Zergonian mythology

This is a list of characters, locations, and concepts in the mythology of the Zaragunian culture and its descendant of Bigton. Much of it was derived from the British fantasy and sci-fi franchise known as "Wicker and Wander Flame".

These details are as in the Third Edition, the present edition of the franchise.

## Deities

### Fantasy pantheon

* Fano - the creator of the universe
* Thambar - first of the thanxarins, ancient rulers of the world.
	+ His successors include Thimbilax of the Blue Sky, Hernondex of the Golden Forge, Arandax the Blood-Bladed, and Rathari the Tree-King. After 96 thanxarins, the line ended with the rise of the titans, and then a dynasty of giants starting from Thallurgo the Smith and ending with Cronos the Cannibal.
* Ara-xara - the Fire-hawk, former god of fire turned into the supreme deity of the Zergonian pantheon, if not the only one.
* Arinnis - green goddess of the Welthessa Forest.
* Firlen and Firlenda - two sisters who are the goddesses of spring. Firlen is feminine and she uses her magic to enhance spring when it occurs; while her older sister Firlenda controls the animals of the forest and the barbarians and monsters that venerate her.
* Xarn - an evil king from the far side of the world, on the harsh continent of Xurnerka. Lives to the south of Vanorsa. His army consists of dirt and rock-golems, sorcerers, warlords, barbarians, vampires and dark knights. He and Vanor constantly fight for dominance.
* Vanor the Tormentor - an evil king from the far side of the world. Known for his black fortress, his dark-armoured and sparsely-clothed armies of enforcers, fanatics, and warlocks.
* Skandi - ice goddess of the north. Rival to Arinnis.
* Skrindia - a beautiful princess who ascended to godhood as a lunar deity. Was noted for her split personality: she alternates between a love of art and her pet horses, and a cruel jealousy against the inhabitants of the world for their love of the sun. Sometimes, her attempts to attack the world to impose perpetual night makes her an antagonist.
	+ Some nocturnal peoples, such as the zergelos wolves and the tir elves, revere her as their guardian, placating her wrath.
* Four Gods of Death
* Megalensa, Megalse - an eastern goddess who oversees fertility, crops, and horses. She rides on a white horse.

### Wickwander pantheon

* Ara-xara - the Fire-hawk, supreme deity of the Phenoras Collective.
* Pharnes - the god of machines and engineering
* Cronos - the dark god of black holes, death, chaos, and oblivion.
	+ Formerly the last emperor of the Fourth Titan Civilisation (Quarch Jargosei). Like his fantasy counterpart, he was a cannibal who also had his breeding pits and monsters, until a transmutation gone wrong destroyed his body and banished him to the Netherrealm.
* Phulgar and Rhundros - the dark gods of corrupted machines. The rulers of the dismal Netherrealm, they represent and are fuelled by the worst attitudes and atrocities of every civilisation in the universe.
* Balx Gods - war gods from the northwestern half. Balgaxor, the fifth most-powerful of the Balxes, rules the barren planet of Trisoltar.

## Characters

Characters in the First Edition - (1st)

Characters in the Second Edition - (2nd)

Characters from Greek mythology, added in the Second Edition - (Gr.)

* Jola Stefano/Stolinnos - (1st) a bear from ancient Greece (later the easterly kingdom of Thamanduz) who was cursed to stay awake and then sleep every September. He was cursed by Cronos to be a wanderer after he saw Cronos eat his own children and drink their blood.
* Cronos - (Gr.) a giant king that ate his own children.
	+ Formerly the Emperor of the World (or the last Thanxarin) and the keeper of many dragons (like Tiufon), he was a tyrant that enjoyed eating. His death by lightning strike plunged his civilisation of giants, ogres, and titans into chaos and anarchy, unleashing millions of monsters into the world.
	+ He was notorious for creating the breeding pits, artificial mounds and wombs of flesh.
* Tiufon - (Gr.) a giant lizard that controls tornados. Disputed lord of all dragons, as other elder dragons rebelled against him and outgrew him.

* Ratherxon the Green Knight - (2nd) a cergol (pumpkin-person) who served as the champion of the kingdom of Arvantris.

