CHYMAK RELIGION

by Trotsky

Kualthurlu

Goddess of the Chymak

Lurker in the Deep, Mistress of Storm and Wave, Devourer of Souls and Drowner of Men, The Great Old One, Ruler of the Sunless Sea

Lesser Goddess [1]

Kualthurlu is depicted as a vast squid-like monster with an abundance of obscenely writhing tentacles encircling her slobbering maw. Her glabrous, rubbery body possesses a singularly loathsome virescence, whose unwholesome effect is surpassed only by the ravenous malevolence of her unblinking eyes. [2]

Kualthurlu dwells in the lightless depths of the Gulf of Ederwyn, where the thrashing of her many tentacles creates the waves and storms on the surface. She is attended by a court of demigods, and cares little for the well-being of her mortal worshippers. The Chymak seek more to propitiate her and lessen her inevitable anger than they do to venerate her.

Source: Chymak 1-2, Lythia 6

Bavagtha

Chymak Demigoddess of Conflict [3]

Bavagtha is the warrior of Kualthurlu's court, and seeks to spread discord among mortals. It is she who causes the Pagaelin and other traditional enemies of the Chymak to attack, for she is strengthened by acts of bloodshed on the surface world. By appeasing her, the Chymak hope to avert combat or to protect them from violence once combat has already started.

Bavagtha appears as a lobster-like creature with numerous pincers and a hard chitinous shell studded with sharp spikes.

Kaerakua

Chymak Demigod of the Wind

Kaerakua sends the winds and storms of the air, at Kualthurlu's bidding. Because he dwells far from her, he is more pliant than most of the other Chymak demigods, and can be propitiated to prevent storms or to aid in travel.

He is depicted as a great sea-eagle with pale feathers, and is said to inhabit the clouds far above the surface of the ocean.

Marog

Chymak Demigoddess of Dreams

Marog sometimes sends powerful prophetic dreams to mortals, but can also decide to fool them with misleading or false dreams. She is whimsical, and may often decide to disobey her mistress or to act against her interests if she thinks the results to be sufficiently amusing. She is often punished as a result, but the pieces of knowledge which she possesses are too valuable for Kualthurlu to destroy her outright.

Marog is most commonly depicted as a golden-hued dolphin, but can take any form she choses.

Manathodh

Chymak Demigoddess of the Unlamented Dead

This servitor of Kualthurlu rules over those who are drowned at sea and is propitiated to release the souls in her care into new cycles of life. She is one of the more actively malevolent of the Chymak demigods, and frequently sends curses and diseases to bring people to her more rapidly. The souls in her care are trapped in the lightless depths and may eventually be consumed by her or by Kualthurlu herself.

Manathodh is a dark reptilian monstrosity, with three legs and long arms ending in grasping claws. She is normally depicted with skulls littering the muck at her feet.

Thrub

Chymak Demigoddess of Fecundity

Thrub is the source of the bounty of the sea, who causes the fish to spawn and the seaweed to grow. Her favourite creatures are the bizarre and hideous beasts of the great depths, but all sea-creatures and plants are within her domain. She is thus an important and powerful entity, although enslaved to the will of Kualthurlu.

Thrub is described as a bloated white fish with great staring eyes of deepest black and a hideous countenance.

The Sarfaeda Speaks

Where did the world come from? [4]

In the beginning there existed two self-created beings, Pel and Odi. Once they became aware of each other, they began to copulate enthusiastically. Odi had many children as a result, but they remained crushed between the bodies of their parents because they would not cease their intercourse. Eventually the children, who were also gods, decided that something had to be done to separate their parents. So, they all began to push together, pressing their hands against their father and their feet against their mother, until at last they managed to thrust the two lovers apart, and so create the air that lies between the waters and the sky.

The young gods began to take on various responsibilties in the new world they had created. One became Nolor, the sun, and another became Yael the moon. A third raised up the dry land, and took responsibility for that. Others took charge of the wind, or the stars, or the many plants and animals that were now growing on the world. Everything was peaceful and harmonious.

Where did I come from?

The gods had many children of their own, who spread across the world. Some were spirits, others were animals, and yet others were our own ancestors and those of foreign peoples. At first we lived a carefree life, for the wind was always gentle, the sunshine always warm, the rains light and the fish abundant.

But then the gods began to quarrel over who was the most important, and who should rule the others and have the ultimate power over creation. The fighting continued for a long time, and many of its scars are visible today as barren heathlands or other desolate regions. Eventually one group of gods defeated the other, and cast their enemies down into the mundane world and trapped them there with great chains and powerful magics so that they could not escape to fight again. Then, seeing that their world had been damaged, and no longer having the will to repair it, the victorious gods abandoned us and travelled away to distant places so that they would not be reminded of the terrible cost of the conflict where many of their friends and relatives had been slain.

Why am I here?

