#WORLD52 WEEK 5 SUBMISSION:
SPIRITS OF WILL, SPIRITS DIVINE & THE BIRTH OF ALL THINGS
February and Week 5 of #WORLD52 is already here! Is it just me, Voyagers, or does it feel like this year is accelerating? Well, regardless, for this week's Worldbuilding and art we're continuing 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!)
So, when we last left off, Oᒪᗩᑎ has just finished making it's firstborn children, the First Elemental Spirits, SEᑭᑌ, ᐯEᑎᗩ, ᗩᖇᗪE & ᕼEᒪᗩ. Let's pick up the tale from there!
-------------------------LORE BEYOND HERE-------------------------
Orah, In the ages after Oᒪᗩᑎ made the first four spirits, the great godtree rested, content for the first time in eternity. As it rested, it let it's firstborn play, and gave unto them all of it's grand expanse within which to explore and expand and sculpt and play.
And so the great spirits set off, racing across eternity, playing and dancing and singing and roaring and building and growing, as children are want do.
SEᑭᑌ tested her limitless endurance, and she born the world upon her back. She held it, and pushed it, and pulled it, and as it wrinkled and slid and shifted like a great tapestry, she formed the first mountains and valleys. She stood up and shouted,
I AM SEᑭᑌ, FIRST OF MY KIN!
WHERE I STAND, STONE SPLITS AND THE GROUND RISES!
ᐯEᑎᗩ was entranced by her sister's grand works, and she wanted to play too. So, in her infinite grace, she bounded across the sky. Where she passed, she wove clouds from the air, and bound the gales of the heavens into a tapestry, that the winds would have pattern and purpose. She stood up and shouted,
I AM ᐯEᑎᗩ, SECOND OF MY KIN!
WHERE I DANCE, THE SKY CLEARS AND THE WINDS RISE!
ᗩᖇᗪE was jealous of her sister's grand works, for she also wished to play at making. So, with might beyond measure, she plunged her hands deep into the mountains and beneath the shifting tapestry of the soil. Where she struck, lava lept from below, sharpening the mountains, fertilizing the soil with rich volcanic ash. She swung her limbs, as fires began to spread, eating away old growth, and enriching the land for the new. She stood up and shouted,
I AM ᗩᖇᗪE, THIRD OF MY KIN!
WHERE I STRIKE, THE WORLD IS BORN ANEW, AND FIRE RISES!
ᕼEᒪᗩ watched curiously as all her sisters worked grand works, for she also wished to play at making. So, with knowledge only she could have, she gently reached out her hand. Tracing her fingers across the soil, she stitched rivers through the caverns and canyons of SEᑭᑌ's work, bringing motion to their stillness. She stirred the waters in the oceans, stitching mighty currents into their waters below to match ᐯEᑎᗩ's winds, that they may have something to dance with. She swept her hand over the wildfires and volcanoes, bringing rainfall across them, that trees grew from the fertile soil of ᗩᖇᗪE's flames. She stood up and spoke,
I AM ᕼEᒪᗩ, LAST OF MY KIN.
WHERE I SEE, ALL THINGS ARE REVEALED, AND WATER FLOWS.
And ᕼEᒪᗩ's sisters watched her wonders, and smiled in approval, for she was wise and knew much, and she had taught them the joy of playing with others.
So a new age dawned, and the Great Spirits played and learned from one another.
SEᑭᑌ and ᗩᖇᗪE roughhoused and tested their power against one another, and in doing so the peaks of mountains rose higher then ever, ringed with crowns of flame and thrones of granite.
ᐯEᑎᗩ and ᕼEᒪᗩ danced together, and they made storms and weather.
ᗩᖇᗪE lifted ᐯEᑎᗩ up, tossing her higher than she could ever fly on her own, and where she landed, she brought lightning to the ground, power from the sky itself!
ᕼEᒪᗩ taught SEᑭᑌ how to stitch and weave, and they wove water through the lowlands and swamps.
SEᑭᑌ showed ᐯEᑎᗩ how she made the land, and Vena danced past her canyons and mountains, chiseling their edges, and blowing the dust into beaches and deserts, covering them with sand.
ᗩᖇᗪE carried ᕼEᒪᗩ upon her shoulders, and as they stomped about, their laughter boiled water beneath them, splitting the ground with steam vents, geysers, and springs.
And Oᒪᗩᑎ, proud beyond measure, watched and was filled with joy.
But one day, ᕼEᒪᗩ stopped playing. She reasoned:
IT IS WONDERFUL TO PLAY TOGETHER, MY SISTERS.
BUT IMAGINE HOW MUCH FUN WE WOULD HAVE IF WE HAD MORE FRIENDS TO PLAY WITH!
The other spirits thought hard, and they all agreed with her, as she knew much and was wise beyond measure.
So they went to Oᒪᗩᑎ, their creator, and SEᑭᑌ asked.
OH GREAT Oᒪᗩᑎ WHO WE SHELTER BENEATH,
WHERE MAY WE FIND OTHERS TO PLAY WITH,
THAT WE MAY HAVE MORE FUN?
And Oᒪᗩᑎ sighed a great sigh, and said.
