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cerastes · 1 year

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Istesa, Lady of the Lake, and self-proclaimed “Interesting Times”.

“Istesa” is, in fact, a fusion of two beings: The Bloodless Queen, one of the former five Fairy Queens before the reforms that consolidated duties and power into one seat, and the blind Istesa, her royal smith and jeweler.

Less a person and more a phenomenon, Istesa is an ageless being that only resurfaces during times of turmoil and upheaval... Or rather, it’s more correct to say that she appears right before these chaotic times of great change, being the one to trigger them. By handing a legendary sword to this guy or that girl, Istesa makes sure that those with strong enough feelings and temperaments are properly equipped to carry out their “destiny”. While initially seen as benevolent figure of legend, scholars have since changed their opinion on her, as most every event she has influenced, regardless of the outcome, has tended to be immensely chaotic and gruesome. Pick any Ivarean history book, and most chapters have some relation to her... Among scholars, she’s also known as the Tideturner, as her powerful creations have shifted the tides of conflict and birthed many a victorious underdog, with no regard to the consequences afterwards...

A master smith, alchemist, and sorcerer. She’s worshipped as a goddess of change, progress, and blacksmithing in some parts in Ivarea, and she’s depicted with a large hammer in idols and effigies. However, those who are more familiar with her will also consider her a representation of calamity and crisis, and the Two Stars of Calamity are named after her (the Istesa Stars, or Twin Istesas). Thus, she is also sometimes represented with the visage of a collapsing tower as reference to the many dynasties and eras she’s suspected to have directly ended.

But, she’s simply a fictitious character in the folklore of the land, right...?

“Year 687: The legendary swordsman receives his sacred sword, and defeats the dark tyrant, becoming Hero King. In the following years, he, too, becomes a tyrant. Year 801: The Valkyrie of Esperkard pierces the Grand Chancellor of Atorrhia’s heart with the legendary spear she received from the Lady of the Lake. With the Chancellor’s death, Atorrhia is finally free, but all of its trade treaties collapse in the following months, and the people, now divided, massacre each other. Year 1301: The Bow That Never Misses is bestowed upon the the lad that would eventually become the Peerless Liberator. However, with the power to land a shot on absolutely anyone, no matter what, the Peerless Liberator became the Despot Ranger, who still holds the Great Glades of Insya as his own private land. No one dares venture into the glades, even today... A great swatch of no man’s land. Year 1498: An explosion so great that Ivarea shook completely took out the kingdom of [REDACTED]. No trace remains. In his dying words, the bomber said “Thank you so much, my Lady... My revenge... Is complete”, and the world lost its sole source of [REDACTED] that day. Year 1719: The sniper rifle that shot a bullet across the ocean, from one castle to another, and killed the king of Slionia, is said to have been given to the Empress of Grioccuvar by someone that perfectly fits the description of the Lady of the Lake. But the rifle had a single round, and upon the ascension of the king’s bloodthirsty daughter, the war only intensified, its repercussion still felt today.

This is all just a bit from the most comprehensive text we’ve found, from one of her worshippers, the Record of Calamity. Any questions?”

“Sir, is this all... True? This reads more like the ramblings of a madman, the sort that believes all those conspiracies.”

“Normally, I would agree with you, but... The truth is, I come from Grioccuvar, and... Look at this photo.”

“...That’s... Someone that fits the description of the Lady of the Lake, handing the rifle to the king?”

“Aye. My ancestor worked a post of honor at the castle, and he managed to snag this photo. It tormented for the rest of his life. She’s real, and if we don’t do something about her, she’ll keep shaping our history to her whims, writ in the blood of the masses, all while she simply laughs.”

-- Mission briefing at [-----]

Istesa, a native of Drathodia, was a blind artisan who made a living crafting jewelry and other such knickknacks. Drathodia is known for its boisterous adventurers and mercenaries, a hearty, strong people who love their fights as much as they love their celebrations. However, due to its main export being adventurers and mercenaries, it’s well known that those who cannot perform said roles, or assist in those roles tend to be discriminated in Drathodian society. One needn’t be a brawler, necessarily: Good cooks, explorers, blacksmiths, teachers and many more are appreciated fairly, but if you truly are alien to the culture, if you are an iconoclast to Drathodia born in the nation, then you’re likely not particularly happy within its borders. This was the case for Istesa, who was born with blindness and a feeble body, in contrast to her strong, charming older sister.

The sisters shared a deep bond, with the older caring for the younger in any way she could. A strong fighter with a seemingly bright future in front of her, the older sister was a shining star and even took apprenticeship with a famous martial master in Drathodia. Unfortunately, she met an early demise, and Istesa was left not only without the only person that truly supported her, but also without her beloved sister. Sinking into depression, Istesa gave her all into the creation of jewelry and trinkets, a discipline she was shockingly good at despite her blindness, as her sister taught her hands the basics, and from there, Istesa never stopped.

One day, late at night, Istesa got lost on her way home due to a temporary road closure changing her route, and ended up lost in the woods, where a tricky fairy spirited her away to the Realm of the Fairies. Scared for her life and confused, Istesa pleaded for mercy, but the Fairies, all of whom are capricious and some of whom are sadists, were not about to give her any quarter. That is, until the booming voice of one of the Five Queens ordered them all to stand aside. It was the Bloodless Queen, who happened to witness this on a stroll.

“What can you do?”

“I-I can make jewelry...”

“Then you will make for me a gorgeous necklace of silver, topaz as the main piece, and amethyst as adornments. Do you accept this commission?”

“Y-yes... Let me take your measurements...”

Istesa got to work in a secluded room in the Bloodless Queen’s castle, and in just one night and one day, produced the necklace: Brilliant silver with snowflake motifs of the adornments, wintry tones accompanying the purple hues of the amethyst, its main piece instead a plaque of hand-chiseled flame, where the brilliant topaz shone brightly. The Queen, whose breath had been taken away from the craftsmanship, immediately ordered any and all Fae that had their eyes on Istesa to back off, lest they wish to compete with her: The artisan was hers.

After becoming the Bloodless Queen’s personal artisan, the two grew close. Very close. They would talk at length about something the two of them were passionate about: Stories. Stories as a medium, stories as entertainment, stories as lessons... The Bloodless Queen always lamented that the Fae had very boring stories, always having predictably happy endings, clean endings, simple endings. Istesa simply wished she could see so she could read the books the Queen enjoyed so, that she could make a better conversation partner for her.

To celebrate Istesa’s first full year under her employment, the Queen told her to hold her hand and squeeze tightly. When Istesa inquired why, the Queen simply replied:

“It’ll hurt a bit less.”

The Queen then plucked Istesa’s blind eyes right out of their sockets, causing the artisan to faint.

When she woke up, however, Istesa found herself in a comfy, soft bed, a tall ceiling, look directly at the face of her Queen who sat next to her... Looking. Seeing. Watching. The shock almost made Istesa faint again. She could see. Hanging from the Queen’s neck was her necklace, which she immediately recognized, she had ‘seen’ it thoroughly with her hands. The Queen’s face was more beautiful than she imagined as well. Even though she ‘saw’ her through her fingers so many times, the real deal was definitely beyond what her mind could conjure. And right above the Queen’s head, she saw some words. They read “Istesa’s joy”.

“W-what’s going on, why can I see...?”

“It’s my gift to you, Istesa: The eyes of a djinn. I grant you sight, and the ability to discern the desires of those you see. This way, you’ll always know what I want.”

Though a seemingly selfish gift, it was anything but. This way, Istesa would not be taken advantage of, or at least, she would be able to know more about the true nature of any Fae that wasn’t the Queen that interacted with her. Fae are capricious, and some can be very cruel, but with these eyes, she could immediately tell if they had ill intent towards her. Moreover, Istesa could now read all the books the Queen herself loved. This couldn’t be better.

All was fine in the Citadel of the Bloodless Queen... Until the Civil War of the Fae erupted.

See, the Five Queens of eld had very specific, very strict roles: With a love for theatrics, the Five Original Fae, the Queens, established a system of governance for the ever-growing Fae population that would ensure peace: Each Queen had a role to fulfill in order to maintain the status quo: One of would be the Righteous Queen, who could do no wrong, and another would be the Bloodless Queen, who was behind everything wrong, no matter what. This would give the Fae an easy hero to follow, and an easy villain to blame, and all matters could be resolved simply. If the Righteous Queen made a mistake, then it was not, in fact, her mistake, it was a ploy of the Bloodless Queen, in an attempt to humiliate the Righteous Queen. Then, the Bloodless Queen would receive a token sanction, and everyone would move on. This worked wonders when the Fae were few and many of them knew this was merely a system of theatrics to put the water under the bridge as smoothly as possible while the true culprit reflected on their mistake and improved themselves. But as the Fae increased in number, the theatrics came to be understood as a reality. It wasn’t just a few dozen of Fae needing guidance and to focus on the right tasks for survival, now, the Fae were prosperous, numerous, and yet, the old ways never changed. Instead of being seen as a selfless martyr who took the blame, no matter what, in order for the many to focus on the right task, the Bloodless Queen came to be seen as a true villain. Every story needed a good ending, a clean ending, an easy to understand ending, and when there’s a designated villain, then it’s to find the culprit for everything.

Eventually, the Civil War of the Fae erupted, starting with conflict between the Righteous Queen and the Harvest Queen. Each urged the other Queens to join their side: The Studious Queen joined the former, while the Festival Queen joined the latter. Who would the Bloodless Queen join, then?

None. They all deserved the highest penalty for letting their egos get to this point in the first place. The Bloodless Queen took to the battlefield on her own. With remorse filling every inch of her heart, she addressed her smith and jeweler:

“Istesa... Can you make... Weapons for my soldiers?”

Istesa didn’t answer, and for the first time in her life, her hammer created a sword. Ornate, light, and deadly. The Queen herself wielded it. The blade only dulled after the thousandth kill.

At the end of the war, the Festival Queen finally seized her final victory via pure subterfuge after having believed to have been killed, the seeming sole survivor of the conflict. The Bloodless Queen lie on her deathbed, clutching Istesa’s worn fingers tightly.

“At least this is a better ending than all those flimsy acts we put on in the past, Istesa... I don’t hate happy endings, you know...? But... Where’s the sense of urgency when the bad guy is always so apparent... Where’s the sense of danger when you know every single time the good guys will win...? Fae stories are horribly bad... Haha... Look at me! The Bloodless Queen betrays expectation and bleeds out... Isn’t that simply funny, my Istesa...? Ah... Istesa... Please make sure that this world has more exciting stories... Make a world that would entertain me, would you...?”

Unable to handle the grief of losing her, Istesa broke in tears as life left the Queen’s body, but the Queen’s essence, too immense after so many lifetimes, was thick and palpable. As it glowed xanthous and violet in front of her, Istesa, without thinking, absorbed all of it. Absorbing the essence of a Fae is said to be a death sentence, that’s simply too much raw, undiluted magical power for any physiology of Ivarea to handle. Istesa intended to die with her lover that day... But the essence would not harm her. It would not hurt her. It would not pose any danger to Istesa. Istesa and the Bloodless Queen, at the very height of their emotions, fused.

And the world would become a more interesting place forever after that day. Whether it wanted to or not.

All that is done, is done for that. That. That perfect, entertaining ending, that heart-gripping development, that crescendo...

“Istesa” would give Ivarea the most interesting stories, forged in fire, printed in upheaval, writ in blood.

“Istesa” is not evil. She is not good, either.

All she wants is a good story.

And she’ll do anything for it.

