Ghulian Mythographical Anthology

Well in case you are wondering what I have been writing in my spare time between working on my short stories, novella, poems, and of course the almost done chapter 2 of my book, here you go. This is the backstory to a third of the Ghullian history. It's taken from a mythographical point fo view. The Ghul developed as five diffrent tribes with diffrent gods and goddesses. Two became combined as a single tribe and then latter one of the others conquored the other tribes and they all together became the Ghulian Empire. This is reflected in their mythology. So here they are the creation myths for the tribes and then some common myths of the Ghullian people. Oh, and I'm including some biographical information on the deities too. :)

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Profiles of the Pantheon

Name: Zadekphagu
Titles: Mighty Overlord of Heaven and Earth, God of Warfare and Battle, He Who Destroys All, He Who Walks In Blood
Appearance: A large four armed man with the head of a ram, large raven wings, and a body covered in scales. He wears heavy armor and holds one of the four cardinal weapons of warefare in each hand. His helmet is crowned by the sun, his breastplate the moon, and his belt the stars.
Domain: The whole of Rho Ghul, specifically worshiped by the Sohud and patron deity of the emperor, soldiers, and conquerors.
Symbols: The sun, moon, stars, any weapons, the tiger

Name: Orithea
Titles: Queen of the Heavens, Goddess of Beauty and Appitite, She Who Nourishes, The Ripe One, The Providing Flame
Appearance: A young beautiful woman of marriageable age usually scantly clad or naked. She holds an apple in her hand to signify her birth from the apple tree as well as her fruitfulness, and a boiling pot beneath her to signify nourishment.
Domain: The whole of Rho Ghul but her cult is centered around the southern forests and the Vhut people. She is the patron deity of girls, single women, powerful women, and prostitutes.
Symbols: The apple, apple tree, a boiling pot, the white dove

Name: Borgia
Titles: Goddess of the Seas, Abundance, Commerce, Trade, Theater, Lying, Money, and Profit, She Who Lights, The Wealthy One, The Golden Goddess, The Prospering Flame
Appearance: A woman with the torso of two fish and a necklace of conch. She has a stuffed bag in one hand symbolizing enrichment and a lit torch in the other symbolizing enlightment. Early depictions of her was also with both hands holding a large bowl, often either full of gold, grapes, or oil on fire. She is also often depicted with the theater mask of comedy and tragedy.
Domain: Throughout Rho Ghul where ever money is used and valued. Major temples on the Sea of Borgia and on the coast venerated by the Khus. She is the patron deity of money lenders, merchants, tax collectors, actors, liars, con artist, bankers, and traders.
Symbols: The fish, the torch, the theater masks, the overflowing cup/bag

Name: Athium
Titles: God of Rain, Inspiration, Music, the Arts, The Singer, The Trickster, The Agile One
Appearance: A handsome beardless youth usually wearing only the small tunic of the coastal men and with a shell necklace and anklet, carrying a lyre in one hand and often a chisel or paintbrush in the other.
Domain:The Khus lands with a large temple dedicated to him and his wife on the coast. He is the patron deity of the arts and therefore all artisans except for actors, as well as young boys and men.
Symbols: The lyre, the hammer and chisel, the paintbrush, the writing tablet, the fish

Name: Enca
Titles: Goddess of the Home, She Who Warms, The Enclosing One, Of the Tents, The Protecting Flame
Appearance: A middle aged woman with head covered and stomach protruding in pregnancy holding a pole in one hand and a long cloth in the other wearing robes of the Wag-Thur people
Domain: The valley is home to her cult center, but all homes in Rho Ghul has a small shrine to her. She is the patron deity of childbirth, protection, and marriage, of married women, mothers, midwives, and pregnant women.
Symbols: Tents, cloth, poles, blazing fire, the ewe and lamb

Name: Humh
Titles: God of Strength and Labor, The Hunter, The Changer, The Strong One
Appearance: A strong man sometimes with a small beard with a large spear and gauntlets on his wrists and ankles.
Domain: His cult is primarily found in the valley and the coliseums. He is the patron deity of farmers, herders, guards, hunters, and athletes.
Symbols: The spear, the ram, the pole

