Ocras, the Humble Host
A myth of the Deinain, found throughout southern Milos.
Ocras was a seer and aethir known for his generosity of spirit. People from all around the Peninsula would come to visit him, bask in his wisdom, and beg for his aid. One day, Ocras was visited by Saibhrea, the goddess of fortune, and her consort Adhar, the god of luck. They disguised themselves as hunters and begged to spend an evening with Ocras and his wisdom, in order to test his reputation and see whether he was deserving of their blessing.
Ocras perceived by their bearing and speech that these two were of the Deinain, and moreover accurately guessed which two they were. Ocras knew the Deinain were often propitiated by sacrificial gifts and so vowed to himself that he would sacrifice that which he held most dear. Ocras came to his firstborn child, his daughter Neamme, and bid her lie down that he might sacrifice her. Neamme refused and fled into the woods. Ocras then came to his son Gelled and bid him lie down. Gelled obeyed, and Ocras sacrificed his son and made a dish of him for the Deinain to consume.
Saibhrea loved the dinner she was served, eating all she was given and asking for seconds. Adhar had one bite and found it bitter. Saibhrea asked Ocras why he was not eating, and Ocras explained that mortals ate only the roots of the world and that such dinner was above them. Saibhrea declared that, henceforth, all humanity had the right to consume life.
Adhar was suspicious however, and made his excuses to walk in the woods and relieve himself. In the woods he happened upon Neamme, who told him what had happened. Astonished and disgusted, Adhar returned and told Saibhrea. Outraged, Saibhrea declared that all mortals would henceforth hunger to consume life. Ocras was taken to the Lands of Mist and held as a prisoner until a great conflict between the Deinain and the Hadrash (the Monsters, in some myths). During the war, Ocras was offered to the enemy as a token of a truce. He was then taken to the Silt Palace beneath the Sea, where he drank only salt water and ate only sand, making him hungrier and thirstier. Every hundred years he was fed the blood and flesh of a mortal to restore him to sanity, so he might be tormented again.
Some modern Milosians will also point to this myth to justify gender divides. Because Neamme disobeyed her father, they say, Saibhrea declared that henceforth all mortal women would be suborned to mortal men. Conversely, men who 'make sacrifice of themselves' for the sake of the father will be rewarded in the next life.
Variations & Mutation
Some Host Keepers tell this myth, replacing Saibhrea and Adhar with Gleirea (the Host of Feasts) and Wilminar (the Host of Reversals). The myth is used to justify subjugation of women, though in some versions Neamme submits and is sacrificed, then is rewarded by ascending to the heavenly Host.
There is a less well-known 'sequel' to this myth. In it, Gelled is revived by Saibhrea and follows his sister into the woods. Gelled becomes the father of the Glastins, the faun-people, while Neamme becomes the mother of the Foulaxi, the werewolves.
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