Naomh, daughter of the Creator

The aignaoithe He gave a dragon molded out of clay whose veins ran with fire from His own forge, so she could manipulate the work of His hands with her own. They named her Naomh.

— Sacred Writings of the Cavern, Lonán Translation

According to the Sacred Writings of the Cavern, the Creator made the first shapeshifter with no mother or father but Him. The Writings hold that the first shapeshifter was to be the bridge between the humans and the aignaoithe. The name Naomh means "holy."

Legends

Early Life

Legend holds that she was raised by the community of aignaoithe, the few who remained after the War of the Night. Since she was, to all appearances, a normal dragon, they wondered what her divine gift would be. However, upon the next naer attack, she changed form--and all three volcanoes on Inis Baile Mor erupted, killing all the attacking naered.
The aignaoithe celebrated and honored her, but when the naered returned, they came with gifted humans, who easily countered Naomh's untrained power. Her people fled in shame, but Naomh was mistakenly taken in by the naered, thought to be human. Through this trickery she was able to learn their fighting techniques and the use of her newfound abilities. When she was discovered, she killed many naered and returned to her people in victory.

Legacy

Into the new generation of aignaoithe were born more shapeshifters, and Naomh taught them all that she knew. They went on to write parts of the Sacred Writings of the Cavern. This first generation of shapeshifters are now known as the Eight, and are revered as saints along with Naomh herself.
Naomh became the great master of the shapeshifters and taught them to fight. She died in battle at the ripe old age of 400, in the process of protecting her students from a naer attack.

Historical Fact

The historical basis for Naomh's existence comes from the Sacred Writings, as well as other primary sources written in stone by aignaoithe at the time. However, since humans with aignaoi blood do not have access to the archives of Shui Lu, we have no records from other sources--and somewhat obviously, the aignaoithe cannot entirely be trusted to accurately tell the story of their first great warrior.
Thus, until such a time as we can examine the records in Shui Lu, the historical Naomh will remain shrouded in mystery.

Written by Cordelia Colbreak Evenbrook

Also known as

The First Shapeshifter

Divine Classification

Saint

Species

Aignaoithe

Ethnicity

Shapeshifters

Life

1166 SA 800 SA 366 years old

Circumstances of Birth

Miraculously hatched of an egg made of clay, which was fired in the Creator's forge.

Circumstances of Death

Died in glorious battle saving her students from the naered.

Birthplace

Inis Baile Mor

Aligned Organization

Aignaoi Creationism

Other Affiliations

• Council of Elders

Related Myths

• Gift of the Serpents and the First Shapeshifter