* Wirwaxal the Battle-Princess - (2nd) a female cergol that was adopted as the pet of Princess Mirthuz of Verthexia. Fascinated by Mirthuz's martial arts, she asked her to teach her to fight, and became Mirthuz's apprentice and squire.

* Herruspex the Skulltaker - (2nd) a cergol from the east known for his bloodlust and his habit of collecting skulls.

* Rûndollon the Herald of Death - (2nd) a cergol under the service of the Four Gods of Death. He escorts the souls of the dead to the Land of the Dead, where they wander until their gods summon them.
* Nargol and Therex - (2nd) a duo consisting of a werewolf and a cergol who became friends. They wander the world in search of adventure and monsters to slay and torture.
* Hallondast - (1st) the Green Knight. A champion during the Titan Age who battled the oppressive Thanxarins. For his protection of his fellow humans from extinction, the gods rewarded him by making him an angel.
	+ There are other Green Knights who were consecrated by the gods as their agents and protectors of the world.
	+ In the clean version, Hallondast has one wife, and the women who accompanied him were her friends who later governed his kingdom of Hallon. In the original (and uncensored) version, Hallondast's retinue of women are his wives and sexual lovers, attracted by his challenges against the titans who oppressed and ate their families.
* Mundar the Dueller - (2nd) a barbarian warrior who enjoyed duels and challenges. Herruspex was occasionally a friend of his as the two enjoyed sparring against each other.
* Surnuien the Mermaid - (2nd) a seiren woman who became her own protagonist. She was popular after her seirenii became famous for their unusual method of reproduction.
	+ Later, she ended up with Prince Luensor, and then broke up with him as she was not impressed with his arrogance. After her separation, various fans made boyfriends for her (another prince, a seiren man, a muscular seiren man, a humble fisherman, a werewolf, etc.). After a poll, the humble fisherman won the most votes, ending up as Surnuien's partner.
	+ Unusually, she and Zathesa are good friends, even combining her water powers with Zathesa's lightning to defeat their enemies.

### Human heroes

#### First Edition

* Quindoris - a hero clad in gold who fights against the greatest evils of the world. Became unpopular because his "saving the world" ended the First Edition. lol
	+ Zergonians remembered him as "the greatest mistake".
* Prince Primald and Ranger Ferbris - (1993) two protagonists used in tutorials.
* Zarchand the Barbarian - a character from pulp stories. He was a very bad-tempered ruffian, popular among rogues and over-masculine types.
* Ulstand and Gjollur - two barbarians from pulp stories. They are known for solving problems by working together, popular among average people.
	+ Rivals against Zarchand, but also friends of Primald and Ferbris, who taught them fencing and foreign languages.
* Hendria - a female barbarian warrior. She was originally created as eye candy for male audiences, and later to attract female players.
	+ One amusing saga involved Hendria being a rival against Dulcia and Valanxe, the latter of which defeat Hendria by working together. The "cartoonish" downfalls of Hendria and Zarchand led to many seasoned players complaining against the game.
* Princess Dulcia - a princess of the vain kingdom of Pompadour. She and Valanxe liked to play tennis.
* Princess Valanxe - Dulcia and Valanxe are the choices for Zarchand, and later Ulstand and Gjollur. After several polls, Ulstand gets Valanxe and Gjollur gets Dulcia. This led to angry protests and brawls between feminist punk clubs and fans.
	+ However, some of those same feminists liked Valanxe and Dulcia because they tended to work together. To make matters *better*, the princesses' tales even inspired younger girls (and boys) to do good things!
* Dragon Lady Calchor - A princess who keeps a dragon and becomes a sorcerer.
	+ A character created in response to the angry complaints from feminist punks.
	+ Even though she is technically an antagonist, she also commands a playable army of dragons, amazons, warrior women, knights, and monsters.
	+ Her weapon is a sceptre and a sword.
	+ Zergonians invoked her name to channel her wrath in battle.
* Unicorn Lady Hirsil - A fairy princess who keeps a glade of unicorns in the east.
	+ Another character designed to attract older girls who outgrew their pony shows and fairy tales. Rival of Calchor.
	+ Her weapon is a sabre sword of moon-tear metal.
	+ Zergonians treated her as a saint who gives good dreams at night and makes wishes come true.

