Post by The Maker on Aug 17, 2013 13:54:34 GMT -8
The religion of Ahdrua is based around Ahkra, the daughter of a star and creator of the 6 Gods: Mihra, Irai, Nakir, Hasmal, Abremor, and Ao. The origins and stories of these gods were passed down from the first peoples of Ahdrua, who were created about 1000 years ago.
Ao is not included within the standard Pantheon of gods.
According to legend, before Ahkra, there was only a single, bright star in the galaxy; who was the laziest being in the 7 universes. The star contained limitless power, yet it did nothing but watch the empty blackness in which it dwelled. The star was eventually filled with so much power that it began to die as it tore itself apart from the inside, while the other universes thrived.
The star, terrified that it would have no legacy and be laughed at by the other beings, let out a single breath, using all of its power to create Ahkra. With it's last words, the star told Ahkra of its fate to die because it had been selfish and kept all of its power to itself. "I watched nothing," it said. "Create something worth watching." Ahkra took the star's tale to heart and to preserve its legacy, took a piece of it and ripped it up, throwing it into the universe to create millions of glowing stars in his honor,threading them together with her fingers to create brilliant patterns. Ahkra even took some stars, chewed on them, and spit them out to create meteors and shooting stars.
Ahkra was not satisfied with these stars, however. She wanted to create something more to honor the star that created her. So, Ahkra reached into her chest and broke 2 of her ribs, crushing them in her hands and placing groups of the shattered bones amongst the stars to create planets. The planets were so small, though, that she was not satisfied. Ahkra grabbed a single vertabrae from her spine and placed it in the center of the universe, creating the last, largest planet. She cut ridges into the vertabrae and cried into them, creating oceans, and laid snippets of her hair onto the smooth surfaces to create the earth. She even took her eyelashes and left them upon the earth, creating life. Before Ahkra finally watched her creations, she created herself a home made of stars and blew on the stars and planets, willing them to move around this single vertabrae from her spine, which she named Ahdrua.
For 10 million years, Ahkra watched the stars and planets rotate around Ahdrua. She was so fascinated with the planet that she had forgotten to release her power to create other things. Her power, pent up inside, began to leak and gradually began to rip her apart. Ahkra frantically pulled out 6 of her teeth- one large tooth, 4 molars, and one wisdom tooth- to create her children, like the star had created her.
To these children, Ahkra gave all of her fading powers and her life force. The largest and most powerful of her children was her daughter, Mihra, who was formed from her large tooth. 4 of her other children, Irai, Abremor, Nakir, and Hasmal, were created from her molars, and all divided their power so that they were equal. The weakest child, Ao, was created from her wisdom tooth, and had the least amount of power.
When she died, Ahkra's children took her eyes and created the sun and moon, and her other teeth so that they could make living beings.
The 6 Gods were led by Mihra to create the inhabitants of Ahdrua. Hasmal and Nakir created the humans, Irai and Abremor the elves. Ao created the dwarves, and Mihra created the animals. Because their creator gods had much power, humans, elves, and even some creatures were able to have magic- a force that could alter the universe in a small degree. In this time, magic was much more powerful, and allowed humans and elves to live forever.
But because Ao did not have much power, dwarves could not use magic.
As the years passed on, the gods guided their peoples. However, Mihra, Irai, Abremor, Hasmal, and Nakir believed Ao wasn't powerful enough to care for his people, and forced him to turn away from Ahdrua, taking over the planet themselves. Furious, Ao traveled to another universe and stole all of its power, returning to his own universe and hiding deep within where he had ripped apart Ahkra's woven stars to create himself a domain. He used his powers to create dark spirits and creatures which preyed upon the beings of Ahdrua, placing them on the planet when his siblings weren't looking. He also dug his fingers into the earth, creating his new children secret domains under the ground where his siblings could not disturb them.
The 5 other Gods had no knowledge of Ao's doing until they found that their creations had begun to age and die. Upset, they waged war upon Ao and sealed him back into his dark domain in the corner of the universe- though not without cost. Ao too, with his stolen power, sealed the gods within a single star, from which they could not escape.
Because of their war, Ao, Mihra, Irai, Hasmal, Abremor, and Nakir cannot directly touch Ahdrua any longer. The Gods may now send aid to their children who desire it, but only through magically endowed locations, most commonly referred to as magical wells,(said to be places that the gods touched directly) that were left behind before the Gods were sealed within the star.
