Tuksharan mythology

The Tuksharans also have their own mythology, which they venerate alongside their beings of Buddhism and Sandharma.

## Timeline

* According to **Tuksharan mythology**, the first tribes of humanity were descended from the stellar gods Napce, Parce, and their wives. The progenitors of humanity were supposedly Āks and Leksa, Parkca and Lietca, Āmbi and Njathe, and Wandau and Warci.
* Jakkand, Murkand, Trukand, Wrekand, Leukand, Nuekand, and Hjekkand were created from the sweat of Napce and Parce. They later become the ancestors of the Greyfolk.

* Āp, the god of water, teaches Kulpind and Thunau to farm, dig wells and ditches, and catch fish.
* While scraping wooden stakes into spears, Kulpind accidentally discovers fire and creates the god Winte.
* Nurikca was killed during a quarrel with Wasardo, becoming the first human to die. Wasardo is banished with his wife and offspring, along with the evildoers Mjendira and her two husbands. Several more gods were created to keep the human tribes in order.
* As more humans are exiled, they bred with the monsters that killed and ate other humans, producing monstrous tribes in the south. Many of them were forced by the monsters to produce their offspring, and then killed and eaten. Some willingly bred with the monsters, either out of attraction or to create their own warriors to destroy the human tribes.
* In the progenitors' era, pregnancies lasted for four days, and babies grew to adulthood in four more days. Threatened by the monsters from outside and by rivals from within, some women became hyper-fertile, allowing themselves to produce many children who grew up to become the first warriors. As it led to people hurting pregnant women, the gods lengthened pregnancies and killed off anyone who threatened or hurt a pregnant woman.
* barace, wäcratnje - two tribes of warrior men who dominated monsters and bred with them. They developed into forty-six tribes of two alliances that hunted humans for sport and waged war on each other
* Over time, the monstrous peoples gathered into two powerful alliances made of forty-six tribes, outnumbering the humans. In the west, the Barace became the first kingdom, with the first king Barcike ruling over his warriors with cruelty and pikes tipped with skulls. In the east, the Wäcrita founded their own kingdom months after, and raided and pillaged nearby tribes to kill and eat their members. Wäcrita was ruled by three or four cruel kings who drank blood.
* The Barace build the first cities as fortresses against raids by the Wäcrita and other monsters.
* Barace and Wäcrita wage war against each other, seeking to dominate the other.
* 490 years after the death of Nurikca, Laeknavid and his armies attack the city of Erpiece. Even though he razed the city to the ground and slaughtered the inhabitants, he was slain by Warus the Furious. Both the king and the warrior die from each other's wounds.
* After 500 years or producing more tribesmen and tribeswomen, Āks and Leksa crumble to dust and die.
* As more murders break out within the tribes, the god Kanca creates the three Fates (Rutsra, Mirca, and Carca) to control the murderers' minds.
* Takus became the forty-fifth human to die after a bear killed and ate him. Ever since his death, humans began to experience fear. Men also began to fear other men who looked bigger than them; and women became frightened of men that looked tougher than them, hiding their children away from women and men of other spouses.
* Aksiparce Migration - Prametje, the god of the aurorae, guided the proto-Tuksharans (Aksi-Parcaines) through the northern ice wastes as the aurora borealis, sheltering them deep within a mountain until they emerged in the other hemisphere two months later into spring. After building wooden ships with another tribe of wanderers, the proto-Tuksharans settled into what is now Tukshara. But in the process, he was unable to retain his form and his body burst into flames, becoming the Galaxy.
* West Tuksharans claim that he stole fire from the gods to secretly forge magic weapons, while East Tuksharans claim that he was sent by the gods to prepare half of the Aksians and Parkcains to migrate west into their current home to avoid their tribespeople descending into debauchery and violence. He guided them through the northern wastes using his dancing wall of green fire into what is now Tukshara during the middle of the First Age.
* The Aksians and the Parkcains were conquered by the Barace. Their resulting offspring become the ancestors of the Ardeschen race.
* The monsters follow the early Tuksharans into their new home to hunt and eat its people, resulting in raids.

