One of the lesser known tales in Circadia is the birth of Opix. This is a curious thing given Opix’s longstanding popularity among Devout and layfolk alike. Many assume that the tale remains obscure due to the dubiousness of the “facts” surrounding it. Those more astute, however, surmise that any number of Opix’s detractors suppressed the rather miraculous creation of the God of Change and Chaos. The most commonly accepted story follows.
The New Deities
In the later Age of the Old Gods, sometimes called the Age of Creation, many new deities came into being. From the union of Pel’pyri and Le’neris were born Faeris’lyr, Beo’lyr, Vaer’ine, Pel’yra, and Myris’lyr. Even more joyously celebrated were the twins of Zyr’Zane and T’Myrim, T’Zyri and T’Rer.
Strangest among such new deities, however, were Hyrnedhna and Mynair. Rather than being birthed as children from deific parents, these two Goddesses were instead hewn like artistry from the flesh and bones of the earth and its creatures. Me’me’sul, the creator of Hyrnedhna, and Gu’labir, the creator of Mynair, were called visionaries, and almost all celebrated the Gods’ innovation. (All except, of course, for Le’neris. But a story for another time.)
The wellspring of so many new Deities ushered in a time of wonder and revelry: it was as if Circadia had exploded in new power, and Mortals found themselves drawn to aspects of Faith they had never before considered. The Old Gods, united by the elders Zyr’zane and T’Myrim, enjoyed the pleasures that such young Gods invited.
Save one Goddess.
The Lonely Flame
Pel’pyri, Goddess of Fire and Creation, found herself wanting for connection. Though her union with Le’neris had produced five children–the children that would eventually be thought of as the first Dynasty–Pel’pyri found herself an ill-suited mother to such beings. Le’neris, as the God of Waters and Life, had always more easily found peace with Mortal worship. Pel’pyri felt herself more aligned in temperament with Gu’labir and Me’me’sul: a force of unforgiving nature and ever-twisting transformation. As Pel’pyri’s Creation was best expressed by the fearsome, sweeping power of Fire, she found herself often misunderstood, by Mortals, as mere Chaos.
And so, as Mortals flocked to worship the children of Le’neris and Pel’pyri, the Goddess became more and more isolated from the other Gods. She grew lonely and withdrawn, spurning the attention of even those who held her in awe.
Steramestei’s Intervention
By the Age of Creation, Steramestei was well-beloved by Mortals and well-known by the Gods. Steramestei had watched the rise of Le’neris and the Dynasty, as well as the quiet fall of Pel’pyri. Not one to usually interfere in such earthly matters, the Star Lady found herself annoyed with Le’neris’s growing arrogance: afterall, as she was a God of endless Inspiration, the God of Life held little interest. Beyond this, Steramestei had grown bored with this new Dynasty: as she had complained to her sister Kasamei and the Gods Zyr’zane and T’Myrim, she felt Mortals knew the Gods too well. There was no longer the enigmatic distance that allowed the separation of the Deity and the Mortal.
These thoughts guiding her actions, Steramestei bided her time, and, carefully watching the world around her, waited for the right moment.
A Dream of Storms
One day, Steramestei spied Pel’pyri asleep in a forest razed by the Goddess’s wildfires. This was commonplace: when Pel’pyri brought forth flame to burn away a landscape, she then rested. Her body, heavy with the weight of Creation itself, would empower the land around her with new life.
This time, as Pel’pyri slept, Steramestei crept into her dreams. She whispered to Pel’pyri of catastrophic fire storms and explosions of life. She whispered of chaotic thunderstorms that shifted into blinding rainbows. Finally, Steramestei placed in Pel’pyri’s dreams a gust of golden butterflies, fervent and rushing. The butterflies’ furious wings carried upon them winds of change and transformation.
As Steramestei stole away, Pel’pyri awoke suddenly from her dreams. Pel’pyri’s mind was spinning with thoughts of tumult and rejuvenation. Disoriented, she looked at the blasted trees around her. To her surprise, a strange thing, despite the earlier devastation, remained: a chrysalis, charred and ashy, dangled from a broken branch.
As if sleepwalking, Pel’pyri wandered towards the chrysalis. Slowly, she grasped it in her left hand and, clutching with all her strength, set it alight. To the Goddess’s shock, the chrysalis did not erupt in flames but, instead, began to glow brilliant orange.
Pel’pyri removed her hand and watched. The skin of the chrysalis began to fall away, and a beautiful being emerged from its husk.
Their name was Opix. Deity most beloved by their Creator, Pel’pyri. Opix, God of Change, Transformation, and Chaos. Opix, eventual Fallen God, disgraced by treachery.
Zealot Larp 