“I do not need your love... but I will have your respect. Remember this world continues to exist only because I will it, and I tire of saving you mortals from yourselves.”
Queen of the Gods, Korith rules over her siblings and all that came after them. Her duty is to watch over and protect the mortal world, never giving into the temptation to step away and let events unfold.
Throughout history, Korith has shown many faces... but one thing that has always remained has been pride, and rage towards those that would turn against her. However, these fits of temper -and the destruction that came with it- would be followed her by her attempts to make amends to the innocent who had been impacted.
A much calmer Korith reigns now, her divine strength used only in the most desperate of situations, but history ensures that the question is always there, silently lurking in the backs of her follower’s minds: Which Goddess will emerge in their times of conflict... the wrathful monstrosity her anger creates, or the protective warrior she would become?
Throwing my tag list on here, in case y’all want to see or ask anything! (As always, please feel free to ask to be added/removed!
Happy Pride Month!! It's the last day of Pride Month for me so I had to get this done today. Here are five OC's belonging to @thewrittenpost
Top to bottom:
Scarlet (Bisexual)
Lou (Non-binary (right? Sorry if I get it wrong))
Imrasil (Asexual)
Korith (Lesbian)
Ardos (Pansexual)
I took a looooot of creative freedom with the last three, considering I don't know what they looked like.
Imrasil is the God of Knowledge and Prophecy, so I gave him unusual eyes for his 'sight'. And words all over his skin for the knowledge part. I don't know why I gave him wings, it just fit the aesthetic, I guess.
Korith is the Goddess of the Land and Skies, so her hair is the night sky and her body is the land, what with all the flowers and leaves. She was fun to draw.
Ardos is the God of Art and Beauty so I slathered him in colourful paint. The flag is also dripping paint, kind of like he painted it into existence, idk.
Also, I'm in love with Lou's Enby-lievable shirt. You could say I'm,,,enby-ous.
In our search for information regarding the acts of the Great War, spanning throughout generations, a set of journals was discovered buried on a family farm, just inside our borders. Having received them as a generous donation from the family, our scholars set to work preserving the stories within so they could endure for the future.
Changes have been made, to account for spelling and translating the older language to one more accessible to readers. There were also, regrettably, pages lost due to the journals’ lost time.
~Amelie Louring, Headmistress of the Royal Academy of Ronea
I started writing my thoughts as a way to fill the countless, empty, pointless days. Just a mindless task to keep the dark thoughts from making their way in... as they had for so many ways.
In writing them, I sorted them. Rambling at the beginning -if you’ve read this far, you know that. How my thoughts would jump from my childhood to an old man to a random memory that doesn’t connect at all. But things felt... cleaner, putting them on paper.
And in writing, I found myself a new purpose. Not a grand one; I had no intention of sharing my stories to the masses. But it was my chance, my purpose, to put myself on the page. Not the person the world would see, but the person I truly was. The truth is, the majority of what the world knows about me -about the people I served with- is just... off. Not wrong, but also not true. Watered down, a pretty picture that just barely touches reality.
I am not a learned man. I do not have the words to correct those on the street who see heroes and monsters, and I don’t have the strength to do so anymore. I can’t make speeches, or sing a tale to portray what we went through. This is all I can do, and pray that whoever reads this -if anyone does- takes something away from it.
I have already spoken of my actions during the Great War. How much pain and horror we -all sides- caused in the name of “honor”, serving masters who only cared for their own power. I have made excuses in the past, my ignorance and surety that we were doing right... bringing justice and punishment where it belonged, that we would have prosperity in this unified world we imagined.
I was wrong. And I will not -can not- go into it again. Once was more than enough, and I can’t bear to remember all those who were lost again.
But I have never spoken of the end. The day it all changed. Not to my family, my poor sister and nephews who took me in and bear with an old man’s presence. Not to singers who want new tales to sing, not to any living soul. Not even on paper have I documented that day. I have done everything I could to forget... and I have failed. But I was-
[Pages lost; cause unknown]
-hero. Who could have believed him? He was no warrior no fighter. He fled from conflict, hid from battle and somehow expected respect from those who risked everything? He thought a war spanning generations would end because he claimed it was the goddess’ will?