#### Second Edition

* Dalthor the Barbarian - (2001) a character used in tutorials. The first character of the Second Edition's first game.
* Axond and Bergand the Knights - (2001) two characters used in tutorials. Axond's shield is blue and white, and Bergand's shield is yellow-black with an eagle.
* Vicela - formerly a maiden princess, later a fighter. Became the cause of a rivalry between Dalthor and the knights for her affection: in 2006, she chooses Axond for being the friendliest one of them all (not the most handsomest).
	+ From 2006 onwards, Axond, Bergand, and Vicela become a trio, and from 2009 onwards, Axond and Vicela form their own team as a battle couple for lovers.
	+ Later a rival of Hendria.
* Viesthe the Warrior - (2002) A rival to Dalthor, Axond, and Bergrand. A knight in green and red armour.
* Arlois the Paladin - (2006) an archetypical knight, used in tutorials and later given his own campaign. Blonde and blue-eyed, he attracts many women (and sometimes men!) with his stunning looks spoiled by his clumsy antics.
	+ He also has two white stallions, Rupert (a decent counterpart to his poor social image) and Rhagand (a smart unicorn).
* Candarth, Thonsard, and Prince Luensor the Knights - three best friends from the east. Candarth's shield is blue and green, Thonsard's shield is blue and black, and Prince Luensor's shield is red-black-gold with fleur-de-lises.
	+ Candarth is good with attack and quick speed, Thonsard is skilled with defence, and Luensor is good with combo attacks.
* Hendris the Barbarian - (2008) a warrior woman of ameson origin. She returns from the First Edition, and she has become a lone hunter. She uses a sword and a bow instead of a club.
* Hirsila the Unicorn Princess - (2008) a damsel and a warrior. Unlike the First Edition, she has taken a more martial aspect, wearing silvery armour.
	+ She is also depicted as a human wizard aligned with the good deities, a friend of some humans and the sorcerers of Turma (which she is later revealed to be one of them). She also convinces the isolated Turmaians to help their human and non-human allies.
	+ Revealed to be the teacher and mentor of Vicela.
	+ Two of her unicorns, the mares Luindis and Liorrae, have fallen in love with Arlois' horses.
* Calchor - (2005) a dragon knight who returns from the First Edition, to great applause. She leads her own faction of barbarians and dragons, but this time she helps the good guys.
* Viedryo the Ameson - (2006) a warrior woman with super strength. She and Hendris were playmates and sparring buddies who liked to challenge each other. Viedryo loves to challenge people into fights, including several boyfriends whom she rejected as "weak and unworthy".
* Raëgur the Fire Mage - (2008) a young, red-headed fire wizard from Turma. Although several wizard girls fought over him, he eventually chose Alqueno as his girlfriend.
* Aeskar the Lightning Mage - (2008) a young, blonde fire wizard from Turma. He and Raegur are good friends who liked teasing and competing with each other.
* Glexiras the Fire Mage - (2008) a young fire wizard from Turma. She is more feminine.
* Alqueno the Fire Mage - (2008) a young fire wizard from Turma. She is a tomboy, so she hangs around with Raegur and Aeksar.
* Zathesa the Lightning Mage - (2008) a young lightning wizard from Turma. Strangely for her, she is a friend of the seirenii, which made her more fascinated by their culture.
* Krindax the Ice Mage - (2008) a young ice wizard from Turma. A quite quiet individual, she might be influenced by a certain anime character from Japan.

## Creatures

### Celestials and spirits

* cira-ciz - the death-girl, a young female who appears to dying people.
* glexizda - a star angel that brings madness to any who observe him or her.

