The Mythic Histories

Birth of the Younger Gods

The world began with the four primordial beings: Nortus, Aestor, Sorta and Westen who were the first of the Anuden, the first people. These beings were ashamed to see such an black and empty world around them and so set to build a new world full of colour and vibrance. Each god worked equally in forging this new land and created their own paradise on the earth. Sorta was the god of Spring and filled the world with water and life. Westen was the god of Summer and carved trees to cover the land untouched by Sorta's great oceans, he also dug out caves and tunnels in the dirt for hidden treasures to be found. Aestor was the god of Autumn and hammered enormous mountains onto the world and sprinkled great sands onto the plains furthest from Sorta's life-giving waves. At year's end, when Aestor, Westen and Sorta had grown tired and needed rest Nortus would take over rulership of the lands and cast snow and mist across the world which rejuvenated the trees and the soil and the mountains for when Sorta took up her duties once more in the Spring.

The gods then sculpted the Sun and the Moon from parts of the world; the Sun made from the sands and trees, the Moon from the ice and the wind. Then they decided that each morning, Westen would toss the Sun from one end of the world and Aestor would wait until the Sun had passed over all the lands and catch the orb as it fell. During the night, Aestor would place the Sun in a great river where it would be carried into Sorta's ocean in the South and be picked up by Westen just before morning, when he would toss the orb again. Also, once Westen saw the Sun fall behind the great mountains which circle Aestor's lands he would toss the second orb, the Moon, and it would in turn be caught by Aestor. Unlike the Sun's journey through the waves, the Moon was carried through the North by the cold winds of Nortus and was placed in front of Westen just before the Sun disappeared behind the mountains.

The four gods were satisfied with the world and recognised Sorta as the most powerful because the waters that she commanded gave life to the trees and plants. Nortus, Aestor and Westen settled to give gifts to the great goddess and fashioned spectacles for her to enjoy. Westen began by constructing an enormous tree named Ashrtor on the edge of his lands, overlooking Sorta's sea, and every kind of fruit hung from its branches. Nortus gave Sorta a mountain of ice and snow from which the rest of the world could be seen and Aestor cut a crevasse into his most prized mountain and from it sprang a waterfall which fell directly into the great ocean. Sorta's love of the water led her to favour the gift of Aestor and so she spent her time beside the waterfall running her hands in the waters to give them the power of life.

The god Nortus became jealous of Aestor and began to contrive a plan against him. He saw that Sorta's water and power was sustaining the world and so, when Aestor and Sorta were elsewhere, Nortus crept towards the waters that connected Aestor's lands to the ocean and froze them, cutting Aestor off from Sorta's gift. Aestor grew weaker and weaker with each passing day and the gods searched for a solution. Even Nortus, who had caused Aestor's suffering, intended to reverse the effects but could not unfreeze the rivers of Aestor. As the years without the waters drew on Aestor's lands in the East became desolate and arid places, where barely any creature could survive in the climate. Aestor had crowned his lands with a ring of great mountains, the tallest of which had been the gateway between his land and Sorta's seas. The soil around the mountains was among the most fertile in all of the world but without water the ground hardened and cracked as the great drought set in. Soon enough the lands encircled by the mountains had become a broken desert and the rest of Aestor's lands were covered in sand dunes as the many plants and countless blades of grass shrivelled and disintegrated into dust.

The gods came to accept that Aestor was dying and so sought a way to ensure that his legacy would carry on. The four deities convened on the island of Sorta, which lay at the exact centre of the world, and there they created new gods to aid them in maintaining the world. First, they made Aestorannar and Seorannerr, Lord and Lady of the gods, who would watch and protect both the gods and the world in equal measure. Then came the other gods, who each took on their own role in caring for the world.

Aestorannar was god of the gods and commander of that divine troop. He governed the events of the world and kept the mortals in check, never allowing them to grow too strong. Aestorannar made it his most important duty to ensure that all beings acted in accordance to their fate and so he often wandered the lands of the mortal world in secret; hooded and cloaked.

