Grimöha

### Followers

Frostborn (calling themselves "Grimöson", "Grimödaughters", "blessed nightmares", and called "pagans" by Valenzi worshippers).

### Associated Locations

Boarhart Lands (mainly Frostborn territories).

Grimöha is the head goddess of the faith of the same name. She is primarily worshiped by the Frostborn and other northern "pagans".

Followers of this religion wish to escape the "Grand Nightmare" which will end in oblivion and destruction. This world is that grand nightmare.

To escape, one must do their "duty" in society. If that is to be a parent, then be a good parent. If that is to be a warrior, die with honor. If it to be a musician, be an excellent musician.

Followers are to pray to Grimöha to one day enter her eternal dream once they die, a paradise held for those who have done their truest duty. Followers are taught to stare into sacred blue flames so that they might know the duty they must do. The world will turn back into Aku-LothdreMiyu (seen in the creation myth section) for a final Battle with Grimöha, followers are to enter her paradise she has dreamt for the masses before that happens. In this final battle, Grimöha (with the other gods) will be destroyed but it will be her followers to reemerge from paradise to avenge her, permanently killing LothdreMiyu.

## Holy Scriptures

Teachings, histories of kings, theology, hymns, and prayers can all be found on the holy tablets known as "Our People". These tablets are constantly being added to, in an extending spiral of the sacred text, with the first in the holy of holies, found where the gods first came to men to teach them. It is said that Croohorn (god of time) suggested all be written down, added, and taught from this one group of tablets. All priests known as the "blessed nightmares" travel to this holy temple to learn.

### Creation Myth

Before the universe was built, before time, space, the earth, the many realms, and life, there was but one: Aku-LothdreMiyu, The Destructive Spirit. A formless, limitless beast with ten thousand claws, ten thousand eyes, ten thousand mouths, and ten thousand flailing limbs, tails and tentacles. Aku-LothdreMiyu had many eyes yet was blind as well as dumb to its own existence. It could not read, nor love, nor understand, nor care about anything. All it could do was thrash violently into a meaningless void, frightened by what could near. Holy Grimöha, grandmother to all, came into being and witnessed Aku-LothdreMiyu and took pity. She, being wise, understood that this stupid flailing nonexistence was no way to live. Grimöha planned to slay Aku-LothdreMiyu to put the mad, old, blind idiot out of its terror. It was her duty to kill him and build the world. However, she knew this would not be easy; this beast was far beyond her strength. Grimöha had to be careful, nimble, smart and strong to kill the destructive spirit. She sat down and began to hum a pleasant tune (this image of Grimöha sitting cross-legged, head tilted up humming is a popular symbol, worn by many believers around their necks). Aku-LothdreMiyu rushed the toward the tune, flailing rapidly, however the closer the old spirit got to Grimöha, the more at peace it became.

For the first moment in Aku-LothdreMiyu long existence, it slept to Grimöha's tune. Grimöha, now empowered by her enemies disadvantage, leapt into one of the spirit's many mouths and fashioned a sword from its frontmost tooth (this sword is named Doomsayer). Grimöha spent 10 days and ten nights slicing the ancient spirit apart. With every cut from Doomsayer, blood splashed across the void becoming stars, planets, and heavenly bodies. One large curled tail became the sun, another tangle of tentacles became the moon. Grimöha hacked till teeth and ribs were mountains, its breath was the sky, its spit the sea, its skin and flesh recycled to become the land beneath our feet. Organs made up the realms and soon all was good. All was used except one thing: a single small bloody eye that found no place within creation. Grimöha, not one to waste, looked all across the new creation to see where this could be put, but could not find the proper place. Grimöha experienced anger, a warriors anger, and threw this eye deep within the earth, where are cruel aberrations and abomination would be sent to live. After these ten days were finished and she had experienced a warrior's rage, Grimöha discovered within her the immortal flame of knowing. All known wisdoms were hers and she set out to continue to spread this knowledge with all others.

