God-Time

## The Beginnings

Before there was Eirethune, there was a single solitary
force.  Some modern scholars believe that
this force was nothing other than a vast source of mana from which all other
forces and creatures were built.
However, the ancient sagas find more form and direction in this force,
and consider it the entity *Eiraga,*
All-Father.*Eiraga was said to be*
the single power in this part of the universe.
Perhaps he had other siblings, but they never involved themselves in
what became Eirethune.

At some point, Eiraga divided himself into two forces,
Eirasil and Thador.  To many, they
represent conflicting or competing forces of nature.  They are not direct personifications of good
& evil or of law & chaos, although those metaphors often are associated
with them.  It is said, however, that
Eirasil and Thador created forces and perhaps planets and stars throughout the
heavens.  However, the greatest of
Eirasil’s creations and his last creation was Eirethune.

## Saga of Ezathus

There are many creation myths of Eirethune pertaining to
Eiraga, but there is a common thread for these myths which was sung by the
great bard *Ezathus*, who lived in the
first millennium of the Second Age.

*Long away, long away,*
Eiraga All-Father!

*You spoke to none and*
none could come until you were no more!

*You took your eye and*
threw it far and it looked back with glee,

*You took your leg and*
threw it far and it could jump and flee,

*You took your hand and*
threw it far and it waved as if a friend,

*And soon you gave up*
half of you but created instead two!

*And thus became the sons*
of all, Eirasil and Thador,

*They would sing for many*
ages creating songs of yore,

*To each other gifts*
they’d make and treasures to amaze,

*Until the time when*
Eirasil made all that we now know,

*Until the time of*
Eirethune which Thador could ne’er behold!

*Eirethune, oh Eirethune,*
a world to fill all time,

*You became the cause of*
the strife, or horrible sibling sign,

*Thador could not bear to*
see a gift so great so fine,

*And grew to hate his*
hand, his eye, his leg, his soul, his kin!

*Eirethune, oh Eirethune,*
you had the soul of Eirasil,

*But yea the husk of*
Eirasil was still beyond your reach,

*Thador came with anger*
all and turned that husk asunder,

*And Eirasil was made to*
be the void of nothingness!

*Asgorath, oh Asgorath,*
the discard husk of Eirasil,

*Asgorath, oh Asgorath,*
the void where none shall tread,

*Asgorath, oh Asgorath,*
Eirethune is your brother,

*Yet Asgorath, oh*
Asgorath, in darkness forever horror!

*Eirethune still with his*
soul, begat its own defense,

*The first to come were*
children to guard each corner fine,

*Life, Water, Air and*
Earth the guardians of nature came,

*And they would shield*
Eirethune from Thador and all his jealousy.

*Eirethune still with his*
soul, begat its own creation,

*The next to come were*
children to live and breed together,

*The Kanthune were their*
names and so fine and clean were they

*For all would work*
together e’er and grow the world anew.

*Thador saw and was*
driven to destroy his brother’s work,

*The Kanthune were too*
perfect so he tore them into two,

*Chaos bred throughout*
the ranks of the races he created,

*And so was formed*
Khalid-Ka and Madur separated.

*Manorn, Sylvana Aluriath*
and Govord,

*The Guardians Eirethune*
made,

*Would not allow the hate*
and jealousy of Thador stayed,

*Instead they tore him up*
as he did to the Kanthune,

*And cast them down into*
the dark to govern and watch and learn.

*And so Thador was no*
more, yet more were in his place,

*Osahn, Ahrahth and*
Seybok grew and watched from the dark space,

*They watched and learned*
and saw that there was no time for destructive haste,

*And so these gods of*
darkness rose to help our world grow fast.

*Although these gods were*
parted from Thador their great whole,

*The jealousy of their*
parent was bred inside their souls,

*And so the brethren*
trusted not each others whims and goals,

*The dead would be*
divided as in their lifetime roles.

*For time eternal The*
Dark Three would challenge each other’s hand,

*When Eirethune bore new*
gods upon her pristine land,

*The dark ones took these*
children and kept them ever close,

*And none would be*
unclaimed, none without a host.

*The Guardians saw the*
dread of gods fighting on the land,

*Each god could be the*
ruin of beauty Eirethune planned,

*And soon the war began*
and devastation wrecked the glory,

*And so the Guardians*
fought back to end this frightful story.