Even now, it is hard to believe Korith would have chosen him. But that is the way of it, isn’t it? The goddess chooses those who are needed... and the world didn’t need another destroyer.
It needed someone of faith. Something with the strength to grow and rebuild, to break down the walls we built. The world needed him.
And it was kings who tore him down. Who had him torn apart, as an example to those who would leave to the hero’s side, to choose the goddess over their expectations.
I was not involved. I wasn’t. The only thing I saw was anger and blood, but those were not new sights to any of us. Our innocence had been lost long ago. We knew, of course we did, what would be done when the king’s loyal dogs, his famed torturers entered the tent.
But to this day, I will swear I never heard him break. Not a single scream, although it must have been horrible; other confessions exist that would admit the same thing.
I thought it made him a fool then. Why not give them what they want? You won’t be given your life, but at the very least it would give you release. End the horror, and find peace in a quick death instead of the slow.
Now I envy him. My faith, renewed by that day, has never been and never will be as strong. His will, unbroken to the end, is one to strive for... one I can never forget. He carried a belief that if he held on, the world could only be better, even if he weren’t there to see it.
And he had hope, something the rest of us had forgotten. Hope that he shared willingly to the world, and that lives on in every person that has come since. In every survivor, every birth, every change... parts of his vision for the world. If only-
[Words illegible due to water damage]
-a light so blinding, you couldn’t see the person standing next to you? A piercing light that reached the depths of your soul, exposing and burning the dark stains you never wanted anyone to see? To know that all your monsters were there for all to see, and to know all the demons those around you carried?
Would you understand the weight it puts on someone, to bring them all with you through a long life? To bear the weight off all the sins that were exposed in that light?
It scares me, how easily it seems to be ignored. How easy it would have been for me to push it aside, to never mention it. To pretend that memory had failed this old man, to dismiss it all as an old man grasping for some reason behind it all.
I was never a pious man before that day. But having seen the goddess, I know how true it all is. Perhaps not faith, like her hero and so many others have, but an undeniable knowledge of what lies beyond. In her light, I knew what waited for all of us in the dark. Maybe I’ll even welcome it, because there I can hide. Shadows welcome shadows, it is said, but the light... nothing has scared me more than that.
But now I must move on, before my courage fails me. I must speak of the goddess, before I run out of time.
I’m sure there is little I can say that hasn’t already been said. But nothing you’ve heard in the songs can compare... this won’t compare, but at least it will be my truth.
The light faded eventually, just enough for us to see she was there. Like every story we had ever been told, a living storm in the shape no different than a mortal woman... and although all was still like the dead, I could feel an uncontrollable force in the air. There was no doubt: to move was to be struck down. To escape the penetrating light, you had to be swallowed by infinite darkness.
And Korith did not care for our fates either way.
Disdain is too strong of a word. Indifference doesn’t quite fit. I don’t know the word that would match what her gaze felt like... anger over her hero’s fate, but also... nothing. She cared for us soldiers in the way that we cared for rates in our food, or the bugs under our feet.
She could destroy us, and then forget we ever existed. Maybe that’s the fate we deserved, a punishment the world could never pretend away.
Instead, she demanded peace. If we mortals could not be trusted to rule ourselves without destruction, then she would enforce this “truce”... one way or another.
And she would prove it.
I can’t tell you how many more died in those next moments. But protests died before they could finish being voiced; bolts of light turned them to ash before the first words came out. All around the field, regardless of home or rank, they were just... gone, in a blinding hot flash. And in the blowing ash, beasts from legend flew, crystal reflecting their queen’s attacks as a warning to the others. Every side of the war lost, humbled under power we had believed to be legend.
