Sel's Fall Myth in Sila | World Anvil
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Sel's Fall

Sel's fall is the most infamous myth of Laidian belief. It was based off of an off-handed comment of Obji, as well as the observation of various stars 'falling' (ie: completely disappearing) from the sky, and has since evolved into a fully-fledged tale that in it's full takes roughly two hours to show and tell in full.

Summary

The short of the myth is as follows:  
Sel and Obji had been disagreeing since the start of the universe. Their roles had been set: Sel created things, Obji made sure those things kept running, and their last sibling guided their destruction. Sel reasoned that he, since he made everything, was the most important of the three siblings. Obji argued otherwise. Their last sibling used to argue they were important, as well, but left the argument after a few billion years.  
While somewhat unrelated to their several billion year argument, the fight between Obji and Sel did not start until recent, perhaps only 2-3 thousand years ago. The fight broke out after a unwarrented prank of Obji's went wrong, and Sel snapped. The frustration and tense relationship had built to this moment, and so the two began to fight. Sel pulled the very stars down from the sky, throwing them at Obji, which tore up the land and made the oceans and mountains. Obji bent time and space to fight back, warping the fabric of reality so that it became uneven - weak in some areas, strong in others. The world they fought on absorbed the immense magic expended by the two God-Spirits.  
The ending to the myth is debated. The most accepted ending involves the third God-Spirit, noticing the forces of the universe becoming unbalanced and on the verge of collapse, leaping into the fight with a flurry of arrows that pierced through the stars and the mountains, shooting down both their siblings, and pinning Obji and Sel to the physical realm as punishment for their recklessness.  
In the Karedian variation, Obji grabbed his sibling and pulled them down to the earth, binding them both to the physical realm.  
In the non-Laidian variation, Obji won and forced Sel to repent for his foolishness by wandering earth for the next two billion years.

Historical Basis

Majority of the myth has been completely made up, however it surprisingly follows the true events leading up to Sel's 'disappearance' and subsequent falling of the stars.  
When they first appeared to the Laidians, Obji mentioned Sel having been taken from his star-forging life and bound to the physical realm. However, Obji never mentioned anything further than that.  
The myth does properly convey that Sel was pulled away from his star-forging by strong magic, however it wrongly assumes it was Obji who did it. Sel was actually enslaved by a cross-planetary empire, and has been doing their bidding for hundreds of years.

Spread

The tale spread quickly and stuck with Laidians almost as soon as it was created. The Laidians, who felt (and still feel) crippled by their past, struck a chord with the tale and as such it became beloved by many. The thought of sharing such a devastating feeling with their God-Spirit give Laidians comfort - especially the Karedians.

Variations & Mutation

Excluding the shorter versions of the myth, the story of Sel's fall has three notable variations.  
The main variation, which is most commonly told by Laidians whom work closest to the Laidia, takes a neutral stance on the matter. It neither sides with Obji nor Sel, and explains both their side's flaws and legitimacies. Because of it's thoroughness, this variation of the tale is the longest of any variation. It also involves the third sibling, who plays a very important part in the story that is not shared with any other variation - even the shortened versions.  
One variation, popular with the Karedians, is distinctively sided with Sel. Karedians worship Sel more than the other God-Spirits, and as such they value this myth slightly more than other ethnicities of Laidians. This variation neglects to tell many of the legitimacies of Obji's side of the story, and blames the fight on them. Sel is painted as the unworthy victim of Obji's unfairness, and goes out of it's way to highlight the legitimacies of Sel's side of the story.  
The last variation, which is popular with non-Laidian practicers of Laidian religion, is - similarly to the previous iteration of the myth - more biased towards Obji. It puts more weight on Sel's flaws and on Obji's virtues, painting Sel as the overemotional, egotistical jerk and Obji as the calm and responsible one.
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