Other legends regarding creatures, races, and magic can be found under their respective pages.
Ahkra: Goddess of Time and Space; The All Mother; Creator of the greatest galaxy. Often depicted as a naked woman, with long, straight hair and a crown of stars; holding the sun in one hand, and the planet in the other. The moon usually dangles on a string around her finger.
Mihra: Goddess of Life. Usually depicted as a woman with skin like a tree trunk, vines for hair, and wearing a flower crown. Mushrooms and grass usually occupy the space at her feet.
Irai: Goddess of Truth and Knowledge. Most often depicted as a short haired woman bending over a large tome, with spread out wings for arms. Sometimes, she is portrayed as a winged woman holding a torch and a large tome.
Hasmal: God of Death and Secrets. Depicted as a man wearing a large robe, exposed skeletal ribs, and a great hood that shadows his face. Often, he holds a finger to his lips.
Abremor: God of Protection and Guidance. Depicted as a shepherd with a wolf at his side, and a map strapped to his belt.
Nakir: God of Craftsmanship. Depicted as a large, burly man over an Anvil, crafting a sword.
Ao: God of Destruction, Lies, Chaos, and Misery. Usually depicted as a twisted shade, with sunken eyes, long, grotesque fingers, and a open, mouth full of sharp teeth. Many times, he is surrounded by twisted creatures not too unlike himself.
Structure of Temples:
The peoples of Ahdrua worship the gods in temples, which are built over 'magical hubs', places believed to have been directly touched by the gods. Each country has a temple for a different diety, save for Ametria, which has a grand temple for Ahkra and the 5 gods. Ao does not have his own temple- or at least, not one that is public.
Those who are part of the temple are always human (since in Ahdrua, no other race seems to be present). The structure is as follows:
High Priestess: Spiritual guidance for the entire land; represents all the gods, including Ahkra, excluding Ao; possesses magic.
Priest & Priestess: National spiritual guidance; possess magic; one pair for every god/goddess
Acolytes: Local Spiritual guidance; only some possess magic; trainees for priesthood
Initiates: Training for above, usually very young children given to the temples; Initiates are not strictly children; some possess magic; have no duties to the peoples just yet.
Stars and space are considerably studied topics in Ahdrua and often come as points of interest. Therefore, Astronomy in Ahdrua is perhaps one of the most expanded upon subjects on the continent.
Ao is not included within the standard Pantheon of gods.
Legend
According to legend, before Ahkra, there was only a single, bright star in the galaxy; who was the laziest being in the 7 universes. The star contained limitless power, yet it did nothing but watch the empty blackness in which it dwelled. The star was eventually filled with so much power that it began to die as it tore itself apart from the inside, while the other universes thrived.
The star, terrified that it would have no legacy and be laughed at by the other beings, let out a single breath, using all of its power to create Ahkra. With it's last words, the star told Ahkra of its fate to die because it had been selfish and kept all of its power to itself. "I watched nothing," it said. "Create something worth watching." Ahkra took the star's tale to heart and to preserve its legacy, took a piece of it and ripped it up, throwing it into the universe to create millions of glowing stars in his honor,threading them together with her fingers to create brilliant patterns. Ahkra even took some stars, chewed on them, and spit them out to create meteors and shooting stars.
Ahkra was not satisfied with these stars, however. She wanted to create something more to honor the star that created her. So, Ahkra reached into her chest and broke 2 of her ribs, crushing them in her hands and placing groups of the shattered bones amongst the stars to create planets. The planets were so small, though, that she was not satisfied. Ahkra grabbed a single vertabrae from her spine and placed it in the center of the universe, creating the last, largest planet. She cut ridges into the vertabrae and cried into them, creating oceans, and laid snippets of her hair onto the smooth surfaces to create the earth. She even took her eyelashes and left them upon the earth, creating life. Before Ahkra finally watched her creations, she created herself a home made of stars and blew on the stars and planets, willing them to move around this single vertabrae from her spine, which she named Ahdrua.
For 10 million years, Ahkra watched the stars and planets rotate around Ahdrua. She was so fascinated with the planet that she had forgotten to release her power to create other things. Her power, pent up inside, began to leak and gradually began to rip her apart. Ahkra frantically pulled out 6 of her teeth- one large tooth, 4 molars, and one wisdom tooth- to create her children, like the star had created her.