#Ivarea #Istesa

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legend-collection · 9 months

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Death

Death is frequently imagined as a personified force. In some mythologies, a character known as the Grim Reaper (usually depicted as a berobed skeleton wielding a scythe) causes the victim's death by coming to collect that person's soul. Other beliefs hold that the Spectre of Death is only a psychopomp, a benevolent figure who serves to gently sever the last ties between the soul and the body, and to guide the deceased to the afterlife, without having any control over when or how the victim dies. Death is most often personified in male form, although in certain cultures Death is perceived as female (for instance, Marzanna in Slavic mythology, or Santa Muerte in Mexico). Death is also portrayed as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Death Le Mire and Oudry La Fontaine fable Death and the dying

Irish mythology features a similar creature known as a dullahan, whose head would be tucked under their arm (dullahans were not one, but an entire species). The head was said to have large eyes and a smile that could reach the head's ears. The dullahan would ride a black horse or a carriage pulled by black horses, and stop at the house of someone about to die, and call their name, and immediately the person would die. The dullahan did not like being watched, and it was believed that if a dullahan knew someone was watching them, they would lash that person's eyes with their whip, which was made from a spine; or they would toss a basin of blood on the person, which was a sign that the person was next to die.

Gaelic lore also involves a female spirit known as Banshee, who heralds the death of a person by shrieking or keening. The banshee is often described as wearing red or green, usually with long, disheveled hair. She can appear in a variety of forms, typically that of an ugly, frightful hag, but in some stories she chooses to appear young and beautiful. Some tales recount that the creature was actually a ghost, often of a specific murdered woman or a mother who died in childbirth. When several banshees appeared at once, it was said to indicate the death of someone great or holy. In Ireland and parts of Scotland, a traditional part of mourning is the keening woman (bean chaointe), who wails a lament – in Irish: Caoineadh, caoin meaning "to weep, to wail."

In Scottish folklore there was a belief that a black, dark green or white dog known as a Cù Sìth took dying souls to the afterlife. Comparable figures exist in Irish and Welsh stories.

In Welsh Folklore, Gwyn ap Nudd is the escort of the grave, the personification of Death and Winter who leads the Wild Hunt to collect wayward souls and escort them to the Otherworld, sometimes it is Maleagant, Arawn or Afallach in a similar position.

In Greek mythology, Thanatos, the personification of death, is one of the offspring of Nyx (Night). Like her, he is seldom portrayed directly. He sometimes appears in art as a winged and bearded man, and occasionally as a winged and beardless youth. When he appears together with his twin brother, Hypnos, the god of sleep, Thanatos generally represents a gentle death. Thanatos, led by Hermes psychopompos, takes the shade of the deceased to the near shore of the river Styx, whence the ferryman Charon, on payment of a small fee, conveys the shade to Hades, the realm of the dead. Homer's Iliad 16.681, and the Euphronios Krater's depiction of the same episode, have Apollo instruct the removal of the heroic, semi-divine Sarpedon's body from the battlefield by Hypnos and Thanatos, and conveyed thence to his homeland for proper funeral rites. Among the other children of Nyx are Thanatos' sisters, the Keres, blood-drinking, vengeant spirits of violent or untimely death, portrayed as fanged and taloned, with bloody garments.

In Scandinavia, Norse mythology personified death in the shape of Hel, the goddess of death and ruler over the realm of the same name, where she received a portion of the dead. In the times of the Black Plague, Death would often be depicted as an old woman known by the name of Pesta, meaning "plague hag", wearing a black hood. She would go into a town carrying either a rake or a broom. If she brought the rake, some people would survive the plague; if she brought the broom, however, everyone would die.

Scandinavians later adopted the Grim Reaper with a scythe and black robe. Today, Ingmar Bergman's 1957 film The Seventh Seal features one of the world's most famous representations of this personification of Death.

In Poland, Death – Śmierć or kostuch – has an appearance similar to the Grim Reaper, although its robe was traditionally white instead of black. Because the word śmierć is feminine in gender, death is frequently portrayed as a skeletal old woman, as depicted in 15th-century dialogue "Rozmowa Mistrza Polikarpa ze Śmiercią" (Latin: "Dialogus inter Mortem et Magistrum Polikarpum").

In Serbia and other South Slavic countries, the Grim Reaper is well known as Smrt ("Death") or Kosač ("Reaper"). Slavic people found this very similar to the Devil and other dark powers. One popular saying about death is: Smrt ne bira ni vreme, ni mesto, ni godinu ("Death does not choose a time, place or year" – which means death is destiny.)

Morana is a Slavic goddess of winter time, death and rebirth. A figurine of the same name is traditionally created at the end of winter/beginning of spring and symbolically taken away from villages to be set in fire and/or thrown into a river, that takes her away from the world of the living.

In the Czech Republic, the medieval Prague Astronomical Clock carries a depiction of Death striking the hour. A version first appeared in 1490.

In the Netherlands, and to a lesser extent in Belgium, the personification of Death is known as Magere Hein ("Thin Hein") or Pietje de Dood ("Peter the Death"). Historically, he was sometimes simply referred to as Hein or variations thereof such as Heintje, Heintjeman and Oom Hendrik ("Uncle Hendrik"). Related archaic terms are Beenderman ("Bone-man"), Scherminkel (very meager person, "skeleton") and Maaijeman ("mow-man", a reference to his scythe).

The concept of Magere Hein predates Christianity, but was Christianized and likely gained its modern name and features (scythe, skeleton, black robe etc.) during the Middle Ages. The designation "Meager" comes from its portrayal as a skeleton, which was largely influenced by the Christian "Dance of Death" theme that was prominent in Europe during the late Middle Ages. "Hein" was a Middle Dutch name originating as a short form of Heinric. Its use was possibly related to the comparable German concept of "Freund Hein." Notably, many of the names given to Death can also refer to the Devil; it is likely that fear of death led to Hein's character being merged with that of Satan.

In Belgium, this personification of Death is now commonly called Pietje de Dood "Little Pete, the Death." Like the other Dutch names, it can also refer to the Devil.

In Western Europe, Death has commonly been personified as an animated skeleton since the Middle Ages. This character, which is often depicted wielding a scythe, is said to collect the souls of the dying or recently dead. In English and German culture, Death is typically portrayed as male, but in French, Spanish, and Italian culture, it is not uncommon for Death to be female.

In England, the personified "Death" featured in medieval morality plays, later regularly appearing in traditional folk songs. The following is a verse of "Death and the Lady" (Roud 1031) as sung by Henry Burstow in the nineteenth century:

Fair lady, throw those costly robes aside, No longer may you glory in your pride. Take leave of all sour carnal vain delight I'm come to summon you away this night.

In the late 1800s, the character of Death became known as the Grim Reaper in English literature. The earliest appearance of the name "Grim Reaper" in English is in the 1847 book The Circle of Human Life:

All know full well that life cannot last above seventy, or at the most eighty years. If we reach that term without meeting the grim reaper with his scythe, there or there about, meet him we surely shall.

The "Angel of the Lord" smites 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp (II Kings 19:35). When the Angel of Death passes through to smite the Egyptian first-born, God prevents "the destroyer" (shâchath) from entering houses with blood on the lintel and side posts (Exodus 12:23). The "destroying angel" (mal'ak ha-mashḥit) rages among the people in Jerusalem (II Sam. 24:16). In I Chronicles 21:15 the "angel of the Lord" is seen by King David standing "between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem." The biblical Book of Job (33:22) uses the general term "destroyers" (memitim), which tradition has identified with "destroying angels" (mal'ake Khabbalah), and Prov. 16:14 uses the term the "angels of death" (mal'ake ha-mavet). The angel Azra'il is sometimes referred as the Angel of Death as well.

Jewish tradition also refers to Death as the Angel of Dark and Light, a name which stems from Talmudic lore. There is also a reference to "Abaddon" (The Destroyer), an angel who is known as the "Angel of the Abyss". In Talmudic lore, he is characterized as archangel Michael.

In Hebrew scriptures, Death (Maweth/Mavet(h)) is sometimes personified as a devil or angel of death (e.g., Habakkuk 2:5; Job 18:13). In both the Book of Hosea and the Book of Jeremiah, Maweth/Mot is mentioned as a deity to whom God can turn over Judah as punishment for worshiping other gods. The memitim are a type of angel from biblical lore associated with the mediation over the lives of the dying. The name is derived from the Hebrew word mĕmītǐm ("executioners", "slayers", "destroyers") and refers to angels that brought about the destruction of those whom the guardian angels no longer protected. While there may be some debate among religious scholars regarding the exact nature of the memitim, it is generally accepted that, as described in the Book of Job 33:22, they are killers of some sort.

According to the Midrash, the Angel of Death was created by God on the first day. His dwelling is in heaven, whence he reaches earth in eight flights, whereas Pestilence reaches it in one. He has twelve wings. "Over all people have I surrendered thee the power," said God to the Angel of Death, "only not over this one [i.e. Moses] which has received freedom from death through the Law." It is said of the Angel of Death that he is full of eyes. In the hour of death, he stands at the head of the departing one with a drawn sword, to which clings a drop of gall. As soon as the dying man sees Death, he is seized with a convulsion and opens his mouth, whereupon Death throws the drop into it. This drop causes his death; he turns putrid, and his face becomes yellow. The expression "the taste of death" originated in the idea that death was caused by a drop of gall.

The soul escapes through the mouth, or, as is stated in another place, through the throat; therefore, the Angel of Death stands at the head of the patient (Adolf Jellinek, l.c. ii. 94, Midr. Teh. to Ps. xi.). When the soul forsakes the body, its voice goes from one end of the world to the other, but is not heard (Gen. R. vi. 7; Ex. R. v. 9; Pirḳe R. El. xxxiv.). The drawn sword of the Angel of Death, mentioned by the Chronicler (I. Chron. 21:15; comp. Job 15:22; Enoch 62:11), indicates that the Angel of Death was figured as a warrior who kills off the children of men. "Man, on the day of his death, falls down before the Angel of Death like a beast before the slaughterer" (Grünhut, "Liḳḳuṭim", v. 102a). R. Samuel's father (c. 200) said: "The Angel of Death said to me, 'Only for the sake of the honor of mankind do I not tear off their necks as is done to slaughtered beasts'" ('Ab. Zarah 20b). In later representations, the knife sometimes replaces the sword, and reference is also made to the cord of the Angel of Death, which indicates death by throttling. Moses says to God: "I fear the cord of the Angel of Death" (Grünhut, l.c. v. 103a et seq.). Of the four Jewish methods of execution, three are named in connection with the Angel of Death: Burning (by pouring hot lead down the victim's throat), slaughtering (by beheading), and throttling. The Angel of Death administers the particular punishment that God has ordained for the commission of sin.

A peculiar mantle ("idra" – according to Levy, "Neuhebr. Wörterb." i. 32, a sword) belongs to the equipment of the Angel of Death (Eccl. R. iv. 7). The Angel of Death takes on the particular form which will best serve his purpose; e.g., he appears to a scholar in the form of a beggar imploring pity (the beggar should receive Tzedakah)(M. Ḳ. 28a). "When pestilence rages in the town, walk not in the middle of the street, because the Angel of Death [i.e., pestilence] strides there; if peace reigns in the town, walk not on the edges of the road. When pestilence rages in the town, go not alone to the synagogue, because there the Angel of Death stores his tools. If the dogs howl, the Angel of Death has entered the city; if they make sport, the prophet Elijah has come" (B. Ḳ. 60b). The "destroyer" (saṭan ha-mashḥit) in the daily prayer is the Angel of Death (Ber. 16b). Midr. Ma'ase Torah (compare Jellinek, "B. H." ii. 98) says: "There are six Angels of Death: Gabriel over kings; Ḳapẓiel over youths; Mashbir over animals; Mashḥit over children; Af and Ḥemah over man and beast."

Samael is considered in Talmudic texts to be a member of the heavenly host with often grim and destructive duties. One of Samael's greatest roles in Jewish lore is that of the main angel of death and the head of satans.

Talmud teachers of the 4th century associate quite familiarly with him. When he appeared to one on the street, the teacher reproached him with rushing upon him as upon a beast, whereupon the angel called upon him at his house. To another, he granted a respite of thirty days, that he might put his knowledge in order before entering the next world. To a third, he had no access, because he could not interrupt the study of the Talmud. To a fourth, he showed a rod of fire, whereby he is recognized as the Angel of Death (M. K. 28a). He often entered the house of Bibi and conversed with him (Ḥag. 4b). Often, he resorts to strategy in order to interrupt and seize his victim (B. M. 86a; Mak. 10a).

