Everian Creation Myth
The Birth of Our Land
In the beginning, there was chaos.
Things grew and burned randomly, sparks of light flickered to life and went out just as quickly. A careful balance of creation and destruction, life and death, scattered throughout the universe.
Then there was land. A great scattering of stone and dust and life, and everything sprang up in it, animals, plants, and the sea creatures.
The only being in this world, was that who sought to destroy it all: Ghaotz. She saw all that was good in the world, and birthed three children to help her set it ablaze.
The gods were born. First, Xilios of light and law, strong and judging, walked the world. All trembled in his path. Second, Vumir of the great untameable sea. Fleeting and thundering, he soared over the waters. Third, Dophine of the land and magic, like rocks tumbling in a brook, she strode through the forests. They remained three under their mother Ghaotz for millennia, carefully crafting their mortal servants.
The Great Races. First was the Osirant, made clumsily by sweet and caring Dophine. They burrowed into the land, uncovering her beautiful jewels, and the other gods became jealous. Second, Xilios crafted the Raessae, capable of calling forth great fires from within them. They found a calling in the gathering of knowledge and law, and hosted great libraries that no other race would rival.
Third, Dophine again created the Urian and Ropus, able to use magics like none other. The Urian became growers, using their magic to create life in great abundance, and the Ropus became crafters, finding new ways to channel their powers through weapons and mechanics. Xilos made the Loxmian, strong warriors that could best any of the great heroes of the other races, and the Viscan, cunning and power hungry. Both races quickly formed communities and vied for favor, so confident and terrible, just like their maker. Finally, Vumir created the Harot, so similar to him. Wandering and carefree, but fierce friends and loved ones, who spent their days bringing joy and life to those around them.
Eventually tribes gathered into villages. Then villages into towns, towns into cities, and cities into great city-states that ruled over the land they had come to call Everia. There were originally five great cities: Deloth, Arcgate, Tekross, Alflares, and Ingcaster. There was a delicate peace across the continent that lasted for almost five hundred years.
That peace ended with the death of the Raessae, Ghaotz's crime. Almost a thousand years ago, a great sickness swept through the Xaagi Islands, and any Raessae that fled there in hopes of saving loved ones also perished. The other races managed to trap the sickness on the Islands and save the continent, but a dark aura hangs over the Southern Sea.
The gods used the power of the Strutheo Star to punish Ghaotz for the crime of xenocide, locking her far away from her center of power at Mt. Udis, and trapping her beneath the Mountain in the center of the Living Lands. Xilios battled her back, Vumir shook the earth and moved the mountains, and Dophine created the magical trap. Sealed away by her own children, Ghaotz stayed.
Wars raged and passed between the five cities, until the invading Irolucian armies from the north wiped them from the map. As the battles raged, many lives were lost. So much so that the Gods stepped in.
Xilios came down from his high mountains and presented each race with the Seven Weapons. He provided the Osirant with the axe, the Urians with the dagger, the Viscans with the trident, the Loxmians with the bow, the Ropus with the slingshot, the Harot with the scimitar, and the Raessae with the whip. As weapon smiths partnered and learned, these original weapons went on to become all the weapons used on Everia today.
Vumir came in from the far reaches of the world and brought knowledge of ships and seafaring, leading the charge to chase the retreating armies back across the sea around the continent. These routes that the Irolucians fled down are now some of the main trade routes.
Dophine shook the earth with her battle cries, and Walked for the first time. She Walked in the body of another, a great goliath warrior by the name of Ulia. Together, Dophine and Ulia betrayed the Irolucian armies and fought with the citizens of Everia, slaughtering whole armies as one being. As the last Irolucians fled, a dark age fell over the country.
The dark age ended when the new Seven Cities that rose up in the place of the five bound together into a whole country, and each leader united with the others to create a Council. The armies created the Shadowguard, a formidable force to be reckoned with, always prepared for another Irolucian invasion. Temples were built, great and small, and worshipers flocked to each year round.
Gods of Everia
The Everian view of the Titans was very different than their actual personalities, since they were worshiped rather than learned from.
Xilios
Xilios is one of the most common gods to worship, and many other people seeking a promotion or help getting to higher things in life will often make offerings to Xilios outside of their own worship. Most government officials who follow Xilios will wear a devotional badge as part of their uniform, signifying their stance in power in both a governmental and religious sense, and are treated with enormous respect by other followers.
Dophine
Dophine is the goddess of the land, and the youngest child of Ghaotz . She is responsible for the land, and all growth and life on the continent. She is also where most magic comes from, and so each trained magic user has at least a basic knowledge of Dophine, and many mages devote themselves to her.
Vumir
Vumir is the second child of Ghaotz, and is most like his creator. He led the Seven Races onto the seas in pursuit of their fleeing enemy in the Great War, and has since become a symbol of victory and protection as well as God of the Sea and the Moon. He shook the ground and moved the mountains to trap Ghaotz, and lead the Everian citizens to financial peace and prosperity after the tragedy.
The Enchirydion
The Everian Creation Myth completely rejects the teachings of the Enchirydion, and the Everian Council forbade the sale or distribution of the book within their borders. They claimed it was a false document, lies spread by foreigners to convert them to the ways of the Old Gods. Despite this, many Everians kept small copies of the book, either for worship, research, or simply a collector's brag.
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