To these children, Ahkra gave all of her fading powers and her life force. The largest and most powerful of her children was her daughter, Mihra, who was formed from her large tooth. 4 of her other children, Irai, Abremor, Nakir, and Hasmal, were created from her molars, and all divided their power so that they were equal. The weakest child, Ao, was created from her wisdom tooth, and had the least amount of power.
When she died, Ahkra's children took her eyes and created the sun and moon, and her other teeth so that they could make living beings.
The 6 Gods were led by Mihra to create the inhabitants of Ahdrua. Hasmal and Nakir created the humans, Irai and Abremor the elves. Ao created the dwarves, and Mihra created the animals. Because their creator gods had much power, humans, elves, and even some creatures were able to have magic- a force that could alter the universe in a small degree. In this time, magic was much more powerful, and allowed humans and elves to live forever.
But because Ao did not have much power, dwarves could not use magic.
As the years passed on, the gods guided their peoples. However, Mihra, Irai, Abremor, Hasmal, and Nakir believed Ao wasn't powerful enough to care for his people, and forced him to turn away from Ahdrua, taking over the planet themselves. Furious, Ao traveled to another universe and stole all of its power, returning to his own universe and hiding deep within where he had ripped apart Ahkra's woven stars to create himself a domain. He used his powers to create dark spirits and creatures which preyed upon the beings of Ahdrua, placing them on the planet when his siblings weren't looking. He also dug his fingers into the earth, creating his new children secret domains under the ground where his siblings could not disturb them.
The 5 other Gods had no knowledge of Ao's doing until they found that their creations had begun to age and die. Upset, they waged war upon Ao and sealed him back into his dark domain in the corner of the universe- though not without cost. Ao too, with his stolen power, sealed the gods within a single star, from which they could not escape.
Because of their war, Ao, Mihra, Irai, Hasmal, Abremor, and Nakir cannot directly touch Ahdrua any longer. The Gods may now send aid to their children who desire it, but only through magically endowed locations, most commonly referred to as magical wells,(said to be places that the gods touched directly) that were left behind before the Gods were sealed within the star.
Other legends regarding creatures, races, and magic can be found under their respective pages.
Gods and what they represent:
Ahkra: Goddess of Time and Space; The All Mother; Creator of the greatest galaxy. Often depicted as a naked woman, with long, straight hair and a crown of stars; holding the sun in one hand, and the planet in the other. The moon usually dangles on a string around her finger.
Mihra: Goddess of Life. Usually depicted as a woman with skin like a tree trunk, vines for hair, and wearing a flower crown. Mushrooms and grass usually occupy the space at her feet.
Irai: Goddess of Truth and Knowledge. Most often depicted as a short haired woman bending over a large tome, with spread out wings for arms. Sometimes, she is portrayed as a winged woman holding a torch and a large tome.
Hasmal: God of Death and Secrets. Depicted as a man wearing a large robe, exposed skeletal ribs, and a great hood that shadows his face. Often, he holds a finger to his lips.
Abremor: God of Protection and Guidance. Depicted as a shepherd with a wolf at his side, and a map strapped to his belt.
Nakir: God of Craftsmanship. Depicted as a large, burly man over an Anvil, crafting a sword.
Ao: God of Destruction, Lies, Chaos, and Misery. Usually depicted as a twisted shade, with sunken eyes, long, grotesque fingers, and a open, mouth full of sharp teeth. Many times, he is surrounded by twisted creatures not too unlike himself.
Structure of Temples:
The peoples of Ahdrua worship the gods in temples, which are built over 'magical hubs', places believed to have been directly touched by the gods. Each country has a temple for a different diety, save for Ametria, which has a grand temple for Ahkra and the 5 gods. Ao does not have his own temple- or at least, not one that is public.
Those who are part of the temple are always human (since in Ahdrua, no other race seems to be present). The structure is as follows:
High Priestess: Spiritual guidance for the entire land; represents all the gods, including Ahkra, excluding Ao; possesses magic.
Priest & Priestess: National spiritual guidance; possess magic; one pair for every god/goddess
Acolytes: Local Spiritual guidance; only some possess magic; trainees for priesthood
Initiates: Training for above, usually very young children given to the temples; Initiates are not strictly children; some possess magic; have no duties to the peoples just yet.
ETC.
Stars and space are considerably studied topics in Ahdrua and often come as points of interest. Therefore, Astronomy in Ahdrua is perhaps one of the most expanded upon subjects on the continent.