The Life Stone
A red dawn bled across the navy sky, mirroring the blood pooling beneath a prone figure at the mouth of the mine. The figure, a man of Juli origin, lies on his back mouth open in silent scream. He trembles as he tries to create a single sound, vocal cords shattered. The deep cut in his side barely bleeds anymore, he is close to death and his heart rate slows.
Gods, if you hear me, I did this for you. I fought in your name. I avenged your followers, I protected your souls. There are none to do so in my stead.
They hear him, but do not answer, locked in cosmic battle. Aviras trembles on the precipice of change. The man must die. He must not die. To die would allow the gods to live, live but be forgotten. To live, life on Aviras must die, fists raised in anguish to their cosmic tormentors. The vote is almost unanimous, his fate a tragic finality when from the cosmic deepness there is a ripple of change.
The change ripples through the gods, its touch so delicate that many do not even notice.
The Juli man views his body from above, wondering why he cannot see himself reflected in those glassy eyes. His soul hovers, torn between his own survival and eternal freedom. The Gods survey him, turn his soul over in their fingers and pause. Perhaps he should live. Each second stretches for an eternity, until the most prestigious amongst the gods calls to the change.
Foolish Hope. You push us into indecision. You call for our demise so that feeble creations may live.
They may live. But perhaps we will to.
A cosmic pause of eternity, a mere second in the mortal life.
Without my intervention, we condemn ourselves, condemn our creations, condemn the universe. Allow me to gift him so that it may change.
A black stone falls from somewhere, no, nowhere, above the mans head. Did it fall? It was simply there when before it was not. The gods peered at the object, a little larger the top thumb joint. The universe stared back at them, iridescent and shifting. Eyes that were not eyes looked at the change. Fingers that were not fingers released the soul. The figure sat bolt upright, gasping for air.
he picked up the stone that lay beside him and closed his fist around it, holding tightly to the single shard of the soul of Hope.
Gods, if you hear me, I did this for you. I fought in your name. I avenged your followers, I protected your souls. There are none to do so in my stead.
They hear him, but do not answer, locked in cosmic battle. Aviras trembles on the precipice of change. The man must die. He must not die. To die would allow the gods to live, live but be forgotten. To live, life on Aviras must die, fists raised in anguish to their cosmic tormentors. The vote is almost unanimous, his fate a tragic finality when from the cosmic deepness there is a ripple of change.
The change ripples through the gods, its touch so delicate that many do not even notice.
The Juli man views his body from above, wondering why he cannot see himself reflected in those glassy eyes. His soul hovers, torn between his own survival and eternal freedom. The Gods survey him, turn his soul over in their fingers and pause. Perhaps he should live. Each second stretches for an eternity, until the most prestigious amongst the gods calls to the change.
Foolish Hope. You push us into indecision. You call for our demise so that feeble creations may live.
They may live. But perhaps we will to.
A cosmic pause of eternity, a mere second in the mortal life.
Without my intervention, we condemn ourselves, condemn our creations, condemn the universe. Allow me to gift him so that it may change.
A black stone falls from somewhere, no, nowhere, above the mans head. Did it fall? It was simply there when before it was not. The gods peered at the object, a little larger the top thumb joint. The universe stared back at them, iridescent and shifting. Eyes that were not eyes looked at the change. Fingers that were not fingers released the soul. The figure sat bolt upright, gasping for air.
he picked up the stone that lay beside him and closed his fist around it, holding tightly to the single shard of the soul of Hope.
Summary
The myth of the Life Stone tells the story of a warrior of the gods. On the brink of death, they decide to allow him to live by gifting him a piece of the soul of a god - Hope. The stone is a black opal of considerable size and heals him and allows him to live. Gifted with this rare gem, the Juli man - Yonisen - is gifted with prophetic and mystical visions as well as a an understanding of the cosmic universe. Later it will be discovered that these are common gifts of iridescent opal, but the black opal gives him another gift: Immortality.
Armed with wisdom and eternal life, Yonisen begins to preach that the dragons will one day return. He does not know what they are, but he does know that that day will be a fatal day for all life on Aviras. For many lifetimes he prepares the people, but that day never comes. One day there is a coup on his fortress and his wife, a planted assassin, replaces the black opal in his circlet with a fake. This allows him to be killed, but while his wife is fleeing, she drops the stone and it is lost forever.
Curiously though, there is a tree that sprang up near the gate of the fortress that has never died despite dramatic weather conditions. Many people have tried to fell the tree or uproot it, but it heals as soon as it is damaged. The alacrity of its healing is such that there are a ring of ax heads and handles that protrude from the trunk, fully integrated into its structure.
Armed with wisdom and eternal life, Yonisen begins to preach that the dragons will one day return. He does not know what they are, but he does know that that day will be a fatal day for all life on Aviras. For many lifetimes he prepares the people, but that day never comes. One day there is a coup on his fortress and his wife, a planted assassin, replaces the black opal in his circlet with a fake. This allows him to be killed, but while his wife is fleeing, she drops the stone and it is lost forever.
Curiously though, there is a tree that sprang up near the gate of the fortress that has never died despite dramatic weather conditions. Many people have tried to fell the tree or uproot it, but it heals as soon as it is damaged. The alacrity of its healing is such that there are a ring of ax heads and handles that protrude from the trunk, fully integrated into its structure.
Historical Basis
The stone was likely not actually a gift from the gods, but a rare opal that was found by a miner. Although Yonisen's major prophecies did not come to fruition, a portion of them did. It is generally believed that the gifts of the opal are largely exaggerated and it was not him who ruled for 900 years, but his sons. The era has been named Yonisen (YS), but most believe that the event was based purely in myth.
With the discovery of the genuine gifts of gemstones, there is some debate that the events recounted in the myth are true. However, no one has yet been able to locate a black opal to test the theory. Although there is a tree that fits the description on the myth near the Juli fortress, it does not resemble any of the other trees in the area - its trunk a pale grey with stripes of colour and its leaves black as obsidian with veins of red and white - and its healing abilities are therefore considered to be a characteristic of the species.
With the discovery of the genuine gifts of gemstones, there is some debate that the events recounted in the myth are true. However, no one has yet been able to locate a black opal to test the theory. Although there is a tree that fits the description on the myth near the Juli fortress, it does not resemble any of the other trees in the area - its trunk a pale grey with stripes of colour and its leaves black as obsidian with veins of red and white - and its healing abilities are therefore considered to be a characteristic of the species.
Spread
Before the eruption, this myth was well know amoung the Juli community and amoung the Helios - a mute branch of humans that believe that they are descended from Yonisen. Amoung the generic human population ,the myth never really took hold and most that did encounter it are stern skeptics. In the wake of the eruption and with the return of the dragons, the myth is again gaining momentum and it being bought back into mainstream culture.
In Art
- Amoung the elite classes, Black opal fakes are a popular form of adornment and are a symbol of power.
- There are many ancient tapestries that are kept in the Juli fortress that depict the events.
- A popular Helio fabric is woven of black thread mixed with colorful threads to give an impression of iridescence.
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