Euterran Eschatologies

Eschatologies are the beliefs a culture holds regarding the end of the world, whether that means the world ending, or a new beginning. Quite often, a culture will not keep any beliefs about the world's end at all. It can be a somewhat uncomfortable though, so many cultures simply imagine the world keeps on going that way it has been for ever. These are the beliefs of those culture who do believe the world shall come to a close someday.
Khemeti – The Khemetiu are the only human culture to maintain a belief in the end of the world. Kemetic eschatology begins with Neith, the goddess of time, fate, and the cosmos, and (alongside Atum) creatrix of the world. Each morning, as the sun god Ra exits the Du’at (the Kemetic underworld) and rises into the sky, Neith weaves time itself upon her loom.
But one day, Neith will weave no longer. The world will stop as she begins to unravel the tapestry of time. Apophis, the great devourer, shall swallow the sun as it travels through the Du’at, only to then be slain by Set who guards Ra each night. Deprived of her lord, the lion goddess Sekhmet, goddess of destruction, will rampage and once again lay waste to the mortal world.
Khonsu, god of the moon, will refuse to rise into the sky when there is no sun to give meaning to the darkness of night. The magic of Isis shall fail, and Osiris shall die. Geb shall bear fruit no longer, and Wadjet shall slay Ammit the devourer of souls. Finally, Atum shall return all of creation to the primordial waters of Nu, and the world shall cease to exist.
Elven – To understand their beliefs about how the world will end, one must first understand their understanding of time. Chiefly, that time is cyclical, not linear.
The elves divide time on a cosmic scale into 4 yugas, or ages, that repeat (almost) ceaselessly: the Satya Yuga ("Age of Truth"), the Treta Yuga ("Age of Three"), the Dvapara Yuga ("Age of Two"), and the Kali Yuga ("Age of Discord"). Together, the four yugas last for a total of 8,400 devayana (3,024,000 human years), with each yuga being 1,200 devayana (432,000 human years) shorter than the last.
Satya Yuga – The first of the 4 yugas, the Satya Yuga is a golden age of truth and sincerity, when the world is governed by the gods themselves, every manifestation or work is close to the purest ideal, and intrinsic goodness reigns supreme over the world entire. It lasts for 4,800 devayana (1,728,000 human years) before transitioning into the Treta Yuga. A famous high elven epic poem, the Mahabharata, describes the Satya Yuga as such:
“People were neither bought nor sold; there were no poor and no rich; there was no need to labour, because all that mortals required was obtained by the power of will; the chief virtue was the abandonment of all worldly desires. The Satya Yuga was without disease; there was no lessening with the years; there was no hatred, or vanity, or evil thought whatsoever; no sorrow, no fear. All mortals could attain supreme blessedness.”
Treta Yuga – The second and second-best of the 4 yugas, the Treta Yuga is a silver age, and an age of heroes when mortals mix freely with gods. It was during the last Treta Yuga that 3 of the 10 incarnations of Vishnu were born, including Rama, and the events of the wood elven epic poem the Ramayana took place. A Treta Yuga lasts for 3,600 devayana.
Dvapara Yuga – The third and second worst of the 4 yugas, the Dvapara Yuga is marked by an increase in immorality and conflict between mortals (whereas in the Treta Yuga, the primary focus of conflict is between mortals and other creatures, like asuras).
All mortals in the Dvapara Yuga become greedy and desirous of achievement, particularly of the scriptural dharma that is prescribed to each class, and are constantly seeking pleasure. In this yuga, the divine intellect that once ruled the world ceases to exist, and rarely is anyone wholly truthful. As a result of all this deceit, people are plagued by ailments, diseases and various types of wicked desires.
A Dvapara Yuga lasts for 2,400 devayana. The end of the most recent one was marked by a great war called the Kurukshetra War, the story of which is recalled in the Mahabharata.
Kali Yuga – The Kali Yuga is the worst and final yuga in the cycle. The Kali Yuga is an age of darkness and chaos, of vice and misery, of conflict and hypocrisy, where morality swiftly hurtles towards total decay and the bull of dharma which represents the dharmic and moral quality of the world stands on only one leg. This is the stage the elves believe the world to currently be in, and will last for 1,200 devayana.
At the end of the Kali Yuga, the 10th and final avatar of Vishnu, Kalki, shall be born into the world. Riding a shining white horse, and wielding a sword of fire, Kalki will put an end to adharma, all wickedness and immorality, and usher in the next Satya Yuga.
