Old Hegrith

Known to the orcs of The Hold of Belkzen as Old Hegrith and to the ratfolk of the Dirt Sea as the Hollow Rat, a gargantuan creature is said to slumber deep below the surface of the Dirt Sea.

Summary

The myth tells of a massive creature lying in the bottom of the Dirt Sea. Accounts differ but the main points that tend to be shared across retelling is that the creature was responsible for turning the inland sea it inhabited into the upredictable desert it is now. According to the myth, the creature was called upon this plane of existence and destroyed everything within its range, felling islands like trees and crushing mountains until it buried the sea. Once the sea was turned into a mire, the creature is said to have mostly disappeared though it kept sending its offspring to the surface. It has since been thousands of years without new additions to the myth but the creature is still credited for being responsible for the inhospitability of the Dirt Sea.

Historical Basis

Old Hegrith is in fact a Mother of Oblivion, summoned by a priestess of Lamashtu during the Age of Darkness back when the Dirt Sea was an inland sea within the Hold. Though not solely responsible for turning the sea to a desert, it certainly had a part in it. Additional magical meddling with the terrain by Lamashtan cults led to the Dirt Sea becoming a showcase of every deadly horror Golarion and worlds beyond can offer. Old Hegrith appears as a mix between a gargantuan squid with eye-topped tentacles and a plesiosaurus head, far bigger than any plesiosaurus however.

Spread

The myth has spread to all orc clans within the Hold and all of them except for the Murdered Child clan know to avoid the Dirt Sea. The myth is especially important for the Murdered Child orcs who have a number of cultural rites surrounding it. A similar myth developed amongst the ratfolk dwelling on Deep Mold islands in the Dirt Sea. The key elements of the orcish myth remain but it is unclear whether the myth developped independently or in contact with the orcs'.

Variations & Mutation

Orcish retellings

The most notable variations of the myth regard the description of Old Hegrith. The orcs of the Murdered Child describe it as being wormlike. The orcs of the Flayed Skull have a version where it is described as saurian. Some other accounts recount it as a creature with squid-like features, though the orcs of the Hold have never been exposed to squids and tend to use approximations to describe it. Most often, they use associations with local fauna which share one or two similarity with how it actually appeared and that association was reinforced through time to be extrapolated to the whole creature.

The Hollow Rat

The most marked variation is the ratfolk's description of the creature as a rat who burrows its tunnels far deeper than they can reach, causing the earth to quake. According to their myth, the Hollow Rat has never been seen in its entirety, rather only its tail was ever visible in the cases where it would burrow close to the surface.

Cultural Reception

The Murdered Child

The orcs of the Dirt Sea both fear and respect Old Hegrith and often pay tribute to her by burying their dead into the Dirt Sea, believing it to bring good fortune as they ferry goods and people across the Dirt Sea. More spiritually minded orcs from the Murdered Child may even say prayers. Whilst not represented as purely a benefactor, the Murdered Child clan refers to Old Hegrith affectionately. They were the ones to name the creature such and in referring to her evoke sympathy towards what they perceive as her plight. They see parallels between her having been summoned into the Dirt Sea and their displacement to the surface. They see Old Hegrith as an aging creature to appease and aim not to disturb her slumber as they ferry across the Dirt Sea.

In the rest of the Hold

Orcs from the rest of the Hold tend to see Old Hegrith as a less sympathetic presence. The myth can take many forms, from Old Hegrith having been summoned by dwarves to kill orcs to Old Hegrith being a scary story to tell in the dark.

Ratfolk

To the Ratfolk of the Deep Mold islands, the Hollow Rat is a benefactor for their kind. He is credited as the reason ratfolks can inhabit the otherwise inhospitable region of the Dirt Sea.