Myth of Volti

Long ago, in the time before the Watchers Eye, before the Nemanoi, there was only Volti. The planet was in darkness and there was a hush in the air, and the vast dark ocean covered everything.

Volti raised his staff to the heavens and pierced a hole in the sky. When he did this the sky opened and swirling colors came in through the hole. They grew till they filled the whole sky and the Watchers Eye was born.

In the light from the Watchers Eye Volti looked at the World and saw that the oceans were rough and dark and they covered everything. He brought his staff down on the water and the storms ceased and the seas became calm and clear. The ocean parted into two and the land appeared.

The land grew up to forests and the mountains rose toward the sky, but there were no people to enjoy the forest air or climb the mountains so Volti called the first Nemanoi from the ground. A cave opened in the side of the mountain and the people came forth. They looked around in wonder at the beautiful world but they could not speak and so Volti gave them words to use to tell each other what they were thinking.

Then Volti looked to the night sky and saw it empty of meaning. With his hands, he wove the stars. He placed them in constellations to guide the Nemanoi, a map in the heavens to help them navigate their world.

Volti knew that the land needed to be nurtured. And so he touched the soil with his staff, and from his touch grew the first crops. The land, once barren, flourished with the first harvests. When the Nemanoi knew that they could sustain themselves, and all the people could eat the food they grew, their culture began.

But in the deep place, there was the Varkesh a creature born of darkness that threatened to undo all that Volti had created. So Volti fought, and banished the beast beneath the mountain, keeping it locked away so it could never harm the Nemanoi people, but sometimes on stormy nights they could still hear the call of the Varkesh rise and fall with the wind.

Finally, Volti looked at all his creation, the people he had gifted with language, the land he had blessed, and the skies he had woven. He knew that the Nemanoi were ready to rise and build their own future. So Volti took his place on the Celestial Throne in the center of the Watchers Eye so he could always watch his creation and keep them safe.

And so, the Nemanoi, guided by the stars and protected by Volti’s divine wisdom, began to grow. Their world thrived, their voices filled the air, and their hearts carried the gifts of language, culture, and peace.

They lived by Volti’s ways, remembering the day he created their world and their people.

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The contents of a storybook that Adric remembers from his childhood.