The death of Joshua ben Levi in particular is surrounded with a web of fable. When the time came for him to die and the Angel of Death appeared to him, he demanded to be shown his place in paradise. When the angel had consented to this, he demanded the angel's knife, that the angel might not frighten him by the way. This request also was granted him, and Joshua sprang with the knife over the wall of paradise; the angel, who is not allowed to enter paradise, caught hold of the end of his garment. Joshua swore that he would not come out, and God declared that he should not leave paradise unless he had ever absolved himself of an oath; he had never absolved himself of an oath so he was allowed to remain. The Angel of Death then demanded back his knife, but Joshua refused. At this point, a heavenly voice (bat ḳol) rang out: "Give him back the knife, because the children of men have need of it will bring death." Hesitant, Joshua Ben Levi gives back the knife in exchange for the Angel of Death's name. To never forget the name, he carved Troke into his arm, the Angel of Death's chosen name. When the knife was returned to the Angel, Joshua's carving of the name faded, and he forgot. (Ket. 77b; Jellinek, l.c. ii. 48–51; Bacher, l.c. i. 192 et seq.).

The Rabbis found the Angel of Death mentioned in Psalm 89:48, where the Targum translates: "There is no man who lives and, seeing the Angel of Death, can deliver his soul from his hand." Eccl. 8:4 is thus explained in Midrash Rabbah to the passage: "One may not escape the Angel of Death, nor say to him, 'Wait until I put my affairs in order,' or 'There is my son, my slave: take him in my stead.'" Where the Angel of Death appears, there is no remedy, but his name (Talmud, Ned. 49a; Hul. 7b). If one who has sinned has confessed his fault, the Angel of Death may not touch him (Midrash Tanhuma, ed. Buber, 139). God protects from the Angel of Death (Midrash Genesis Rabbah lxviii.).

By acts of benevolence, the anger of the Angel of Death is overcome; when one fails to perform such acts the Angel of Death will make his appearance (Derek Ereẓ Zuṭa, viii.). The Angel of Death receives his orders from God (Ber. 62b). As soon as he has received permission to destroy, however, he makes no distinction between good and bad (B. Ḳ. 60a). In the city of Luz, the Angel of Death has no power, and, when the aged inhabitants are ready to die, they go outside the city (Soṭah 46b; compare Sanh. 97a). A legend to the same effect existed in Ireland in the Middle Ages (Jew. Quart. Rev. vi. 336).

Death is one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse portrayed in the Book of Revelation, in Revelation 6:7–8.

And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

—

He is also known as the Pale Horseman whose name is Thanatos, the same as that of the ancient Greek personification of death, and the only one of the horsemen to be named.

Paul addresses a personified death in 1 Corinthians 15:55.

"O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?"

—

In some versions, both arms of this verse are addressed to death.

The Christian scriptures contain the first known depiction of Abaddon as an individual entity instead of a place.

A king, the angel of the bottomless pit; whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek Apollyon; in Latin Exterminans.

—

In Hebrews 2:14 the devil "holds the power of death."

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.

—

Conversely, the early Christian writer Origen believed the destroying angel of Exodus 12:23 to be Satan. The Grim Reaper, is stated to be destroyed by the Lake of Fire that burns with sulfur.

Death and Hell were thrown into the Lake of Fire. This is the second death.

—

The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

—

In Islam, Archangel Azrael is the Malak al-Maut (angel of death). He and his many subordinates pull the souls out of the bodies, and guide them through the journey of the afterlife. Their appearance depends on the person's deed and actions, with those that did good seeing a beautiful being, and those that did wrong seeing a horrific monster.

Islamic tradition discusses elaborately as to what exactly happens before, during, and after the death. The angel of death appears to the dying to take out their souls. The sinners' souls are extracted in a most painful way while the righteous are treated easily. After the burial, two angels – Munkar and Nakir – come to question the dead in order to test their faith. The righteous believers answer correctly and live in peace and comfort while the sinners and disbelievers fail and punishments ensue. The time period or stage between death and resurrection is called barzakh (the interregnum).

Death is a significant event in Islamic life and theology. It is seen not as the termination of life, rather the continuation of life in another form. In Islamic belief, God has made this worldly life as a test and a preparation ground for the afterlife; and with death, this worldly life comes to an end. Thus, every person has only one chance to prepare themselves for the life to come where God will resurrect and judge every individual and will entitle them to rewards or punishment, based on their good or bad deeds. And death is seen as the gateway to and beginning of the afterlife. In Islamic belief, death is predetermined by God, and the exact time of a person's death is known only to God.

As is the case in many Romance languages (including French, Portuguese, Italian, and Romanian), the Spanish word for death, muerte, is a feminine noun. As such, it is common in Spanish-speaking cultures to personify death as a female figure.

In Aztec mythology, Mictecacihuatl is the "Queen of Mictlan" (the Aztec underworld), ruling over the afterlife with her husband Mictlantecuhtli. Other epithets for her include "Lady of the Dead," as her role includes keeping watch over the bones of the dead. Mictecacihuatl was represented with a fleshless body and with jaw agape to swallow the stars during the day. She presided over the ancient festivals of the dead, which evolved from Aztec traditions into the modern Day of the Dead after synthesis with Spanish cultural traditions. Mictlāntēcutli, is the Aztec god of the dead and the king of Mictlan, depicted as a skeleton or a person wearing a toothy skull. He is one of the principal gods of the Aztecs and is the most prominent of several gods and goddesses of death and the underworld. His headdress was shown decorated with owl feathers and paper banners and he wore a necklace of human eyeballs, while his earspools were made from human bones. He was not the only Aztec god to be depicted in this fashion, as numerous other deities had skulls for heads or else wore clothing or decorations that incorporated bones and skulls. In the Aztec world, skeletal imagery was a symbol of fertility, health and abundance, alluding to the close symbolic links between life and death. There was also the goddess of suicide, Ixtab. She was a minor goddess in the scale of Maya mythology. She was also known as The Hangwoman as she came to help along those who had killed themselves.

Our Lady of the Holy Death (Santa Muerte) is a female deity or folk saint of Mexican folk religion, whose popularity has been growing in Mexico and the United States in recent years. Since the pre-Columbian era, Mexican culture has maintained a certain reverence towards death, as seen in the widespread commemoration of the Day of the Dead. La Calavera Catrina, a character symbolizing death, is also an icon of the Mexican Day of the Dead.

San La Muerte (Saint Death) is a skeletal folk saint venerated in Paraguay, northeast Argentina. As the result of internal migration in Argentina since the 1960s, the veneration of San La Muerte has been extended to Greater Buenos Aires and the national prison system as well. Saint Death is depicted as a male skeleton figure usually holding a scythe. Although the Catholic Church in Mexico has attacked the devotion of Saint Death as a tradition that mixes paganism with Christianity and is contrary to the Christian belief of Christ defeating death, many devotees consider the veneration of San La Muerte as being part of their Catholic faith. The rituals connected and powers ascribed to San La Muerte are very similar to those of Santa Muerte; the resemblance between their names, however, is coincidental.

In Guatemala, San Pascualito is a skeletal folk saint venerated as "King of the Graveyard." He is depicted as a skeletal figure with a scythe, sometimes wearing a cape and crown. He is associated with death and the curing of diseases.

In the African-Brazilian religion Umbanda, the orixá Omolu personifies sickness and death as well as healing. The image of the death is also associated with Exu, lord of the crossroads, who rules cemeteries and the hour of midnight.

In Haitian Vodou, the Gede are a family of spirits that embody death and fertility. The most well-known of these spirits is Baron Samedi.

Yama was introduced to Chinese mythology through Buddhism. In Chinese, he is known as King Yan or Yanluo, ruling the ten gods of the underworld Diyu. He is normally depicted wearing a Chinese judge's cap and traditional Chinese robes and appears on most forms of hell money offered in ancestor worship. From China, Yama spread to Japan as the Great King Enma; Korea as the Great King Yeomra, ruler of Jiok; and Vietnam as Diêm La Vương, ruler of Địa Ngục or Âm Phủ.

Separately, in Korean mythology, death's principal figure is the "Netherworld Emissary" Jeoseungsaja. He is depicted as a stern and ruthless bureaucrat in Yeomna's service. A psychopomp, he escorts all – good or evil – from the land of the living to the netherworld when the time comes. One of the representative names is Ganglim, the Saja who guides the soul to the entrance of the underworld. According to legend, he always carries Jeokpaeji, the list with the names of the dead written on a red cloth. When he calls the name on Jeokpaeji three times, the soul leaves the body and follows him inevitably.

The Kojiki relates that the Japanese goddess Izanami was burnt to death giving birth to the fire god Hinokagutsuchi. She then entered a realm of perpetual night called Yomi-no-Kuni. Her husband Izanagi pursued her there but discovered his wife was no longer as beautiful as before. After an argument, she promised she would take a thousand lives every day, becoming a goddess of death, as well as giving birth to the gods, Raijin and Fūjin, while dead. There are also death gods called shinigami, which are closer to the Western tradition of the Grim Reaper; while common in modern Japanese arts and fiction, they were essentially absent in traditional mythology.

The Sanskrit word for death is mrityu (cognate with Latin mors and Lithuanian mirtis), which is often personified in Dharmic religions.

In Hindu scriptures, the lord of death is called King Yama. He is also known as the King of Karmic Justice (Dharmaraja) as one's karma at death was considered to lead to a just rebirth. Yama rides a black buffalo and carries a rope lasso to lead the soul back to his home, called Naraka, pathalloka, or Yamaloka. There are many forms of reapers, although some say there is only one who disguises himself as a small child. His agents, the Yamadutas, carry souls back to Yamalok. There, all the accounts of a person's good and bad deeds are stored and maintained by Chitragupta. The balance of these deeds allows Yama to decide where the soul should reside in its next life, following the theory of reincarnation. Yama is also mentioned in the Mahabharata as a great philosopher and devotee of the Supreme Brahman.

The canaan of the 12th- and 13th-century BC Levant personified death as the god Mot ( "Death"). He was considered a son of the king of the gods, El. His contest with the storm god Baʿal forms part of the myth cycle from the Ugaritic texts. The Phoenicians also worshipped death under the name Mot and a version of Mot later became Maweth, the devil or angel of death in Judaism.

Latvians named Death Veļu māte, but for Lithuanians it was Giltinė, deriving from the word gelti ("to sting"). Giltinė was viewed as an old, ugly woman with a long blue nose and a deadly poisonous tongue. The legend tells that Giltinė was young, pretty, and communicative until she was trapped in a coffin for seven years. Her sister was the goddess of life and destiny, Laima, symbolizing the relationship between beginning and end.

Like the Scandinavians, Lithuanians and Latvians later began using Grim Reaper imagery for death.

In Breton folklore, a spectral figure called the Ankou (or Angau in Welsh) portends death. Usually, the Ankou is the spirit of the last person that died within the community and appears as a tall, haggard figure with a wide hat and long white hair or a skeleton with a revolving head. The Ankou drives a deathly wagon or cart with a creaking axle. The cart or wagon is piled high with corpses and a stop at a cabin means instant death for those inside.

#death #global

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tavtiers · 2 months

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i would like an order of rogue of life analysis with a side of planet pleas :3

The Rogue of Life [symbols: domino mask, vines]

The Rogue class is based on Robin Hood.

The Life aspect’s main theme is growth. You can find its official description here.

A Rogue of Life is among those who use energy to influence. This is the “classpect group” they belong to. Members include: the Knight, Page, Thief, and Rogue of Life/Doom. These classes are all opposites or inverses of each other that use the Life/Doom dichotomy (energy to influence). A description of classpect groupings can be found here.

