Before the world, there was the Muther. And before her was a universe of dead stars and wilting life, as the cycle came to the end to begin anew. From the debris she clustered together remnants of the old worlds, until it was a sphere of rock and fire. The ashes cooled the flames until it was barren stone. From her breasts poured the sap of life and created soil. She plucked from her great branches the seedlings of life and shot them into the dirt. As they descended into the ground, the seedlings' roots grew and erected from the surface trees, grass, bushels, and flowers. In her delight of all the beauty, Muther weeped, letting her tears of joy create the rivers, lakes, and sea. Gazing upon her glorious world she wished to create living beings who would relish the blessings created.
From the nourished soil, the running waters, the seedlings of her branches, and the barks of trees she created the First People. Enchanted, She watched as generations sprouted from generations, blessing families with an abundance of crop to grow, land to to be buried beneath, and creatures to dance and hunt with.
Over time, Muther began to envy her creations where she gazed upon the people she could not reach, nor did they know of her existence. She yearned to be wanted. To ease this turmoil she reached within her chest where the flame of jealousy was and birthed her first child; a God of irascible nature. To accompany this rampant God, Muther catched a star in the sky, and from the sap of her breast she fed the star until it breathed life. For the third God, she took the horn of a bull and made a chalice. With the chalice she filled it with her tears, and within it the third child was born.
The three relished in each other's company. Muther took delight in them and gave all her attention to them.
As a result of this, her attention for the people dimmed. Without her blessings, it would be harder to guarantee successful harvests. It would be harder to determine the danger of the sea's tides. Where life had once been filled with abundance turned to scarcity. The residents of this world became cold and untrustworthy towards another. Families parted and villages scattered across the continent, unwelcoming to the stranger.
It was Muther’s youngest child that would notice first. In their curiosity, they approached Muther and requested that they descend to help restore the world to the glory it once knew. She would make the child God promise to spread word of her blessings and mystical power, before she sent her youngest to the mortal plane.
Along the shore of West by the village named Sadhoras, the God’s body washed onto shore. Found presenting as a man, the God was trapped in a net of his own dark curls. He would be brought to the village where he was given food and warmth. Though the villagers of Sadhoras were hospitable, they were wary of this stranger. Unlike them, the God was thin and lanky, standing taller than the residents around him. He would rarely speak, often gazing off into the distance. Regardless, he was welcomed by the villagers to live and eat amongst them. He called himself Dhuran. He would not reveal his identity. Instead Dhuran worked amongst them as if he were mortal. His task was to be a Shibaru; the one who herds the livestock and watches over them as they feed. This he was indeed content with, as day by day he traveled farther to the inland with the herd, beyond the patches of grass through the comforting shade of large trees to nap beneath, or perhaps eat.
The villagers of Sadhoras did not mind his wandering as he returned the livestock safe with full bellies. Once he returned to the village leading a one horned bull with a neck rope made of his hair. It would never raise its head, and has since walked alongside Dhuran in slow swaying motions. In the evenings, the two would walk cyclically around Sadhoras with nothing but the light of a torch flame to guide their way.
One evening, after a feast celebrating the abundance of food that had been gathered and the village had begun to settle, a woman was chased to the darkest ends of Sadhoras. In terror, her clothes tugged and torn; she wailed hopelessly as two men pursued her lustfully. The three stumbled upon Dhuran, and, with the woman standing beside the bull, Dhuran lifted the head of the bull from the rope placed along the bull’s neck. Upon requesting the men to gaze into its eyes, all horror and fear filled their bodies with a poisonous turmoil that aged their bodies until they were ash. Dhuran returned her to the village safely before he stood before the people mournful of his crimes at dawn, in the plaza where all would come together awaiting his consequence. He had slain his Muther’s creation without permission or thought. For this, Dhuran assumed he was at fault. However, gazing from above his siblings were disturbed by the humiliation. How could a God allow themselves to be punished by its lesser other?
The woman he’d defended–Tala–stood beside him. Tala was the daughter of the eldest member of the Sadhoras tribe, a most respectable and wise man who lived to see the birth of their beloved tribe. She stood and confessed her tale, and Dhuran was forgiven. Tala was thankful for Dhuran's humility, and walked with him along the perimeters of Sadhoras till they would become close. Tala and Dhuran later married, and when Tala's father had passed, his respect was inherited by Dhuran. The two together would birth two sets of twins, one before the other; first was their boys, Thiumen and Raiman. Then were their daughters, Mairam and Rumma. Captured with emotion, Dhuran forgot his promise to his Muther. She was disappointed that expectations were not met, so she ordered a snake to inject venom into one of Dhuran’s children.
Raiman was bitten by this snake. The venom poisoned his blood and caused him great illness. All the practitioners of Sadhoras made an attempt to heal Raiman, yet none succeeded. And so, Dhuran departed the village to the shores where he’d been birthed and called upon his Muther. Her message to him came in the form of a sparrow: ‘Remember your faith, and the blood of the one-horned bull shall save him. Let it be known, that I, Muther of all life, have blessed you from the mercy of losing your beloved son.’ He returned haunted by her rage. To make amends Dhuran came to the village tearful, his bull swaying beside him.
Witness, he demanded from the people. For he had called upon Muther, and it was she who would cure her son with the sacrifice of her own creation; a life taken for life to be given. The horn had been removed and kept safe with Dhuran. The blood pooled around Dhurans bare feet. Tala carried Raiman to her spouse and gently placed her ill son into the puddle of blood. Together Dhuran and Tala bathed Raiman. As had been promised, Raiman survived.
Upon witnessing this miracle, Tala converted first. Then the practitioners who failed in curing her son. But the rest of the people remained skeptical. If this bull had truly been blessed to heal life, they thought, then perhaps it would heal their struggling crops. And so Dhuran buried his beloved bull near the arable lands where they had ploughed and called upon his Muther again. One more blessing, he urged, and they shall know your existence. The next day the lands blossomed with crops, bright and ripe. It would feed the people for months, and in return they converted. Dhuran no longer remained a Shibaru. For enlightening them he was placed as the first Khokim, the messenger of Muther.
Word Index
Muther: Entity of life and creation, the primary God
Dhuran: Entity of sacrifice, one of the three Child-Gods
Shibaru: Shepard
Khokim: Shaman
Sadhoras:A small tribal village along the East coast that evolved into one of the largest cities within it's time
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