* Metiêz Xawlciz - the Eyes of Eternity
* nomodol - month-devourer
* ollollin - ghosts, the souls of deceased or slain beings
* lensien - rainbow ghouls or (in later editions) rainbow wraiths
* imúrci - ghost of decay

* gliyedz - wrath-wraiths
* barsiia - barrow-wights
* garore - ghosts of male cowards
* anomel - ghosts of female cowards

### Monsters

* golargo - mountain ogre.
* haidre - (Gr) hydra, dragon with many heads
* karpoi - (Gr) harpy, evil and wild birdpeople
* kîglopso - (Gr) cyclops
* piegaso - (Gr) winged horse
* nikornoc, nikron - unicorn
	+ Used as steeds by many civilisations for their officers and rulers. Some unicorns, known as knocorns, are smart and sentient enough to be used as pets.
* vancornoc, varcorn - black unicorn.
	+ Varcorns are descendants of mutated nikron warsteeds. Unlike their ancestors, they tend to be omnivorous, eating both plants and meat.
	+ Varcons are not necessarily evil: some varcons can be tamed, and others can be gentle. Some even think and behave like clumsy, overgrown dogs with hooves, neighing instead of barking.
	+ Four (or eight) varcorn mares are the steeds and pets of the lunar goddess Skrindia.
* xaorcornoc - dark unicorn. The steeds of the Dark Lords Xarn and Vanor.
* worrox - black great centipedes
* taijen - birthday cake monster that accelerates aging
* zholt - white great centipedes
* grifo - (Gr.) griffon
	+ The ancient civilisations of Thaar, Hyancori, Haivelxe, and mountainous Aarusil use gryphons as cavalry and artillery instead of horses.

* shelg - breeding pit, a blob or wall of flesh.
	+ The shelgs were created by the later thanxarin emperors to fulfill their sexual fantasies and breed more servants, slaves, monsters, and food.

### Sentient tribes

These creatures tend to live as communities, whether as primitive tribes, or settled political states that may or may not have diplomatic relations with the human civilisations of the world.

Many of the more monstrous tribes (but not all) tend to be creations of ancient tyrants, such as Cronos.

* seiren - (Gr) a mermaid who uses her music to lure sailors, kill them, and eat them
	+ Some seirenii hunt humans for sport: they are known as "hunter seiren". Without needing semen, these female and male seirenii lay eggs on the full moon that hatch into little seirenii and grow to adulthood in a week: this is how they quickly create an army of warriors in a short span of time. Sometimes they also keep other seirenii as slaves as breeders, to spawn more warriors and slaves.
	+ Hunter seiren tend to be produced from the pets of the titans and giants that were released to the sea to harass primitive tribes. They also have no romantic or sexual desires, but those that do were bullied by the rest of their tribes as "creeps", or exiled.
	+ Seirenii who do not want to produce eggs hide themselves from moonlight during a full moon.
	+ Some seirenii are friendlier to humans, as they were the descendants of the sunken civilisations of Radii and Plarii. While these seirenii also lay eggs every full moon, they also reproduce sexually, which influences the eggs that they lay.
	+ The Warandei seirenii do not hunt humans, but harbour sea pirates; many young Warandeii also fall in love with the pirates, marry them, and have hybrid offspring. They learn to build guns and cannons from the pirates, and they share their technology to the pirates.

* tujarc - walking stomach-ogres
* xawlcîz - immortal
	+ While most xawlcizez tend to be humans from the High Kingdoms, some xawlcizez are non-humans who became immortal through chemicals or magical powers.
* zargothuz - wolf-people, barbarian wolves
	+ Although most zargothuzez are savages, some zargothuzez worked as mercenaries and menial labourers, while a few became scholars. Anyone who is attracted by them would risk becoming a zargothuz themselves.
	+ There is even a kingdom of white zargothuzez in the east, the Algeroi. Algeroi zargos worship a pantheon of moon and forest deities, and in their castles they forge magical weapons to fight the vampires and dark lords.
* zergelos - werewolves, wolves that turn into humanoids and back.
* tir - moon elves
	+ Many of them revere Skrindia as their patron goddess and the bringer of civilisation. Skrindia supposedly rescued them from being slaves and food to Cronos' monsters.
* tri, trimi - tree people, dryads
* olin - smaller humans descended from failed experiments
	+ In the southern oceans lie islands of olinez, such as the rivalling kingdoms of Lurthi, Trigarxi, and Smunthi. Most Smunthians are worshippers of Skrindia.

