Thorasia's Creation Myth

[Abe Sargent]

As I've mentioned in my own D&D Dynasties and Dungeon stuff, I created my own fantasy world, a long time ago, for setting my writings, D&D stuff, and other things. I even wrote a book I gave players who'd come to play in it, called The Planeswalker's Guide to Thorasia, which I wrote and published when I was in college, and was a not-good writer.

Anyways, I found some of the older files, and I thought it would be fun to share with you the Creation Myth of my world. Which I still like a lot, btw. Enjoy:

…and on that day, the various powers that be decided that their tedious life in eternal existence was overly boring. Thus they decided to create a challenge. A game. After deliberating on what this game would be, the gods then agreed to create a world.

And thus, Thorasia was born.

After the world of Thorasia was created the various gods would vie for control of the world. Whichever god got a supermajority of the intelligent creatures to worship them, or in homage to their sphere of influence, would win the game, and hence the power with it. They would gain all of the various divine powers, and become the Ur-God, to rule over the rest. Meanwhile the drop of power of the various deities helped to relieve their boredom as they weakened themselves in preparation for their new role.

Each of the gods in turn were chosen randomly by lot to invest the world with a part of their divine power. As the gods at this time were of equal power and without any specialization, the various gods were allayed out and each of the gods ordained an aspect of the world. As each took their turn, imbibing the world both with part of their essence as well as their inheritance, each god then received an influence over that area. Soon enough, some gods did not like what others ordained, and thus would try to curtail it and to decrease their power.

After the random order was determined, some gods began to ally and plan various strategies. Although, as their investiture began, the schemes of the gods were often unraveled as friends and allies, as well as enemies and even family would often so something unexpected.

The primal Thorasia was shaped.

The first god selected to go first was Shafina. She stepped forward, and part of her power drained out of her, into Thorasia. And she decreed that Thorasia would be ruled by various laws. Thus did Shafina shape the rest of the creation. She became the Goddess of Law and Order, and that was her sphere of influence.

The next person selected was Magister, the quiet one of the Triplets of Barastyr and Harryth. He was the quiet, unsupposing one, next to the bawdy Harryth, and the gregariously seductive Barastyr. Magister stood and intoned his gift to the world, “That there would be life, and things would live across the world.” And thus Magister became the God of Life. And his bosom brother Barastyr was next. He decreed that, “And everything that lives shall die.” And thus the God of Death was born of the same womb as Magister. And they have been rivals and foes ever sense, each rallying groups of gods that identify with their boons.

The fourth deity selected to go was Qetesh, and she was not content with mere life and its death. So she ordained that there would be beauty and love thereof. And thus she became the Goddess of Love and Beauty.

The first wedded pair of Gods was Malekbel and Gontia, and they were going next. And then Malekbel, seeing Qetesh’s introduction of beauty realized it needed to be seen. So he ordained that there would be a sun and fire to see by. And thus Malekbel was the God of Fire and the Sun. And then after Malekbel was Gontia, and while she felt similarly to Malekbel in some ways, she also felt there was a need for something else. She ordained that there would be night and a moon to rule it, and thus divided the day. And thus she became the Goddess of the Moon and the Night.

As someone who was a straight and direct person, the next god in line was Camulos and he ordained that there would be conflict, and strife. Thus he became the God of Conflict and Strife. And then Harkangi was next, and wanting to reserve Camulos’s gifts, instead gave Thorasia healing and peace. And thus she became the Goddess of Mending and Peace. Camulos’s brother, Mithris, also wanted to stymie his brother’s designs, so he ordained that there would be dutiful battle, to resolve conflicts. And thus he became the God of Duty and Battle. And after he left, with his essence joining the others, Harkangi’s eyes were opened, and she saw Mithris as more than a god of battle, but something more. And they would be husband and wife thereafter, never taking another lover.

Ravister was next, and seeing a need for something important, gave the world knowledge of magic. And thus he gained the spheres of Magic and Knowledge. Arentia was next, and she looked over the various investments in Thorasia, and felt there was a need for something to help unwind and end. So she decreed that the world would be diseased and decay. And thus she became the Goddess of those spheres.

Teshub was next, and he was of a similar mind to Arentia. But he felt she did not go far enough. So Teshub, the twin of Azeban, decreed that the world would be ruled by chaos and luck, as a direct counter to Shafina, who has begun the day.

By lot, Melqart stepped forward. He wanted to curtail Barastyr somewhat. So his edict was that the world’s dead would go to a certain place to live afterwards, and the bounds of death could be undone in undeath. And Melqart was the God of the Underworld and the Undead. Meanwhile Lonna, the child of Malekbel and Gontia joined her parents in spirit. Having been inspired by Melqart to create something for the world, she created the sky, separate from the ground, and put stars therein. And she became the Goddess of Sky and Stars.

