Qopyan

In the folkloric tradition of the city of the Eleven Cities, Qopyan is the youngest of The Dog's Seven Daughters, one of the pervasive folktales of the city of Tyros.

Etymology

The meaning of the name Qopyan is peculiar. It incorporates the Old Zolian agentive suffix -yan, identifying it as a female name (Old Zolian reserves agentive nouns solely for female subjects) while the root Qop refers generally to cool, soft colours such as blue and green. The name therefore means, literally, "maker of things blue/green." It may be that the name means something akin to 'calming one' or 'cooler of tempers,' though this is just a theory, and not one obviously supported by the narrative tradition.

Narrative

Among the Dog's Seven Daughters, Qopyan has the shortest and least well-defined mythological tradition, and therefore the least well-defined personality. In the narrative tradition of Zargyod and Krezzan's wager, Qopyan is occasionally identified as either the stake of the wager or its subject; she will either be the prize to the winner, the subject upon which the two gods will test their respective powers, or both. In all known versions of the story that mention her, however, Qopyan is rescued by the intervention of Hayan, who forbids the other gods from trifling with the fate and virtue of a young girl.

Literary/artistic tradition
The sole literary representation of Qopyan's relationship with Zargyod and Krezzan is found in the The Book of Favour. She is also mentioned in a number of Hayanian liturgies, often in contexts suggesting her association with the goddess went on into adulthood.

Commentary

It has been observed that the story of Qopyan as recorded in the Book of Favour makes no reference to her actually being one of the Dog's Seven Daughters; she is merely a virtuous, evidently wealthy young girl from Tyros. Indeed, linguistic evidence puts the composition of the original, Chogian Book of Favour substantially before any literary reference to the tradition of the seven daughters. As such, Qopyan's literary tradition stands as strong evidence that this tradition is actually a combination of a number of pre-existing myths and stories. How this affects the thaumatological significance of the stories, or those with which they subsequently became linked, is a matter for individual researchers to decide.