Ga Son: Syimlin of the Sun

He is Sun. There is none before him, and there shall be none after. He has always been, and always shall be. His call is the bright rays, the guiding light, the vicious hope. His kindness does not deceive, though it is not a gentle emotion.
~Makella, Teller of Tales

Ga Son by Shanda Nelson
background by Zukiman Mohamad

Hair

Blond

Eyes

Green

Age

unknown

Ascended

unknown

Primary Temple

Sun's Touch, The Sun Plains, Fading Light, Evenacht
Spiral Sun Temple, Winsun, Talis

Primary Symbol

the rising/setting sun

Personality

Worshippers consider him:
constant
the brightest illumination
the sunrise and the sunset, the beginning and the end
elusive

Syimlin consider him:
kind
ultimate syimlin arbitrator
an unknown
well of magical knowledge

Sun Creates the Syimlin, as told by the Keel

Was Ga Sun ever mortal?
He is a constant entity in syimlin lore. No one else has ever donned the mantle of the Sun. No one else is considered Sun in any Sensour pantheon. Ga Son has always been there, a guiding presence around the world. But he retains a love of Talis, and sees the continent as his joy.
But he was but one, so he created the first syimlin. He saw the need for spiritual authority, for beings who understood the toils and travails of mortals and how best to help them overcome their failings. He elevated certain mortals who pleased him, who held compassion but also an understanding that some beings took advantage of kindness.
He elevated them, but they knew nothing of magic. So Ga Son created mantles, divine symbols designed to imbue the holder with magic. He filled them with his energy, flavored to the one he gifted. They donned the mantles, elaborate coats of fine embroidery and softness, and the Gift of Magic filled them. The physical material disappeared and the essence melded with the newly-created syimlin; a heavy, invisible burden, but one they welcomed.
Ga Son guided them in learning magic; he shared his knowledge as he had shared his power. Those he gifted swallowed his knowledge and thirsted for more. They bloomed under his gentle rays, and in turn, shared their knowledge with their offspring, who inherited some small bit of magic from their syimlin parents.
The Gift of Life had yet been given, so these syimlin aged and died, as all mortals do. Before they passed, they gifted their mantle to their acolytes who most closely followed their teachings. And so it progressed, the passing of mantles to those of worth.
And so it progressed, that divine children birthed divine children, and magic filled them, each passing generation stronger than the previous. Their children's children spread through the world, bringing magic with them. And so Ga Son's Gift was passed on to other mortals, who ever grow more Sun-like.
And he smiles on us still.

Sun Creates the Syimlin, as told by Ga Son through Priestess Kasoris

Was Ga Son ever mortal?
Bemused, he laughed at my question, one asked by countless theologians.
How could I not be? he told me. All syimlin were once mortal, until Death Gifted them with Life.
And what other Sun has there been? After all, your Divine Hand imbued the mantles, providing your most beloved faelareign the gift to manipulate the world without touching it. Normal syimlin do not do that.
Again he laughed, and settled more comfortably into his sitting room chair.
Mantles are not the gift mortals expect, he said. They are timeless yet contemporary, a reminder of the past but relevant to the present. Their weight is perceived through deeds done and deeds neglected, and some carry a burden that no divine understanding of magic can lessen.
Many a syimlin has discovered, that divinity is not the ultimate power-grab they anticipated, and quickly become disenchanted with their office. Mantles come with responsibility and regret, and the knowledge that everyone a syimlin holds dear will eventually pass into the Evenacht. It is a lonely pain, and mitigating it takes more years than an immortal lives.
The mantle is an acceptance of centuries of loss in search of a greater good. It is an acknowledgment that understanding is elusive, that change must occur, for stagnation is a tempting evil. It is the prompt to strive for something beyond what has been experienced, to seek further knowledge, to find wisdom and enlightenment even when such seems beyond the fingertips.
That is why you created the syimlin? I asked. To search for a greater good?
He sighed, his gaze distant.
Do you know why syimlin turn to the Evenacht, Kasoris? The tantalizing familiar resides there, and within it, the chance to rest. For you see, ghostly acolytes have the added understanding between them, of lengthy existences mitigated by moments of joy and love, despair and hate, thrills and indifference.
And with that, he directed my attention to another matter.

This is my response to "why save your work". I created Ga Son in high school, along with the other syimlin in my Evenacht serial. The original tale I told was the one mentioned in my Badeçasyon article. Unlucky interstellar treasure hunters wanting to loot tombs arrive on Sensour just in time for the Flayn empire's invasion.
Evenacht has taken a bit of a darker turn since then (as with all my work). But I can see my development., and it's not just in art. It's in my writing as well. And yes, I've saved my writing from my childhood, and still have most of it. And yes, it does provide inspiration. Your younger self looks at things differently.