The Rogue of Life passively steals the Life aspect. Passive classes are guided by others or act for the benefit of others. They are more likely to be kind, but less likely to stand up for themselves. Thieves and Rogues steal their aspect and everything it symbolizes to grant it to someone else. Simplified, the Rogue of Life is motivated by others to steal growth.

In personality, the Rogue of Life lacks self control and keeps trying even if they fail. Personality descriptions can be found here.

Their archetype is the Free Spirit Child, defined by reckless growth. Archetypes are explained here.

Their opposite is the Thief of Doom, who actively steals caution.

Their inverse is the Knight of Doom, who actively utilizes caution.

A classpect or “god tier” is an individual’s best self. All classpects go through a journey from unrealized, to struggle, to realized. When a character is unrealized, they neutrally exist as their inverse. On their struggle, they will wildly flip back and forth between their inverse and true classpect. In their worst moments they will act as their inverse, in their best their true classpect. When realized, they will stabilize as their true classpect. They will still have room to grow, but will become happier, more successful people.

This means that the Rogue of Life begins life motivated by themselves to utilize caution. When their struggle arrives and they are at their worst, they will continue this behavior in negative extremes. However, when at their best, they will find purpose in instead stealing growth for others. When realized, they will stabilize and continue to steal the Life aspect passively, in a positive way.

They share their archetype with the Heir of Heart, the Child Free Spirit.

The Rogue of Life would quest on a planet similar to the Land of Cubes [Rogue] and Life [Aspect]. An example would be the Land of Topiaries and Spores. An explanation of planet naming conventions can be found here.

Two possible gods, or denizens, to reign over their planet would be Hebe (Goddess of Youth) or Asclepius (God of Medicine). Other Life aspect denizens can be found here.

When the Rogue of Life completes their planet quests and dies on their quest bed, they would rise to ascension on the wings of butterflies (symbols of pollination). A list of soul animals can be found here.

The characters that I have currently classpected as Rogues of Life are: Robin Hood from English Folklore, Poison Ivy from Batman, Arwen from Lord of the Rings, Rogue from X-Men, Norma Jennings from Twin Peaks, and a Spirit of Compassion from Dragon Age.

If any of the links not connected to my blog break, the content can be found on my Google Drive.

Official Aspect Descriptions Personality Descriptions Aspect Denizens

Please specify in a separate ask whether you would like planet naming ideas or a description of a planet quest! We serve most everything here, except beetroot.

#rogue of life #classpecting #homestuck #god tier analysis #my post #ask #robin hood #pamela isley #batman #arwen #lotr #marie d'ancanto #x-men #norma jennings #twin peaks #spirit of compassion #dragon age

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moondust-bard · 1 year

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OC Name Meanings

@tananaphone tagged me!

Rules: share the name of an OC— or OCs— and tell us what this name means

I’m tagging @darthenra @moonandris @isabellebissonrouthier @midnights-call @garthcelyn @sleepyowlwrites

I’m going to be introducing you to the six PoV girls from Lost Souls’ Night Saga. As a rule, I take the choosing of my characters’ names very seriously. I use names to sneak in kernels of foreshadowing, draw connections to important symbols, hint at a character’s cultural background, and allude to mythology and folklore.

Phreya

Look, we both know I basically just changed the spelling of the name Freyja. This name, made famous by the norse goddess of love and fertility, means something along the lines of “noble lady”.

Wynifer

This one I totally made up after scouring the web for older British names, all in hopes of finding a pair that would suit two very different twin sisters. It’s similar in tone to the welsh Gwenhwyfar— or Guinevere— which was popularized by the tales of King Arthur. The first syllable means something like “white” or “fair”, and the second means “fairy” or “spirit”.

Druscylla

Again, I took a name with roman and latin origins and spelled it slightly differently. Drusilla means “strong”. Julia Drusilla, the favorite sister of Caligula, was just one who bore this name.

Rheannen

Are we seeing a theme? Once again, I took a name— this time, the Welsh name Rhiannon— and spelled it in a way that fits the world I’m building. It means “divine queen” or “great queen”. I first heard it while listening to Fleetwood Mac during my childhood, and I’ve loved it ever since. Rhiannon is also the name of a Celtic goddess.

Lethe

This name, greek in origin, means oblivion. A river in Hades’ underworld is called the Lethe. Those who bathe in the Lathe find their memory washed clean.

Stellena

This name is inspired by the names “Stella” and “Stellen”. It has latin, old french, and Germanic origins. Some meanings include “star” and “peaceful”.

#tag game #my characters

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mysfated · 6 months

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ok for sure adding verna from the fall of the house of u.sher and bc i just did a bunch of research my brain is buzzing and i want to write this draft lol so heres a small dump of just some thoughts and hcs so far. please be aware there are spoilers below :)

TLDR; read the bold text :)

what is she? i think that's the question i'm still trying to answer. but the most i can akin her to is...a god. she would never say that though. her answer would be: fate. but verna has been here since the beginning of time. she may even be time herself. i'm deeply inspired by the fact that the raven is associated with god and chaos across multiple religions and cultures. in native cultures for example, the raven can be seen as the creator and/or a trickster god. which i think lines perfectly with what we see in the show. in hinduism the raven is associated mahakala (the god time, creation, destruction and power) and shani (the god of karma, justice, and retribution) also attributes we see in verna. in norse mythology, ravens are associated with odin, the all-father, as his trusted ears and eyes, providing secrets and happenings of the worlds he guards. in the quran, the raven "teaches" cain how to bury a body and in the bible, the raven is often associated with god, god's power, and were even considered forbidden to eat. again all stories i see really fitting with verna's character. and theres so many coincidences across these depictions - to be so closely associated with the idea of creation, judgement, and godliness... really proves what she is to me. i mean I CAN KEEP GOING , this is the kind of stuff I LOVE. i loveee digging into cultures and religions and reading the folklore and texts that i can find. so i'll stop there bc i think you get the point now LOL

but is she good or evil? she's neither. she just is. there's a quote in the very beginning of the show made by eliza that i think fit this idea and depict verna so well: "he's complicated...like god." and "pain and suffering are like the kiss of jesus." both of these quotes i think fit the previous of idea of what she is and how she can be thought of as a god. and you know i may not believe in the same god (reminder i'm a hellenic wiccan) but i do know that gods are complicated! in every depiction across every religion and culture. god and gods and goddesses are complicated. i do like to think tho that she is inherently good, like her name tag suggests in episode 3 :)

powers i mean what can't she do? she can do and be pretty much anything and everything. she is crazy op (i do not plan to write this though lol so please no worries about godmodding) just...be aware she is truly all powerful and all knowing? she knows the future (admittedly in the show), she know who you could've been, who you were and who you are right now. she can be in multiple places at once. she's crazy powerful. that said her favorite shifts are the human shift you see in the show (yay carla gugino!) and a raven bc...yeah! look at the ABOVE lol she's been everywhere since the beginning.

so why bargain? why not? i mean admittedly she's bored? and she's chaotic as well as good. but remember i said previously, verna would answer she's fate. and in my opinion she is fate twisted by horrors of humanity. in the later eps she goes on different rants about morality and human selfishness and how she doesn't quite understand it but she finds it so interesting. i think yes obvs shes a lil twisted to do what she does - but there's still a sense of righteousness with her actions. so she's morbidly curious about the horrors humanity is capable of. and she likes to witness it just as much as she likes to witness true kindness and sincerity. (as seen with lenore and her mother and even with the entire bargain with the twins: she wanted to see what they would do when given everything they ever wanted: good or bad?) again i think this all plays into the my idea of what she is: why bargain? bc she can and she's curious. so why not?

#verna tag tbd #cw // religion #ok maybe i can concentrate now lol

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neil-gaiman · 3 years

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How Did you come up with the first eve in the story about adams wives? I haven’t been able to find anything about her after I read it and I want to know if she’s an actual biblical character or just someone you made

She's from the Midrash. I learned about her as a 12 year old, from my barmitzvah teacher. There was a point in there, long after I'd put her into Sandman, where I was starting to think I'd imagined her, when I ran across her in Robert Graves's Hebrew Myths....

Excerpt from: The Hebrew Myths by Robert Graves and Raphael Patai (New York: Doubleday, 1964), pp 65-69

Chapter 10: Adam's Helpmeets

(a) Having decided to give Adam a helpmeet lest he should be alone of his kind, God put him into a deep sleep, removed one of his ribs, formed it into a woman, and closed up the wound, Adam awoke and said: 'This being shall be named "Woman", because she has been taken out of man. A man and a woman shall be one flesh.' The title he gave her was Eve, 'the Mother of All Living''. [1]

(b) Some say that God created man and woman in His own image on the Sixth Day, giving them charge over the world; [2] but that Eve did not yet exist. Now, God had set Adam to name every beast, bird and other living thing. When they passed before him in pairs, male and female, Adam-being already like a twenty-year-old man-felt jealous of their loves, and though he tried coupling with each female in turn, found no satisfaction in the act. He therefore cried: 'Every creature but I has a proper mate', and prayed God would remedy this injustice. [3]

(c) God then formed Lilith, the first woman, just as He had formed Adam, except that He used filth and sediment instead of pure dust. From Adam's union with this demoness, and with another like her named Naamah, Tubal Cain's sister, sprang Asmodeus and innumerable demons that still plague mankind. Many generations later, Lilith and Naamah came to Solomon's judgement seat, disguised as harlots of Jerusalem'. [4]

(d) Adam and Lilith never found peace together; for when he wished to lie with her, she took offence at the recumbent posture he demanded. 'Why must I lie beneath you?' she asked. 'I also was made from dust, and am therefore your equal.' Because Adam tried to compel her obedience by force, Lilith, in a rage, uttered the magic name of God, rose into the air and left him.

Adam complained to God: 'I have been deserted by my helpmeet' God at once sent the angels Senoy, Sansenoy and Semangelof to fetch Lilith back. They found her beside the Red Sea, a region abounding in lascivious demons, to whom she bore lilim at the rate of more than one hundred a day. 'Return to Adam without delay,' the angels said, `or we will drown you!' Lilith asked: `How can I return to Adam and live like an honest housewife, after my stay beside the Red Sea?? 'It will be death to refuse!' they answered. `How can I die,' Lilith asked again, `when God has ordered me to take charge of all newborn children: boys up to the eighth day of life, that of circumcision; girls up to the twentieth day. None the less, if ever I see your three names or likenesses displayed in an amulet above a newborn child, I promise to spare it.' To this they agreed; but God punished Lilith by making one hundred of her demon children perish daily; [5] and if she could not destroy a human infant, because of the angelic amulet, she would spitefully turn against her own. [6]

(e) Some say that Lilith ruled as queen in Zmargad, and again in Sheba; and was the demoness who destroyed job's sons. [7] Yet she escaped the curse of death which overtook Adam, since they had parted long before the Fall. Lilith and Naamah not only strangle infants but also seduce dreaming men, any one of whom, sleeping alone, may become their victim. [8]

(f) Undismayed by His failure to give Adam a suitable helpmeet, God tried again, and let him watch while he built up a woman's anatomy: using bones, tissues, muscles, blood and glandular secretions, then covering the whole with skin and adding tufts of hair in places. The sight caused Adam such disgust that even when this woman, the First Eve, stood there in her full beauty, he felt an invincible repugnance. God knew that He had failed once more, and took the First Eve away. Where she went, nobody knows for certain. [9]

(g) God tried a third time, and acted more circumspectly. Having taken a rib from Adam's side in his sleep, He formed it into a woman; then plaited her hair and adorned her, like a bride, with twenty-four pieces of jewellery, before waking him. Adam was entranced. [10]

(h) Some say that God created Eve not from Adam's rib, but from a tail ending in a sting which had been part of his body. God cut this off, and the stump-now a useless coccyx-is still carried by Adam's descendants. [11]

(i) Others say that God's original thought had been to create two human beings, male and female; but instead He designed a single one with a male face looking forward, and a female face looking back. Again He changed His mind, removed Adam's backward-looking face, and built a woman's body for it. [12]

(j) Still others hold that Adam was originally created as an androgyne of male and female bodies joined back to back. Since this posture made locomotion difficult, and conversation awkward, God divided the androgyne and gave each half a new rear. These separate beings He placed in Eden, forbidding them to couple. [13]

Notes on sources:

1. Genesis II. 18-25; III. 20.

2. Genesis I. 26-28.

3. Gen. Rab. 17.4; B. Yebamot 632.

4. Yalqut Reubeni ad. Gen. II. 21; IV. 8.

5. Alpha Beta diBen Sira, 47; Gaster, MGWJ, 29 (1880), 553 ff.

6. Num. Rab. 16.25.

7. Targum ad job 1. 15.

8. B. Shabbat 151b; Ginzberg, LJ, V. 147-48.

9. Gen. Rab. 158, 163-64; Mid. Abkir 133, 135; Abot diR. Nathan 24; B. Sanhedrin 39a.

10. Gen. II. 21-22; Gen. Rab. 161.

11. Gen. Rab. 134; B. Erubin 18a.

12. B. Erubin 18a.

13. Gen. Rab. 55; Lev. Rab. 14.1: Abot diR. Nathan 1.8; B. Berakhot 61a; B. Erubin 18a; Tanhuma Tazri'a 1; Yalchut Gen. 20; Tanh. Buber iii.33; Mid. Tehillim 139, 529.