However, while the yuga cycle technically only goes on for all eternity, there are actually 2 cycles that exist above the yuga cycle: the manvantara period, and the kalpa-pralaya cycle. There are 71 yuga cycles in a manvantara period (totaling 596,400 devayana, or 214,704,000 human years), and 14 manvantara periods (8,349,600 devayana, or 3,005,856,000 human years) in a kalpa.
At the end of each kalpa, all creation is annihilated by the fire of the Brahmashirā Astra (the divine weapon of Brahma, though in this case wielded by Shiva), and a pralaya—or dissolution—of equal length begins.
Together, the kalpa-pralaya cycle makes up a single day and night in the lifespan of Brahma (the deity of creation). There are 30 such days in a month, 12 such months in a year, and 100 years in the life of Brahma. At the end of this 100 years of Brahma, the great creator dies, and a new one is born from the Causal Ocean (the origin of all creation).
This means each Brahma exists for about 216,421,632,000,000 human years before sinking back into the Causal Ocean. A new one then takes its place to begin everything all over again. Thus, though the world as we know it will end, existence continues without end.
Dwarven – The dwarven myth of the end of the world is known by the poetic phrase Enūma Ašratu Taqtatīšunūti, “When the Heavens Will Die.” Though the translation of the word "ašratu" to "heaven" isn't quite perfect as the Dwarves believe the dwelling of the gods (what ašratu more accurately refers to) is actually deep beneath the earth, not above it.
You will often hear the phrase come up when people are referring to something poetically, dramatically, or comically that is supposed to be incredibly far in the future (or otherwise as a roundabout way of saying “never”).
The dwarves believe the world will exist for 360 times 360 Abu Mu, or 46,656,000 years (an Abu Mu itself being 360 years). What is particularly notable about dwarven eschatology though is that it is quite peaceful. When the world ends there will be no fanfare. No epic battles, no fiery destruction, no ultimate victory of good over evil. It will simply…end; snuffed out, like the flame of a candle.
First the mortal world, Ki-ašratu Elān ("The Land Above the Heavens"), will cease to exist. Next, Kur, the land of the dead. Then finally, Ašratu, the heavens below, the land of the gods, will become as nothing. There will be no regeneration, no renewal, no cycle of creation and destruction. All that is will simply be as though it never was.
Menskr – Menskr eschatology revolves around the inevitable coming of Ragnarǫk, (lit. “the fate/judgment of the gods”). Ragnarǫk is unavoidable apocalypse that will bring an end to all things before a new world rises from the ashes. It occurs in several stages.
Prelude – Though Fimbulvetr is famously cited as the beginning of Ragnarǫk, it is technically said to be preceded by three earlier harsh winters which will be marked by great and horrible battles. Greed will cause brothers to kill brothers, and fathers and sons will suffer the collapse of kinship bonds.
Stage 1: Fimbulvetr – Fimbulvetr means “Great Winter,” and is the first stage of Ragnarǫk proper. Fimbulvetr will be a series of three consecutive winters with no intervening summers that shall come from all directions to freeze Miðgarðr and throw it into chaos.
Stage 2: Total Chaos – Following Fimbulvetr, the world will be thrown into four successive ages of utter chaos; an axe age, a sword age, a wind age, and a wolf age. Menskr poets have described this stage as such:
"Brœðr muno beriaz ok at bǫnom verðaz muno systrungar sifiom spilla. Hart er í heimi, hórdómr mikill —skeggǫld, skálmǫld—skildir ro klofnir— vindǫld, vargǫld—áðr verǫld steypiz. Mun engi maðr ǫðrom þyrma."
“Brothers will fight and kill each other, sisters' children will defile kinship. It is harsh in the world, whoredom rife —an axe age, a sword age—shields are riven— a wind age, a wolf age—before the world goes headlong. No man will have mercy on another.”
During this stage, all Miðgarðr is thrown into total war. It is an age without peace, no reprieve from the violence, no escape. In this age, all mortal life will perish.
Stage 3: The Storm Before the Storm – At the end of the ages of chaos, numerous things will happen in sequence leading up to the final battle. First, Skǫll (“The One Who Mocks”) and Hati (“The One Who Hates”), the two wolves who chase the sun and moon through the sky will finally catch their quarry and devour them.
The stars will disappear from the sky. The earth and mountains will shake so violently that the trees will come loose from the soil, the mountains will topple, and all restraints will break. Thus the great wolf Fenrir will break free from his chains, and Loki from his torture.
