Finally posting this: The story of the Ending, as told by the congregation of Irimar
AKA a story that gives a whole bunch of context for things in this world while also being wrong about a lot of it!
The story of the Ending is the foundation of our temple, and has decorated the brick entrance of every new sangrut we build. It is a telling we practice every time we walk the world, so listen closely; You may yet learn something, even if you’ve heard it before.
Four hundred plus one years before words were first scribed in stone, the creator gods made the world. Seven of them, standing together, whispered the words of creation, the words of life — and thus it was...
But the cost of their creation was high, for even as new gods awoke to a world of plenty, the gated ancient, Xiloec, uncovered what the seven creators had wrought. Humans and gods alike trembled in fear at the wrath of Xiloec, and humanity prayed and pleaded for mercy. Xiloec heard the prayers, like the screaming of a newborn child, and was not impressed.
In punishment for their deed, Xiloec sealed the creators and wrote this prophecy:
When the god of Ending awakens, they will forge 196 arrows of vengeance, and four will be sent in each direction. By their hand and by their order, the seven words of life will be burned from all living things, and the cycles will end.
Terrified of the anger of Xiloec, the new gods worked diligently to teach humans the importance of balance: Life and decay, birth and death, day and night, natural and unnatural, all were used as lessons for humanity. For an uncountable age, Xiloec was silent, and the reincarnation of the gods brought order to the world.
The peace was not to last. It was only six lifetimes ago that the god of ending and dust, the one foretold by prophecy — awoke to our world. A titan among the gods, as had not been seen in an age, he commanded a bow larger and longer than the eye could perceive.
Though they were terrified of him, the gods gathered, as they knew that the wrath of Xiloec would be more severe. The god of dust and ending requested of the four forges that they create 196 arrows of death, as the prophecy foretold. And so the Ending began.
One of the forges, Irimar, had dedicated herself to living among the people, living a simple life of service and hard work. She had seen our kindness as well as our suffering — and had developed a compassion for humanity. And so, upon hearing of her duty, the fires of righteous anger were stoked within her.
The Forge Compassionate went to where Xiloec was hidden and stole the seven words of life from the chained creator gods. With this secret knowledge, Irimar created 49 arrows of life - arrows imbued with the seven words of creation.
The creator gods, awakened by the hammering and enraged by the thievery, spoke into creation machines without life: the Farfliers — with the singular purpose of taking back the stolen words, by guiding all living things toward death.
With the craft finished, and Xiloec none the wiser, the gods gathered at the holiest site of their faiths to witness the Ending. The god of ending and dust called for the first of the four Forges to present their craft. As her sibling walked forward to present their arrows first, the Forge Compassionate, the Forge Rebellious, spoke up.
"Balance in all things. Creation and destruction, beginnings and endings, first and last. If we are to bring about the end, then let us do it together. Fire our arrows four at a time, one from each of us, that we may equally participate in the Ending."
Standing beside his bow, the god of dust and ending nodded. He sat down at the bow and made to fire, loading arrows four at a time. Every time the bow fired, death fell in three places, and life bloomed in one. And though some of the gods began to see that there was a blooming of life in the sacred directions, the god of ending and dust remained focused solely on his task of vengeance. It was not until the last four arrows were fired directly up from his bow that he looked up from where he sat, expecting destruction.
Instead, life bloomed anew where every fourth arrow had pierced the earth.
The god of dust and ending looked at those assembled, ready to set his wrath upon the four forges for their betrayal. But at that moment, the final arrow of life came falling from the sky and pierced his titan form through the eye, pinning him to the ground.
The gods perished during the Ending, with only one surviving to this day: the god of ending and dust. He is still here, still alive, his titan body a living testament to his works, and his dust producing storms that batter the holy city.
His living corpse is the ridge upon which the holy city is made: life blooming from ending, even amidst constant storms.
This is why we give praise to Irimar: she saw that the world was not yet ready for the Ending, that humans have learned and can learn to live in balance. Though the gods have awoken among us since then, we live still in fear of a new prophecy from Xiloec. We must hope we can prove worthy of protection again.
