Yionn, Light of the Hearth, God of Life

Yionn is the divinity of light in its life giving and life sustaining aspect, the god of life, home and the hearth.

Summary

After Lumen, Light in its Celestial Aspect, God of Death cast the greater part of their spiritual-body into the workings of space and time, countless fragments of Lumenspawn were drifting about early creation. Whereas Amtaeus, Light of the Spark, God of the Forge set about giving shape, form and function to the matters and relations occupying space and moving through time, it was Yionn who set about gathering and tending the soul-energies - the countless scattered shards and shreds of Lumenspawn - and with them infusing life into their favorite of Amtaeus' works.

Historical Basis

Yionn, it is observed, has a double meaning in the ancient tongue: life and hearth. It is further noted that many speaking-peoples seem to have a tale in their myth cycles involving a figure who brings knowledge of fire, how to make it, tame it, and control it for the purposes of sustaining life. Whether this is universal to all of manunkind is unclear as the only attempt to produce a collected work remains incomplete. What was to be Geridus Reyne's collected tales of Yionn remains but the rough notes he had delivered to the Arcanum of Eversunn before he went missing conducting fieldwork overseas among the island dwellers.

Variations & Mutation

In some versions Yionn and Amtaeus are twins, and Yionn formed from the precise segment of Lumenspawn which, when it struck space and time, caused the spark that gave rise to Amteaus. In other versions Yionn arose when Amtaeus fashioned a container with which to collect and store Lumenspawn, but which did not work as expected. The various fragments congealed and merged with the container to become Yionn, who then set about infusing other works of Amteaus. In most myth cycles Amstaeus and Yionn have a cooperative relationship, and are often depicted as consorts. In some tales, however, they come into conflict. In one tale Amtaeus is displeased to find his various creations acting independently, unpredictably, and deviating from the functions he had envisioned for them and, when learning through this of Yionn, sets out to capture them. Amtaeus finds, once Yionn is captured, that their workshop becomes warmer, calmer, more tranquil, and that they no longer have to worry about keeping the fires of creation fed, for Yionn sets about making the space of creation a hospitable and tranquil space. To express gratitude, Amtaeus permits the lifeforms animated by Yionn to continue. Other versions of the tale have it that Amtaeus was dissatisfied with the static and inanimate nature of his own creations, but he lacked the knowledge and skill to give life to their forms and the ability to make environments hospitable to them. Thus, they set out on a quest through all of early creation until he found Yionn, who agreed to give to join Amtaeus in the making of life.

Cultural Reception

Yionn is among the most popular and widely invoked and worshipped of the divinities. Conventions and norms of hospitality, hopes for fecundity, a warm and comfortable home, a loving family, cooperation among siblings, such are the embers that fuel a good life for devotees of Yionn. The Siblings of the Hearth is one of the larger of the monastic orders, and is devoted primarily to the mysteries of Yionn. Curiously, this family and community oriented order is strictly sex segregated, with the Brothers of the Hearth devoted to the study of physical discipline and martial arts in the service of community, and the Benign Sisters devoted to the healing and palliative arts. Some among the Benign Sisters have, throughout history, been able to channel the powers of Yionn and perform miraculous cures and resurections. Such godly gifts, however, are rarely bestowed. Popularly, the most broadly shared conventions of care and hospitality, even across species, are rooted in social and cultural expectations which are reinforced by the many tales of Yionn.

In Literature

Yionn features prominently in literature and song. Most cultures have moral tales of one kind or another wherein Yionn accompanies travelers, pilgrims, and vagabonds, or assumes the role of these figures. People who treat the traveler and vagabond with hospitality and dignity are rewarded and those who do not are punished. Yionn also features in tales of sickly or tragically killed children brought to health and life, or mothers giving birth to stillborn infants or who die in childbirth devoting their would-be offspring to Yionn who then revives them. There are tails of infertile women appealing to Yionn for intervention and receiving it. The folk in these tails who abide by the laws and demands of Yionn have fortunate lives, and those who turn away or take advantage of her gifts tragic ones.

In Art

Yionn is typically depicted as a woman draped in orange or amber colored robes. She is often tending to the sick and wounded. In other depictions she is surrounded by all manner of animals and beasts, sometimes with Amtaeus who is casting the molds which form the shape of these creatures, as she infuses them with life. Often she is depicted with a lantern on a chain whose light is concentrated lumenspawn.