Name: Miphilphime
Titles: God of Wisdom and Knowledge, The Scholar, The Enduring One, Of the Groves, The Wise One
Appearance: An old man with long beard and bald head usually with his staff in one hand and scrolls in the other, sometimes depicted as blind as well with a raven on his shoulder.
Domain: His cult is found primarily in the secret groves of Vhut and the academies in the large cities as well as in the libraries of the nobility. He is the patron deity of old men, scholars, teachers, and librarians.
Symbols: The raven, the scroll, the oak staff,

Name: Yvena
Titles: The Lady of the Black Mantel
Appearance: A tall, elegant old woman in a black cowl holding a candle, through she is normally not depicted
Domain: She is feared throughout Rho Ghul as death personified though she is said to actually walk in the wailing misty canyons of Yvl. She is worshiped by a cult that has sprung up throughout the empire and with many members even in the noble households.
Symbols: Not depicted out of fear

The Legend of the Khus

In the very beginning of the world, there was no water anywhere to be found. The young god Athium descended upon the cold barren world and began to play a song upon his lyre. And as he played, from his song came the first rains. And the rains allowed trees and fields and flowers to grow. And the trees and fields and flowers then made there be food for the birds and the beasts and the crawling things. But where all this sacred rain gathered together there was so much inspiration and magic that from it was born a goddess, the lady Borgia, Queen of the Seas and Mother of all the Fish. And when Athium and Borgia came together he played a new melody for her and she became with child. And this child was the ancestor for the people of Khus, the Fisher peoples. They learned from their mother Borgia how to catch fish and sail over water. They learned from their father Athium how to sculpt rocks and sing songs and write poems. And so they became great in the land of the Ghul. Of their many children Zheng the Poet was one of the greatest and he wrote their tale and many others.

The Legend of the Vhut

When all the world was still not made, the wise god Miphilphime wrote the magic word that caused the world to take form. And then he went down into the land and wrote the word for water, for air, for woods, and for animals. Then he went down to the sacred woods and there he found the most lovely apple tree of all and spoke the word of appitite upon it and the goddess Orithea came forth full and ready for marriage. But there was none in the whole world that could fulfill her craving for a husband. So she went to her father Miphilphime and begged him in his sacred grove to give her a husband. She bribed him with apples from her tree, which he could not refuse, and so he wrote the word for ghuls upon the dirt. And so ghuls came forth. And she loved the sons of ghul and desired a new one every year, otherwise she would not let the trees bare fruit. And from them came the Vhut, the Woodland peoples. And they were hidden for many years in the woods of the land of the Ghul. Miphilphime had others daughters as well, guardians of memory and inspiration called the Mteli and many great writers and philosophers called upon them for guidance.

The Legend of the Wag-Thur

It all began when the mighty god Humh and the mighty goddess Enca, came together and Enca bore the world. Humh wanted the world to be forever changing and the people to forever wander the face of the earth. Enca wanted the world to always be constant and the people always in the same homes. Humh and Enca had two sons and two daughters and they became the Wag and the Thur. The Wag followed Humh and they raised their sheep upon the valley walls. The Thur followed Enca and they built homes and farms in the valley basin. But Humh and Enca would not come unto one another and so the world began to die until the terrible winter came. And so Humh and Enca came back together and brought their children together too. To protect the world they decided that the world would forever change as Humh wanted it, but they it would be constant change as Enca wanted it, and so the seasons were born. To protect the children, the Wag and the Thur were brought together and they became the Wag-Thur and lived as one people. In the spring they planted crops in the valleys, then took their sheep up into the pastures, then brought them back down for the harvests. The Winter was kept to remind the peoples why they must always stay together. And so they grew prosperous in the land of the Ghul. Enca was very fruitful and by Athium she bore many sons and daughters, guardians of the streams, woods, and secret places called the Wagama. And Humh also had by Orithea the great warrior Xing Tu who destroyed the Troll King of the Northern Forest and Wang the Illustrious upon whose blade the last troll died.