Authors’ Comments on the Myth:

1. The tradition that man's first sexual intercourse was with animals, not women, may be due to the widely spread practice of bestiality among herdsmen of the Middle East, which is still condoned by custom, although figuring three times in the Pentateuch as a capital crime. In the Akkadian Gilgamesh Epic, Enkidu is said to have lived with gazelles and jostled other wild beasts at the watering place, until civilized by Aruru's priestess. Having enjoyed her embraces for six days and seven nights, he wished to rejoin the wild beasts but, to his surprise, they fled from him. Enkidu then knew that he had gained understanding, and the priestess said: 'Thou art wise, Enkidu, like unto a godl'

2. Primeval man was held by the Babylonians to have been androgynous. Thus the Gilgamesh Epic gives Enkidu androgynous features: `the hair of his head like a woman's, with locks that sprout like those of Nisaba, the Grain-goddess.' The Hebrew tradition evidently derives from Greek sources, because both terms used in a Tannaitic midrash to describe the bisexual Adam are Greek: androgynos, 'man-woman', and diprosopon, 'twofaced'. Philo of Alexandria, the Hellenistic philosopher and commentator on the Bible, contemporary with Jesus, held that man was at first bisexual; so did the Gnostics. This belief is clearly borrowed from Plato. Yet the myth of two bodies placed back to back may well have been founded on observation of Siamese twins, which are sometimes joined in this awkward manner. The two-faced Adam appears to be a fancy derived from coins or statues of Janus, the Roman New Year god.

3. Divergences between the Creation myths of Genesis r and n, which allow Lilith to be presumed as Adam's first mate, result from a careless weaving together of an early Judaean and a late priestly tradition. The older version contains the rib incident. Lilith typifies the Anath-worshipping Canaanite women, who were permitted pre-nuptial promiscuity. Time after time the prophets denounced Israelite women for following Canaanite practices; at first, apparently, with the priests' approval-since their habit of dedicating to God the fees thus earned is expressly forbidden in Deuteronomy xxIII. I8. Lilith's flight to the Red Sea recalls the ancient Hebrew view that water attracts demons. 'Tortured and rebellious demons' also found safe harbourage in Egypt. Thus Asmodeus, who had strangled Sarah's first six husbands, fled 'to the uttermost parts of Egypt' (Tobit viii. 3), when Tobias burned the heart and liver of a fish on their wedding night.

4. Lilith's bargain with the angels has its ritual counterpart in an apotropaic rite once performed in many Jewish communities. To protect the newborn child against Lilith-and especially a male, until he could be permanently safeguarded by circumcision-a ring was drawn with natron, or charcoal, on the wall of the birthroom, and inside it were written the words: 'Adam and Eve. Out, Lilith!' Also the names Senoy, Sansenoy and Semangelof (meanings uncertain) were inscribed on the door. If Lilith nevertheless succeeded in approaching the child and fondling him, he would laugh in his sleep. To avert danger, it was held wise to strike the sleeping child's lips with one finger-whereupon Lilith would vanish.

5. 'Lilith' is usually derived from the Babylonian-Assyrian word lilitu, ,a female demon, or wind-spirit'-one of a triad mentioned in Babylonian spells. But she appears earlier as 'Lillake' on a 2000 B.G. Sumerian tablet from Ur containing the tale of Gilgamesh and the Willow Tree. There she is a demoness dwelling in the trunk of a willow-tree tended by the Goddess Inanna (Anath) on the banks of the Euphrates. Popular Hebrew etymology seems to have derived 'Lilith' from layil, 'night'; and she therefore often appears as a hairy night-monster, as she also does in Arabian folklore. Solomon suspected the Queen of Sheba of being Lilith, because she had hairy legs. His judgement on the two harlots is recorded in I Kings III. 16 ff. According to Isaiah xxxiv. I4-I5, Lilith dwells among the desolate ruins in the Edomite Desert where satyrs (se'ir), reems, pelicans, owls, jackals, ostriches, arrow-snakes and kites keep her company.

6. Lilith's children are called lilim. In the Targum Yerushalmi, the priestly blessing of Numbers vi. 26 becomes: 'The Lord bless thee in all thy doings, and preserve thee from the Lilim!' The fourth-century A.D. commentator Hieronymus identified Lilith with the Greek Lamia, a Libyan queen deserted by Zeus, whom his wife Hera robbed of her children. She took revenge by robbing other women of theirs.

7. The Lamiae, who seduced sleeping men, sucked their blood and ate their flesh, as Lilith and her fellow-demonesses did, were also known as Empusae, 'forcers-in'; or Mormolyceia, 'frightening wolves'; and described as 'Children of Hecate'. A Hellenistic relief shows a naked Lamia straddling a traveller asleep on his back. It is characteristic of civilizations where women are treated as chattels that they must adopt the recumbent posture during intercourse, which Lilith refused. That Greek witches who worshipped Hecate favoured the superior posture, we know from Apuleius; and it occurs in early Sumerian representations of the sexual act, though not in the Hittite. Malinowski writes that Melanesian girls ridicule what they call `the missionary position', which demands that they should lie passive and recumbent.

8. Naamah, 'pleasant', is explained as meaning that 'the demoness sang pleasant songs to idols'. Zmargad suggest smaragdos, the semi-precious aquamarine; and may therefore be her submarine dwelling. A demon named Smaragos occurs in the Homeric Epigrams.

9. Eve's creation by God from Adam's rib-a myth establishing male supremacy and disguising Eve's divinity-lacks parallels in Mediterranean or early Middle-Eastern myth. The story perhaps derives iconotropically from an ancient relief, or painting, which showed the naked Goddess Anath poised in the air, watching her lover Mot murder his twin Aliyan; Mot (mistaken by the mythographer for Yahweh) was driving a curved dagger under Aliyan's fifth rib, not removing a sixth one. The familiar story is helped by a hidden pun on tsela, the Hebrew for 'rib': Eve, though designed to be Adam's helpmeet, proved to be a tsela, a 'stumbling', or 'misfortune'. Eve's formation from Adam's tail is an even more damaging myth; perhaps suggested by the birth of a child with a vestigial tail instead of a coccyx-a not infrequent occurrence.

10. The story of Lilith's escape to the East and of Adam's subsequent marriage to Eve may, however, record an early historical incident: nomad herdsmen, admitted into Lilith's Canaanite queendom as guests (see 16. 1), suddenly seize power and, when the royal household thereupon flees, occupy a second queendom which owes allegiance to the Hittite Goddess Heba.

The meaning of 'Eve' is disputed. Hawwah is explained in Genesis III. 20 as 'mother of all living'; but this may well be a Hebraicized form of the divine name Heba, Hebat, Khebat or Khiba. This goddess, wife of the Hittite Storm-god, is shown riding a lion in a rock-sculpture at Hattusaswhich equates her with Anath-and appears as a form of Ishtar in Hurrian texts. She was worshipped at Jerusalem (see 27. 6). Her Greek name was Hebe, Heracles's goddess-wife.

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ddarker-dreams · 2 years

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HWR question: Mobile is super hinky with the navigation, so if this is in the Survosian history section, please disregard, but could you give us a quick breakdown of the mythology of the 6 goddesses/6 families? I'm super interested in how they tie together. I'm a bit of a slut for lore. Thanks!

slut for lore should be my new catchphrase ...

(i have the very general gist of things here but i tried to stop myself form running too in-depth to save brain cells)

survosia has its own folklore/mythology, but HWR reader is something of a... critic when it comes to mindlessly believing these things. she secretly thinks the stories are cool but would rather die than admit it. HWR reader's personal theory is that these "goddesses" were simply humans who knew how to use nen, but time distorted the facts. likes the imagery though.

so for the goddesses:

yitrositia - the big cheese, aka mommy goddess. she doesn't confine herself to any specific field like most goddeses would, her main priority was creating community. she was lonely and made her precious daughters one by one. they ended up betraying her trust, which is why she instructed mankind to cannibalize her daughter's "hearts", which were formed from her tears/contained their divine power. she's not closely associated with any of the six families. it's more of a general reverence thing, since if not for her instruction, the rampaging goddesses would've destroyed almost everything.

vaxis - pushing up her glasses type of goddess. associated with wisdom, royalty, conquest, and the color dark purple. the avalor family (HWR reader’s family) has the closest connection to vaxis. HWR reader in particular always idealized vaxis’ logical stance in the otherwise whimsical mythology she grew up with, but as she got older, she refused to admit to this. however, since little HWR reader first conjured her various weapons around five, they still reflect her fascination with vaxis and can’t be erased.

this can be seen in the hilt/connector to the blade of HWR reader’s set A! there’s a hollowed out eye, a symbol commonly associated with vaxis, and six gems meant to represented the six goddesses (one left hollow in the lower right position as to indicate reverence to vaxis). HWR reader does not appreciate it when anyone points these details out.

camiera - sorority girl type of goddess (has too many wives to count). associated with eroticism, beauty, passion, and the color scarlet red. the family she has the strongest ties to is the brelanno’s, who are rather cordial people. HWR reader doesn’t have many bad words to say about them. except for the decorations of their estate being a touch on the gaudy side.

aovilla - pacifist introvert type of goddess. associated with love, the moon, the sea, healing and turquoise. the family aovilla has the most connection with is the linarie, who have twin daughters, lyra and mina.

onella - the emo kid in a death metal band type of goddess. associated with esoteric knowledge, the ends of things both good and bad, fortune, and onyx black. the family onella’s most associated with does show up in the story — it’s the colevines. HWR reader killed the father in chapter one and estella killed the mother in chapter eight. the colevines fell into financial ruin due to trying to overthrow the throne, so nobody particular cares about what happens to them. they do have quite the vengeful daughter who loathes the avalor’s though. :)

surki - youngest sibling trying to keep everyone glued together type of goddess. associated with land, livelihood, the sun, and the color bright yellow. surki has the closest connection with the othena family, who have three children in total. an older brother, brother, to younger sister. estella discussed rumors relating to the middle brother in chapter 11. he basically ditched his family to start a motorcycle gang. fun stuff.

veathias - free spirited goddess. associated with hunting, the stars, destiny, and hazel brown. veathias is a bit of an outlier amongst the gods, a trend that shows in the family with the strongest connection to her, the quins. the territory they watch over has rejected technological developments and prefers living as their ancestors did. they despise things like money and status. had it not been for the support of their people, they would choose to not even be leaders. their territory is the one place that even people with hunter’s license's can’t go (unless they sneak in, which has happened in the past).