* karpoi - (Gr) harpy, evil and wild birdpeople
	+ They tend to live in mountainous areas.
* osidari - ice maidens

* ameson - (Gr) tougher barbarian women that live in the north
* gargara - (Gr) tougher barbarian men that live in the north
* pallasa - (Gr) demigoddess warriors that live in the south. Some despise men as dirty, while others seek to be carried by a strong prince.
* alodå - (Gr) arrogant giants that live in fortresses
* cergol - pumpkin people, who exist as males and females. Even though they were created by evil wizards, some pumpkin people. They reproduce by spraying pollen from their flowers to other pumpkin peoples' flowers, but only male cergolez can pollinate female cergolez to impregnate them.
* skarixar - ice-wraiths
	+ Creations of the goddess Skandi, as she did not want to be alone.
* vampires
	+ There are three races (or subspecies of vampires) in the Wanderflame world: the xaarnon, the zerjor, and the jernar. These vampires were descendants of a primitive race of humans that stayed too long inside caves, making their bodies more atrophied. All three of them view themselves as superior and all other living beings as prey.
	+ Xaarnon vampires in the north are more civilised and restrained. Although they look down on humans, they occasionally fight alongside them against a common threat. Some Xaarnon vampires experiment with deadly chemicals and minerals, often with technology stolen from other countries.
	+ Zerjor vampires are very sadistic and cruel. They enjoy hunting, killing, and eating other people, making them the enemies of the civilised world. Even other vampires hate them, seeing them as reckless cannibals who do not hesitate hunting their own kind for sport.
	+ Jernar vampires are the least civilised, descending further into barbarism. They mostly flap their arms as wings to fly, and they have become more bat-like.
* jurxe
	+ Descendants of a mutated race of humans that were used by the titans and giants as jesters.
	+ Some jurxe were barbarian tribes that roamed the lands to raid and kill the locals, hunting them for sport. They enjoyed pursuing frightened victims to eat.
	+ Other jurxe wandered away from their tribes, having more intelligence than their savage peers. They established their own kingdoms and knighthoods, imitating and trading with the more civilised-kingdoms around them.

### Sentient creatures

These creatures tend to be solitary, in spite of their sentience.

* spinxo - (Gr) a lion with a man's head that guards desert tombs

* gorgo - (Gr.) snake woman that turns people to stone or eats them. Gorgos tend to be archers, and a few use crossbows and guns.
	+ Most gorgos tend to be solitary, living near the breeding pits that spawned them.
	+ Gorgos were among the descendants of Cronos. They breed with the breeding pits to produce gorgo eggs.

* golargo - mountain ogres

## Locations

### Religious locations

* Lirazka - heaven, a forest of orange leaves and pumpkins where it is always September.
* Lorehaz - hell, a monstrous forest where it is always March.
* Cîztar - the land of death, an otherworldly dimension where the deceased souls wander. Some ghosts build their own settlements to survive and fend off the dangers of Cîztar, while others are summoned by the gods into their respective afterlifes.
	+ Even atheists (those who willingly reject the gods) still get chosen and summon by their respective gods into an afterlife, depending on their actions.

### WnWF locations

* Warandia - a mixed federation consisting of merpeople and human pirates. Known for being the best gunsmiths and gunfighters of the Hesperin Ocean, and also an unlikely ally.
* Turma - a civilisation of armoured sorcerers and magicians, located along a mountainous area on the northern part of an equatorial continent near the equator. Isolated and wary of other civilisations, which include enemies that denounced them as "witches", or tyrants that enslaved their people as human batteries.
	+ In earlier editions, they were known as Dromen. They are also known as the Stormbeard Mountains.

### Wickwander (sci-fi) locations

* Trisoltar - a red desert planet with three suns. Domain of the war god Balgaxor.
* Netherrealm - a parallel dimension inhabited by monsters.

## Differences from earlier editions

### First edition

Very much like Griffulgar, its inspiration. Set in a continent resembling Western Europe, with a typical fantasy setting populated by humans, elves, ogres, and dwarves.