Our ancestors were the children of the gods, born to fill the world and take joy in its beauty. Although the world today has been damaged by the war of the gods and by the works of the defeated gods trapped within it, we are still part of that world and should respect it. Our role is to live in harmony with the world as best we can, and to form part of the cycle of existence.

What happens after we die? [5]

When we die, our spirit leaves our body and seeks out another in which to be reborn. Our spirit always seeks out a body similar to that which it departed, so that men are always reborn as men, and women as women. So long as we remain true to our ways, we will be reborn here, in our homeland. Those who abandon us and forsake their birthright become foreigners, and so are reborn as foreigners, thus weakening our people as we lose their souls to the outsiders.

Who do we worship?

One of the mightiest of the defeated deities was the goddess Kualthurlu, who was cast down into the very deepest parts of the sea. Her movements and desires cause the waves, currents and sudden storms of the waters about us. Because of that, she holds great power over our lives and has the capacity to do us great harm if she should wish it. Therefore we propitiate her with sacrifices and make sure that a portion of every catch we make is returned to her, so as to stave off her fury.

What can you tell me about magic?

Magic is the interaction with the spirit world, and is performed by our Sarfaedae. Women are naturally attuned to the ways of spirits, just as men are naturally attuned to the physical world of conflict and fish-catching. Thus, only women can become Sarfaedae, and use their magics for the benefit of the tribe. While some spirits are naturally friendly to us, most need coaxing to provide their aid, which is why the Sarfaedae lead many sacrifices and perform many rituals to please them. A few spirits are always hostile, and can never be bargained with, lest they bring ruin on us all. Only the Sarfaedae have the knowledge and the wisdom to see which sort is which.

What of the other gods? What can you tell me about... [6]

Larani

This is the daughter or sister of the goddess Peoni. Her people have strange ways, living in great towers of stone even bigger than the brochs which you can see about you on the coast. Although the Peonians say these people are friendly, they seem to be warlike and may really be following the will of Bavagtha. Do not trust them.

Peoni

Peoni is a goddess of the land who still maintains something of an interest in the world and did not retreat so far as the other victorious deities. She provides blessings for the growing of crops, which are very important to those mainlanders who do not have access to the sea. We do not need her help so much as they, but she can be useful none the less, and her followers do little harm and so can be tolerated so long as one does not forget they are foreigners.

Siem

This is one of the most evil of the defeated deities, and seeks always to spread madness and sickness in people's minds. He is trapped somewhere in the far west, and his soulless children continually seek to free him from his prison and bring doom to mankind. His creations appear much as real people do, but have a false seeming of beauty which they use to trap mainlanders into believing in their benevolence. In reality, they are wicked and seek to spread as much harm as they can. Siem is the god of madness, disease and corruption and all those who follow him should be given as wide a berth as possible, and if they cannot be avoided should be killed before their evil magics can enslave you.

Halea

This is the goddess followed by the merchants who visit our lands. She is a greedy goddess, and often seeks to seduce younger people into following her and leaving their home. Like Kualthurlu, she must be propitiated with many gifts, although she prefers trinkets and shiny metals rather than food or genuine valuables. She seems to provide little in return, and the people who follow her are clearly foolish to do so.

Ilvir

This is another of the imprisoned gods, who is kept chained by a lake in the centre of the mainland. From his lair he sends forth all kinds of monsters and strange creatures to inhabit the land, and the mainlanders must propitiate him with gifts lest the monsters eat them. It is said by many that Ilvir is the brother of Kualthurlu, and, indeed, there seems to be much resemblance between them.

Saraen [7]

Yet another imprisoned god, this one is trapped in the far north, beyond the far side of the mainland. The Pagaelin worship him to stave off the storms which he sends across the land. He frequently encourages them to war and bloodshed, for he delights in mindless slaughter and has no appreciation for beauty except as something to be crushed.

[1] My current opinion is that Kualthurlu is a Lesser Goddess, worshipped by many coastal peoples under different names. She has not been able to establish any kind of unified Church or religious practice, and therefore appears to be a number of separate deities to Kethirans. An alternative view would be that she is another name for the Sarajinian demigod Njehu, or perhaps for Sarajin himself.

[2] Sorry, couldn't resist it. You can have her look like a cuddly squid in your game, if you prefer. :-)

[3] To learn more about the origin of Bavagtha and her fellow demigods (before they were quite so inimical), see Jamieson Norrish's article on ancient Jarin gods at HRT: Other Religions. Parallels with the demigods of the Adaenum should also be apparent.

[4] This myth is intentionally similar to the Adaenum creation myth. Since both are maritime Jarin peoples, they may well have had close contact in the past.

[5] No information is given on this topic in the published material. This is purely my own opinion.

[6] Not all gods are listed here. The Chymak have little, if any, knowledge of or contact with many civilised religions. They only know of as many civilised gods as they do because of the presence of the Peonian mission on the island. While the Peonians will have mentioned gods such as Agrik and Save K'nor, the Chymak don't have enough experience of their followers to form their own opinion about them.

[7] The god of the Pagaelin.