You’ve likely heard of the destruction, in stories or songs. It’s easier to handle that way, prettier and easier to accept. But what lives in my mind? I wish it were the way the songs tell it; perhaps the regrets would have died if it were.
But I remember the suffocating pressure in the air. I remember her terrible beauty, and the painful grace of her destruction... bolts of lightning dancing under her skin to explode in the skies. Not one song can accurately portray how the light we take for granted as good can be as monstrous and terrifying and cruel as the dark.
I would have welcomed the shadows then... as I will shortly. Yes, I can feel my time is coming, that soon I will rejoin my comrades in Thearial’s realm.
The priests say that all souls can be redeemed, if they truly wish it. And I wish I could believe that. How could we be worthy of the peace that would come with it? How could I be worthy of it?
See, when we saw our own sins -and the sins of the others- it became a curse. A curse that made it clear how small and broken and how unfixable she saw us. And a curse to make us see how dark and shattered the world was, not just by our own actions but of everyone else’s, and those of the past. We had been judged, and we were not worthy of peace... it was granted only for the sakes of those who had already been lost.
Many people could not bear it. For too long, in our ‘era of peace’, I heard word of deaths happening one after another. Of people who took their own lives, for their own reasons; I can’t claim to know the regrets and thoughts they carried. But for too long, I wondered if I would also join them. I considered it, but at the end of the day... something always stopped my hand. I would die eventually, but I could not find it in myself to take it into my own hands.
I don’t know why I felt the need to admit that, to admit that while I would welcome Death as a friend, I would never seek him out. Why setting the truth of all my thoughts on paper is so important. It just... was.
I am tired now; I grow tired quickly these days. So I will end this now, in a similar place to where I first started my writing.
I am an old man, heavy with fear and secrets and lies and regrets. I have been a son, a solder, a monster and a coward. In my early years, I followed the world into chaos and let it consume me; in later years, I tried to be a better man, to teach those who pick up our legacies to be better than all who came before.
But at the end of it all, I am merely a man who will accept the darkness coming at last. Who will welcome it with open arms and accept the judgement coming, no matter what.
But I hold a prayer, for you reading this and the world to come. A prayer that you can stand proudly in the light when your day comes, and with Korith’s enforced peace comes to an end... I hope you have learned from our cruelty to stand together, and live in harmony.
When I embark on my final journey, I wish you -the future- all the strength I have left to give.
Best wishes. And may all the blessings of the gods be with you.
[Final Note: The following scrawl was found, a scrap of paper inserted into the back of the final journal. Written in a language thought dead, we at first believed it to be a piece from another’s work. However, handwriting samples have proved it to be the author of the journals, and as such, it was included to keep as complete of a collection as possible.
From darkness to light and returning to shadows, against the terror of this world and the next... hold fast to all the good you will bring. Stand proud with others to banish the monsters and greatness will follow.
They’ll eventually get a name, but I wanted to get some information about them out before Korith’s Month ends! (I’ll be better prepared for Thearial, I promise, just not with names). I’ll throw this under a Read More to keep things small!
The majority of these proud creatures remain separated by the mortal people, either by remaining by Korith’s side, or by making their homes high away in places the mortals cannot reach. As a result, many stories related to them are old, possibly exaggerated, and distorted by time.
Descriptions of the vast majority that remain in Korith’s presence are overwhelmingly similar; they tell of giant winged creatures that rule the skies, claws long as a man’s forearm and fangs to match. These beasts are powerful, indestructible even without the protection the goddess provides them; the sharpest swords would not pierce the crystal they seem to be, and even magic fails to leave a lasting mark. They hide in the clouds, following -or even guiding- the storms that so often tested the mortal world and commanding the lightning to strike where they will. Some stories even claim they are intelligent, speaking to mortals with the authority of the goddess who governs them.
And every story admits that they are all the army Korith could ever need, forever watching from above and ready to send the world to judgement beyond at a moment’s notice. To note, they share their mistress’ power over the storms; in anger, it is said they can send the winds to tear the world to pieces, rain to drown it, and lightning to set it aflame, with roars that could make the earth shake. It is unclear how much of this is an exaggeration, poetry made for a story, and how much of this could possibly be true. (Although perhaps it is better not to know in this case, and aim to not attract their anger).