## List of gods

### Early gods

* Diwje - king of the gods. Preceded by Aushuros the Creator and Äkaljam the Wizard, who overthrew and banished each predecessor into the underworld.
* Svoncha, Swonca - the goddess of the sun
* Haushe - goddess of the dawn, daughter of Svoncha and Menjo
* Napce and Parce - two brothers who escort the dawn goddess as they ride on horses. They married the goddesses of the morning stars and fathered hundreds of kings and priests.
	+ Napce is associated with gentle romance, while Parce is associated with passion and desire.
* Sjarca, Wjasca, and Ljasceja - three goddesses of the horizon, created from fires dropped by the sun's disk when Mundan smashed its surface. Sjarca rules over the morning stars, Wjasca rules over the evening stars, and Ljasceja rules over the planets. Sjarca married Napce, Wjasca married Parce, and Ljasceja produced children with both Napce and Parce.
* Aksdiswe - a burning sphere that served as Diwje's messenger
* Kanca - the god of justice who observes and records every person's deeds. In some eras, he replaced Diwje as the king of the gods.
* Dūs - the god of death. He was born from the shadow of the first human that got killed after a bear tore and ate his body.
* Menjo - the god of the moon
* Prenjo, later Percune - the god of the sky, thunder, and war. Kaume's husband. Guardian of the kings, emperors, and commanders.
* Stainja - the prince of thunder, first child of Prenjo and Kaume. The god of faithfulness who blesses husbands and wives who remain loyal to their spouses.
* Maltice - the second son of Prenjo and Kaume, and a designer of other animals. His favourite animal is the leopard, which he also modified into the lion, the snow leopard, and the tiger.
* Kaume - the goddess of the earth.
* Kash - the chief god of the winds. Prenjo's younger brother.
* Jentewo - a wind god who taught humanity to mark their surroundings.
* Warjan (\*Khwarjan) - the god of good fortune.
* Wjoru - the god of the night. The souls of murdered victims and people eaten by beasts come to him for his protection, becoming the first guardian celestials.
* Āp - the god of all waters, especially rivers. It was he who taught Kulpind and Thunau to farm, dig wells and ditches, and catch fish. He also taught them to create the first calendar, based on the growth of plants, the phases of the Moon, and the seasons, helping humanity survive its first winters.
* Mundan - the minor god of unpredictable thunder
* Winte, Wicnje - the god of fire. Even though fire already existed from lightning strikes, he was born when Kulpind accidentally discovered fire while scraping wooden stakes.
* Setre - the goddess of the heart. Born when humans learned to use fire to heat their homes. She and Winte married.
* Rudal - god of the forest and animals. His favourite animal is the deer.
* Arkadce - god of the hunt. His favourite animal is the wolf.
* Moltar - god of war and strength. His favourite animal is the bear, so he and Arkadce are rivals.
* Damces - goddess of horses and marriage. She and Dwecar were among the architects of the universe: she and Rudal designed animals (horses were her favourites), and Dwecar shaped the main planets and the universe's structure.
* Dwecar - god of the forge and architecture. He and Damces are husband and wife, and their sons include Twirace (chariots, carts, ploughs), Dasca (architect of most living beings), Watelk (god of iron and metal), Trosko and Tunnas (gods of sculpting and masonry), and Purjelk (god of carpentry)

### Civilisation gods

* Rutsra, Mirca, and Carca - the goddesses of birth, life and death; the Fates (Kwewins). They were created by Kanca to stop the Aksians from murdering too many people and becoming extinct, by intervening and manipulating minds to stop murders.
* Naumei - the god of healing and research.
* Irshanwi - the goddess of medicine and foraging.
* Dwecitar - son of Damces and Dwecar. He made many designs for most lifeforms, including humanity as the playthings and dolls of the gods.
* Arjewo - god of law. After the murder of Nurikca, he appeared out of nothing to teach humanity to be orderly, to prevent themselves from becoming into monsters.
* Pälkin, Arja, Anja, and Prewisha - the goddesses of the four important positions in society: priests (or teachers), leaders, warriors, and farmers. They appeared after the death of Takus to protect humanity from the ghosts. A fifth sister, Rattrei (either having red skin or red hair), emerged as the patron of craftspeople and artists.
* Prāmetje - the god of secrets, emerging as the aurorae of the far north. In the First Age, he later guided the proto-Tuksharans (Aksi-Parcaines) through the northern ice wastes as the aurora borealis, sheltering them deep within a mountain until they emerged in the other hemisphere two months later into spring. After building wooden ships with another tribe of wanderers, the proto-Tuksharans settled into what is now Tukshara. But in the process, he was unable to retain his form and his body burst into flames, becoming the Galaxy.
	+ West Tuksharans claim that he stole fire from the gods to secretly forge magic weapons, while East Tuksharans claim that he was sent by the gods to prepare half of the Aksians and Parkcains to migrate west into their current home to avoid their tribespeople descending into debauchery and violence. He guided them through the northern wastes using his dancing wall of green fire into what is now Tukshara during the middle of the First Age.
	+ The date of the Aksiparce Migration marked the end of the Progenitors' Era.
* Māwerce and Morenca - twin gods of the storms and war. As the other tribes of humanity started murdering and committing savage acts, and a few even interbred with monsters, these gods emerged to stop the pervasive violence. Māwerce, the adopted son of Kanca, became the god of strategy who inspired leaders to keep their tribes organised to avoid heavy losses in battles. Morenca, lord of storms and adopted son of Prenjo, kills people who commit great acts of cruelty when his father or the Fates give him a target to slay.
* Kwele - the wandering bearded god of secrets and techniques. He became the patron of scholars and the intelligent.