#hell within reach #answered #Anonymous

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spirit-of-helimire · 3 years

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Spirit of Helimire | 'WIP' Introduction

Genre | Fantasy | Gothic | Romance

Themes | Family Relationships, Romance, Betrayal, Grief, Regret, Revenge, Fear, Fear of Change, Anger. Among many others, there’s tens of centuries to Helimire really

Inspiration: Tevinter And It’s Fashion from Dragon Age, Character/Clothing Designs from Bloodborne/Dark Souls, Dishonored 1 & 2, Gothic Anything, Dorian Gray, Jekyll and Hyde, among other Classics, Vague Appalachian Folklore, D&D.

This is a story that won't really become a full fledged published work of fiction, but something I've been working on and off for a very long time, and it means a lot to me. And because of that, I want to share it with other people, whether that be through graphics, snippets, art, and anything else!

Helimire is the largest city in the country of Astor, no, the largest city in the World. It is the center point of everything, settled on the western coast of the country, it sees a variety of people. Before, it was once a small fishing village, growing over the centuries to what it has become today, a City-State. There's magic in the city, known and respected by many. But not everyone knows of those who can harness magic, it's been a secret kept for a very long time, but those who know magic, would like to change that over time.

Helimire wouldn't be the world it is today if it wasn't for the twins, Christopher Alexander and Morgan Tegan, two individuals who seemingly popped up into the world out of nowhere. They settled in the city when it was a bit larger than a fishing village, a budding town, there they started working on making it something that could be amazing, and they were successful.

Christopher is also known as the Spirit of Helimire, having watched over its creation longer than his twin since he didn't care to move around as much as she did. So he stuck around and helped make it into something amazing. From creation a grand library that would later become the largest library and museum in the world. The city...is his pride and joy, and that might be his biggest flaw.

Through this, we follow the stories of Christopher and Morgan over their lives as creations of two deities, a minor god, and a goddess people forgot about. They spent the majority of their time growing up among other deities, watching humanity go by, curious. Their 'Mother' whispered words of encouragement to go walk among the mortals and they eventually did. There are some people who question their immortality, trying to figure out just how powerful they are. But no one has figured it out just yet, other than a select few. But as 'children' of these deities, they're just as powerful.

These are the main characters of the modern stuff for Helimire, there are many characters in this work and I’ll eventually try to do some similar things with the ones from the past as well!

Christopher Alexander: The Spirit of Helimire | True Neutral - Chaotic Neutral | This man flips through things to do like he flips through books, he’s known amongst the wealthy and those in need. A social chameleon in every sense of the word. He can be cruel, but he can love just as fiercely.

Morgan Tegan: The Heart of Helimire | Chaotic Good | A ranger who loves to travel and befriend those on the road, even the animals. A top tier archer and a dangerous one at that, no one expects her when she’s the one putting an arrow through their skull. Nicer than her twin, but has her own cruel side.

Elijah Crespi: The Politician and the Confidante | Neutral Good | A member of the Helimire council who just wants what’s best for the city, and the country at large. Knows of the corruption inside, vows to help Christopher in whatever way he can in taking down those corrupt members who want to make the city something it should never become

Silaf: The Immortal | Neutral | Silaf has known the twins since before he found out he was immortal, and while the three of them don’t agree all the time on some things, Silaf knows that he’ll do anything to help them both in times of need.

Mae: The Knight | Lawful Good | Captain of the Guard, Mae met Morgan on a trip returning from the other side of the country with the Queen, they hit it off instantly, and two years later Morgan told her everything. About who she is, about what she is, and how old she is. Later she told her about the corruption inside Helimire’s walls, after Christopher told the prince and got the go-ahead.

William Bello: The Prince | Neutral Good | Another confidante to Christopher later on in the story, the prince gives the twins their own source of help in Helimire once he’s brought up to speed with what’s going on. He’s a cheerful man, a loud laugh, and a talent for painting. If someone didn’t know who he was and saw him walking the streets, they wouldn’t know he was the prince even in the slightest. He likes that.

#wip intro #wip introduction #writeblr #writeblr community #helimire #i'm gonna redo the character profiles and such bc some things wiht christopher and morgan are outdated #i'll also do the villains in their own post bc this is most of the 'good guys' even if christopher isn't Good

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tato-acm · 3 years

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quinta - feira 29. 10. 2020 - spooktober #2

a court of silver flames: Koschei

1. Dangerous new alliance: like I said in a previous post, I think Koschei is the ally mentioned in the synopsis

“the treacherous human queens who returned to the Continent during the last war have forged a dangerous new alliance,”

specially with that scene in the prison when The Bone Carver introduces Koschei – and also with Vassa’s plot at the end of acowar.

I’m really curious about how their father was able to bargain with Koschei – and I think that’s something Nesta might find out.

2. Death: I love how both Koschei and Nesta are related to death, and I can’t wait for them to interact.

Koschei: death god (like his siblings); older brother of the twins Stryga and the Bone Carver; confined in a lake where he keeps Vassa (and other women??) his prisoner.

Nesta: “I think the power is death - death made flesh.” - Feyre, acowar (this quote gave me chills the first time I read it).

DON’T KILL ME OKAY: I LOVE nessian, am obsessed with them, they are endgame and all… BUT ✨

If they are mates – and I think they are because of:

a) That scene in wings and embers when Cassian felt something (even when she was still human);

b) The war scene when Nesta saved Cassian because she felt something and warned him / called his name – but that could be her death related powers;

c) “Would you be frightened of her, if Nesta was – Death? Or if her power came from it? “I’m a warrior. I’ve walked beside Death my whole life. Iwould be more afraid for her, to have that power. But not afraid of her.”;

d) The whole “she’s an Illyrian” (don’t get me started on that LOL) 🙄

I actually rolled my eyes every time they mentioned it – it just seems a bit much, we get it they need common stuff to be mates 😂;

Maybe, JUST MAYBE … It would make more sense for her to be mates with a Death God 💀 👀

since she’s already a ✨goddess✨ in my eyes 😌🙌

From what we have so far – which is not much at all 😂 – it makes me think that would be an interesting idea. I just had to get this out of my chest 🤡👍

I’ll just leave this here and run away 🏃‍♀️

I’m torn between wanting Koschei to mentor Nesta (kind of like what Amren did in acowar) and help her kill the queens x Nesta to go head to head against him - I like both plots

and I think he might make a bargain with her to get his freedom:

- Nesta stole from the Cauldron, so she might have the powers to free Koschei - maybe even send him back to his realm 👀 so everyone is happy: Vassa will be free, Nesta can demand his help to betray the queens (and kill them, of couse 😏)

Again, just a thought. I adore nessian, love the slow burn, they are in my mind 24/7 and I do want them to end up together. ❤️❤️❤️

3. The Deathless – appearance: If Sarah takes from the “archetypal male antagonist in Russian folklore” Koschei The Deathless’ appearance description + fanart on her board that I think is about Koschei, I think he looks like Stryga

- Tall, long black hair, really pale, black eyes, really skinny / gaunt

In the Folklore tales, he’s also really old (almost a walking corpse in some, which is really cool since its almost impossible to kill him - “the Deathless”)

- but I hope that part she leaves out, because I already pictured him hot and I don’t think a corpse would do it for me 🥴🤢

(but it would be pretty cool and creepy if he looked like a corpse 😱😳 And his voice could be Corpse Husband’s 👀 please)

I really like the model I used as face claim for this edit, it’s how I first pictured him while I was reading acowar:

his eyebrows ✨ , his bone structure, how he is lean (not too muscular) – just add the long black hair and it’s perfect. I saved his picture on pinterest right after I read that prison scene with the Bone Carver and did some research on “Koschei The Deathless”.

acm. (future Ana, please don’t delete this - even if some of your theories make you cringe 😌 love, 2020 Ana - P.S.: vai estudar)

Koschei & Nesta videoedit 1 on my ig --> tato.edits Koschei & Nesta videoedit 2 on my ig --> tato.edits

#koschei #koschei the deathless #a court of silver flames #acosf #acowar #nesta archeron #sarah j maas

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vln-vibes · 4 years

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Of Legends, Fairy Tales and Folklore

AKA A MariBat, Ever After High inspired AU

In the World there are certain stories that are universally known. They're known as Legends or Fairy Tales. Every knew the big stories; The Classics of Grimm Tales - Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Goldilocks and the Three Bears etc etc. They even created a new celebration for such stories; Legacy Day. It was a rare event that everyone wished to see; the day the Stories and Legends pledged to follow their story to the tea, no games, no divergence, a perfect recreation through and through. But there were other Legends that began to emerge like those of the Miraculous; The Miraculous were items blessed by the gods of the universe and they always played out the same stories. The Ladybug and the Black Cat would always retrieve the stolen Butterfly, it was always stolen back from the guardians after. The Ladybug would recruit other heroes to aide in their journey and become the next Guardian. The Ladybug and the Black Cat would get together and live their happily ever after.

However people were often unaware of the Folktales- divergent stories that took a split with each incarnation. They began with the story of Bruce Thomas Wayne, an aristocratic boy who lost those dear to him at a young age. His story should have ended that day, he would live his days reclused in his castle, never to see the light of day... However that was not how his story went. He took his mourning and channeled it to create a new Legend. He became the Batman, a champion against the evil of the world to ensure no one would be destined for a tragic ending. Then came Richard John Grayson. The day his world came crashing he was destined to become the Talon, a weapon for the Court of Owls and Gotham’s dirty aristocrats; Bruce saved him from a miserable ending and the story of Robin was born. Batman and Robin became folktales; to show that not everything was set in stone, that there were multiple paths to a single beginning. Jason Peter Todd, Timothy Jackson Drake and Stephanie Brown all took on their own incarnations and versions of Robin; each unique in their own way but maintaining their mission to rid the world of its tragic endings that were deemed to be destiny. Along the way came the tales of Batgirl, Batwoman, Black Bat, Spoiler and Signal.

Damian Wayne-al Ghul was one such spirit who was saved. His destiny was to become the ultimate weapon for his family. A culmination of the greatest of the world. When he was at his perfect state he would become the vessel for the Demon. His destiny would not be kind. The story of Batman and Robin were what brought him hope, the small amount he allowed himself. When he finally left the dreaded compound, he was finally able to see that he didn't have to be a weapon for his grandfather. Thus the story of the Fifth Robin began.

Each person selected to be a Story or a Legend was born with a mark, one which would represent their role in the story. When they reached the age of 10 they would wake up to find a blank book, one which only they could read and could never be lost or destroyed. Marinette Dupain-Cheng did not know what to think when she saw the Ladybug mark over her heart, she ensured no one could see it as she knew it would be important for later in her life. The book that appeared when she was ten told her snippets of her story, she could never know too much lest she face unforeseen consequences.

"The young Ladybug was loved by all.... Ladybug knew what this moment meant, after all she knew since she was a little girl... The Ladybug and the Black Cat were loved by all, regarded as the best in history... She was abandoned by her friends, all quick to leave her for the next big thing... Ladybug knew she could not deny destiny... Ladybug fell for ..."

Marinette did her best to be a good friend, always accommodating, always compassionate and always willing to help her friends.... She never wanted to lose them. When she met Adrien Agreste she thought something clicked, as though he was her destiny to meet. She had felt the same when she met Chloe, Kim, Alix, Max, Nathaniel,(maybe Nino) but something felt different, something she could not place her finger on. The day she found a small black box in her bedroom she knew what it meant, after all she had known since she was a little girl. The day she met the small Kwami she could not help but think that she was hiding something, her eyes looked saddened before smiling and introducing herself.

As soon as Ladybug made an appearance on the rooftops along with Chat Noir everyone was talking about Legacy Day. The Parisians couldn't help but see when their Ladybug would finally announce their Legacy day. Everyone wanted their favorite heroes to get a reassure Happily Ever After.