### The Birth of the Gods

Grimöha, with her newfound knowledge, saw this world needed stewards to govern. From her womb and by herself, she birthed her many children, each child holding a piece of her blue flame, for they were all a reflection of her.

#### Croohorn

First was Croohorn, god of time, aging, history, prophecy, and regret. Croohorn is often depicted as a blindfolded older man in tattered robes with tomes chained to his being. He is normally shown to be holding a time candle and staff. It is said once Croohorn was given all he knew about time, he pestered his mother to remove his gift to see all that would happen. She suggested he blindfold himself if what he saw became too great, so he invented paper scrolls to wrap around his eyes.

#### Helvvartia

Next Grimöha gave birth to Helvvartia, goddess of death, the void, dark magics, widows, torture, death in battle, funeral rights and herald of the "waking". She is commonly depicted with four faces on one head to represent the four points to burial. She is frightening, with a long black tongue, cat-like eyes, sharp teeth, horns and holding a long curved sword. She had dark armor which is cloaked in nightmares. On her hip is a golden horn. It is said that if a warrior sees her on the battlefield, he is promised an honorable death and a welcome pass into paradise, but only if she bares her teeth at him. If she smiles, he is damned to oblivion, to always be forgotten. When Helvvartia came to be, Grimöha told her how the world must end. Helvvartia must blow her horn to wake Grimöha up for the apocalypse to begin, also known as ”the waking”.

#### Fer-on

The third child was Fer-on, god of seas, boats, navigation, shipbuilding, fishing, swimming, sea life, storytelling, and binge drinking. Fer-on is mainly depicted as a sailor, smiling, talking to others, holding up a ship's mast, with a battle-axe at his side. Some depictions have his smiling head emerging from the sea to speak to sailors. It is said Fer-on was born laughing, telling a fishing tall tale that never actually happened. It is told that Fer-on would later annoy the gods with constant tall tales, bothering them as they worked. Each god came to Grimöha asking for Fer-on’s mouth to be removed. Grimöha loved Fer-on's stupid stories however, and decided to create sea life, creatures that could listen underwater to Fer-on's stories away from others. Not to mention the sea life was far too dumb to be critical of Fer-on's constant bullshit stories. The gods were happy, many never seeing Fer-on again due to avoiding the ocean. Many sailors say if you tell a story and hear a laughing seagull once you finish, it is Fer-on planning to steal that story for those under the sea.

#### Frela

The fourth child was Frela, god/goddess of seasons, harvest, hearth, sacred feasts, parenting, and good magic. Frela is depicted with both male and female genitalia, normally holding a scythe while bent over in the activity of work. Considered to be a no-nonsense dirty, it was Frela that suggested a home for the gods. Grimöha agreed, leading to the gods settling in Valhights or "The realm beyond the sky". Frela is tasked as not only the trusted advisor to Grimöha, but as Grimöha's bodyguard as she sleeps. Frela took a partner in Croohorn and bore three goddesses who would be three of the four seasons, Ulti (Fall), Sunfauset (Summer) and Piartar (Spring). These goddesses are seen as the full embodiment of these three seasons, depicted as muses holding hands, waiting for Frela to give them orders.

