#eltya lore

[cherrybombfangirlwrites]

Undral ~ The Youngest, the King of the Under

it's been a hit minute since I’ve done this but it's fine- anyways I think for WBW for the next bit i'll talk about each kingdom specifically. but that may not happen for a while because school is keeping me busy, we'll see.

Undral is the only god that actually makes an appearance in Fractured Stars Falling, in the seventh book Escape from the Under, as the main antagonist. Half of the main cast is trapped in the Under (Eltyan underworld and afterlife), and trying to escape his clutches.

Undral is the youngest of Mother Hallya’s children. He is the God of the Dead and King of the Under- where all mortal souls go when they leave the living world. He is the most violent and quick to anger out of his siblings. Even in his early days of godhood, Undral disliked the job he was assigned to do, given the powers he was born with. He saw and still sees mortals as beings that do nothing but complain and waste their time fighting with each other- so being assigned to take care of their souls when they die was the last thing he wanted to do.

He’s the most disliked out of the gods, but most feared by mortals. Because everyone is so afraid of him, there are very fear myths about him- all of which tell of the horrifying things he has done and his violence.

The myth that is most told about him actually centers on the mortal brother and sister, who were two of the first kings of Eltya. The brother and sister didn’t want to live without each other, so they used the most powerful magic they could find to cheat death and add a hundred years to their lives. After the time they should’ve died had passed, Undral sent his demons to warn them that no one could cheat death and they would die one day. When the hundred years had passed and the siblings died, they escaped the underworld, further angering Undral. He ravaged the land looking for these two kings, bring terror to the living world.

Mother Hallya stopped her son’s actions, chastised him for going to extremes and punishing innocent mortals, and when the two kings died one final time, they went to the underworld like everyone else.

Undral is the main reason everyone fears death so much in Eltya, and there is so much culture and rituals surrounding death to ensure that it’s painless as possible and that people live happy and full lives. He is always depicted wearing dark robes made of dead things, a tall black crown of spikes, ashy gray skin, and a voice that sounds like tortured mortal souls.

Happy WBW!!!

[cherrybombfangirlwrites]

Dragia ~ The Second Youngest

Back again for WBW! Here is one of the last two gods in Eltya I have to talk about, next week we're doing the one we actually see and one of the big antagonists in the last three books :)

Dragia is the second youngest of the gods that Mother Hallya created. They are a gender neutral diety, and god and goddess are both used for them interchangeably. They are arguably the most powerful out of all their siblings as the goddess of magic. They possess all of the knowledge of and power in magic possible, and use it very often in myths.

The most popular myth about them is how they were gifted events in the sky that make their magic stronger.

After Hallya finished creating the world and her children, she was exhausted. Dragia was a young god then, and their powers were just starting to bud, not yet very powerful. Hallya rested for a long time while her children cared for the mortals and developed their powers and abilities. Dragia learned everything possible about magic, but their magical power was still very weak.

Then a huge, awful monster made of darkness and emptiness blocked out the sun, moon and stars in the sky for three days. The darkness wrecked havoc on the mortal world, as their fire was not enough to banish the darkness. While their siblings did what they could to help the mortals, and Hallya was still resting, Dragia took it upon themself to fix the problem.

Their powers were not very strong yet, but they knew much, and sought the help of the sun, moon and stars. They gave the sun, moon, and stars each a corner of a net- woven with magic and starlight behind the monster. Then they went to talk to the monster, who reached across the whole sky, too big for the net to catch, and tricked the monster into making itself a little smaller- small enough for the net to catch. Then the sun, moon, and stars all dropped the net and caught the monster.

By this time, Hallya had recovered, and Dragia brought her the captured monster of darkness. Hallya was so proud and thankful to Dragia for saving Eltya she gave them a gift- whenever the sky danced or did strange and wonderful things, it would make Dragia's magical power stronger. The sun, moon, and stars all agreed, and the stars streaked across the sky, making Dragia's magic grow. Then Dragia was powerful enough to bring the magic to mortals, and their power grew as well as the stars streaked across the sky in a shower.