However, there are exceptions… ancient stories of these crystal creatures making their home among mortals, taking them under their own mighty protection. These stories are more conflicted, their place as the “truth” debatable and even denied.
These exceptions take a different form; still crystal, still unbreakable and powerful, but different. It’s said that they take the form of an animal, their growth defined by the soul of the mortal who shares their bond… and the mortal, in turn, gains strength and abilities beyond human capacity. Ancient heroes are said to have a crystal companion, symbols of their right to fight and rule on the goddess’ behalf; it is theorized that these beasts were added into their stories later, to legitimize their power and to make it apparent in stories which goddess had chosen them as champion.
The last mention of these creatures -bonded to mortals or to Korith- was near a thousand years ago, when the Great War was put to an end. It was not the most flattering or kind impression to leave on; they flew over the battlefield, reflecting an already terrible scene on those alive and striking down those who would dare to resist their mistress. It was -by many accounts- a terrifying sight; beautiful beasts being corrupted and enhanced by the destruction left in their wake, impossible to stop or to look away from.
These creatures are memorialized, in all forms of art. However, it is in making statues where their glory is immortalized by mortals. Major temples to Korith have at least one statue of their truest form (the majority form) while castles and noble homes may boast smaller statues of animals that relate to their history or families. Artists who can make their likeness are respected, although they are not in high demand; many of these creations are passed down through the years and new ones are not often required.
Ooooh you’ve mentionsd lovers again. How often does Korith have one? And what does she look for in a lover?
Korith doesn't have many lovers; part of it is that she's too busy keeping the world in one piece, the other is that her urge for companionship is always fighting with her desire for privacy and the latter normally wins. She also doesn't normally look, so shes had way less lovers than most of her siblings.
She's admittedly a little shallow, so Korith likes a pretty face to go with the brains she looks for. Her standards are a little high; she looks for the gentleness of her sister Islyn, Imrasil's desire for knowledge, Eiris' protectiveness.... Korith looks for things that remind her of her siblings. The women who attract her attention typically don't live up to those expectations fully, but they do tend to be extraordinary in one of those aspects!
Because Korith finds different parts of her siblings in each lover, they're never very similar, and she has the most varied group of mortal lovers among the deities!
Happy Storyteller Saturday! What would happen if Korith was permanently transformed into a human?
Ooh, this is fun! Okay, so it depends on a couple things, so I’ll split them up!
If her previous decrees stopped working:
Korith made it very clear when she stopped the Great War, that if they went back to fighting, she’d wipe them out. However, if her power also died off and it became known that they could without fear? Yikes! There have been mortals in power have been counting the years, waiting for their chance to conquer/expand/take revenge, and they wouldn’t wait if that time came earlier than expected. Lots of pain, lots of death, possibly a rise of champions from her siblings to stop it... or they just wipe out everyone else. Depends on who takes over, right? Speaking of...
Who takes over Korith’s job?:
Imrasil, as in the beginning, would be the likely choice. If he took over, things might run smoothly, and he’d get the others to help make sure the mortal world doesn’t destroy itself. However, he won’t take it; he would pass it off to another sibling. Unlike before, this possibility would have been so low he wouldn’t have been prepared to name Korith’s heir, so in the time he’s digging through every possible future to determine the best choice, there would be in-fighting among the deities. The unrest caused by this in the mortal world would create chaos, adding onto the mortal’s decisions as well.
When she dies her mortal death?:
Thearial takes her in, and then while she’s making his home uncomfortable for both of them, try to figure out a way to get her back to normal... and out of his realm. Korith being there means everyone is visiting, and he wants it over with.