Garmr, the great hound who guards the gates of Hel, will produce a deep howl from within his cave home of Gnipahellir and break free of his bindings. Jǫrmungandr, the world serpent, will writhe furiously, causing the oceans to swell and waves to crash.
The crashing of the waves shall set loose the great ship of Naglfar, a huge boat made entirely of the nails of the dead. Upon this ship, captained either by Hrym (king of the frost jǫtnar) or Loki, is a great army composed of all the denizens of Hel along with all the frost jǫtnar. This is why it is tradition among all Menskr to remove the nails of the dead before burial, to forestall the completion of Naglfar.
The sky will split in two, and from the rift shall ride the sons of Múspellsheimr, the fire jǫtnar, led by Surtr whose sword is brighter than the sun. They will cross the Bifröst, causing the great bridge to collapse, and advance towards the expansive fields of Vígríðr. They will be met there by the armies led by Loki and Hrym.
Fenrir will charge towards Vígríðr as well, his eyes and nostrils spraying flames, and his jaws so massive they span from earth to the heavens above. Jǫrmungandr will advance at his side, spraying venom into the air and sea.
Heimdallr will then blow the Gjallarhorn, alerting the gods to the coming battle. The gates of Valhalla and Fólkvangr will be thrown open, and the einherjar will ride out to battle. After consulting with Mímir one last time, Óðinn dons a helm of gold, takes up Gungnir, and leads the Æsir to battle. Yggdrasil will shake furiously.
Stage 4: The Storm – The battle begins with Fenrir devouring Óðinn. Víðarr, his son, will then tear apart Fenrir's jaws and pierce his heart with a spear, thus killing the great wolf. Þórr the red-headed storm-god and Jǫrmungandr will do battle, with Þórr slaying the great serpent, but he will make it only nine steps before succumbing to Jǫrmungandr’s venom. Loki and Heimdallr will fight and kill each other. Freyr and Surtr will clash, but Freyr will be without his sword (having previously given it away) and will be slain. Týr and Garmr will fight, resulting in the death of both.
The battle ends as Surtr unleashes all the fury of Múspellsheimr to incinerate the world, which will then sink into the sea, and all will be darkness.
Stage 5: Rebirth – After a time has past, the daughter of the sun will rise into the sky to illuminate it once more, as the earth re-emerges from the sea. Those gods who survived Ragnarök will meet up once again at Iðavǫllr and reform the tribe of the Æsir.
Two mortals will also survive Ragnarök, Líf and Lífþrasir (female and male, respectively, their names mean “life” and “lover of life”), and together they shall repopulate the world.
Cacahuatlācah – Cacahuatlācah eschatology is somewhat unique in that, unlike others, the end of the world can (theoretically) be avoided indefinitely with the proper procedures. It is also unique in that there are two different ways in which the world can end, and keeping them at bay is essentially entirely in the hands of mortals.
Apocalypse: The Huītzilōpōchtli Route – In Cacahuatlācah belief, Huītzilōpōchtli is the god of (among numerous other things) the sun. He is also literally the sun, who is chased constantly across the sky by the moon (the severed head of his sister Coyolxāuhqui) and the stars (the Tzitzimimeh, Coyolxāuhqui’s army). Every night, Huītzilōpōchtli is almost killed when the night is darkest, but beats back Coyolxāuhqui as the sun rises once more.
However, Huītzilōpōchtli is fuelled and kept strong by the blood of sacrifice. Should the sacrifices stop, he will lose strength and be slain. Coyolxāuhqui and the Tzitzimimeh will then descend upon the world, destroying all mortal life, and leaving it in desolate darkness.
Apocalypse: The Cipactli Route – The Cacahuatlācah believe the world was created when the gods Tezcatlipōca and Quetzalcōātl killed the great monster Cipactli and fashioned the world out of its body. However, Cipactli is not truly dead, and mortals must offer it routine sacrifices to appease it. It is said that Cipactli’s dissatisfaction is the cause of earthquakes and, if Cipactli grows too dissatisfied, it will devour everything in the world.
Tian Ningan – The Tian Ningan, or the dragonborn, may be one of the only people to have an end of the world where the world is not the thing that ends. Instead, the dragonborn believe that eventually—no matter how many aeons it takes—eventually all living things (“huó") will achieve nièpán (liberation from lúnhuí, which is the endless cycle of life, death, and rebirth).
Every person, every animal, every insect, every tree, flower, and blade of grass. Without exception, all living things will someday achieve nièpán. When this happens, the world will still exist, it will simply be devoid of all mortal life, and only the four elements of earth, fire, air, and water will remain, just as it once was many aeons ago.