The Legend of the Sohud

The world was made when the mighty overlord of heaven Zedekaphagu killed the monster named Theanna. And from her organs and bones he constructed the world and the peoples there of. And then from Theanna’s soul he crafted the other gods who bowed and paid homage to their new lord. Then Zedek ordered that each of the gods bring him an animal gift. Humh, god of strength, brought him a ram and Zedek took its horns. Athium, god of songs, brought him a fish and Zedek took its scales. Miphilphime, god of wisdom, brought him a raven and he took its wings. And so attired he summoned the three goddesses to pay homage to him with their fires. But Borgia spoke in whispers to her companions and said, “Let us not grant the ancient powers to him, but instead let us find a way to keep them.” And so when Borgia goddess of seas brought her shining torch she hailed Zedek and as she did her torch fell and the light scattered all across the sky and became the stars. Then as Orithea goddess of beauty came with her pot of food, she hailed Zedek and her pot fell and cracked and became the moon. Then when Enca goddess of tents came she did not hail Zedek for she had a rebellious heart and Zedek rose and smote Enca as he smote Theanna and took her glowing cloth of fire placed it in the heavens with the broken pot and the embers of the torch to become the sun, moon, and stars. But then the Lady of the Black Mantel came and restored Enca back to life. And all hailed Zedek for brining light. And when he heard that Borgia was behind the plot, he transformed her lower half into a fish. And then so greatly attired he took the goddess Orithea as wife and from their union the Sohud came and they were the rulers of all Ghulkind.

The Legend of the Cult of Yvena

Long ago there lived a goddess of light called Yvena. And she came to the cold dark earth and brought light to it. Her light that warmed became the goddess Enca and she brought forth the birds and the flying things. The light that illuminated brought forth the goddess Borgia of and she brought forth the swimming things. The light that nourished brought forth the goddess Orithea, and she brought forth the animals of the land. And so the three goddess turned to Yvena and asked her for consorts. So Yvena turned to the Ghul, who had arisen from the flames with her daughters and chose three husbands. She chose a shepherd for Enca, a woodsman for Orithea, and a fisherman for Borgia. Then her children all had children and her grandchildren all had children and they grew in great number. But then the dark lord from the west, Zadek the Evil, attack and killed the high priestess of Yvena named Theanna. And Zedek and his dark people over ran the lands and enslaved the peoples of Yvena and caused all the other gods to become his slaves. And the memory of Yvena was lost and her worship died and she no more aided ghulkind. But then after nearly a thousand years her order was refounded by the descendant of her priestess and her worship again instigated. And so Yvena, the Lady of the Black Mantel grew again in power. And they say once she has enough sacrificial power she will rise and take in all her daughters and become the mighty supreme goddess of all, Yuva and would consume all the evil ones and bring freedom back to Rho Ghul.

The Anger of Borgia

After the great lord Zadek had brought unity and peace to the world, and married the beautiful goddess Orithea, she bore him a son. His son was Bas-Singhul the first emperor of the Ghulkind. And Bas-Singhul had three sons named Bas-Leeghul, Bas-Jinghul, and Bas-Hanghul. And the daughter of Athium and Borgia was named the fair Princess Tylea and was given unto Bas-Leeghul. The daughter of Humh and Enca was the fruitful Princess Jade, and was given unto Bas-Jinghul. The other daughter of Miphilphime was Ainua, but she was evil and would not submit to the son of Bas-Singhul, and so she fled into the forest of her father and was ever after scorned by the gods and men. And so Bas-Hangul was given instead the other daughter of Enca, the serene Princess Cheng’e.

Now the Great Goddess Borgia who had been transformed into a half fish by the mighty lord Zadek had grown angry in her palace beneath the waves. And wielding her powerful magic she called all the waters of the earth to her. And in her anger at the scorn of ghul for laughing at her fish tail, she purposed to send her flooding waters and destroy ghulkind. And the fish rejoiced at taking the dominion of man, and made ready their invasion of the drylands.

