The Old Gods of Circadia

An account of the Old Gods of Circadia and their offspring.

From the Old Gods Archive, 533 Sela

Documented by Magister Orrin, The Archive

The Old Gods and the Mortals

Gods, like Mortals, have existed since the dawn of Circadia–that much is known by the scholars who study these things. Unknown, however, are the names and purviews of the entirety of the Old Gods, since Mortals did not start recording knowledge until T’Myrim and Zyr’Zane first alighted to Circadia.

This is an account of these events and the ones that accompanied them. Though written with utmost diligence and integrity, we must remember that large swaths of ancient history are lost. Our stories must be taken with as many grains of salt as one’s Devotion affords.

T’Myrim and Zyr’Zane, The Patriarch and Matriarch

T’Myrim and Zyr’Zane, the parents of T’Zyri and T’Rer, are considered the prodigal Gods of Mortal worship. While Mortals have (as far as Circadians know) always benefited from the Gods, T’Myrim and Zyr’Zane allowed for the codification of Mortal worship through the gift of the Common Tongue–the uniting language that binds all people of Circadia together.

(This is ironic in that T’Myrim and Zyr’Zane’s names are written in the Old Language, now all but lost to Mortals.)

The Common Tongue allowed Mortals from all Circadian cultures to come together and speak as unified people. This period is sometimes called the Great Unification, though many scholars of proto-history resist such a title, pointing to the well-established civilizations prior to the Common Tongue and the unity of groups such as the Witches. In any event, from this unification, they began to establish a (mostly) shared religion wherein communal worship of Gods began to form.

(The tragedy of the unification is the slow erosion of Circadia’s old cultures, but a story for a different archive.)

Polytheism and the Offspring

Gradually, polytheism emerged around the Gods who, seemingly, most regularly bestowed their Blessings upon the faithful. While many Gods lived and died every day, the ones important to Mortal life follow:

Zyr’Zane, Queen of Light and Wisdom

T’Myrim, King of Shadow and Truth 

Pel’pyri, Deity of Fire and Creation

Le’neris, Deity of Waters and Life

Me’me’sul, Master of Air and Destruction

Gu’labir, Master of Earth and Death

While these Gods did not rule as a wholly unified force, they nevertheless saw themselves as the progenitors of Mortal worship. Slowly, they worked together, offering Blessings so that their Devout might flourish. Over time, new Gods joined the established deities.

Born first were the children of Le’neris and Pel’pyri: Myris’lyr, Pel’yra, Vaer’ine, and the twins, Faeris’lyr and Beo’lyr. While these children were not offered specific purview, they were nevertheless welcome to join the other deities.

Some hundred years later and on an occasion most joyous were born the children of Zyr’Zane and T’Myrim, the twins T’Zyri and T’Rer. The twins were gifted with their parents purviews, T’Zyri taking on the aspects of Wisdom and Shadow, and T’Rer Truth and Light. Two other Gods, Gu’labir and Me’me’sul, offered respectively their domains of Death to T’Zyri and Destruction to T’Rer.

The First Creators

Around this point, the other ranking Gods realized they could create deific life from their own powers, rather than relying on procreation with another God. 

Me’me’sul, seeking to create a God of Ravaging, bargained with Gu’labir–Me’me’sul wanted only a bit of earth from the thickest of forests. Gu’labir happily obliged. Once gifted the earth, Me’me’sul breathed life into it and so sprang forth Hyrnedhna, the Wild Queen. Hyrnedhna, however, immediately fled her creator, instead making company with the beasts of the wood. These beasts, who taught the Goddess the second oldest of languages, the Tongue of Beasts, came to be known as The Hyrnedhnai.

Gu’labir was inspired. Struck by a desire to create life from death, Gu’labir traveled the shores until he found the corpse of a whale, washed upon the beach. Gu’labir marveled at its fallen form–from its stench he smelled sweetness, and in its rotten flesh he saw only teeming life. Fashioning a knife from a shark’s tooth, Gu’labir carved the bones of the whale and grafted onto these bones the whale’s own fat, muscle, and skin. So was born Gu’labir’s first and only creation–Mynair, The Whalespeaker, eventually called The Sea Maiden. Mynair was called the Whalespeaker because, as soon as she stepped into the waters, the creatures of the sea circled her droves–for the first time in Circadia’s history, the seas began to speak. The beasts that would become known as the Mynaira taught Mynair the oldest Circadian tongue–the Song of the Sea.