However! If the magic fruit works:
For lack of better term, because it doesn’t have a name. Islyn’s gardens have a special tree, and the fruits off it grant immortality to the living. It’s supposed to be used very rarely, and even most of the major deities rarely find occasion to grant a mortal one of the fruits. (Islyn is the exception; she’ll give it to a stray dog she’s taken a liking to, and that’s the end of that.) If it works on Korith in her human state, then great! They’ll try to use it to restore her to godly status; if her powers don’t return, well... at least she’s there for appearances (what mortal would really know the difference?) and they have plenty of time to figure out how to unlock them!
If her decrees work AND she’ll be restored after her human life?:
Better believe that she’s going to go live a life. Responsibility what? Duty who? If things are being taken care of, she’s taking a vacation! She’ll probably need a bit of help at first, not being used to mortal things (money, need for food, etc) but Korith would get by, with a little help from her siblings. She probably gets lots of visits from Arione (who is always trying to set her up with random women), Yaldir (who pays and expects to be paid back when Korith returns to normal), and Islyn (who always has gifts of food/clothing/pretty decorations)!
It’s storyteller Saturday! Can you tell me more about Korith’s favorite sibling? Or maybe a memorable lover she’s had?
Absolutely!
So Korith’s favorite sibling is Imrasil; he’s the oldest of all the deities (not including their parents) and the seer. He’s a bit like Acheflow? He hides out in his library, rarely (if ever) leaves, and keeps himself a little distant from just about everyone and everything. However, unlike Acheflow, he doesn’t mind if people are around (as evidenced by all the scholars hanging around who would die of joy if they weren’t technically already dead). Imrasil doesn’t talk much, but that’s because he has a lot of other stuff on his mind; if he’s not focused on one time and one reality, Imrasil sees every possible future for every possible choice. Korith does her best to ground him when she visits, making herself a focus instead of him gazing off into some future that may or may not happen.
As for lovers, let’s talk about the one who reminded her of Imrasil! She was a smart woman, who wasn’t able to study like she wanted because of family reasons. She just horded books and devoured stories above all else to make up for it, and certainly appreciated having someone new to tell her things. It was also one of the fastest built relationships; she knew what she wanted, and at the moment, Korith was it.
Unlike Imrasil though, the mortal woman (who has no name in my head yet) was reckless and wild and all about experiencing things. Reading wasn’t enough; how was she supposed to learn and believe without seeing/feeling it for herself? So Korith got a crash course into leaping into the unknown and living on the wild side, and it was great... until it wasn’t. The woman had different responsibilities and Korith had her own, and while they left each other pretty amicably, it never quite felt like a clean break. It was the closest Korith ever felt towards full-on love with a capital “L” for a human, and she still thinks about her every once in a while. (No meet-ups though. Korith, at her core, is too unsure of herself to see if it was real, so she’s never tried although she’s thought about it sometimes)
It's still Korith's month so can you tell me more about her heroes? Was there a special one or a special task for one?
I absolutely can! I don’t have much actually plotted out with her heroes, but I am more than happy to talk about what I have (which helps me make up more!)
Korith generally only chooses heroes when the world (and not specific siblings) are in danger of being destroyed. There have been occasions where Imrasil warns her that trouble is coming, so she can choose a baby; this gives the child time to learn how to use the divine gifts Korith gives them, and time to train before the bad stuff comes. I used to think she’d choose people from her bloodline, but that changed since Korith is a lesbian, so now she chooses based mostly on merit (when they’re adults).
Early kingdoms were created by her heroes, who went on to rule and start dynasties based on her approval. So those are pretty special, since they’re claiming a divine right to rule!
I suppose her last hero would be a good specific one to mention, although it doesn’t end well for him? Unlike her other heroes, he wasn’t a warrior; he was however, good with words and wanted to stop the violence without causing more. A fine idea, during the Great War, and it actually looked like it was going to work for a while! Unfortunately, before the final battle, he was assassinated while trying to negotiate a truce and things went down from there. It made Korith mad enough that she actually went down to settle things herself, and well... she hasn’t chosen any heroes since.