It is for this reason that many magic spells are more powerful during eclipses, blood moons and blue moons, and other events in the sky. They are the one that magic users pray to during anything magic related, and the reason that being knowledgeable about magic and using it wisely is just as important as having magical power.

Happy WBW!

[cherrybombfangirlwrites]

Gregra and Jhar - The Twins

It's worldbuilding wednesday and I'm back with more dieties from my fantasy world! This time we're doing two because the twins are a package deal and there's hardly anything on them individually.

Gregra is the god of Farming and Trade. His twin brother, Jhar, is the god of Peace, Nature, and Tranquility. Farmers are most profitable and do the best during peaceful times, so the two gods are often associated together in earliest depictions. Out of all the gods, these two brothers are the most neutral and peaceful in everything.

As these are the gods that cause the least trouble and refuse to get involved, there are very few myths about them (most myths are about the gods getting into squabbles with each other until Mother breaks it up). The most popular myth about them tells of how they brought gifts to the world. When Mother Hallya created the world, and then the twins after their older siblings, this was the first thing they did.

Once Eltya and the skies were existent, Gregra and Jhar spent eight days bringing gifts down to the mortal world. Every night, they brought one gift. First they brought fire. On the second night they brought hunting tools and weapons to the humans, then showed them how to hunt beasts. The third night they brought seeds and tools for farming. The fourth night they showed mortals how to craft stone and wood into dwellings. The fifth night they brought music to the mortals. The sixth they brought beautiful cloth and showed the mortals how to make beautiful clothing. The seventh night they helped the humans organize the system on how they operate and govern themselves, including crowning the first kings. On the eighth and final night, they brought down magic to the humans and taught them how to use it.

There's not much on them in recorded history and very few myths about them, but they are highly respected and worshiped, especially by farmers, merchants, fisherman, miners, metalworkers, and others who's jobs are directly affected by war. Many farmers have small shrines to the two gods in their fields, barns, or houses, and regularly make sacrifices from their livestock and crops to Gregra and Jhar.

[cherrybombfangirlwrites]

Hi! Happy WBW!

What are some more local stories or legends in your world that are common knowledge in one area but outsiders might not know about? What are some widespread stories with wildly different local variations?

Happy WBW! Ok so we have:

Local Legends

In Dinvirty, there's a legends about one of the first kings of the kingdom, who was supposedly a son of Keyon himself. The legend is mainly about how he unlocked the secret to armor and made the kingdom powerful. In the original legend, the king was a lot like the true Keyon- peaceful but willing to fight when necessary. Overtime, Dinvirtians have told the story differently and differently each time until nowadays the king is a bloodthirsty warlord who conquered or destroyed all in his path. Legend has it his tomb is somewhere deep in the mountains, and his remains are there, his terrible sword still in his hand.

In Dryklan, there's a legend of a demigod whose spirit lives deep in the mines. The demigod is a child of Dragia and a mortal, and was sent to kill a whole hoard of monsters in the mountain so humans could mine there. The demigod was successful, but died from his injuries, or so the story goes. Legend has it his spirit still haunts the mines and protects the miners.

In the area that used to be Farkle, there's legends about some kind of monster or fire demon that lives in the abandoned castle. The most common names for it are the Wildfire and the Fire Witch. Legend has it it's dormant (unless someone disturbs it), and will stay that way because it was cursed by another witch to never leave, and can only hurt those that trespass on the castle grounds. (of course we all find out the real story)

Widespread Legends (with wildly different versions)

There's Undral's mountain, one of the few places in all of Eltya where the barrier between the underworld and the living world is thin enough that it's possible to access the underworld from there. Legend has it that in the last days Undral and his army will enter the mortal world from there to bring an end to everything. The only thing people from different regions can't agree on is how it works, and how this came to be.

No one is really sure how the two young witches defeated the Witch Queen in the war, but legend has it they used an all powerful amulet that can cancel out any magic, and to keep the power out of the wrong hands, the two young witches split the amulet into three pieces and hid them throughout Eltya. People from different regions can't agree on how the young witches exactly did it, and where they may have hid the pieces.

Yes these two legends become relevant later ;)

Thanks for the ask @wearfinethingsalltoowell !