Twelve Thinkers

The **Twelve Thinkers** (Todwekai, Thadwekoi) were twelve philosophers or sorcerers in Heronoi mythology. They are considered among the Gods of Pain.

## History

In the Tenth Galactic Empire, twelve intellectuals were banished by the Vigefionian emperor for raising an activist movement and fighting against his armies with magical powers. He locked them into a spaceship bound towards a furnace-star to see what will happen to their souls.

Months after their disappearance, they reappeared to torment the Vigefionians who sent them to their deaths. Occasionally, the Thadwekoi appeared to their masters' creations to stir them into rebelling and forming their own civilisations. For helping the trickster god Kojarena, he encouraged his creations to worship the Twelve Thinkers to gain access to their magical powers.

## List of the Thinkers

* Gwedasuro - the leader of the twelve, and a master sorcerer. Patron of the month of July, rainstorms, and stormy weather. His colour is white, and his emotion is meditation.
	+ The kodequara and the forest wights use this month to practice powerful magical spells, as it is when the boundaries between the spiritual and physical realms are weakest. He is depicted as a man in gold-red robes, with a fiery upwards beard of white hair wreathed in magic.
	+ The kuritawanoi are happiest during this month, because they love storms and the sea. They sometimes launch raids and pranks on coastal settlements out of excitement.
* Othadwo - the red god of rage and fire. Patron of the month of August, and his emotion is obviously rage and fury.
	+ The kodequara call him "Thonandora", and venerate him as their war god. Some kodequara warriors paint their arms with blue or red dye to invoke him in battle. He is depicted as a robot wreathed in fire armed with an axe.
	+ The kuritawanoi celebrate the thirteenth day of the month or the full moon as the foundation of their kingdom. Like their land-dwelling counterparts, they depict him as a flaming automaton, but with a golden colour and with pointed ears.
	+ The middle of August, its full moon, is considered the birthday of Kojarena, when he was first built.
	+ The kodequara celebrate Kojarena's birthday by selecting one of their members to enter a trance. The chosen doll is possessed by the god of rage, angrily smashing several demonic effigies and burning them with his or her magic. After the ceremony, the Chosen of Thonandora is hailed as a hero, as he or she is given more strength and magical power: said dolls end up becoming royal bodyguards or teachers for magical adepts.
* Miraudori - Patron of the month of September, culinary arts, plants, and pottery. His colour is yellow, and his emotion is delight.
	+ The hoquosari and kodequara celebrate this as the month when their civilisation was founded. They sometimes hold mock battles to symbolise their initial victories over the humans.
	+ Many kodequara also enjoy sculpting during the month.
* Korydata - Patron of the month of October, the earth, and forging. His colour is green, and his emotion is obsession.
	+ This is when the kodequara begin their research projects, so the month is dedicated to science. They fix and maintain the machines the kuritawanoi use to build landmasses in the ocean.
* Maxogaka - Patron of the month of November, weaving, and hunting. His colour is blue, and his emotions are satisfaction and concentration.
	+ Among the kuritawanoi, Maxogaka is instead worshipped as the god of smiths and sculptors. In honour of him, the portals to asteroids are opened, and teams of kuritawanoi cross the portals to drag huge chunks of rock to be piled into the seas, and then magically sculpted into new islands within four months.
	+ This is when the Kodequara worship the Moon.
* Irewaidate - Patron of the month of December, the sea, and magic. His colour is red, and his emotion is excitement.
	+ According to kodequara lore, this is the month when their creator god is strongest, allowing them to easily channel and cast powerful spells. This is why many kodequara love this month.
	+ On the other end, they also conduct rites against the winter demons, such as the paitejo.
	+ The kuritawanoi refer this god as Irevoi, the god of the oceans. To honour him, they catch a shark on the full moon, and kill and burn the shark on an altar as a sacrifice to Irevoi and the creator god.
	+ The hoquosari instead hold rites in honour of the winter stars.
* Mejawaroi - the yellow god of fear, lightning strikes, electricity, machines, and overcoming disasters. Patron of the month of January, and his emotion is torment and sadness.
	+ The kodequara raise banners with comets. They also build machines salvaged from scrap and apply magic into those machines.
	+ They also send out dozens of scouts into Heronoja and nearby nations to explore the human world.
* Arotuxa - Patron of the month of February and the song. His colour is green, and his emotion is happiness.
	+ This is when the new islands are finished. The kuritawanoi perform ceremonies to infuse magic into these islands and plant trees all over the islands.
	+ This is when the kodequara worship the stars.
* Wadwesarote - Patron of the month of March, the past, and death. His colour is blue, and his emotion is sadness.
	+ This month is regarded as the month of mourning among the forest kodequara, as it commemorates the day when their civilisation was defeated by the Heronoi.
	+ In some eras, the kodequara instead celebrate this as the start of spring. They celebrate the forest wights by thanking them; inviting them to their feasts of mutton and venison; and offering tribute in the form of wooden, stone, and metal handicrafts.
* Hesparote - Patron of the month of April and love. His colour is red, and his emotion is romance.
	+ This month is regarded as a holy month to the forest kodequara, when they thank the forest wights for protecting them from being exterminated. In honour of them, they plant more trees.
	+ To celebrate, some kodequara couples build new kodequara as their own children to be showered with their love.
* Aunasudwo - Patron of the month of May, the dawn and the rising sun, and the future. His colours are orange or yellow, and his emotion is hope and curiosity.
	+ This month is when the hoquosari begin their research projects.
	+ This is when the kodequara worship the Sun.
* Nisadwiso - Patron of the month of June, spirits, the hunt, and war. His colour is green, and his emotion is vigilance.
	+ As this is the month when ghosts and Ardeschi ghost-warriors wander the earth, the three kodequara nations hold ceremonies to keep the ghosts away from their cities. The forest kodequara light will-o'-the-wisps to purify and exorcise hostile ghosts.
	+ The hoquosari hold rites to worship the summer stars.

## Mythology

In Wosono (and later the Heronoi), each Thadweko represents an emotion and a colour, such as joy, fear, excitement, romance, rage, courage, and torment. Some Epadwaranai invoked their names to channel their magical powers.

They are also worshipped by some kodequara as a circle of star sorcerers who serve as Kojarena's elite court. Three months, July, December, and June, are considered the best of all months, as these months are when their magic becomes stronger.

## Trivia

* The Twelve Thinkers were inspired by a prompt by a Twitter bot, which involved twelve Marxists within a shooting star.
	+ The author expanded the idea further by depicting the Marxists asking the star to give them supernatural powers to fight injustice. When they returned to earth to conquer it, they set up a world regime shared between all of them. The star cursed them to fight and kill each other, and the last of the twelve was tormented by the angry ghosts of his former comrades. When he died, his world empire was plunged into civil war, and the star was glad that it achieved its dream of spreading chaos.
* The Twelve Thinkers may also be inspired by the Elven Cadai gods of Warhammer.

## See also

* Twelve Goddesses of the Months, their Heronoi equivalent.
* Tuxavin mythology, another pantheon of twelve gods.