#WORLD52 WEEK 7 SUBMISSION:
Week 7 of #WORLD52 is nearly over, yet there's just enough time left for more lore from my my latest project: the PRIMAL MONSTER TAMING FANTASY TTRPG setting of-
(SUMMONER: THE WILD HUNT is still in developement, but look for us to start airing the actualplay and dropping a demo packet sometime in MAY 2025!)
Our tale continues, as Oᒪᗩᑎ forged a new covenant, and in doing so bound the Spirits Divine, the children of it's children, with a DIVINE MANDATE, decreeing them to hunt and jail the Spirits of Will. Let's continue the story!
-------------------------LORE BEYOND HERE-------------------------
Orah, the Spirits of Will were set upon by those they had once abused. Oᒪᗩᑎ was as good as it's word, and with it's Divine Mandate over the Spirits Divine, it unleashed a culling of mortals the like of which had never been seen, and has not been seen since. The Spirits Divine, who once shaped the world to suit the needs of their cousins, now remade it's every measure into their bane.
Sepuan Spirits shattered our towers and walls, shattering every stone and casting the works of mortal spirits to ruin. Valleys and mountains were made treacherous with landslides and jagged stones, and fields that once effortlessly bore grains and fruit were soured, their crops sickly and foul. And so, Spirits of Will learned of illness and of the pain of being crushed.
Helan Spirits unleashed the wildest of rains and floods. Roads, bridges, entire towns were swept away in torrents of killing water. River currents became savage rapids, and ocean waves swelled and frothed with bloodlust, shattering canoes and boats upon jagged blades of ice. And so, Spirits of Will learned of drowning and freezing.
Arden Spirits set forests ablaze with their rage, killing livestock, hunter and wildlife alike. They made torch oil spit and hiss, and many homes burned with their occupants inside them. They made the light of midday oppressive, and their hatred made days so hot that no water could sate the thirst of travelers. And so, Spirits of Will learned of burning, and of the suffering of heat and thirst.
Venan Spirits howled across the skies, bringing the winds of trade to the earth in great gales and hurricanes. Towers and cities were blown away as tornadoes ripped the homes of mortals from foundations, and blew them across the fields, or dashed them across the rocks. They danced and spun and sang their electric song of reckoning from the heavens. And so, Spirits of Will learned of the terror of lightning and thunder, and to fear the howling of winds.
As we fled our ruined cities and our enraged cousins, Oᒪᗩᑎ, the great Godtree, wailed in sorrow, for though it knew it must happen, the suffering of the Spirits of Will made it quake in horror and despair.
And so Oᒪᗩᑎ reached out it's branches, and said unto us,
I AM Oᒪᗩᑎ AND MY CHILDREN GAVE YOU LIFE.
OH SPIRITS OF WILL, I HEAR YOUR PLEAS.
AND THOUGH YOU HAVE BROKEN MY COVENANT,
I GIVE YOU HOPE.
THOUGH I TWIST MY BRANCHES FOR YOU NO MORE,
I LEAVE TO YOU ONE LAST GIFT FROM MY CHILDREN,
YOUR MAKERS.
WHILE YOU SHALL KNOW NO PEACE IN THE WILD,
AND YOUR ARROGANCE HAS MADE THE WORLD YOUR ENEMY,
I SHALL LEAVE SACRED PLACES FOR YOU.
IN PLACES WHERE TWO OF MY FIRSTBORN PLAYED TOGETHER,
YOU MAY FIND PEACE.
THESE GLADES ARE THEIR LAST GIFT TO YOU,
BUT YOU MUST KEEP THEM,
AND MAINTAIN THEIR BALANCE.
FOR WHAT IS GIVEN MAY FALL,
AND THE SPIRITS DIVINE STAND IN JUDGEMENT OVER YOU.
WHEN THE RAGE OF YOUR COUSINS ABATES,
ORAH, SO SHALL MINE.
THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH YOU.
Such was Oᒪᗩᑎ's Will, and thus is was.
Spirits of Will flocked to Glades, and Spirits Divine served as our jailors. Many more Spirits of Will were slain looking for a Glade to call home, and as ages passed, new glades were found and other glades fell. The hearts of Spirits of Will hardened to their captors, and they sharpened blades and lined their glades with spears and arrows, to better slay their cousins. The Spirits Divine grew more savage and monstrous, their Divine Mandate of their judgement making them into forms of ravenous and terrible beasts.
But, ORAH, what has fallen may yet rise.
So it was, upon a day unrecorded, a Shepard tending their herd on the edge of a glade saw a Divine Spirit snatch a calf and flee into the forest. The shepard, young and brash, chased after the spirit, a spear in their hand. The guards of the glade, swift to vengeance and anger, grabbed their spears, and with bows shot arrows at the Spirit as it fled.
They chased it all day as it tore through the glade, shattering carts and tearing up paths as it was chased through the village. As the sun set, at the edge of the glade, the guards lost sight of their quarry, and returned to the glade, their rage spent. But the Shepard would not give up, and they pressed to the edge of the trees. And there, in a clearing in the night, they found the Divine Spirit, heaving in pain.
It was as a wolf, but massive, and mighty, and clad in a shell-coat of stone, with a blade of sharpened steel jutting from it's brow and teeth like daggers. From it's side was a spear, sunk deep in a chink of it's armor, weeping blood. At it's paws were it's cubs, gnawing on the dead calf, half starved.
The Shepard, seeing so majestic a creature as this wounded, felt their heart soften. They dropped their spear and fell to their knees.
They said,
Oh cousin-of-mine,
your pain is my pain,
and I regret these ends fate has given us.
You, to that spear in your side,
and I, to death by your fangs and claws and horn of steel.
I cannot undo what is done,
but I may yet mend the harm.
Please, before I die,
let me free you of the spear in your side,
that one of us may see tomorrow,
and your cubs may know their mother.
The Spirit said nothing, for it's pain was as great as it's ire, and it took all to not slay the Shepard where they stood. It lowered it's head, ready to snatch the shepard's head from their body. Yet, the Shepard stepped forwards, and with a great heave, they pulled the spear from the Spirit's side. When they were done, they knelt down, weeping with sorrow and relief, and said,
I am ready, cousin-of-mine.
For though I am afraid of what comes next,
glad am I that I did something good with my life before it ends.
All I ask is you drag my body into the deepest forest,
for my mother loves me, and I do not wish her to see my end.
The Spirit said nothing, for it was stunned. It had surely thought the Shepard would flee, yet here they were, head bowed, ready to die, all to free the spirit of a spear that surely would have killed it. It slowly rose, and rested it's muzzle upon the Shepard's brow. And it spoke,
Cousin-of-mine, though it is the way of things,
I shall not claim your life.
For you have shown me kindness at great cost.
And what balance would I bring to deprive a mother of her child,
when that child had just given my children their mother back?
Orah,
Divine Mandate compels me,
but I will break it, and forge a new bond to you.
For in your heart I see Our Maker's Will,
as you see in my form Our Maker's Power.
So I shall gift you my name,
oh Hunter Mine,
and you shall gift me yours.
And my Divine Power shall be yours to wield,
if only you grant me the Shade your Will to rest in.
And so it was that the first Summoner was born. And in the light of day, Oᒪᗩᑎ smiled. For this new Covenant pleased the Godtree.
And so it was, and so it shall ever be, that where Spirits of Will bare their hearts to Spirits Divine, both may find peace within one another, and the Secondborn of Oᒪᗩᑎ may see their hopes fulfilled.
Orah.
-------------------------LORE END HERE-------------------------
Thanks for joining me in this week's #WORLD52!
I'll be back this Saturday for WEEK 8, my Voyagers!
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