings made from hair of Aether, the Primordial god of light.

Mort then took his hand and led him straight into a portal to the Gates of Murghan. From there, Tammuz passed through the Gates, playing his harp all the while and singing a song for Korona, as he marched. Never before had any song so potent been played. It cowed demons, devils and yugoloths alike that stepped into his path. Eventually, after marching through First-Flower, Sun-Meet, Leaf-Fall and Long-Night, he found the Kingdom of Kur and, much to his surprise, the walls opened. And there, in the Court of Lions, he found Nergal smiling like a cat with Korona at her side.

It seemed, hearing of his journey, Nergal told her that he planned to meet this foolish mortal on the road to his kingdom and strike him down. Korona begged and pleaded for mercy and, eventually, a deal was struck. She would be the Queen of the Dead but, in exchange, he would allow Tammuz safe passage. Tammuz's heart was heavy and he began playing a song with such sorrow, such beauty and such longing that it terrified Nergal. The prince of death reacted with panic, rushing the shepherd where he stood and decapitating him in a single swing of his arm.

It would seem all was lost: Korona would be Nergal's king, Terra would never recover and the material plane would fall to unbalance and ruin, and eventually, if Nergal had his way, the Underworld would be flooded with the dead and he would rule. Seeing his rival dead, he went to sit next to his queen but, instead, he found his father, Mort, sitting in his throne.

The king was confused. How had his father traveled into his kingdom? Why was here? But wasn't it obvious. Tammuz had died and death comes to collect. Nothing is faster than death coming to collect his bounty and nothing had stopped him. But instead of doing his duty, Mort sat there, quietly. He was deep in though, looking at both of his sons, and took action to restore the balance.

He pointed out that Nergal had technically broken his promise to Korona. He also explained that the shepherd was his brother, much to Nergal's horror, disgust and maybe a little regret. After all, at some point, he had wished he had siblings. And yet, Nergal relished in his victory over this unknown rival even more. The whole thing was ridiculous he broke into laughter as Korona wept over the broken body of his brother. And Mort sat there and began tapping a boney finger on the arm of the throne.

There was nothing death could do to his son. He could not force him to keep his promises or undo the marriage. Korona, on the other hand, could alter the deal. After all, with the promise broken, she felt free to divorce him and take half of the Underworld as her own property. When she came to this conclusion and threatened to take half of Nergal's power, the laughter stopped and was quickly replaced by fear. Could she really do that?

Korona made a counter offer, using Mort as an intermediary: she would remain in Kur as Nergal's queen for a quarter of every year. In exchange, Nergal would renew his contract not to harm Tammuz and Mort would resurrect Tammuz. Nergal reluctantly agreed, as his father stared at him dully but with a hint of pleasure that only death's son could detect, and asked his father to allow Tammuz to be resurrected.

The damage was undone and Tammuz was brought back to life. His body was a glow with light and radiance, his heart beat created a rhythm in the air that was pure and inspiring, and his eyes sent chills through his brother. In his rebirth, Tammuz had claimed his birthright and became a god.

As he arose, he seemed to understand what had happened and there was a bitter-sweet look on his face knowing he had been granted a small victory from the clutches of defeat. He took one look at his brother, then his father, and took Korona's hand. Long-Night was coming to an end and he intended to make the most of it.

After being lost for so long on his journey to save her, Tammuz seemed to know the fastest route to the Gate of Murghan and led Korona back into the warmth of the mortal world. Two gods greeted them; Terra embraced her daughter and Kleeona embraced her son. The gods through a great celebration and, as Terra's heart was restored, so was the balance of nature. The celebration became a wedding feast for Korona and Tammuz but the celebration was bitter-sweet. They knew that by Long-Night she would return Nergal's side but, for the other three seasons, their love was a song that made Narya more beautiful.

It is said that Long-Night's grew colder that first year of their marriage than ever before. After all, when the ground trembles during the season or a freezing rain falls, it is said to be from the fury and despair of Terra. And as for the silence over fresh snow? That's the longing of Tammuz's heart for his lost love.