## Characters

### Progenitors

* Āks and Leksa - the first man and woman, created by Prenjo. These became the ancestors of the other races through their sons (Kulpind, Dwirco, Thunau, Drumi, Dārwace) and two daughters (Säiśije and Mjendira). Each siblings and all of their children were given respective wives and husbands to populate the earth until the fifth generation after Āks. At first, the spawn of Āks and Leksa lived in seven tribes within the land of Āksjepja, refusing to wander beyond to avoid being harmed or eaten by monsters and spirits.
	+ Kulpind was the first farmer.
	+ Dwirco became the first craftsman.
	+ Thunau was the first hunter.
	+ Säiśije was the first weaver. She married a beautiful blond man that was created from a lump of gold, Nortar. Their children became the first humans born with blonde hair. They became the ancestors of the Mannurlings: their departure to explore the west was mourned every January.
	+ Mjendira took two men as her husbands, envious of her sister's beautiful children. Her children became the first evildoers, including Wasardo. For their violence, Aks banished her, her husbands, and half of their sons and daughters to the southeast, where she and her husbands bred and produced more monsters.
	+ Āks and Leksa were saddened by their own children murdering each other, so they wandered east and never returned. They supposed produced still more races for 500 years before they crumbled to dust and departed as ghosts.
* Parkca and Lietca - the second man and woman, created by Kaume. These two became the ancestors of the Tuksharans, created separately from Āks and Leksa after a generation to the east of Āksjepja. Unlike the Aksians, the Parkcains were the first to invent clothing to protect themselves from the elements, and then the Aksians learned to weave clothes from them instead of only covering themselves with cloaks made from animal furs.
	+ Their sons: Kaupsha, Ecil, Durconnje, Wrascil, Amedje, Kuricca, and Glecänd.
	+ Their daughters: Surwei, Alänca, Salänka, Nirware, and Wisenca.
	+ Kaupsha became the first hunter to kill a dragon.
	+ Wisenca became the first woman to become a warrior: she also taught women and girls masculine crafts to protect themselves from other threats. She became a war goddess after her death.
	+ Salänka and Ecil met the tribe of Drumi, who taught them to use the drum. Ecil courted the forager Widinci as his wife, and Salänka fell in love with the warrior Wauraka and stayed with his tribe.
* Āmbi and Njathe - the third man and woman, the first children of Napce and Sjarca. Parkca's son Kaupsha was a friend of Āmbi and Njathe, and after they went on hunts together Āmbi let him marry his sister. Āmbi later took Surwei and Alänca as his wives.
* Wandau and Warci - the fourth man and woman, the first children of Parce and Wjasca. Wandau invented games, and Warci invented dancing and music.
* Nurikca - the first human to die. He was killed by his friend Wasardo over a dispute about cutting a deer. For his crime, Wasardo was banished to the outer lands, where he was transformed into a deer monster. Ever since that day, people began to fight, quarrel, and kill other humans: many of these murderers and abusers were exiled from Aksjepja, and their victims became the first ghosts. Some of these ghosts protected their tribes as the first "ancestors" while others became monsters.
* Eipekwe - a woman who produced hundreds of sons (and dozens of daughters), all of which who quickly grew up as the first army within four days. Takus and Talus were among her sons, and her daughters became the bodyguards of the chiefs of Aks.
	+ In the progenitors' era, pregnancies lasted for four days, and babies grew to adulthood in four more days. Threatened by the monsters from outside and by rivals from within, some women became hyper-fertile, allowing themselves to produce many children who grew up to become the first warriors.
	+ Because this led to abuse against women, the gods lengthened the time of pregnancies and ordered the deaths of anyone who abused pregnant women.
* Takus and Talus - two brothers that hunted animals after observing predators: ever since, they taught humans to hunt larger animals instead of killing only birds, lizards, rodents, rabbits, and fish.
	+ Takus became the forty-fifth human to die after a bear killed and ate him. Ever since his death, humans began to experience fear. Men also began to fear other men who looked bigger than them; and women became frightened of men that looked tougher than them, hiding their children away from women and men of other spouses.
	+ Talus was the inventor of the spear and the flint. Guided by the ghost of his brother, Talus killed the bear that killed his brother and taught humans to fight monsters. He also became the third leader of Aks, defeating a cruel warlord who enjoyed killing people for sport, and through Kaupsha learned writing.
* Jakkand, Murkand, Trukand, Wrekand, Leukand, Nuekand, and Hjekkand - seven pale men that were the progenitors of the Greyfolk. They were created from the sweat of Napce and Parce. Three of them took wives from exiled women, three of them married female spirits as their wives, and Hjekkand created slaves for the others by planting his sweat into a field, being the third person to farm.

