#rauwonnvar lore

[rauwonnvar]

Stylized map of lands of Amyr and Llehia

Map of the area where our first two stories — Llehia and Heartland — mostly take place. Rather inaccurate and not very informative as a map due to the lack of place names and map legend, but works as a blog banner and a teaser for a more complete map, and maybe helps to give some idea of the landscape.

[rauwonnvar]

Gods of Amyr and Llehia

These intros describe gods believed in across the regions Llehia & Amyr during the times of the stories Llehia and Heartland.

***************************************************

Amyr

Amyrian belief holds three major deities: the birds, Ever, and Mistdusk. (Names in the Amyrian language italicized)

BIRDS (hinungau). All birds are sacred, as they're believed to have been the very first living beings on earth, and their singing to have awakened the rest of the world. They offer guidance, visions, foresight, and access to magic. Birds are seen as an essential link between life and death. It's an extremely common belief that every person has a lifebird: a specific bird in the spirit world who watches over their soul. It is believed one only meets their lifebird at the hour of their death, when it finally shows itself to guide one's soul into the afterlife.

EVER (Istra). The god Ever has multiple aspects, which are to varying degree seen as either manifestations of the same god, or as separate but related godhoods. The god is rarely called upon by just the name "Ever", but rather by its domain-specific aspects. Its main/most widely recognised aspects are:

-> EVER-WEALD (Istranevy). Also called: the Shapeshifter. Ever-Weald may be the most prominently revered aspect of Ever. She is the patron of forests and land-dwelling animals, magic and shapeshifting, and connected with both land and water. She is most often depicted in three main forms: the wolf, the cat, and the boar (but more widely canines, felines, and cervids). The organised followers of Ever-Weald form Circles. Around year 475, the spiritual centre of Ever-Weald's following is located in Sadankieli, the capital city of Amyr proper, in the Circle of Ingvar.

-> EVER-SEA (Istramaren). Revered especially in northern Amyr, the coastal areas of Tleyanor. Ever-Sea as the aspect of Ever emerged from contact with Llehia, as the Llehian mother goddess of the sea and horses, Maare, fit well with the Amyrian Ever's connection with water, and her varying animal forms. Thus, northern Amyrians essentially see the Llehian goddess as a maritime aspect of Ever.

-> EVER-NIGHT (Istrasuhavan). In Amyrian belief, Ever-Night is thought to be the god that eventually ushers in the end of the world, an eternal night. Beasts called the "eaters" or "devourers" (~werewolves) are seen as Ever-Night's heralds of the end times. The god is met with everything from fearful, respectful reverence, to werewolf hunts in hopes of safety and postponing the end of the world.

MISTDUSK (Ulonkhamy). Also called: the rat god, the God of Secrets, the Many in the Mists, the Safekeeper. Mistdusk is an elusive god most widely revered in Athamyr, the most southern parts of Amyr up to the Tworia glacier. The god is associated with warding magic, secrets, memories, and dreams, and believed to favor manifesting in the form of rats. The city Reinhold is governed by an administrative organ called the Rat King, established as the god's representative.

***************************************************

Llehia

The coastal and steppe regions north of the sea Maare recognise and revere two creator gods, Maare and Oro, who together are seen as the source of all life. Horses are thought of as children of the two gods, taking after their likeness, while dragons are another creature seen as resembling Oro specifically.

MAARE. Mother goddess of the sea and horses. Out of the two, Maare is the head subject of Llehian everyday reverence. She is believed to reside in, or embody, the sea Maare. As the source of water, winds and the tides, both in calm and upheaval, she is seen as orchestrating the passage of seasons and maintaining the flow of life. Magic use in Llehian culture is allowed only for Maare's priestesses, and its most common form is blood magic, blood being perceived vital to life, like water. The goddess' temples are led by High Priestesses.

ORO. Father god of the earth and fire, horses and dragons. Oro is revered and feared for his power and temper, and invoking him is reserved for desperate times and dire needs. He is believed to reside in/embody the great active volcano towering over Ammat, Llehia's biggest city state. Oro is commonly depicted as a horse or a dragon, the former of which emphasises the earth as nourishing and life-sustaining, while the latter represents its unbridled, destructive force. The Llehian's calendar is build around Mt. Oro's activity, each eruption marking the start of a new era.

Other notes on Llehian belief:

-> It is highly desirable to own and bond with a horse, as it's believed they will be guiding you to afterlife after your passing.

-> The source/spirit of the werewolves is not a god to the Llehians. It is known as the "Beast Demon", both it and its spawn deemed unholy.

-> Llehians revere birds, but as spirits, not god(s).

[rauwonnvar]

Map of Amyr and surrounding realms c. 450-550 of Amyrian calendar

Map of regions where stories Llehia and Heartland take place.

[rauwonnvar]

Aight!! alright! after some very slow pondering about what to start writing about: some loreposting about gods coming soon :)

But first, just a note about place names for future ref!

We might often write about two main regions & their peoples, cultures, languages, etc. overarchingly as "Llehia"/"Llehian" and "Amyr"/"Amyrian", in which case by "Amyr", refer to the regions of Tleyanor, Amyr, and Athamyr combined, like roughly seen here:

This due to the three "Amyr regions" making up a somewhat uniform cultural area—esp. *as opposed to* Llehia across the sea, and the contrasts btwn Llehia & "Amyr" being most relevant story-wise. AND also just for yapping convenience :p

– r