Rivaksa
In the beginning, there was nothing but a girbak seed buried deep beneath the Hari Lagoon. This seed slumbered for eight hundred thousand years all by its lonesome, absorbing the magic of the lagoon as it prepared to sprout. On the day the sprout grew up, its roots became the swamp we live in, its branches became the sky stretching overhead, and its leaves became the rains that feed the great forests of Dalatsa. From its golden, starry fruit we the Yadamanya grew up. So long as Rivaksa stands tall, so shall we.
Rivaksa, the World Tree, is the creator entity of the Yadamanyan pantheon. It is depicted as a massive girbak tree in the middle of a lagoon shrouded in eternal starry night. The tree’s bark is made of grey opal, its leaves are midnight blue, and its golden, star-shaped fruits are said to grant immortality to those who consume them. According to myth, Eir itself was formed of the tree’s roots, thus placing extreme importance upon respecting the environment in Yadamanyan culture; if one harms the earth they walk, one harms the great Rivaksa.
Rivaksa is celebrated during the first week of every month in festival called Muyana; for seven days there are minor festivities held within the community and within households, and on the eighth day monthly ritual offerings are made to the World Tree followed by a community feast. The closing festivities held on the eighth day represent the sprouting of Rivaksa after its eight hundred thousand year slumber in the great Hari Lagoon, the primordial body of water that is the source of all magic and prophecy.