The Folktales or Justice League , honestly they had no idea who came up with the name, did not know how much progress Ladybug's story had made. "No one truly knows how different each story of the Ladybug is" Diana, the Princess of Thymescara, and current Wonder Woman explained to Batman and Superman, a new folktale with unprecedented beginning, "My mother was once Ladybug, but to be the Ladybug there is always a price. Each and every one is cursed with a robbed happily ever after, a fact many ignore. My mother, after retrieving the Butterfly, was betrayed by her Black Cat; he wanted my mother to be his happily ever after, when she refused he murdered her, its how she was chosen to be Queen of Thymescara by the goddesses. Jeanne d'Arc was burned at the steak for refusing to sign the Storybook of Legends, they accused her of being a witch and of terrible crimes, that she had deceived them and was not the true Ladybug. Even those that signed did not live happy lives after the story was done... I can't help but want to save this Ladybug from the same ending"

Adrien Agreste was always told he was born for greatness. His mother and aunt said so the moment his cat mark came out. They wondered which tale would be his or if he and Felix would play their tale; The Twin Rings. He knew he would be getting his happily ever after so he put up with his father's ridiculous standards, the overbearing work and overly sheltered life. Someday, he knew, he would get to see the real world, make friends, he'd get his happily ever after. The moment he met Ladybug he knew it was heading for the right direction. Meanwhile Plagg is sure that Adrien is a cat but not his Black Cat. He of course can't really do anything about it and ever since his mother passed, Adrien's father locked up all their Books. Because Adrien technically knows they're in his father's safe its not considered lost so it can't reappear to him; he has no clue about his story but he thinks it’ll all play out in the end. Ladybug liked Chat Noir but she did not want him to be her happily ever after... she was beginning to doubt if she would even get one. The more time she spent as Ladybug, the greater her magic and her ability to read the past tales of Ladybug. They all began so grand and courageous but... the closer they got to the ending the more tragic she began to find them. Even those that signed the storybook of legend would eventually fail to protect the butterfly, thus the cycle continued. Tikki does eventually confess about the thing with Ladybugs and Marinette isn't surprised, its actually something all Ladybugs end up realizing and just strive forward with it. A few did try to change the story but by that point it was too late; Tikki has hope Marinette still has time to change or decide to stick with the story. With the introduction of "Lila Rossi", the supposed granddaughter of the one Pied Piper of Hamlet and Ermellina, not to mention she was destined Fox of the Miraculous; the Ladybug began to feel her friends move away... they no longer needed her. Or that was what she believed. As it turned out her classmates who had their own Book and story were aware of a wolf in sheep’s clothing who would try to destroy their stories. Many chose to play along with her, to see how it was possible for her to change stories while other stood firmly on their ground and had unknowingly allied themselves to the Ladybug, the test for their own stories. What they don’t realize is that Lila's actually a Page Ripper, like a dream-eater except for stories, she lives off of or just enjoys destroying stories because she knows hers will end with her being stuck with a terrible ending, in her opinion. She refuses to realize that she only get the terrible ending because she began to destroy other stories.When she saw Marinette she recognized her as definite main character for a Story and began her vendetta against her At this point she already has Ryuuko, Viperion and Queen Bee as her permanent holders, she made a mistake of choosing Alya as the Fox (one her book warned about, and now Alya thinks its supposed to be for Lila.) In reality she has no clue who or if there is even a person who was meant to be the Fox in this version of the story or if she's just supposed to give it to whoever she deems worthy. The Kwami tell her not to worry about it and just choose allies she is sure about. She does eventually recruit other temporary holders but she’s unsure if she could trust them after Rena Rouge. Everything began to change once more when they ventured to Gotham, the city of Folktales as it was home to the Batman. Their class had been enraptured by the newest story Lila had come up with, about convincing a story to finally follow their destiny and sign their storybook of legends, when she was called out for the fact that it was not her call to make... No one had to follow any so call destiny or story. "Do you not understand! Without the stories the world will fall apart!" she had yelled out

"And I believe you have no clue where you are. Here, no one has to follow their stories, everyone is free to make their own decisions and create their own version of their story" "And how would you know!" some angry yells began before he took out a book, it was a deep emerald green, easily mistaken for black at a glance, with golden details and cuffs, at the center was a ruby gem, in cursive the spine said 'Damian Wayne' where it once said Ibn al Xu'ffasch That was how the young Ladybug was introduced to the concept of Folktales and met the young Robin.

Selina Kyle, the Catwoman, knows that she at some point gains a protege but it should have happened some time ago (around the time one of her old friend’s passed away), she's not sure how she feels about that. Marinette isn’t sure if she want to sign the Storybook of Legends, truly no one on her team is, but the Parisians are getting persistent. Even city officials are breathing down her neck and she can’t help but think of Jeanne.

Damian's story of Robin begins to transition into a weird mix about becoming a cat of some sort and of breaking a curse.

All anyone is sure of is that

The End is just the Beginning

#MariBat #MariBat au #Ever after high au #Miraculous Au #Daminette #Lila Salt #Lila Bashing #Alya Salt #Alya bashing #damian x marinette #damian wayne au #damian wayne x marinette dupain-cheng

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malakia215 · 3 years

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Think fast! What's your favourite mythical figure/ deity / beast and why? (Syu wanna learn more mythology)

Which mythology????

Did I expect this to take me two+ hours to type up? No. But you asked for this.

Egyptian it has to be Ma'at. Ma'at is the goddess that uses her feather to balance an individuals heart on Anubis's scales when they are in the after life. She is a goddess of balance in the universe. Idk I have just always been attracted to her as a goddess that I enjoy. In Greek mythology, there is the tale of Persephone and Hades. An oldie but a classic. Also if you like so good 2D platforming there is this game I LOVE. An indie game called Apotheon. It deals with a lot of Greek mythology in a fun game. But also there is just so many tales that it is hard to choose. In Roman mythology, I really enjoy the Romulus and Remus tale. Again, pretty classic but it is interesting that the founding of Rome was established based on twins that were raised by a shewolf (and also a little sad because one twin killed the other). Also, if you are interested in tales/stories the Metamorphoses and the tales of Julius Caesar are very good. Going further North, we have even more tales: This one isn't mythological or anything but there was historically a Celtic queen that united the Celtic people and revolted against the Roman invasion. Boudica! The Romans HATED her because she was a thorn in their sides and I RESPECT her for it as well as her leadership skills. Celtic also ties very closely with Irish mythology and there is a tale of Cú Chulainn. I learned about him from MiracleofSound video. If you want some good folk metal and to learn his tale I would def check it out! Celtic, Scottish, and Irish mythology deals heavily with Nature so there isn't a specific sort of tale I could give you. (that and I haven't looked much into it as I was more interested in the history and culture of the people). Also, there are many tales of creatures and the like that are region-based so there are just soooo many. I did do a KakaIru fic featuring two of the legends but haven't explored more. Norse mythology is pretty much the same with my knowledge though I do know some stuff thanks to the likes of God of War 4 and (loosely) Marvel movies. You have the Valkeries that ride into battle to carry those humans that gotten a spot in Vahalla (cause who doesn't love that?). But again, this is just one of those pantheons that there are so many good tales it is hard to choose from. If you move further to Asia, there are a lot of tales. Mostly the stuff I have looked up revolves around death, like the pocong- a ghost in a shroud whose origins are from Indonesia. If you would like some spooky tales (both supernatural and otherwise) I would suggest checking out Lazy Masquerade . Also, yokai are very fascinating. Cause Yokai aren't technically monsters in the typical sense of Western Standards. But if you want to learn more about them, I usually go to this nifty website. Moving over to North America there are Aztec legends. I don't know much about them either except for what I know from the MOBA game Smite. Quetzalcoatl is one of my favs that I have learned about but there are many more Aztec gods/goddesses. There is also the tale of the founding of one of their major cities: "The Aztecs claimed that an idol of Huitzilopochtli had led them south during their long migration and told them to build their capital on the site where an eagle was seen eating a snake. The cult of Huitzilopochtli was especially strong in Tenochtitlán, which regarded him as the city's founding god." 1 2

This is also where the Mexico Coat of Arms comes from.

Moving up, there are Native American legends. Once again, the legends I know of are really spooky stuff. For some good tales, you can listen to Mr. Sinister. He does tales about Skin Walkers and Wendigos. But there are also beautiful tales such as Where the Two Came to Their Father. It is a tale of the Navaho People and used during War Ceremonies. I am not well versed on it fully but the story was told to an author to ensure that the legend would live on as (sadly) it wasn't passed down often. This leads into a WHOLE bunch of shit which isn't the focus of your question. That can be a totally different topic of cultural annihilation through the destruction of folklore.

And then moving FURTHER up there are tales from the Inuit people. This isn't something I am well versed in and I won't pretend I am. But it should be mention because it is the focus of some games like Never Alone (which I still need to play). I'm sorry I can't give you more but I am sure there are some wonderful tales for you to explore if you desire. Then there are tales that I have learned off hand. Such the Finnish tale of how the Aurora Borealis came to be. I learned it thanks to this video that was inspired by the tale.

And then if you want to learn about some spooky stuff all over the world you can do a check of this playlist. Has a lot of spooky urban legends for you to explore in a quick top 10 format.

This list doesn't include many different cultures. There aren't any from African countries or Australia or India or Middle Eastern countries or A WHOLE BUNCH OF AREAS. fikfnafjvnjafndvasdnf SO. Did not expect this to be so long but I hope you found some answers and something to explore :D

#mythology #folklore #urban legends #history #I do not claim to be an expert #this is just hobby stuff #and I am rusty on some of the older stuff #sorry #mala rambles

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allpowerfulspacevalkyrie · 3 years

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My Wrath of the Druids Mythological/Isu theories, because I read Taín Bó Cúailnge for a Folklore class last year and was really hoping Ubisoft would bring that stuff in, and they absolutely did!!!!

Spoilers under the cut.

Danu is an ancient, ancient Celtic goddess, the mother of all the Irish gods, aka the Tuatha Dé Danann (the tribes of the goddess Danu). Two of those children are The Morrígan (triple goddess/3 sisters) and Lug.

The Morrígan mythology involves the aspect/sister Macha starting a relationship with a mortal widower. She becomes pregnant and he being a stellar partner brags at a festival that his magical wife could beat the Ulster king in a chariot race. The king has him arrested with threat of execution if pregnant Macha refuses the race. After beating the king, she gave birth to twins at the finish line, a boy and a girl. (and she cursed all adult Ulster men to suffer birth pangs for 4 days, 5 nights, in their times of greatest need for 9 generations, but I digress, lol). The couple understandably separated after that and Macha took the kids.

In game lore, I'm guessing the Isu demigod girl starts Ciara's ancestorial bloodline and both of the twins are probably general druid founders. For me, the biggest clue Ciara is a descendant of The Morrígan, is the fact she uses the Lia Faíl to possess those men to fight. Possessing men to go into a battle frenzy is a The Morrígan (aspect/sister Nemain) thing. Plus that whole waterfall scene happens whether you flirt with Ciara or not. That seriously bugged me when it happened and I nearly wrote a massive rant about it and I'm glad I stopped. Now looking at the scene, it's got big fertility goddess, Macha vibes to it, huh? However, I'm also curious about Ciara's line "until we meet again" said to Lia Faíl. Is it possible The Morrígan figured out a different rebirth process from the other Isu? Ciara's eyes seriously bugged the holy hell out of me and it's my understanding Assassin's Creed lore has long had a Isu rebirth eyeball thing.

Back to the Irish mythology, the god Lug in a not so romantic fashion impregnates a mortal woman. She gives birth to Sétanta who would grow up to be Cú Chulainn. He falls deeply in love with Emer (from the Taín book I read, the author said that it's pronounced ay-ver, which kinda sounds like Eivor to me.) Emer crushes on him back, they flirt with riddles, but when he declares that he wants to rest his sword in that field, she sets him out on a bunch of tasks to prove his worth. He does the tasks with ease, they marry and have kids, they stay together until death.