#### Weltdhway

The fifth god born was Weltdhway "The Goldspun one" god of greed, wealth, gems, gold, money, nobles, merchants, longevity, banks, capitalism, luck, good fortune, traditions, masters who own slaves, removal of obstacles and father to Krogun. Weltdhway becoming popular over time as a luck god and is depicted as an extremely obese knight with crown, covered in shiny golden armor sitting on a throne made full of earth and precious gems. Possibly Grimöha's least favorite child, Weltdhway emerged from her womb aimless. He wasn't good really with anything at first. Grimöha found him fat, suggesting he cover his heavy build up to be seen more attractive to women. One day, while walking down a mountainside, Weltdhway found a shiny gem sticking from a rock. He dug it out, cupped his hands and fell in love with the gem. He realized other gods, spirits, and people might love these gems as he did, so he gathered gold, jewels, diamond and gems into a large bag for a year. He then showed all the gods what he had found, and they all fell in love with the shining pieces from the earth. Each god begged for these gems, offering Weltdhway power, boons, and gifts in exchange for his treasures, all but Grimöha and Helvvartia, who saw these shiny rocks as worthless. All the gods became in debt to Weltdhway, allowing him eternal power over them. Many gods grew angry with these worthless rocks and cast Weltdhway out from the palace of the gods, forcing him underground to live amongst his wealth. It is said he chuckled all the way down. Weltdhway now dwells near Helvvartia beneath the ground, him asking her "why aren’t you swayed by wealth from the ground? What thing has no wants?!" Helvvartia then replied to him "Death cannot seek nor be swayed so easily, it merely is."

One other popular myth is how Weltdhway found the love goddess Everyln bathing near the entrance to his mine. He was so overtaken with how beautiful she was, he came out from his mine demanding she lay with him to repay her eternal debt to him. Disgusted by the thought, she came up with a clever idea. She agreed but with three conditions: She must be paid handsomely for this (creating the institution of prostitution for the Frostborn culture), he must close his eyes the entire time, and she may take the form of any creature she like during their engagement. He agrees foolishly, and Everyln took the form of a male terrifying sea dragon, she overpowered Weltdhway, bringing him to submission in her bed, and then Everyln stole from him his manhood. Everyln laughed and took slight, leaving Weltdhway to go back screaming into his mine. Months later, Weltdhway would have a tremendous stomachache, leading to Weltdhway to give birth to Krogun the Worldbreaker, the spirit of disaster, the Dragon from which all earthquakes and catastrophes are caused. Weltdhway cursed this creature that was born from him, declaring that he would never aid those who suffered a tragedy from Krogun.

Weltdhway not only has popular prayers, songs, and praises among merchants, but he also receives many pleads from his merchant followers asking for a better fortune and customers. If a noble is considered to come from a very noble line, maybe will say Weltdhway smiled on him and he was ”Goldspun” by Weltdhway himself. Weltdhway is also the patron for the Frostborn's rigid caste system, for those will little money were never blessed by Weltdhway to have it, and thus it is their "duty" to be poor.

#### Ro-Martö

The sixth child is Ro-Martö, goddess of justice, war strategy, judgment, ruling, discipline, leadership, power, and healthy living. Ro-Martö is depicted usually in armor, looking down on the world wielding a lighting spear to smite criminals to oblivion. It is said that Ro-Martö cause Grimöha so much pain while giving birth to her, she cursed Ro-Martö to bear many children and feel a constant pain within her. In her rebellion, Ro-Martö invented ways to discipline her body against this pain. Early on she bore a son with Fer-on once when he came ashore, named Tryrmur, the god of mischief, thieves, murders, crime, jealousy, brutality, mistrust, and chaos. Tryrmur is normally shown as a horned sneaking armored God, usually covered in the blood of the innocent. Ro-Martö saw her son as wild, as he pillaged across the lands bringing ruin wherever he went, and so the warrior-mother went to Grimöha and begged the grandmother to help reign in her rebellious child.

##### Trial of Tryrmur

Grimöha told Ro-Martö this was her punishment, demanding that as Tryrmur's mother, she must be the one to deal with her villainous son. Ro-Martö then went the storm giants for help, asking if could help her. The Storm Giants would help her build a cage to imprison her son, however, they feared forcing a god into a cage. So Ro-Martö invented trials by elders, disciplines, and punishments for ill acts, all to prepare the taming of her son. Ro-Martö laid a trap for the wild Tryrmur, which Tryrmur easily fell into. Tryrmur was brought to trial, but through his deceit he fooled all the elders and was deemed innocent of all crimes. The gods were shocked and Ro-Martö was frustrated, she investigated why he got off only to find out that the elders she had chosen were corrupted and bribed by Tryrmur. Infuriated, Ro-Martö smote these corrupted judges and set new rules for those who dare to try to seek personal gains from justice. Ro-Martö would spend eternity trying to hunt and put on trial her evil son.