Bathala was next and saw a need to add some levels to the society here. Having seen some of the restraints people put on life with the disease, decay, and death, she ordained that people would grow and multiply. And thus Bathala became the Goddess of Agriculture and Fertility. She ordained that people would grow. Belisama was next, and she has a simple bequeathment. That the world’s living would create and make things. And she was the Goddess of Crafts.

Bathala’s sister, Tangaroa stood and moved forward, and invested Thorasia with a part of herself. She created the seas and put waters and winds therein. And she became the Goddess of the Sea and of Water and Winds. Similarly inspired, Kothar was next, and he pushed the flat ground into unusual places, grew it into mountains, and then decorated it with rocks. And thus Kothar became the God of Rock, Mountains, and Earth.

And then the next god by lot was Baetylus, who stepped forward. No god has put as much thought into his gift as did Baetylus. He wanted to invest the world with something very powerful and seductive. Something that would dominate the world so easily that no one would notice. He smiled darkly as his power went to the world. His decree was that people would live in greed and its pursuit. And he became the God of Greed and Deceit.

Mahte stepped forward. She agreed with the basic principle that Baetylus has just put forward. So again, she decided to push to the forefront something that would be pursued, something that could not be denied, and would be insidious. Mahte’s boon was to pursue pleasure and to receive pain. And that is how both pleasure and pain entered the world of Thorasia.

Azeban, the twin of Teshub stepped forward. The other gods chose what they wanted to give Thorasia, but not Azeban. He had no choice. Born late, Azeban was smaller, weaker, and broken in the mind. Still a full god, he was often subject to the whims of his weakened state. Thus his essence drifted to the world, and it accepted it, without him ever ordering it. Before he could speak what he wanted to give Thorasia, the world flashed in acceptance of the gift. And thus did Azeban become the God of Lunacy, Madness, and Insanity.

Chasca stepped forward, and like Belisama and Bathala, she saw an opportunity to help shape the social lives of the people there. So she gave the world one of the greatest gifts that any of the gods could give. She gave Thorasia music and art. She became the Goddess of Music, Color, and Art.

Teminia was next, and she looked and saw a lack of areas that interested her. So she created the forests and put fairy creatures therein. And she became the Goddess of the Forest and Faerie. And thus the sister of Berstuk prepared the way for her younger brother. And as Berstuk stepped up, and enjoying the aspects of the fairies that were created, he pushed them into mischief and trickery. And thus he became the God of the Faerie, Mischief and Trickery.

The last of the Triplets was left and he stepped forward. Harryth had looked over and saw all that had been done and saw how many of the various gods had bequeathed different gifts, and many of which were intended to curtail previous ones. Realizing the severe need that Thorasia had, Harryth ordained that everything would be in balance. And thus he became the God of Balance. As there were just two gods left behind him, he felt secure that his own gift would not be tempered.

And he was right, as Aminon had no desire to play with balance. He had his own agenda. He stepped forward, with his countenance barely masking the seething anger at having to wait that long. He unfurled part of his godly essences to Thorasia, and then gave it anger and destruction. And this Aminon became the God of Anger and Destruction.

And then there was one deity left – Laima. She long considered her boon. She had decided long before that as the last one, she would give Thorasia what ever it had lacked and whatever people had missed giving it. Laima is the quietest, most unappealing of the gods. She’s the one you forget is there. She’s the one that doesn’t break things or get angry, is not fooling you, and she is not the one who is the life of the party. She seeks little, and gives less. But what Laima is in sincere. Genuine. True. And her self-appointed task is to find what others missed, and to give that to Thorasia.

So, after Laima considers long and hard, she realizes what it is missing. There is no measurement. No way of communicating similar things. One tribe would mean one, and the other the other. Secretly, the forces of entropy like Teshub and others have created a world of chaos, where a few laws and order rule at the top, but the rest is pure chaos. So Laima gives the world something unusual. Laima gives Thorasia units of measurement. She gives Thorasia ways to measure the passing time, distance, weight, and more. And in doing so, little unknown Laima proved that no one was as selfless as her. For how could Laima grow a sphere of control that included measuring things and consistent rules of that?

So the gods gathered around Laima, as her quiet essence was added to Thorasia. And they agreed that her sphere would be widened, but in the areas she chose. And thus Laima became the Goddess of Travelling, Time, and the Horizon.

And after Thorasia was created did the gods step away and their various gifts began to take hold.

Thus did Thorasia become.


And the gods, seeing their new spheres of power, began to really themselves. Each of the Triplets began to hold sway, and those that saw things properly ending, like Aminon, Arentia and Baetylus allied themselves with Barastyr. And those that saw the power of life and the living allied with Magister, such as Harkangi, Teminia, and Bathala. And those that either saw a balance, or did not identify with the others found their way to Harryth, such as Shafina, Ravister, Laima, and Azeban.

