The History of Vasilias Vol. I : Introduction to the Pantheon

The History of Vasilias is a series of books on Vasilias and other important figures in the mythology written by a halfling named Thernio Fimbledon. Thernio was himself not a highly religious individual, preferring instead to try and do unbiased studies of different religions. Though The History of Vasilias is a long series, spanning several volumes, some of them have been, unfortunately, lost to time. After the Mallus there were several volumes lost such as Volumes III (The Seven Kingdoms), VI (Forms of Worship), and the fabled final volume, added much later by another scholar, Volume IX (Last Words and Destruction). The fabled Volume IX was written immediately after The Mallus, but do to the utter chaos of the time, the transcript was lost and the volume never printed.

The Book itself is a fine looking red book with a purple piece of fine fabric attached to the seam to act as a book mark. There are gold straps on the spine of the book, acting as decorative set-pieces, and the front of the book has the symbol of Vasilias engraved in brown. The symbol, of course, is two Hands, One in a closed fist holding a mighty scepter, the other lower and open giving grain.

## Content

*"Vasilias, like the gods Mitera and Tesoi, is one of those ancient creator gods. Vasilias created the humans in The Wager of Mortality, a contest held by the Creator Gods to see who could create the best mortal race. He is celebrated as the God of invention, civilization, and adaption. Vasilias, The King of Creation, is the smiter of the unholy and the provider for the meek. He is the bringer of justice and the epitome of power, and this text will, if my skill as an author is true, introduce you further with the ones whom humans revere above all others (save perhaps Auria, depending on the humans.)*

 *Although an exact origin of Vasilias is not known, we have many myths from different cultures that attempt to explain the gods' origin. One such myth, hailing from the Congerian Empire, depicts Vasilias as having been born of a union between an ancient earth elemental and dragon. However, a more reliable account comes from Great Vassos, the city of Vasilias.*

*Vasilias, according to Vassoans, was born from the Elder Tree of Power and Action. The Vassoans have a particularly odd belief that most of the first gods were born of beings more powerful than themselves. They posit these powers were ancient and deep rooted trees, from which every other tree grows. Each of these trees is said to embody certain ideals of mortal behavior. Vasilias' birth tree was called Kryseies, known for the ideals of Power and Action.*

*Despite us not knowing Vasilias' exact origin, or even what he may have done before The Wager of Mortality, we do know how he created the human people. Vasilias came to the material plane, and spread his seed upon the earth. Stags and Bears, Deer and Wolves, and Foxes and Rabbits all came to the gods' aid to help plow the fields and work the holy lands. The first of Vasilias' crops became the holy people known as Vassoan. Once the Vassoans were born, it is said in many myths that they took over control of the farm and named all the creatures that had worked it before. This is believed to symbolize humankind's superiority over animals.*

*Once birthed, the Vassoans, with the help of their Lord, constructed the walls of Vassos. The walls are a very important cultural and religious site for Vassoans, as they have kept them safe for countless years. Together, Vasilias and Vassoans raised six more harvests, and from each came a different kingdom of Vasilias. Once born, the six other human kingdoms spread out across Uvonor to spread our kingdoms. Vassoans, however, remained in their sacred walls and raised a city with the god.*

*Great Vassos was born through the combined efforts of Vasilias and Vassoans. Once built, Vassoans built a throne for the god Vasilias and bowed before him. For this reason, Vassoans consider themselves Vasilias' chosen people, for they were the ones who got to live side by side with their god. As pilgrims from the other kingdoms traveled to and eventually settled around Great Vassos, and small neighborhoods of foreigners sprang up (the famous multi-cultural 'Vassoan Blocks'), Vassoans were already hard at work deceiphering the words of the holy god. This is why most sources on Vasilias are Vassoan in origin.*

*Other important figures in Vasilian Mythology include his daughter, Auria. Auria is the divine goddess of government, new beginnings, and the morning. Humans also revere her as the goddess of stability. The Radiance of Hope, The Divine Dawn Mother, The Harbinger of Dawn is a most revered and beloved deity to humans.*

*Specific origins of Auria, as with so many other gods, is highly disputed. Vassoans believe that Auria was created by accident, in a dream Vasilias had that was so surreal it changed reality. When the sun rose in the morning, light shone upon the fields of Vasilias and Auria arose, proud and true.*

*Scholars and Theologians of the Aurian Faith debate this origin. Aurians claim that a time of darkness came over Vasilias' fields. The people were harsh and unruly, warring and unorganized. Vasilias led the people as a strong leader but had no formal organization in place. Though Vasilias loved his people, he found himself unable to solve his people's plight. He burned deeply with love and hope for his chosen people, and shed one single tear. That tear shone like a beacon of light throughout the hearts of the humans and when it landed on the ground at Vasilias' feet, it sprouted into a fully grown woman. The woman, Auria, brought peace to the lands. Her and her famed "Dawn Mother's Court" brought one of the first systems of government to Uvonor, establishing rules and order. It is said that this court evolved into the Seven Kingdoms of Vasilias, as well as other giant institutions of the humans. This is not, of course, to say that the Court itself evolved into all of this, for Auria seemed to care less than Vasilias if his people sided with him. Instead what this means is that The Seven Kingdoms, who generally only had weak societies and relative lawlessness, took the system that Auria proposed with her Court and adapted it to suit their cultural needs.*

*Another central figure throughout most of Vasilian Lore are his army of angels. One of the most important and revered of all is Anok, one of the Solars to Vasilias. Solars are a race and class of angel that are supreme among the rest. Whereas a god's army of angels may include many other types of angelic creatures, usually a very limited number of angels are Solars. Anok is a great and heroic angel figure, often appearing in Vasillian art at Vasilias' right-hand side. However, despite all this we have a very limited number of concrete accounts of angels or their behavior. They are believed to act as warriors, messengers, and mailmen of the gods.*

*What is certainly interesting is the surprisingly scarce information that can be found on particular angels. Anok is one of the few identidiable angels in Vasilian mythology, but most other angels in myths appear nameless or as purely literary devices. What's interesting in this, of course, is not why so many angels did not get recorded but rather why the angels that did get recorded were. In the case of Anok it is obvious, he is a Solar to Vasilias, one of his right hand men. However, Anok is not the only recorded angel. An extremely interesting and mysterious figure in Vassoan Mythology is Anok's brother - Munkir.*

*Munkir is depicted in the most ancient of murals as a strong and capable warrior, often clad in armor and holding a weapon of some sort. stories of him are scarce, but from what scant stories we do have, Munkir is used in cautionary tales. He is often portrayed as a capable warrior who ends up failing due to his emotions getting the better of him. However, given that these stories are found in tales told to children as lessons they may not be completely reliable sources.*

*These figures are most central in The Vasilian Faith, and while practitioners do of course not deny the existence of other gods such as her excellence Mitera, they do assert that Vasilias is of a higher divinity. This volume largely acted as an introduction to the different divines in the Vasilian pantheon and introduce the reader to Vasilias and who he is. The next volume will discuss in depth Vasilias' time in Great Vassos, collecting several myths from current-day Vassos and examining them thoroughly."*