##### Ro-Martö's Children

Ro-Martö would partner with Blubber Yark the storm giant, and Ro-Martö would bare twelve more minor deities, in order they are:

1. Odü, god of learning and writing
2. HavNir, god of berserker rage
3. Yambafel, goddess of sports and athletics
4. Grove, god of farming
5. Opprella, goddess of hunting
6. Caraya, goddess of healing and medicine
7. MalTrony, goddess of punishment, drags criminals to Ro-Martö so that they may be smitten and sent to oblivion
8. Firlil, goddess of youth
9. Hemjion, god of glory, fame, and victory
10. Mirrida, goddess Music, arts, and dance, she is very popular on solstice holidays.
11. Lsafi, goddess of travelers, hosts, paths, and directions.
12. Droogal, god of drunkenness, father of beer and parties, husband to Everyln

##### Tryrmur's Children

Tryrmur, Ro-Martö’s firstborn son and god of chaos, would later marry Helvvartia, to whom she bore five demons:

1. Surturin, chief of the black flame
2. Golme, master of the drowning seas
3. Joordgun, king of the killing frost
4. Tarthon, lord of thundering earth
5. Galtrus, the eternal devourer

#### Everlyn

The seventh child of Grimöha is Everyln, goddess of pleasure, sex, orgies, courtship, happiness, love, hope, virgins and goodwill. Everyln is normally depicted as a naked beautiful woman with bright red hair and deep blue eyes. Normally in these depictions, she is dancing, drinking, having sex or merrymaking. In Frostborn culture, Everyln represents a physical love more than a romantic love. Droogal, god of drunkenness is normally seen with Everyln in many depictions of the gods in holy sites and he is her husband.

##### Everlyn's gifts to humans

Everyln has an *odd* relationship with Grimöha, to say the least, and it is a dynamic highly enjoyed by Frostborn bards (this song is banned in many lands outside Frostborn rule for its devious nature). It is said in legend that Everyln brought pleasurable sex into being against Grimöha's wishes. Everyln saw how hard the humans worked the lands, and once done had little to bring joy into their homes. Everyln asked Croohorn (god of time) if Crum (the hero war god and youngest of Grimöha's children) had ever considered giving humans godly pleasures as they had. Croohorn told Everyln that pleasurable sex like the gods had would only distract from Grimöha's will, which is why Crum never granted it to them. Saddened by this answer, Everyln set out to help humanity. Everyln with her husband Droogal hosted a party for all the gods. Droogal served them his finest ales, while she sang for them until they were lulled into a stupor. Once all the gods fell asleep, she then asked her friends, Dove and Crow, to help her pick all the fruit from all the trees in Valhights, the holy kingdom of the gods. After all were collected, she asked that the two birds to pick the fruit basket up, fly it high above the clouds so no one could see, then to rain these fruits down across the world of men. The birds did so, and when the men took part in this fruit, they were filled with lust and pleasure. Hall-Ever Yule is a sex holiday in honor of Everyln for this gift, taking place on the Full Sap Moon of each year.

Everyln has many stories that vary from tribe to tribe. In some myths, she convinces the stars to "bare themselves" so that their light can guide ships. In others, she guides the dying through Grimöha's paradise dream. Everyln is always depicted in every Frostborn story however as an advocate for humanity, for they are her beloved. Meanwhile, most of the other gods seem to not care for humanity, often too indulged by their own domains.

She bore a child with her husband Droogal, a spirit that emerged from Everyln's forehead at his birth: the Spirit Bekt, the spirit of ”angry drunkeness”. It is common for ”bad drunks” in Frostborn society to be called "sons of Bekt" or in extreme cases, "Bekt-possessed", often requiring a priest to drive out the drunken spirit.