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Post by chylde on May 24, 2011 21:11:53 GMT -5
If you want to take any of the myths or mythological figures referenced in the Lexicon and expand on them, post your write-ups here.
I'm going to follow with my write-up of the Creation myth, which includes Gerkak'tin and the devastation of Ryloth.
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Post by chylde on May 24, 2011 21:12:43 GMT -5
In the beginning, there was Ovasu, the Void between the stars. Dark and empty, unchanging, bereft of life and light. Thus it was, in the beginning.
Then came Ryma’at, the Great Mother of Balance. From where She came, none know. Some say She willed Herself into existence to shatter the silence. Some say She is the daughter of Ovasu, the great emptiness. However She came, come She did. And she looked about Herself and was not pleased to be alone. So She laid Herself down and from Her womb birthed all that is within creation. From Her came forth the stars and the moon and the planets, the asteroids and the comets, and with Her birthing cry, Her breath entered into these things and gave them life. The creations sought each other out and gathered to form solar systems and galaxies, and Ovasu was pushed aside and between. Where Ovasu gathered, great holes rent the fabric of that which Ryma’at created, and these holes sought to devour everything until only the Void remained.
And now Ryma’at walked among Her creations, and everywhere She saw beauty, and the beginnings of new life stirring. From one end of the universe to the other She walked, until She came upon one small planet on the edges of existence, a lush garden of rolling hills and towering mountains, wide salt seas and deep green forests. Here She found such great beauty and life and promise as caused Her to weep, and where Her five tears fell, five great lakes sprang into being. From these lakes was born new life, a race of creatures which walked on their hind legs, and cast their gazes to the heavens, and knew Her for their Mother. They created language, and in their language they called to Her, calling her Kika’lekki - Mother of the Lekku’d Ones, for upon their heads this new race wore twin appendages which they called lekku, and held in great reverence.
Ryma’at was enchanted by these children who called Her by name, and sought Her out. In them She sensed the beginnings of wisdom, and true companionship. Wishing to know more, She wrapped Herself in flesh as white as the heart of a star and walked among them for an age. As one of them She learned the simple joys and passions of mortality, and She took lovers among them both male and female. She bore true children of this new race, and these children and their children were gifted to see and touch and wield the breath of life She had invested in the universe. And this was the Golden Age of Ryloth.
In time came a young male of this race who called themselves the Twi’leks, “two-lekku’d”. His name was Gerkak, “Shadow”, so called for his skin - a blue as deep as the bottomless sea, so dark as to look black except in the brightest of sunlight. He was one of the blessed few gifted with the breath of life, and in him Ryma’at sensed a kindred spirit more powerful than any. She made Herself known to him, and they knew each other as friends and lovers and soulmates. And She taught him to understand his gifts, and to embrace them, and to use them, until his own were almost as powerful as Hers. He saw this, and began to believe himself Her equal. He wished to be worshipped as She was, to hear his name alongside Hers in the hearts of Her people. He came to love himself more than he loved Her, and when She saw this, She turned from him in sorrow. For She could not love one who loved himself more than Her. When he saw that She denied him, his rage knew no bounds. He slew Her mortal body, casting Her entirely from his heart, and Ovasu entered where once She had dwelled. It twisted his gifts, life into death, light into darkness, and fed upon his fury and obsession. He determined to match his powers against Hers and throw Her down, raising himself to Her seat in the heavens. It was at this time that he began to call himself Gerkak’tin, the Shadow King, for he felt it was his right and destiny to rule.
Gerkak’tin roamed the garden of Ryloth from sea to sea, from pole to pole, using his Ovasu-twisted powers to bend minds and poison hearts against Ryma’at until he had raised a great army 10,000 strong and imbued with the strength of the Void. Then, at the head of this vast horde he stood up and declared himself to the peoples of Ryloth, demanding that they cast down the shrines of Kika’lekki and worship him in Her stead. They saw the darkness within him and refused, rising up against Gerkak’tin and his minions. The war that followed raged across Ryloth and back, and Ryma’at could only watch in sorrow as great cities burned and whole generations were laid waste. It seemed none could stand against the dread warriors of the Shadow King, and even Ryma’at Herself feared all of Ryloth would fall to his madness.
In this darkest of times a small group of warriors and priestesses stood forth, descendants of Kika’lekki’s true children and gifted with the breath of life in their own right. At the head of the Sesk’vati, the warrior caste, these children of Kika’lekki met Gerkak’tin and his horde on the field of war. For days the battle raged back and forth. Such was the power wielded that mountains fell and seas boiled, and storms spat fire and stone from the skies, and the very ground itself trembled and heaved and split asunder. The skies grew dark and the peaks burned, and rivers of molten stone flowed over the forests and farmlands. Then, suddenly, all was still.
When the people of Ryloth crept from the caves and tunnels in which they’d sheltered, the battle was over. Both armies had been utterly devastated. Of Gerkak’tin and those who had faced him, no trace remained. The war was won, but at a terrible cost. The beautiful garden of Ryloth was no more - where once ancient trees had towered, nothing remained but fields of ash and flowstone. The earth was scorched and the very oceans had boiled away, so fierce was the heat of that final clash. And at the moment of Gerkak’s death, the planet itself had frozen in its rotation, one face locked eternally toward the sun while the other gazed endlessly into the darkness beyond.
Thus ended the Golden Age of Ryloth, and thus began the Time of Suffering. So vast was the ruin engendered by that conflict, so great was the loss of knowledge and life, that the Twi’lek culture was almost completely destroyed. When peoples from other worlds came seeking conquest, the Twi’leks were defenseless, and were forced to bargain away their very children to preserve what little remained. And never again would Ryma’at walk among Her dearest children, for fear that Her presence would give rise to another Shadow King.
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Post by Seknos on May 25, 2011 14:04:59 GMT -5
for the record i did not edit the post simply the title to remove the BB code that wasnt working
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