*The gods aligned with*
The Dark Three tore at Eirethune,

*The war continued with*
misery, the peace was ever hewn,

*And then they saw the*
terror, a peace needed they agreed,

*And Three and Guards*
laid down their arms, for a moment or maybe three.

*The children gods of*
Eirethune broke ranks from the Dark gods,

*Yet never would they*
free themselves completely from their sight,

*They went away across*
the world, from their parents they took flight,

*And created followers*
here and there alone against some odds.

*And so the gods of*
Eirethune were spread far and near,

*In darkest realms the*
three remained from there they’d always peer,

*Throughout the land the*
children gods found secrets where they’d disappear,

*And Guardians ever*
present here would always persevere.

And on goes the saga of Ezathus.  Eirethune is the embodiment of the soul of
Eirasil, yet since its creation, Eirethune has only gained in power.  As Eirethune has created gods and beings,
those beings have grown in power and have fed Eirethune itself with a portion
of their own power, making the living planet more powerful than the god which
once created it.

Asgorath is the void which Thador made from Eirasil and represents the antithesis of Eirethune. It is said that Asgorath exists primarily in the heavens beyond the reach of Eirethune, but there are places where Asgorath does exert power on Eirethune as well.  These are the places where the Guardians and powers of Eirethune are weakest.

## The Dark Three

Thador himself was torn apart and became the three Gods of the Underworld: Osahn, Ahrahth and Seybok. In the dark of the Underworld, the three gods live in realms which are
actually built from the corpses of the Kanthune which Thador created when he
destroyed them in the Schism of the Khalid-Ka and Madur.  Although each governs the dead, the three
dark gods also have their own foci.

·
Osahn is the Lord of Harvest, Harmony, and
Tranquility of Order.

·
Ahrahth is the Lord of Ancestry, Weather and
Fatality.

·
Seybok is the Lord of Warfare and
Competition.

Although Seybok personifies competition, the three dark gods
often fight among themselves.  When
Eirethune began to create the Children Gods, the Dark Three influenced them to
fight for their own causes.  In this
early time, a god-war was fought where Eirethune was ravaged by these gods,
leaving areas of the world desolate and many of these Children Gods confused,
hateful and forever wounded.  Once the
Dark Three saw what it was doing to Eirethune, they worked with the Guardians
to cease the violence and stop the warfare between the Children Gods.  Although Eirethune was saved, the Children
Gods would forever be distrusting of the Dark Three.

## Guardian Gods

The Guardian Gods were created by Eirethune itself to watch
over and protect it; each representing a collection of elements of the
world.  Manorn is the Lord of Seas,
Lakes, Rivers and Oceans.  Sylvana is the
Lord of Forests, Swamps and Jungles.
Aluriath is the Lord of the Air and Space.  Govord is the Lord of Hills, Mountains, and
Fire.  Each has his own realm, but none
of the realms exist in isolation.  For
instance, consider mountain-tops.
Obviously, Govord rules the mountains, but the tops are also the realm
of air and space so Aluriath is quite strong there.  Storms are quite commonplace on mountain-tops
so Manorn is often present.  For this
reason, the druids of Eirethune most often worship all of the Guardian gods of
Eirethune as they recognize that most of the elements of nature will be present
in any one spot on Eirethune.  This
crossover of the guardians in different environments in Eirethune permits the
guardians to work together to protect those areas more fervently.  Those areas which are governed predominantly
by one guardian are the most dangerous to explore.

## Children Gods

The
Children Gods of Eirethune represent the greatest number of gods present in the
pantheon of worship.  Although they are
children of the Eirethune and of the Dark Three, some are extremely powerful
without compare.  These Children Gods are
somewhat aligned with the Dark Three, although they rarely pay them respect,
let alone homage.  Some of the Children
Gods are downright hostile to the Dark Three and seek their undoing.  There is a general feeling amongst all of
them that they were *used* during the Great War of God-Time in the battles
between the Dark Three for control.  Here
is a short list of some of the Children Gods and their foci:

The God-Time is not measured in years per
se, but eventually the presence and activities of the gods began to fade and
the powers of the children of Eirethune, the Khalid-Ka & Madur began to
rise.  As the sentient mortal creatures
of Eirethune rose and organized, so began the First Age of Eirethune.

## Links

Chronology of Eirethune

For more specific information on the gods, consult Deities of Eirethune

Next up... First Age