Illik
WARNING: The content of this article is darker than the general tone of the rest of Splore. Reader discretion is advised.
In present day, Illik resides over the domains of Death, Disease, Hatred, and Performance Arts. As Aur, he once resided over Health, Love, and Safety. Of the Elements, he resides over Blight.
Illoween, a Nitsurian holiday celebrated primarily in Southern Splore, is celebrated in his honor. October 31st is said to be his birthday, so as tradition (and superstition), citizens will dress in darker clothing and perform elaborate plays or musicals with dark endings to appease him. At the end of these plays, candy will be thrown out into the audience to take home to their children.
When the world was first created by The Five Gods of Origin, Venkunalis, the Goddess of Life, noticed how difficult the lives were of her new creations as a nomadic people. She spent ten days perfecting a statue made of Gold, which she then gave life as a new God. On the tenth day, the statue opened his eyes and was named Aur. He was given the task of protecting these people and making them a home, which he readily accepted.
He befriended the people and spent months creating buildings for them to live in, safe and protected from monsters, and taught them how to create a sustainable food source in animals and agriculture. In gratitude, the people named the city after him. They constructed a statue in its center - a visage of himself, carrying a baby in one arm and holding the hand of a child in the other.
But Aur wasn't satisfied. He was created to help the people, and he wasn't happy enough to leave them on their own just yet. He created armor, weapons, and charms of Gold to protect themselves when venturing outside of the city. He became obsessed with satisfying every possible need of every possible person, which wore down his patience quite quickly.
At some point, he noticed the city growing more and more crowded. With people having children, those children growing up, and no danger to possibly harm them, the population only ever increased. The demand for food and housing grew large enough that he had to work day and night with farmers and architects to create more food and more places to stay. The city grew bigger, and as it grew, so did the demand.
Eventually, as he continued to dote over his city, he noticed an issue he couldn't forsee. The animals and crops couldn't grow nearly fast enough to keep up, no matter how much there was, and he was forced to watch his city starve. Even as they starved, and he worked every minute of every hour to provide, the people began to request more and more outlandish and unnecessary luxuries from him. He slowly began to resent the people who did nothing to protect themselves and relied on him for everything, even their entertainment.
One day, he watched a citizen deny food to a hungry child, and told them to blame Aur for his lack of ability to provide. He couldn't handle the pressure, from being blamed for something he tried to fix every moment of his life - and he snapped. He left the city on his own and didn't stop running until he was far enough away that no one could find him. He spent the night taking a rest he hadn't been given the opportunity to have since the day he was created, sobbing. The morning after, he decided. If he couldn't please the people, then the people were the problem, not him.
The next day, he returned the city, with a bow and a quiver of arrows made of Gold. That night, almost everyone in the city was slain, except for the children. He gave the few survivors all the rest of the resources in the quieted city, destroyed his own statue (leaving the sculpted children intact), and left alone.
When Venkunalis heard of what Aur had done to the city, she was heartbroken and furious. How was the representative of Love and Safety supposed to play his part if he had massacred his own people to do so? After a heated argument between the two, the grieving goddess took his own golden weapon and shot through his heart, leaving him behind.
... But killing a God is not possible. The Gold of his skin became flesh, and that flesh slowly faded away, but his soul remained. Without the ability to move, all he could do was remember the cruelty of his people and the betrayal of his mother, until the day he regained control of his body. By then, his lower half was reduced to nothing more than a skeleton; his upper half was crusted over with mold and dirt. The only thing he could seek to do was to avenge himself, both his pride and his death.
He renamed himself Illik and retreated into The Underworld Abyss, where he met Riyo. Riyo heard about what happened and felt pity for the undead God, understanding why he did what he did. So they struck a deal with each other. People would now age beyond elderly and eventually pass peacefully of old age, so that Illik wouldn't have to resort to violence to cull a population when a civilization grew too large. In return, Illik would return to the surface with him on occasion. At the time, he wasn't sure why, but he still agreed.
Illik now keeps to himself for the most part at his home in The Abyss, unless Riyo encourages him to join in a visit to the surface. When disguised, he takes the form of a normal Fur Kemono with deer features rather than horse. During his time while visiting with his friend (though he will never admit to being so), he fell in love with the art of storytelling and acting. As a gift, Riyo took on the life of a citizen of Nitsuri, a city built by the survivors of the Ourya Massacre. He learned of their stories of the old God, took notes, and began spreading new rumors that Illik would return on October 31st, his birthday - and that the only way to appease him would be with a grand performance. It was Riyo who began the tradition of Illoween, as a way of softening Illik to the new people. Though he would never say it aloud, his gratitude is eternal.
He was once so kind. But we haven't given up hope.Illik /ɪlɪk/ (Formerly Aur /ɔr/) is one of the Incorporeal Gods, and the son of Venkunalis. He resides in Southern Splore, in the western end of The Underworld Abyss. He once resided in The Ruins of Ourya before the city was destroyed. He takes the form of a Quadripedal Fur Kemono with horse features.
Deity Information
Divine Domains
Holidays
History
The Birth of Aur
Unable to Keep Up
The Ourya Massacre
The Creation of Illik
Modern Day
Mental characteristics
Gender Identity
Male (He/Him) but honestly he doesn't really care
The God of Death, Hatred, and Disease
Divine Classification
God
Species
Conditions
Ethnicity
Realm
Date of Birth
October 31st
Children
Gender
None
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I love the myth/story of how Aur became Illik. What a horrible thing he had to do, but I think he did all he thought he could do.
The Gods were all young and inexperienced. No one could have predicted this tragedy. Thank you for the comment!