Seorannerr was the wife of Aestorannar and queen of the gods; the daughter of the great Southern Seas, born from beneath the waves. The sea goddess watched over the seas, just as Sorta had done before her and kept the waters of the world flowing to all corners of the land and allowed life to prosper wherever the rivers went. 

There was also Weslof, the god of the earth, who watched over the trees and the plants of the world. He is the only son of Westen and took on the tasks of his father. Weslof would travel above and below the ground, sometimes crafting mountains and placing large rocks to divert rivers and sometimes he would place precious ores beneath the rock to be found by others at a later time.

There was Wyrdhild, the god of fates, who would aid the gods in all their tasks but would later divine the destinies of all mortals in the world. Wyrdhild's gift was matched by her terrible curse for as she gained knowledge of the fates of all men and gods her voice became quieter and quieter and once she completed her task she could not be heard at all. 

There was also Scordun, the god of fire and battle, who oversees each engagement in the world. He was known as the most reckless of the gods and was most likely to involve himself in the affairs of mortals when he wishes. Scordun worked his forge, deep beneath the Ashrtor and crafted weapons with which the gods could defend themselves.

Great Giorld was another, the god of honour, justice and war. He was the youngest of the gods, and brother of Scordun, however, even the oldest of the gods respected Giorld's dedication to honour when it could be easily ignored. Unlike his sibling, Giorld was always known as a wise and just god and was looked to as an adjudicator for matters of disagreements between his peers.

There wass Luni and Soni, the twin gods of the Moon and the Sun, who would guide their orbs back to Westen when they were needed. However, due to the importance of their roles, the twins would not lay eyes on each other until the end times, as one was always away while the other waited for their daily task. Soni's skin had a shining appearance where ever he went, even in places of complete blackness. However, his brother, who was forever his opposite, could dim a room which had been filled with light.

There was Influnae, god of fame and plenty, who cast her gaze over those who would become known throughout the world. She also watched over those who were in need and provided harvests and food for them. The great heroes of the world are said to be the children or descendants of Influnae and those who live happily are seen as her favoured ones.

Sorta, Aestor, Westen and Nortus were pleased with their new companions and placed them down on the earth and waited for them to awaken. Just as they had passed on portions of their gifts to their children, Aestor vanished; never to be seen again. The other Anuden immediately mourned the death of their friend and each did so in their own way.

Westen split up Aestor's mountain and scattered the parts into the great sea. These parts became islands and the wondrous nourishment of the mystic seas made them rich and fertile lands. Westen then retired to his place on the horizon where he awaits Luni and Soni each day and is told of the goings on of the world, however, he does not leave. Nortus took to the skies and scattered his force into the heavens in all directions. The clouds in the sky came from the snow and frost that Nortus spewed forth at that moment. After this, Nortus lost his colour and became a gust of wind, invisible to all but as powerful as anything else. While his power waned throughout the year, Nortus became the dominant force of nature in the Winter as the whole world turns to the domain of the ice god, snow and frost scattered everywhere; even the ocean itself is invaded by Nortus' ice. Sorta took solace in the sea, becoming one with the waters of the world. Like the others, Sorta still watched over the lands and overlooked the passage of time. Sorta became the waves and could be seen moving in this way, separate from the other gods, but content in the sea.

When the young gods awoke on the island they were overwhelmed by the beauty of the world around them and began to wander its shores and mountains, admiring the artistry which their forebears had woven. Eventually they group gathered around the magnificent tree which Westen had created, the mighty Ashrtor, and admired it from below. The gods dined on the luscious offerings which hung from the branches and grew powerful and wise and were granted indefinite life as long as they ate the precious fruits. And with the birth of the younger gods, the clan of the Anuden was complete. The elder gods Sorta, Aestor, Westen and Nortus, as well as the collection of newborn gods made up that great divine family who would govern the lands for the rest of their lifetimes.