In game, High King Flann sends Eivor a letter about tracking down a family heirloom, Cú Chulainn's shield, by collecting artifacts from Niall family graves. The Niall family was a big one, most Northern Irish today are genetically related to them, and the Nialls also provided a lot of Irish kings.

In game, the Lia Faíl being a Isu artifact, reacts to a true High King because they are genetic decendents of Cú Chulainn and therefore the Isu, Lug.

#ac valhalla #wrath of the druids

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trashahime · 3 years

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So I am working on a theory on how Kagura comes back if she's the mom and is represented by Lady Kyuki as per my perils/parents theory.

Look at this pic of the perils from Myoga's explanation.

Notice that Tokotsu looks mostly the same but Lady Kyuki's beast form is different. The main difference is that her fur is shaded, possibly meant to be orange, but she was portrayed as a white tiger in the show.

I think this is hint towards Kagura's evolution from "villian" to a protagonist.

I believe Kagura was only said to be a wind or Kaze youkai in the OG. But, it would be very easy to retcon her into having always been a kamaitachi. As I understand it, they are now associated with weasels but it wasn't always that way. It used to just be devilish cutting whirlwinds. As the manga indicates Kagura was still around as the wind, it could go that she just returned to this formless state. The Chinese Qiongqi that Kyuki is based on was once believed to be a kamaitachi in Japan.

I haven't spoken about it before, but I have been seeing a lot of connections to Yashahime in the famous Chinese novel Journey to the West. I suspected a figure representing Xiwangmu, the Queen Mother of the West, might be the mother. A reddit user also made this connection to Kagura and recently posted about it pointing out this part of Xiwangmu's history

Maybe that that's what happened with Kagura, over five hundred years as a kamaitachi, she became an enlightened benevolent goddess of sorts. This transformation is symbolised by the changing of her fur from the evil Qiongqi's orange to white . Thus, turning her from a representation of evil into one of goodness.

There is a belief that a tiger's tail turns white after 500 years. It is also said that a white tiger only emerges in a time of world harmony or when there's a benevolent leader. I think Sunrise is mixing this folklore. As per my Reiwa=human/youkai harmony theory, I think Kagura was finally able to emerge in the Reiwa Era with a physical form. Whether this was just granted to her, or she had to be reborn, I don't know.

But with this theory, it's likely the twins weren't born in the modern era, per se, but actually in the near future when this peaceful Reiwa Era is already in full swing. That ties in nicely with my theory that Yashahime is a game/illusion Sesshomaru set up for the twins so they could be tested against evil in a time of world peace.

#inuyasha #hanyo no yashahime #yashahime #kagura #moderndaytwins #perils=parents #sesshoumaru #setsuna #towa #lady kyuki #yashahimereiwatheory

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fatehbaz · 4 years

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Our legends and ghost stories about place help us understand the otherwise inanimate bricks and stones that line our streets; we feel a need to be haunted by the silent spirits that animate our material environments with our longings [...]. A White Lady is a [...] ghostly presence in the folklore and mythology of many cultures [...]. In Ireland, she may be [...] known as the grieving bride who inhabits Dun Chathail, Charlesfort, a seventeenth-century defensive fortress located near the water in Kinsale [...]. More recently she has appeared as an elderly woman in a remote part of County Tyrone in Northern Ireland [...] near Coalisland [...], attracting many spirit hunters [...] jealous of the young people in the neighborhood upon whom the White Lady has smiled. The White Lady is also a sentinel that haunts and protects our shorelines, such as the weathered, figure-shaped standing stone on farmland in Dunmore East [...] located near a cliff between the small coves of Rathmoylan and Ballymacaw. As she looks out across the Irish Sea, we are left to wonder [...]. [T]oday she gives us her gift of inciting stories about her [...] presence gliding between land and sea. [...]

Earlier this year [2014], artist Kathryn Maguire worked with the young people of Sheriff Street to explore this particular Dublin phenomenon [...] and her psyche of place. [...] [T]he sculptures created by twelve young people of Sheriff Street invite us to walk the streets of Dublin in search of [...] meanings of the White Lady. [...] [H]er presence reminds us of our historic relationship with the docklands, the River Liffey and the Irish Sea. For locals from Sheriff Street to Cabra, she is said to embody the Virgin Mary, Maid Marian or Molly Malone [...]. For still others, she is a beacon of hope, like a lit candle, for families who have a child in Mountjoy prison. Bloggers have suggested other reasons for her popularity: “the twinned statues in upstairs and downstairs windows [function] as a sign that the same person lives on both floors of the house, unlike in tenement times when [...] individual rooms would be occupied by different families”; or: it “means the mother of the family is single or widowed [...].”

Or you can make your own Lady on the Rock. Young people have a gift of seeing the spectral [...]. What did these ten-year-olds have to say about her? She represents: [...] “a Goddess”, “Strength”, “Glamour”, “Hurt”; “she comes alive at night to watch me sleep” [...].

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Karen E. Till. “The White Lady Beckons.” Eye on the World: A blog written by staff and students at Maynooth University’s Department of Geography. 28 December 2014.

#certeau #auge #folklore

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onceklaudiaspiechowicz · 4 years

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Slavic Gods Associated with the Underworld

Veles

“Slavic people believed that this god is often shown in a form of a bear, even though Veles is capable of transforming into other animals too. But, in later writings, this god is presented as a demon, where he lost his old functions and then linked to the devil and the underworld. Fact is that mythology among early Slavs also developed as their own turbulent lives, so naturally even the gods changed during ages in the eyes of the common folk. When their crops would die out due severe droughts they created a myth how Veles stole the heavenly cows and rains stopped. Even thought Veles with no doubt was considered a “mischievous” God, he was still a subject to worship and respect. It was him that protected farmers cows from plague or improved their crops and land fertility. Average people didn’t want to interfere in mythological fights between Veles and Perun, but in fact worshiped them both as major forces of this world, often according to their own needs.”

“Veles (or Volos) is sometimes called the second most important god of Slavic religion. The old Ruthenian chronicle which calls him skotiy bog makes him the god of cattle. This would also position him as the god of wealth (as cattle was one of the main markers of a family’s wealth). Other hints suggest he could have been linked to such domains as magic, poetry, oaths, the underworld, and the dead.

Veles is sometimes seen as the mythical antagonist of Perun, part of a structural pattern that may reflect a more ancient Indo-European myth of a primordial rivalry between the two opposing supreme deities (compare: Mitra and Varuna in Hindu mythology). Historians and ethnographers suspect that the relics of this ancient notion may have survived even centuries after Christianisation, and can be found in the Slavic Cosmogonic myth which transposes the same theme of rivalry between God and the Devil (See below: Slavic Creation Myth), the latter being a version of Veles. This identification can be observed in Czech folklore as late as the 16th century, where the phrase ‘Jdi za moře k Velesu’ (Go across the sea to Veles!) means ‘Go to the devil!’.”

Chernobog

“Also spelled as Czernobog, Tchernobog is a Slavic deity, whose name means black god, about whom much has been speculated but little can be said definitively. The only historical sources, which are Christian ones, interpret him as a dark, accursed god, but it is questionable how important (or evil) he was really considered to be by ancient Slavs.

About Chernobog, there was just one written document named Chronica Slavorum from Saxon missionary Helmold that says:

''Among Slavic people, there is one weird belief that is kept in their drinking fests and feasts. They at same time bless and curse under names of their Gods, respectively in the name of good One and evil One, saying that good things come from good God and evil comes from evil One. In their language they call evil God ''Chernobog'', or ''black God''.''

Morana

“Morana is a pagan Slavic goddess associated with seasonal rites based on the idea of death and rebirth of nature. She is an ancient goddess associated with winter's death and rebirth and dreams. In ancient Slavic rites, the death of the Goddess Marzanna at the end of winter becomes the rebirth of Spring of the Goddess Vesna representing the coming of Spring.”

“In modern times the rituals associated with Marzanna have lost their sacred character and are a pastime – an occasion to have fun and celebrate the beginning of spring. The tradition is usually celebrated around the spring equinox (March 21). Usually schoolchildren and young people participate in the celebrations alongside local folklore groups and other residents. A procession consisting of men, women and children carries handmade Marzanna to the nearest river, lake or pond. The participants sing traditional songs and throw effigies of Marzanna into the water. Sometimes the effigies are first set on fire, or their clothes are torn. On the journey back to the village the focus falls on the copses, adorned with ribbons and blown egg shells. The procession, still singing, returns to the village."

“Researchers emphasise that Marzanna functioned not merely as a symbol of winter, but also as a Slavic goddess. Marzanna's later association with death (in some regions Marzanna is called Death Crone) trivialized the importance of the goddess, who was the lady of not only death, but also life, and commanded the natural world.”

“Drowning Marzanna in water (an element of high importance in season-related folk celebrations) is understood as the goddess' symbolic descent into the underworld, to be reborn with next winter. Some researchers underline the sacrificial character of this ritual and suggest that Marzanna is sacrificed in order to appease Winter. The authors of Wyrzeczysko propose that Marzanna is sacrificed to the demons of water, whose favour was necessary to ensure a plentiful harvest in the coming year.”

Karna

“Goddess of the funerals, personifying tears. She is compared to the Indic Karna.”

“Yet another goddess of death, the ancient Karna is depicted as a young woman with black hair and bright red clothes. She is said to be the daughter of the goddess Lada. She spends most of her life down in the underworld. Some sources claim her to be related to Marzana (the goddess of winter and death, it might be a region differential)”

Oźwiena

“Goddess of the echo, and generally of voice and oral communication.”

“She was a companion of the god Veles, the goddess of echo. Some specialists in mythology connect her with Greek nymph Echo. She was also the goddess of gossip. According to the legend, it was impossible to her keep something she heard as a secret. Whatever you told her, she shared it. However, if she liked someone, she spoke only good things, but when someone became her enemy, she spoke all the bad things about this person. Moreover, Oźwiena loved glory, fame and listening to the stories.”

Flins /Hela

“Hela, the death goddess, is represented with a lion head with an outstretched tongue. As Myda, an aspect or another name of hers, she is represented as a crouching dog.”

“God of death who may be a Wendish name of Veles, although the iconography is rather different. He is sometimes represented as a skeleton with a lion upon his shoulder, holding a burning torch in his hand, and placing a foot on a large pebble. In other cases he is represented as an old man, with the same attributes of the skeleton, except for a flint instead of a pebble. His cult was widespread in Lower Silesia, Lusatia and Saxony.”

Morok

“Morok, literally “Darkness” in Russian, is a concept that has been deified in modern Slavic Native Faith (Rodnovery). He is the god of lie and a deceit, ignorance and errors. At the same time, he is a keeper of ways to the truth, hiding such ways to those who pursue truth for vanity and selfishness. He has a twin brother, Moroz (“Frost”), and they switch into one another at will.”

Nemiza

“God who cuts the thread of life, sometimes represented as a male with four beams around his head, one wing, and on his chest a dove with outstretched wings, and sometimes represented as a naked female with an eagle by her side gazing up to her. Nemiza was regarded both as a calamity for bringing death, and as a beneficial figure for introducing the soul to a new life.”

“Ny is the god of the underworld who acts as psychopomp, that is to say the guide of the souls into the underworld. He is associated with subterranean fire and water, snakes and earthquakes. Peklabog or Pekelnybog is another name of the god of the underworld, and he has been compared to the Indic Shiva. Etymologically, the word peklo means "pitch", and after Christianisation, its meaning became that of "hell", often personified as the Devil, and pekelnik any being of hell.”

https://www.slavorum.org/veles-the-slavic-shapeshifting-god-of-land-water-and-underground/

https://mythology.wikia.org/wiki/Chernobog

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morana_(goddess)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deities_of_Slavic_religion

https://aminoapps.com/c/pagans-witches/page/blog/dark-slavic-gods-goddesses/xpdX_JM6s2uVLKp7bdXgQmXmqBXQQrvBvG

https://culture.pl/en/article/what-is-known-about-slavic-mythology

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