The Monomyth

**The Monomyth** is the name given to the consensus of catovilan mythology. Its most well-known story is the universal creation myth; how the gods and forces came to be; but it also involves the creation of the world, the creation of the Antitheses, and a collection of cautionary tales of fey and spirits.

## The Creation Myth

### The Beginning

In the beginning, there were two primordial forces, Oribis the Everything and Nihaskis the Nothing. The Everything was the entity of stasis, with the power to maintain. The Nothing was the entity of chaos, with the power to change. Together, they co-existed in the void, a vast ocean of inky black emptiness, and there was nothing except for these two. They did not know how to harness their powers, and could not create or maintain any constants in their sea.

Oribis was patient, accepting of their struggle. They would routinely attempt to concentrate their power, but remained hopeful when they would fail.

Nihaskis was impatient, angered by the repeated failings in their relentless pursuit of concentrating their power.

### The Birth of Se and the Aspect of Time

Concerned with Nihaskis' obsession, Oribis tried to intervene, resulting in an altercation between the two. It escalated, and in the initial unbalanced clashes between them, their power began to spark, creating the Old Ones, beings of unreality who existed outwith comprehension. Further still, their battle escalated, and so intense in its fierceness was it that the pair unleashed their powers simultaneously, their powers merging into one, forming Se, the First God.

As Se fell from this burst of power, He landed in the void and, upon impact, caused ripples across the surface. From these ripples came the aspect of Time, and the impact was so intense that the ripples still form even to this day.

### The Sundering of Se

Se was wise, learning patience from Oribis and passion from Nihaskis. He had inherited from them both a part of their powers, and swore to stop the battle that raged between them.

In a bid to appease them both, Se tore Himself asunder, and from the fragments of His body, at once The Moons were born, and from His essence, The Stars were formed.

In splitting Himself, Se had succeeded in appeasing His Creators. However, Oribis and Nihaskis realised that without Se, they could never find moderation between them. Therefore, they combined their powers to piece Se back together again, to use him as their force of balance. And so it was that Se came to be, to watch over The Moons and Stars, and how the forces of Chaos and Stasis sought balance with one another.

## The World Bones (The Creation of Cato Vilo)

It was not long after their creation that The Moons grew restless in the void. It was too empty, and they sought something to dedicate themselves to.

With Se's guidance overseeing the project, and the ever-present influence of Oribis and Nihaskis, The Moons set themselves the task of creating something of their own.

First, they threw their powers together, attempting various combinations to see what would work. Unfortunately, everything they tried quickly fell apart, unable to remain constant without a framework.

Se advised them to each create the foundations, giving each foundation defining attributes that will help to shape the world.

And so it was that The World Bones were made, great dragons handcrafted by The Four with distinct characteristics to create the most diverse and interesting world possible. To finalise their creation, they combined their names, and so the world of Cato Vilo was born.