OH, MY CHILDREN, I AM Oᒪᗩᑎ AND WHILE I WORK WONDERS,
WE ARE ALONE IN ETERNITY.
I GAVE YOU LIFE AS I WAS LONELY,
AND WISHED COMPANIONSHIP.
IF I COULD FIND OTHERS, I WOULD,
BUT YOU ARE ALL I HAVE FOUND.
YOU HAVE BROUGHT SUCH JOY TO ME,
AND ALL I HAVE IS YOURS.
I WISH I HAD MORE TO GIVE.
The Great Spirits hugged the Godtree's branches, saddened but grateful for their maker's love. Yet ᕼEᒪᗩ kept thinking, and thinking and thinking again. And as the sisters returned to their play, she stood up, having thought of an answer!
MY SISTERS, IF Oᒪᗩᑎ GAVE US LIFE AND ALL IT HAD TO GIVE,
SURELY WE CAN DO THE SAME! LET US WORK TOGETHER, AND MAKE OTHERS TO PLAY WITH!
The other spirits thought hard, and they all agreed with her, as she knew much and was wise beyond measure.
So SEᑭᑌ sculpted bodies from clay, ᐯEᑎᗩ blew breath into their lungs, ᗩᖇᗪE set a flame in their hearts, and ᕼEᒪᗩ whispered knowing unto them.
They did this with all things, and crafted creatures in all shapes and sizes, until the ground, the sky, the deserts and the oceans all teemed with life.
And the sisters watched the animals grow and multiply with glee.
Together, they made all things, and they were filled with joy.
Yet, still ᕼEᒪᗩ thought that something was missing.
MY SISTERS.
WHAT WE HAVE MADE IS BEAUTIFUL,
AND IT FILLS ME WITH JOY,
YET THESE CREATURES ARE WILD AND NOT LIKE US.
WHAT MORE CAN WE DO?
WE HAVE GIVEN THEM BODIES
AND BREATH
AND A FIRE IN THEIR HEARTS
AND KNOWLEDGE TO SURVIVE.
SEᑭᑌ said.
TIS TRUE, SISTER OF MINE.
YET THEY LACK THE WANT TO DANCE,
THE NEED TO TEST THEMSELVES,
THE FLAME TO BE DARING,
AND THE WISDOM TO GROW.
ᐯEᑎᗩ said.
Yet it was ᗩᖇᗪE who found the answer,
for she was strong enough to speak harsh truths.
SISTERS OF MINE, WE HAVE MISSED THE HEART OF IT.
YES THEY HAVE BODIES AND BREATH AND HEARTS AND MINDS.
YET TO MAKE US, OLAN GAVE US ALL IT HAD.TO MAKE OTHERS LIKE US, WE MUST DO THE SAME.
ᗩᖇᗪE said.
And the Great Spirits saw the wisdom in ᗩᖇᗪE's words, and they agreed to try one more time.
I AM ᕼEᒪᗩ, LAST OF MY KIN!
YOU WILL DRINK DEEP OF MY KNOWLEDGE.
FOR IF KNOWLEDGE NOT SHARED, IT IS LOST.
I AM ᗩᖇᗪE, THIRD OF MY KIN!
YOU WILL DRAW FROM MY ENDLESS MIGHT.
FOR IF MIGHT IS NOT USED FOR OTHERS, IT IS WASTED.
I AM ᐯEᑎᗩ, SECOND OF MY KIN!
YOU SHALL FEEL MY BOUNDLESS GRACE.
FOR IF GRACE NOT EXTENDED TO OTHERS, IT IS SQUANDERED.
I AM SEᑭᑌ, FIRST OF MY KIN!
AND THROUGH ME YOU SHALL ENDURE FOREVER.
FOR YOU ARE OUR LAST GAME AND WE SHALL LIVE ON IN YOU.
AND AS I LOVE MY SISTERS, I WILL ALWAYS PROTECT THEM.
And the Great Spirits smiled and held each other,
and gave their LIFE to that which they made.
With the splitting of earth,
the howling of wind,
the roaring of flames,
and the crashing of waves,
SPIRITS OF WILL rose from their LOVE,
and SPIRITS DIVINE rose from their POWER.
And the Godtree wept,
for what parent would not weep for their children's loss?
Yet, it understood their hearts, and it loved them unto forever.
So, Olan spoke:
I AM Oᒪᗩᑎ AND MY CHILDREN GAVE YOU LIFE.
OH CHILDREN OF MY CHILDREN, HERE ME:
SPIRITS OF WILL,
I NOW TWIST MY BRANCHES FOR YOU,
THAT YOU MAY REST IN MY SHADE.
FOR YOU WERE BORN OF THEIR LOVE,
AND FOR THEM YOU WILL ALWAYS KNOW PEACE.
SPIRITS DIVINE,
I GIFT MY CHILDREN'S WONDERS TO YOU,
THAT YOU MAY CONTINUE THEIR WORKS.
FOR YOU WERE BORN OF THEIR POWER,
AND IN THEIR STEAD YOU WILL WATCH OVER THEIR CHILDREN.
THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH YOU.
-------------------------LORE END HERE-------------------------
Thanks for joining me in this week's #WORLD52!
I'll be back this Saturday for WEEK 6, my Voyagers!