Io

Io is the ur-mother of three species of mamonme: Bovitaurides, Minotaurides and Cattlasses, though there's also genetic linkage to Ushi-Oni's. She has had a major impact on Praxis' history, as well as an influence on many more species besides those born of herself. The full extent of her life and wanderings was not recorded until a fateful meeting with Principal Goddess Eiraih where she told her story, and with it filled in many blanks in the records.
== Io's history in short ==
Born as Shabalha to Meauthes and Espera, natives of Old Heaven who cared for Hainu, her early childhood was a happy one. The leaders among the Hainu treated her practically as one of their own pups and Shabalha thoroughly enjoyed her time with the litters born to them, promising to become a good handler for the canine Celestials.
When she was three centuries old, she had the misfortune of meeting Zeus, the perceived chosen among the Gods to the Prime God. Though she would enjoy a friendship with Zeus' daughter Athena, her body began to develop and this would eventually culminate in her being assaulted by Zeus. Over the course of months, Zeus' aggressive attempts to woo her (much to his ex-fianceé Hera's chagrin) caused her to eventually flee. At the edge of the Astral Ocean known as the Samudra manthan, she chose to cast herself into it rather than submit to the pursuing Zeus.
=== Bovine form ===
Shabalha awoke many centuries later on Praxis, but to her dismay she had the body of a kapila cow, an inability to speak to anyone (bar limited dream-sharing as she discovered later) and a severe form of alexia. Her wanderings in Akrufia eventually gained her a sort of worship as Io Masz, a holy cow that gave curative milk. After her 'priest' died though, she took to wandering again, eventually crossing a landbridge and later ending up on the outskirts of the Domain of Mercy, where the Angels of Mercy held sway. Finally managing to communicate with an Amoris named Wendy, she was guided to the domain proper where the resident Celestials tried to cure her condition. Sadly enough, shortly after the attempted cure had been administered, the first Demon Lord Bal Herahgnal set foot on Praxis. Shabalha barely escaped, but not unchanged.
=== Horned ones ===
Having been grazed by Demonic Energy, she was wracked by change, becoming something like a humanoid demonic cow-being. Her fellow escapee Wendy faring little better, though she was sealed inside a stasis crystal. Shabalha tried to come to terms with her new form and the roaring fires of lust that had been lit within her. She found a mate and conceived her first three children: Patas, Serus and Alyssumay. Their help was instrumental in bringing down Bal, but afterwards Shabalha decided to once more attempt to return to Heaven and invaded a place of worship to use the consecrated altar. The Goddess who answered was Hel, who sought to kill these corrupted Celestials as per the standing policy. Shabalha died for the first time then, but discovered to her horror that her soul would migrate and usurp the body of her only surviving child Alyssumay, turning it into her own.
In her new body, Io took to wandering again, bearing many more children that were called Horned Ones by humans and others... Including the one known as the Minotauride. Though uncontrollable, Io would in times after seek to save and protect the offspring of her feisty daughter from their slavery under the Demon Lord Veminzor. One disastrous raid netted him a herd of Horned Ones who were traded off to one of Ithus' Devils, eventually becoming Cattlasses. After Veminzor's demise, Io was captured by Demon Lord Yongul ul Wahngurr and kept as his consort for a century. During this time, she witnessed the hatching of the first Ushi-Oni and the birth of many Dragon subspecies. When Yongul chose to end his life rather than become a ravenous beast, she was sent to Zipangu where the Tsuki no Usako sheltered her for a while. When she left to seek out her descendants, her ship was attacked by a wannabe Demon Lord candidate, who was slain by Brangut ul Yongul, the Dragon King of the Seas, forming a lasting friendship.
Io would rejoin her herd, but as time progressed she desired to end her life, without much success. Eventually, she was contacted by Deliruha, Succubus who had discovered the origins of her species as Celestials. She and her lover Seretique vi Alloriel would recruit Io in their plans to overthrow Demon Lord Axservuus and end the conflict between monsterkind and the mortal races. Io helped them immensely by unsealing Wendy, who would later mother her own race of Wendy's. Though Deliruha died in the coup, Seretique took up the banner and sought Io for advice. After a falling out over a disastrous deal with the Nephyrum, Io secluded herself, trying to fade into obscurity...
=== Io's closure ===
Eventually, one of the many strays Io had cared for, Yesh, convinced her to tell her story to Eiraiha. Over the course of several days in Luminance, Io spoke of her memories and begged Eiraiha for help to end her life. Meanwhile some carefully dropped messages ensured that most species of mamonme who had an (ancestral) open worship or similar of Io came to Crystal Plinth. Including the aged Brangut ul Yongul. Over the course of a few days Io did what she still could for them, sampling milk, dispensing advice and recording stories she'd not expounded upon. But then the Day of the Prime happened. Apparently after being scolded by one dangerous being, the Prime God returned to Praxis one last time to do what it could for Io, and through her request for more besides. After, two new constellations would guard Praxis for the far future, Mother Io and the Dragon Lord, from whence the shades of Io and Brangut could be summoned. The souls of Shabalha and Brangut freed to live new lives.
== Abilities and traits ==
Io stood at 2 meters tall as a Goddess equivalent of a mid-to-late-teen, only slightly taller in her final form that resembles a Bovitauride. Despite her gynormous age, she looks to be a motherly figure of astonishing beauty. Being possessed of the largest natural breasts on Praxis, she can easily seduce practically any man (or woman). Watching over generations of her descendants and many more besides has honed her mothering instincts to a keen edge. Her breastmilk has a curative effect that few of her descendants share with her. She has knowledge of fighting, tactics, farming, diplomacy, magical research and many more fields besides, but beyond that she is a storehouse of knowledge. Especially where it concerns the suffering she has witnessed. While no mage herself, Io still has some level of skill in Divine spellcasting, though exposure to DE has weakened her capacity for accumulating Divine Energy.
On her hide are carved several runes of power which, when activated, can pull her out of the berserker state she falls into on occasion. Keeping her sane and emotionally stable, sort of. She also has an extradimensional storage chest, one of the record books of the Angels of Mercy, deep personal relationships with Zipangu, the Dragon Palace and NeverNeverLand. Plus, her condition made it practically impossible for her to truly die until the Prime God corrected this.
== Daughters ==
Io has an enormous amount of children, here is a list of them:
* Alyssumay
* Patas
* Serus
* ------
* Spearmint (Muntispeer)
Under construction
Category:Celestial Characters
Category:Mamonme Characters