But her husband, the good god Athium who loved the ghul, flew fast and warned the son of Zadek. But he refused to listen to the god Athium, saying his father Zadek would have spoken unto him if the goddess Borgia’s threat had been true. And so the god Athium flew unto the daughters of the goddess Enca and the daughter of the goddess Borgia and spoke to them of the goddess’ anger. And so they wept bitterly and persuaded their husbands of the danger.

And so the three sons of the son of Zadek went unto the wise god Miphilphime and sought his wisdom in the sacred glades. And the wise god appeared unto them and warned them to make a large bonfire of straw, a large boat of wood, and a large wall of stone. And so they departed, each to appease the goddess’ wrath and save their people.

And so Prince Jin and Princess Jade gathered all the people of the farmlands and all the wandering shepherd peoples and the peoples of the tent. And each family brought a large bundle of straw. And once all the straw was placed upon the alter built for Borgia, the straw was set ablaze and the priestess of Borgia called upon her mistress to see the flames. And the great goddess Borgia came upon a great wave unto the valley and her eyes blazed as she saw the fire. And so she caused rain to fall upon it and upon their lands and blessed their lands and their people and their crops and their animals and made a sacred vow not to bring her wrath upon the peoples of the valley.

Then Prince Han and Princess Chenge’e raised a great stone wall all about the great forest and meadows of the upper lands. And the great stone wall was built by the race of giants from the north so that none could pass it. And it ran from the great northern most mountain to the valley wall. And so they would wait until the waves would come and protect their peoples and forest from the great wrath of Borgia.

But the Prince Lee and Princess Tylea of the coast went unto the great shrine of the great goddess Borgia and suplimented her there to appease her wrath. The goddess would not be appeased and so the prince and princess gathered all their people and instructed them to build boats of wood not bamboo as they had been, and gather all their loved ones and possessions on board. And the people did as their prince commanded them and began living upon the seas upon their boats so that they may learn the ways of the sea.

And then in the tenth month of the moon, the waters that the Great Goddess Borgia had summons had all arrived and were ready and the fish and their kind had made ready for war. And so the ocean went to war with the land. First they came against the people of Khus upon their boats. But because they no longer lived upon land the waters did not harm them. Only the foolish who had not built boats were destroyed. As the waters flooded over Khus it then came to the valley of the Wag-Thur. But because of her promise the valley was not touched and so the waters moved further. And then they came unto the wall of Vhut. And the water hammered against the wall but could not prevail. The waters and the fish were angered and the great goddess Borgia grew fierce.

And then the northern part of the wall which was built in haste was breached, and the northern meadow lands were flooded and many perished. But the middle and southern forest lands were not touched. And so the waters continued past the meadow lands until it came to the great platue of the Sohud and there were the emperor had not listened to the words of Athium the great city fell to the flood and the others did as well. And so the goddess Borgia’s anger was stilled and she withdrew her waters to the western lands and there they became the Sea of Borgia. And immediately afterward, the great trade guild built a temple to Borgia there and on the coast and so garnished favor from her and she became goddess over the trade routes as well.

The Birth of Khan the Great

Now the first emperor had died in the Flood of Borgia, but his favored son had survived and so Hanghul and Empress Chenge’e came to power. And they ruled with much grace and dignity. They had a son named Hunghul who had a son named Hulghul who had a son named Hangul II who had a son named Hunghul II who died without a legitimate heir. And so Linghul III, son of Lang II, son of Lee III, son of Ling II, son of Lang I, son of Lee II, son of Ling I, son Prince Lee I and Princess Tylea became the new emperor. And Linghul began expanding the empire into the lands beyond the Sea of Borgia.

And after a thousand years of peace under the Vhut Emperors, the Ghul warred brother against brother when the Khus Emperor seized the land of a high prince of the Wag-Thur clan. The Wag-Thur and the Empire warred for many years in the First War of the Cherry Orchard. But the Wag-Thur, seeing the great strength of the empire feared and made a treaty with the humans. And the Emperor of Alexandria aided the Wag-Thur against the Empire and so humans and ghul were at war.

