The Peacock's Sacrifice, or How the Human Pantheon was born

During a turbulent time of the last centuries of previous cycle of Theomachy, The War of The Gods, it had began to look grim for all the good in the world. Evil had gained foothold; it had been able to convert the hearts of men, contaminate the souls of children and ruin the once so lush lands so that the fields had turned black with disgusting, corrosive slime. Nothing could grow anymore, people and animals alike were starving and turning against each other. The peace was gone, brothers killing brothers and children their parents and parents their children. The hope was lost, so the Good thought.

Fenrua, human God of Knowledge, who was the first and only of The Eight at the time, had allied himself with other entities who did not wish to see this world perish. They joined forces for a final, desperate push for help. They knew they would need to contact a power outside this universe's borders, but to do so they had to use all what they had. Perhaps, with The Outsider's insight, they would be able to win the war and save the world.

After they performed a complicated Ritual of Open Doors, The Good met the Outsider, who welcomed all The Good to their domain. When asked about helping, The Outsider chuckled and said:

"We all yearn for something we cannot get. Sometimes we need to sacrifice something we have in order to obtain something new. You need to choose wisely and decide, if losing is worth gaining."

Confused, the Good left the Domain of the Outsider. Together they discussed what The Outsider could have meant with their words, but no one was immediately wiser. They were not able to solve the prophecy, not even The God of Knowledge had any idea what it meant. But all of them knew they would need to just try harder, even if this battle would be their last one. They all promised to do their best, so they departed to search for anything that could help.
Sehanine, The Elven goddess of dreams, stars and death, headed to the Dreamscape, to the veil between the world awake and the trance. As dream is only an imitation of death, she encountered a dying elven woman, who, desperately afraid of death, promised herself and the soul of her unborn child to the Goddess, if she could help them. Sehanine agreed, even when she knew she was the Goddess of Death, not Life. The child was born, but the woman perished. In that short moment Sehanine saw them and was able to seize two of the most precious moments in the life of a mortal: The Spark of Life and the Whisper of Death. She immediately felt stronger. Such powers were not to be taken lightly.


Deep underground Segojan Earthcaller, the Gnomish deity of death, nature and earth, was furiously searching for something that could help them in the fight. Unexpectedly, as he dug with his shovel-like badger paws, moving rocks and dirt, he saw something very shiny. It was the biggest diamond Lord of The Burrow had ever seen, and it pulsated with such intense light that it burned his eyes. As he tried to dug it up, a small chip was cut from the stone and it hit him in the eye. Suddenly he could see thing that had been hidden and the god understood the importance of the Light of Darkness. He felt more powerful than ever.


Eilistraee, dark Elven goddess of the moon, song and sword-fight, had earlier parted ways with Earthcaller and even when she knew it was dangerous to roam around the Underdark alone, she knew she had to do it, because no one else could. It was only by luck that she happened on one of her enemies' base when they weren't there. Zinzerena, lesser dark elven Goddess of assassins, chaos, and trickery, was away from her lair. With the help of the shadows, borrowed from her brother, she was able to sneak in and take a look around. There she found something, and when she had it in her hands, she suddenly understood that she had found one of Zinzerena's most prized possessions: The Laughter of Mischief. She felt like she was the most elusive of them all and knew it could be used for their gain.

Moradin, the chief deity of dwarves, had taken a different approach. He rarely left his domain underground, so he thought that why shouldn't he broaden his horizons and at least visit those old friends he knew he still had. Mostly, to see if they were still alive and call them to the fight, if they were. He traveled far and wide, until he happened to the domain of Old Oak Father, Silvanus. Moradin noticed immediately that this wasn't good at all. The evergreen forest was dying and the domain was losing its power. In the middle of Silvanus' domain he found the Oak father himself, who welcomed the dwarf god to his humble abode. "I am afraid I am dying, old friend. The evil has poisoned my roots and there is nothing to be done now that they are rotting." Silvanus admitted and smiled sadly. "But it makes me happy that you have come to see me. My time is up, but perhaps my legacy will live on. Please take it, may it serve you well in the fight."

Moradin was appalled by his old friend's request, because he knew it would mean his old friend would be no more. The Oak father smiled bittersweetly. "I wish to leave with all the dignity I have. Please, grant me this final favor." Silvanus pleaded and Moradin, especially as a dwarven deity, could understand the sentiment of wanting to go down fighting. "Friend, you always have a place in dwarven pantheon if you wish to be reborn." Moradin said, tears in his eyes. "Thank you, All-Father. Take your hammer and bash trough my core. Take what you find and do not let it fall into evil hands." The Oak Father instructed and Moradin nodded when he raised his hammer. As god of wilderness and forests, Silvanus, The Oak Father, perished, from his oaken chest Moradin was able to gather The Heart of Forest. Moradin knew he was holding something immeasurably valuable in his hands.