### Heroes

* Drinde - During the Third Age, he slew the dragon Engelki.

### Specific monsters

* Engelki - the greatest of dragons that lives under the oceans. Slain by the hero Drinde.
* Wäire - goddess of fear, hate, chaos, and evil

## Beings

* njäkta - a god
* pälce - a celestial
* etre - a hero
* serje - a heroine
* erserin, erserinje - a man and a woman who are destined to be together

### Dwescishe

"Dwescishe" ("of Dwescitar") are various mostly-benign spirits and creatures inhabiting nature.

* rulci - fairies and elves. Citizens of the domains of the forest god Rudal.
* paltice - nymphs, dryads, and tree wights. Beautiful men and women who protect the trees and govern the rulci.
* pälsko - any soul of spirit, including the very psyche of every individual.

### Monsters

"Andwescar" ("not of Dwescitar") is another name for various monsters, as they were believed to be not created according to Dwescitar's designs and the plans of the gods.

Some ancient humans who were exiled from the early Tuksharan tribes bred with monsters, either out of attraction, being forced by the monsters, or simply to create their own warriors to destroy the Tuksharans for revenge.

### Ancient monsters

* wolkure, wolkre - wolf-men. The children of Wasardo and his nine of his hundreds of wives.
* māksak - horde of monsters from southern Randros or Esami
* makas - goblins
* miwre - ogres and goblins that cause earthquakes
* ājoc - skeletal wraiths born from people who were not given proper burials
* encale - wraiths that abduct people into the underworld
* kelence - ogres with great bellies and muscles that live in the mountains. They enjoy killing and eating people.
* mämane, märane - humans that fell in love with monsters or simply bred them out of desperation
* barace, wäcratnje - two tribes of warrior men who dominated monsters and bred with them. They developed into forty-six tribes of two alliances that hunted humans for sport and waged war on each other. They became the ancestors of the Ardeschen peoples.
* ägoc - skinny ghouls
* śenire - ant-warriors
* wararwe - ogre men that grew like trees. Very hairy, aggressive, and sadistic.
* śorekca - men with two heads

### Later monsters

* empelje, empelja - horror
* gūwi - an old hag that abducts people and drags them into the earth
* lappil - floating skulls
* nautjo - spirits of war that murder random people. They are attracted to cruelty.

### Ghosts

* ansoitco - a ghost formed from lust or obsessive desire
* ekjance - a spirit created from one's strongest desires; psyche, genius
* ikci - eye-like ghosts

## Syncretised deities

See also: Hindu divine beings

As Tukshara converted to Buddhism, the people syncretised several deities from Prisapura into their mythology.

* Ribhus, Rabhus, Arbhus - three sons of Sundhanvan known for their creative works and masterpieces. They were once humans, but became gods after drinking four cups of soma (a holy nectar used by the gods).
* Jamaradzha, Jammarace - the judge of the dead
* Nataradja, Natraca - the god of dance and eternity who dances among the stars. The consort of Kāli.
* Kāli - the goddess of justice and protection from evil
* Kubera - lord of wealth and treasures
* Bhadra - goddess of the hunt
* Wace - goddess of language and classical literature
* Pūshan - guardian of travellers
* Warune - god of the seas
* Mara - the devourer of souls

### Minor beings

* piśace - angry ghost, soul of a tormented victim
* daitje - monster
* asūre - ogre, brute
* gandharwa - a bird-like man who plays music in heaven
* widjadhari - air angels
* naga - dragon
* garude - eagle-men
* kumbandha - earth-dwarf
* wetala - vampire

## Religious terminology

* śānti - sacred rite of protection
* śāstär - holy book, scripture

## See also

* Gauvajut mythology
* Slavic mythology
* Baltic mythology
* Norse mythology
* Parmankjapoin mythology