Thamyan

In the religious tradition of the Eleven Cities, Thamyan was the mother of Chonyos, the mythical founder of the city of Chogyos.

Narrative

Thamyan was a beautiful dark-haired maiden who tended a sanctuary sacred to the goddess Hayan on the island of Ormkalos. The god Zargyod desired her and demanded she forsake her responsibilities in order to be his wife or mistress (accounts vary). After an unspecified amount of time to consider the issue Thamyan opted to accept Zargyod's invitation, and Chonyos was the result of the ensuing union.
There are few accounts that depict the story from Thamyan's point of view, or go into any detail over how long the relationship lasted.

Literary/artistic tradition

The story of Chonyos's conception and birth is recounted in the full copy of The Book of Favour held at the Chogyos Customhouse  This prose is commonly reproduced in abbreviated versions of the book found in other libraries and cities. This version of the story makes a lot of Thamyan's beautiful hair, but makes no specific reference to her after Chonyos is born.
Thamyan is often a subject of composers in Chogyos. These compositions - usually but not exclusively instrumental - date back at least into the early third century BWR (fairly early in the organised worship of Zargyod) and continue in Chogyos to this day, although the collapse of the Chogyan Hegemony put a fairly abrupt stop to them elsewhere. These songs and pieces remain popular in the Chogyos Customhouse, however, and are increasingly used as part of the entertainment in customhouses of the Commercial Guilds in other cities.

Commentary

Very little archaeological work has yet been done on Ormkalos, so it is not yet clear whether there is any historical basis for the notion of a sanctuary to Hayan on the island. Preliminary arguments can be mounted both for and against the notion. In favour of the idea is the fact that archaeological investigations demonstrate the existence of very basic sanctuaries to the goddess on other islands, probably built very early in the history of her cult. There is no particular reason to doubt that such structures, as yet unknown, exist somewhere on Ormkalos. Running contra to this notion is the point that the latter-day cult of Hayan was a highly urban undertaking substantially lacking in rural or insular infrastructure. A cult centre of the sort implied by the myth as written - that with a formally-instituted clerisy operating under some sort of rule - seems highly unlikely. Whether this detracts or adds to the plausibility of the myth as a subject of thaumatological research is an interesting question likely only to be answered with further archaeological investigation of the island.