Selûne, The human Goddess of Moon, had been conversing with Fenrua. Together they had been trying to think about the prophecy given to them. Knowledge was their shared domain, so they got along well, and Fenrua was like a son to Selûne. A teenage son, perhaps, but a son nonetheless. Through whispers of prayers she had heard about a mote of power residing on a far away island in the middle of an ocean. Together the human deities headed to see if the rumours were through, but they arrived too late. A peacock had already snatched the mote and swallowed it. The peacock looked at them, spreading its tail, warning them to stay were they were.
"We mean no harm, peacock." Said Selûne in a calming voice. The Peacock screeched at them. "But you are trying to take my biggest gift away, just when I finally found it! I have been searching for years a way I could soar in the skies like other birds, I've read books, listened people and the wind, trying to find a way to get more air under my wings. And now you come here, demanding something I've worked hard for! Why do you think I would give that to you?" The Peacock was angry and disappointed. It had just found the gift of flying, and now these strangers came to it, demanding it to give its most precious thing to them. The Peacock was a prideful, cocky bird, but it was not bad. "Please, Peacock. We need the power to fight the evil. Soon, if the evil is not pushed back, you will not have a sky to soar on. The Evil will engulf all." Fenrua pleaded and The Peacock ruffled its feathers. It observed the deities, admiring its own feathers for a while, before it looked longingly to the sky. After a moment The Peacock sighed and nodded. "Very well. For so long I wished to be free from the shackles of earth, but on a bigger scale my wishes and wants are just a drop in the ocean. I will let go of my power, but only for greater good." The Peacock promised and gave The Tide of Storms to the deities, who thanked it and returned to regroup with the others.

When all The Good met and showed what they had found, they were all overjoyed. Perhaps with these new powers they would be able to fight the evil and push it back for long enough that the circle could go on. But everyone was hesitant to let go of their new gifts. "This is the will of my dead friend! I won't give it to anyone else!" exlaimed Moradin angrily. "I was given these by a follower of mine. I am not sure if I should part with them." Said Sehanine, pondering. "And I finally have something to battle The Spider Queen with!" Eilistraee huffed, looking around. Segojan Earthcaller looked at the huge diamond in his paws and tilted his head. "This is the biggest and most beautiful diamond I've ever seen..." He pondered quietly. The Good began to argue what should be done with the powers.

"This is fruitless." Fenrua sighed and decided to take a walk. He hated fighting and a short moment away from the quarreling could perhaps help him to come up with a good solution to the problem. On his walk, he encountered a sad sight. The Peacock's feathers had been tarnished with blood and the bird was dead. Because it had not been able to fly away from the island, it had tried to swim and the predators had attacked it, killing it. Its body had washed ashore. "Poor bird." Fenrua sighed, feeling pity. "I guess you sacrificed not just your treasure, but your life, too." With those words, something clicked in his mind. it was the prophecy!
Gently, he detached one of the bird's great tail feathers and carried the dead bird to Selûne. "Please, raise him to the sky so he can fly forever. With his sacrifice I now know what to do." Selûne looked at him and slowly nodded. She had the feeling that Fenrua was onto something, so she didn't question him. Fenrua made a masterwork quill out of the tail feather of the peacock. The unique artefact chose its own name: The Quill of Knowledge. He fetched parchment and returned to his quarreling comrades.

"Friends! I think I know what we need to do. But in order of this to succeed, you need to let go of the powers. It is the only way." He said and the others looked at him, doubting. "There are many who have already sacrificed themselves for our cause. We cannot let their efforts go to waste. The Peacock gave his life and without his greatest sacrifice I wouldn't have understood what The Outsider meant!" Slowly, begrudgingly, they agreed, one after another. "Fine, let's see what you have. But do not fail us, otherwise I will show my hammer has many unpleasant ways of uses!" Moradin snorted, annoyed.
Fenrua gathered the powers and began writing with the magical quill made out of The Peacock's tail feather. From the text, imbued by the powers, was born a new pantheon of gods and goddesses: the rest of the Human Pantheon, apart from Rafiar Thasnamot who joined The Eight at later time. Myrinna, Moriath, Cyrillon, Denyr, Dineira and Trathyses had joined the ranks of the Good. With the help of these new deities the tides of war were changed: The circle had been preserved and everything could begin anew.
The Peacock was risen to fly among the stars, as a thank you for its sacrifice. There it still flies, bringing forth beautiful colors of dusk and dawn, its tail glimmering in the shades of Northern lights. It became to known as The Celestial Peacock.