Gu’labir retreated from his creation in delight. While in his youth he might have given into obsession with his own genius, he instead reveled in having made pure life was honest death.

A Rankled Deity

Most of the other Gods praised Gu’labir’s creation–all Gods except, of course, Le’neris. Gu’labir had not asked Le’neris’s permission to use a beast of the water, though Gu’labir retorted that all dead and rotting things were his purview. Besides, the corpse of the whale had washed upon the earth of the shore. Le’neris conceded but, annoyed with the transgression, began to plot against the Master of Earth. Afterall, the Sea Maiden was proving herself a worthy rival for Mortal attention, even though she moved through the waters with only care for the Tides and the Mynaira.

Le’neris was best served in his plotting by colluding with his son, Faeris’lyr. Faeris’lyr was not much of a schemer, but he was well-beloved by the other Gods and the Mortals. Le’neris, pointing to Gu’labir and Me’me’sul’s creations, suggested that the wild beasts of the natural world might swiftly gain too much power. Faeris’lyr, however trepidatiously, accepted his father’s suggestion. Colluding with his siblings, Faeris’lyr proposed The Pantheon–a collected ruling of the Gods dedicated to bestowing Blessings upon the Mortals.

Negotiations were started immediately.

A Gap in Knowledge

In the deepest archives of Circadia, it is said the scene of the negotiations are written. However, such a scene is lost to most of us. 

What we do know, however, is that Faeris’lyr was able to establish The Pantheon. Sadly, accounts differ on who the original members–other than the new King of the Gods, Faeris’lyr–might have been.

We do know that, shortly after The Pantheon was established, Mortals received greater Blessings from the Gods than ever before. The most pious found themselves filled with tremendous power and, on rare occasions, able to return from even lethal injury and illness. (Something, as detailed in another archive, thought to be the last gift of Zyr’zane and T’Myrim.) As powers grew, a class called the Devout was established–The Devout were elite members of faith who protected the Mortal world by service to the Gods.

The Dreaming Lady

Shortly after the Pantheon was established, something quite odd befell Faeris’lyr. He began to see visions as he walked. Faeris’lyr told the of other Gods these sights: he spoke of images of crowns and scepters that ruled over the Mortals–he told the Gods further of two sisters who might help them all.

Stranger still that, two months after Faeris’lyr began dreaming, a Mortal woman–Tel’nephri–sought the counsel of the Gods. Tel’nephri was known to be a devout follower, and she was readily offered guidance. She too spoke of a strange occurrence–whenever she fell asleep, visions filled her head. Sometimes they were pleasant– crowns, scepters, and celebration all around her. Other times they were frightening: she woke from violent terrors of bloodstained fields, bloody waters, and fearsome beasts. Faeris’lyr immediately recognized such descriptions and, without pause, offered Tel’nephri his private attention.

The Sons

As happens in such situations, Faeris’lyr and Tel’nephri fell into some sort of affection. Within three years of their acquaintance, Tel’nephri gave birth to two children–the older son, Nepheris, and the younger son, Beodhen.

Such a union between God and Mortal seemed impossible, particularly because from it emerged two such beautiful and brilliant children. Nepheris was as intelligent as T’Zyri and as likable (unlike the taciturn princess) as her mother Zyr’zane. Meanwhile, Beodhen was as audacious as Me’me’sul while maintaining the charisma of T’Myrim. While the two sons may not have been as powerful as the Older Gods, they were nevertheless something new. Furthermore, they could wield divine power.

Notes for Consideration

It should be said, of course, that this legend is heavily contested. Beodhen, Nepheris, and Verine (spelled Vaer’ine in the old texts) deny that Beodhen and Nepheris were born of a mortal: they say instead that she was a minor Goddess and lived many years as a member of the original Pantheon. There are early recorded histories that corroborate these claims, though Mortals tend to favor this (less likely) version when they write romances and plays.

Mynair followers are somewhat ambivalent to this story, even though it is nearly undisputed as the Goddess’s origin. The connection to Gu’labir is unsavory, and the tale (however true it may be) is rarely brought up in mixed company. The only people who generally know the truth are Mynair’s High Priests, and they tend to be among the most private in Circadia.

Steramestei and Kasamei followers, unsurprisingly, claim this tale as important to their own worship. It does seem to assert their claim as to the State of Dreaming in the Mortal World. Such a tale–as well as the fall of Le’neris–is a story for another time.

Visit this link for an audiovisual pronunciation of the Gods.