A Dark Land in the East, and other eastern lands such as:

* Moonlands (fairy elves)
* Paladinia (Prester John)
* Unicorn Plains (Mannulli, Mannulli)
* Amazonia
* Fountain of Youth

### Second edition

"Abolition" of good/evil alignment

2001 - Greek mythology - Emperor Cronos and his monsters and flesh pits added

2003 - No more orcs and dwarves, lesser elves. Now they have been replaced by horror movie characters, such as werewolves, clowns, and scarecrows.

2004 - seirenii mermaids added. Originally, they were monsters and antagonists that hunted and ate humans for sport, but after details of their reproduction attracted more people into the Wanderflame fandom, they became playable characters.

2005 - Turma added as a domain for playable magic-user characters and wizards.

## Later additions

During the 2010s and 2020s, the two brothers who created the franchise allowed several artists to join them as co-creators. These new artists added their own lore into both franchises, influenced by their favourite shows and video-games. The additions' contrasting content and supposed ideological influence sparked a "civil war" within the Wanderflame fandom in March 2018.

## Bigtonian folklore

Bigton's founders practiced a Zergonian culture mixed with American influences. They later adopted Norse traditions.

### Norse

* Odin - a wise king from the stars. He is accompanied with two ravens, and he rides on a white horse with eight legs.
	+ Seeking him for wisdom is considered very dangerous, for Odin may trick you into ruin for his own amusement. But if you still persist, he might be impressed by your loyalty through many dangers, and he might reward you with intelligence and foresight.
* Thor, Asa Thor - a brave lord with a red beard. He protects people from danger with his magic hammer, the mjolnir: to honour him and the gods, Norse Bigtonians wear mjolnir pendants and display mjolnirs as their cultural emblem.
* einherjar - an angel of Odin who fights for him against the forces of evil. Many einherjar were born from people who die fighting in wars.
* thrisvald, "good brother/sister" - a good spirit reborn from the soul of a brave warrior. Usually a good person from the "Three Brothers" (Australia, India, and Mexico), who defend the other nations from the tyranny of the Four Powers. However, the Vetarbroitar also add that anyone can become a thrisvald by defending people from harm or improving their lives.
* föri (pl. förjar) - a ghost born from the souls of wicked Americans who sought to conquer the world. They target outcasts and artists, seeking to possess them to wage war on their societies and impose colonies for an American empire.
	+ In Vetarbroitar superstition, the förjar can be avoided by not saying their name and not using animal costumes. If you still must wear an animal costume, you can avoid them by praying to Thor and wearing a mjolnir.
	+ This ghost is the basis of a game known as förgrip. It is played by four players, who will say the most outrageous things while wearing costumes of wolves and dogs. The most reckless player wins the game, and is rewarded with a bucket or a cup of iced water poured on his head while the pourer sings a hymn to Thor.
	+ One traditional song used during this game is "May Thor Scorch The Fur Out Of Me".
	+ They are often depicted alongside the other monsters of Loki, including the jotnar giants. At Yule, mock battles are fought by players who represent the einherjar against the förjar.
* drau - an evil ghost

### American

* Jimmy Jamber - a cowboy who fights bandits and corrupt officials. The Bigtonians use him as a symbol of independence, and the "renewal" of their own American culture.

### Bigtonian

* conequoz - a sort of robot made from scraps built at festivals to honour the ancestors.

## Trivia

* Wicker and Wander Flame is influenced by Warhammer Fantasy, medieval European folklore, Dungeons and Dragons lore, and Greek mythology.
* Although the Zergonians of Bigton mostly worship the Araxara bird of the science fiction lore, they also use the fantasy lore to teach moral lessons.

### Pronunciation

* å - [ɔ]
* c - [kʰ-], [k]
* ê - [æ]
* é - [eː]
* h - [h], [x] before consonants and at end of words
* î - [iː]
* j - [d͡ʒ]
* k - [kʰ~qʱ]
* o - [ɔ~o]
* ó - [o]
* qu - [kʷ]
* r - [ɹ~r]
* sh - [ʃ]
* t - [tʰ-], [t]
* th - [θ]
* u - [ʊ]
* ú - [u]
* x - [ks~gz], [z-] at the start of words
* y - [j]
* zh - [ʒ]

## See also

* Zergonian glossary
* Rinnarit mythology
* Eternity Day
* Zergonian calendar
* Fictional works in the Rinnarverse