And after centuries of battle and three wars of the Cherry Orchards the beautiful Goddess Orithea came unto a strong general and begat with him a son, named Khan the Small. And Khan left the encampment of his father when he was young and journeyed across the Empire. And Khan came to the sea shore and there he met the god Athium playing a dirge upon his lyre for his children dying in the west. And he taught all his trickery unto Khan who became known then as Khan the Agile.

And so he journeyed further into the east and there he came to the forest of the god Miphilphime the Wise. And Khan the Agile played the dirge of Athium in the grove of Miphilphime and so the daughter of Miphilphime named Ainua fell in loved with Khan. And Miphilphime peering into the future of the youth saw his greatness and so the two were wed. And Khan learned from his new father in law all the secret things of the world. And so Khan was known as Khan the Wise. And he journeyed yet still along the ruins of the great wall until he came unto the Sea of Borgia and there he found the Goddess Borgia in her Temple, decked in the gold of ages. And she gave him a great gift, the golden bow and arrow of Zadek, with which he had overthrown the ancient ones.

Then Khan journeyed still further to the valley and there he found the god Humh moving the mighty boulders and making earthquakes in his rage at the foolish war of the orchards. And so he blessed Khan the Wise with great strength so that he could even command the earthquakes and deep places. So Khan journeyed back to the west.

And he passed through the haunted Canyons of Yvl, where the screams of her victims could still be heard. And he came upon an old woman in a dark mantel. And because of his wisdom he bowed and did not look upon her face. Then she caused the canyon walls to fall upon him but he held them up. Then she turned into a writhing serpent and went to strangle the warrior. But he foresaw her trickery and held her by her jaws so she could not destroy him. Then she became a woman again and spoke unto the man and said that he was indeed worthy to end the foolish war. And so she sent him to bring about an end. And Khan the great came to the place of the orchard and dug his hands deep into the earth and pulled up the high mountains and they were called the Pillars of Heaven for the reached even unto the clouds of heaven.

And Khan was remembered as the greatest warrior of the Ghulkind and was venerated throughout the lands. And the gods were well pleased with him and so the lady of the black mantel placed him in the heavens with his mighty bow.

The Tale of Xin the Bard

After the great wars were over the peoples began rebuilding their homes. And the new emperor Linghul XII was kind and generous to his people. But in the twentieth year of his illustrious rule, the Great Dragon-God of Ice and Evil descended upon the plains of Sohud and the land groaned with its evil. This ancient demon had been sent by the lady of the black mantel to demand retribution for the evils done by the Ghullian soldiers during the wars. And the beast destroyed many and great harm was done unto the empire.

Even the great gods cringed before the evil of the beast. And none could draw near it for fear of its great power. The great god Zadek was smote by the beast and cast down, killed by its jaws of iron. And the goddess Orithea was kept in its claws. The land began to die and the cattle no longer brought forth the kid. The grain did not grow neither did the trees bare fruit. And the people waxed thin and lean and starved daily by the hundreds.

Then the goddess Enca, angered at her seasons so being disrupted searched for Khan’s heir, the great granddaughter of the hero of the war. And she found the maid Xin, sitting neath her cherry tree singing songs of the heroes of old. The goddess appeared to Xin and sent her to destroy the beast. All feared for Xin’s life as she was no warrior but merely a temple bard who sang her songs to Enca and the Lady of the Black Mantel.

And so as she drew near the beast who had slain the great god Zadek, she brought forth a mighty sword, an ancient weapon forged by Humh, and struck at the Dragon-God. But he would not let her slay her for she was not the one destined to slay him. And so she instead brought forth her lyre, and began to sing a song. And it was a powerful and ancient song and the great dragon began to grow weary. And she sang even more and he fell asleep.

Then the maid Xin took the Dragon and cast him into the far eastern sea. And he sunk below the surface and where he lay a great maelstrom was awoken. And the maelstrom raged for as long as the Dragon lay sleeping. And Xin the Bard was extolled above all heroes. But the lady of the black mantel was angered at her and so transformed her into an eagle, to forever watch over the maelstrom and the sleeping dragon-god.


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so there you go!
And yes I do need to find a life... :)