And thus the Triplets did each rally eight other gods around them, and created three separate alliances that would work together to push their own collective agendas, while also serving to counter the other alliances’ plans.

Order of the Gods Boons:

Shafina – Laws ordain the world
Magister – Life will exist
Barastyr – Life will die
Qetesh – There would be beauty and love thereof
Malekbel – There would be fire and the sun to see by
Gontia – There would be moon and night.
Camulos – There would be conflict and strife
Harkangi – There would be healing and peace
Mithris – There would be dutiful battle to deal with conflict
Ravister – There would be knowledge of magic.
Arentia – The world will have disease and decay
Teshub – World ruled by chaos and luck
Melqart – Created the underworld, and death can be undeath
Lonna – Created sky and put stars in them
Bathala – People would grow and multiply
Belisama – Living create and make stuff
Tangaroa – Created the sea, and put water there
Kothar – Created mountains and earth and rocks.
Baetylus – People would live in greed and its pursuit.
Mahte – That there would be both the pursuit of pleasure and pain
Azeban – Nothing
Chasca – Gave them music and art
Teminia – Created forests and put sylvan creatures there.
Berstuk – Took sylvan creatures and gave them trickery and mischief
Harryth – Everything would be in balance
Aminon – Gave the people anger and destruction
Laima – Gave Thorasia consistent measurements



The Gods of Thorasia:



Magister – God of Life, Triplet with Harryth, Barastyr
Mithris – God of Battle and Duty, Husband of Harkangi, Brother of Camulos
Harkangi – Goddess of Mending and Peace, Wife of Mithris
Tangaroa – Goddess of the Sea, Wind and Water, Sister of Bathala
Lonna – Goddess of Stars, Sky and Serenity, Daughter of Gontia and Malekbel
Chasca – Goddess of Color, Music and Art
Teminia – Goddess of Forest, the Hunt and Faerie, Sister of Berstuk
Qetesh – Goddess of Love and Beauty
Bathala - Goddess of Agriculture, Harvest and Fertility, Sister of Tangaroa


Harryth – God of Balance, Betrothed of Shafina, Triplet with Magister, Barastyr
Ravister – God of Magic and Knowledge
Shafina – Goddess of Law, and Order Betrothed of Harryth
Belisama - Goddess of Crafts
Azeban - God of Lunacy, Madness, and Insanity, Teshub’s Twin
Teshub – God of Chaos, Randomness, and Luck, Azeban’s Twin
Malekbel – God of Fire and the Sun, Husband of Gontia
Kothar – God of Earth, Rock, and Mountains
Laima – Goddess of Time, Travelling, and the Horizon

Barastyr – God of Death, Triplet with Harryth and Magister
Camulos – God of Conflict and Strife, Brother of Mithris
Mahte - Goddess of Pain and Pleasure
Aminon – God of Destruction and Anger
Arentia – Goddess of Decay and Disease
Gontia - Goddess of Night and the Moon, Wife of Malekbel
Baetylus – God of Deceit and Greed
Berstuk - God of Faerie, Trickery, and Mischief, Brother of Teminia
Melqart - God of the Underworld and Undeath

[Abe Sargent]

Ps )The world is pronounced THO-RAH-SHA, not like the words Thor and Asia pushed together. I've actually toyed with respelling it as Tho'rasia in order to make that clear.

[flere-imsaho]

Awesome!

[Abe Sargent]

Thanks!


In case anybody cares, my priests had to be followers of one of those gods, and each god has sphere-specific magic that only their followers got. For example, only a cleric of Harkangi can heal. Whenever any other priest tries to cast a heal spell, they just transfer the damage and wounds to themselves. Only the God of Life's followers can Raise Dead or Resurrect. Only teh God fo Death can cast a spell that kills (such as reverses of resurrection magic, or something like Wither Plants). Only Melqart had Animation of undead, and so forth. You get the idea. And then there was common magic that everyone got like Chant or Bless.

I also had a specialist class in each of these 28 that was more powerful, but more restrictive. My favorite was the Harkangi specialist, who was the pacifist. They were Pacifists, and gained the ability to cast any spell ever made as long as it wasn't attacking or damaging a living creature. They couldn't use any weapon, nor could they attack anything.

[Abe Sargent]

I also fleshed each out by adding a few spells to those that needed it. All in the book. So take Bathala for example. There was a 3rd level Priest spell called Fertility. Target any person or animal of child bearing age, and they have as save if not willing (most are). The next time they have sex, they will get pregnant. Simple, used for making sure animals and people have children, right? But it has Role-playing implications as well. I had a bad guy cast it on a female party member who led a party, and she was a very good character. So when she got pregnant, she retired from adventuring for a few months in the latter half of the pregnancy. Stuff like that.

Anyways, it was cool.