Ofasa

**Ofasa** is revered as the God of Boons and Plenty, Lord of Rain and of the Harvest and Sire of Sunrise by the ice trolls. He is one of the Emneraki Loa, and he is depicted in the likeness of a monumental, four-tusked troll with hirsute brown legs, a bloated golden belly and the face of a wild hog,

## Ofasa

### Title

God of Boons and Plenty
 Lord of Rain and of the Harvest
 Sire of Sunrise

### Relatives

Ayu'nama (mother)
 Gadesa (father)
 Zar Zaradan Zaur (grandfather)
 Nawida (uncle)
 Akali (brother)
 Mor'thek (half-brother)

## Myth

In myth, it is told that Ofasa was born of Zaradan’s seventh son, Gadesa, and the Earth herself, Ayu’nama, in the era of the First Aroda. She mothered him jealously, spoiling him with sumptuous suppers and boundless mead, leaving him to want for naught. This caused Ofasa to grow swollen and tall, until he became so large that his guts burst open, giving birth to the Lake of Fahari, whose banks were rich in bounty and whose waters teemed with many fish.

Beholding her broken son, Ayu’nama wept and with her shining tears forged a plate of lucid gold to hold his body back together. Still, Ofasa would not stir, thus she beseeched her lover Gadesa, who in turn beseeched Zaradan. The mighty wyrm, who was weary from a hundred nights of weaving the heavens, descended upon his grandson Ofasa and spoke life back into him. Rising to his feet, Ofasa was awash with joy and gratitude, vowing that he would never eat or drink again, as those things now belonged only to those who dwelt on the world that gave him so much and he would gift these all back to them. To prove the truth of his troth, and seeing the famished state of his divine grandfather, Ofasa tore off his fingers one by one and fed them to him, one for each of his twelve heads.

Then he went on to seek and befriend the Loa of the Land, the Nama'kai, born during the Second Aroda. First among them was Mam’toth, unto him he gave his nose and, in turn, Mam’toth granted Ofasa a wad of his own wool.

To Rhunok, he gave his tongue and he, in turn, granted Ofasa two of his claws.

To Akali, he gave his ears and he, in turn, granted Ofasa the sheddings of his wondrous horns.

To Quetz’lun, he gave his right eye and she, in turn, granted him a single kiss.

Finally, Ofasa went to Har’koa, the Loa of the Hunt, whom he had met already when he was only a babe. Ofasa wished to give him his teeth, but Har’koa denied him. So Ofasa, whom with his troll blood had healed all the injuries he had wrought on himself, offered him his right eye, his ears, his nose and his tongue. But again, Har’koa refused him each time and said to him “Any who walk within my den I brand as my prey. Thus, Ofasa! I shall have you whole or not at all!”

Frightened, Ofasa fled into the realm of his father within the skies, but Har’koa still gave chase, hurling thunderbolts against him. Fortunately, the golden plate her mother Ayu’nama had given him held him safe, capturing the thunder and glowing blindingly bright. Thus rose the first daybreak of the world as Ofasa crossed the breadth of the sky, his giant belly becoming the sun, and the sweat from his flight becoming the rain.

## Worship

Among his cult, it is custom for his priests to shear their tusks from their mouths to symbolise and honour Ofasa’s selflessness. These priests dress in white, ragged tunics and little else. It is their duty to tend to the poorest of ice trolls, as well as guide and aid the farmers whatever the size of their orchard, advising them on when to plough, when to lay seeds and when to harvest. Once every solar cycle, nearing the equinox of spring, the priests ordain a massive ceremony that all Drakkari attend, whereupon a volunteer from the tribe agrees to be stuffed with gargantuan heaps of food for two days without rest until the dawn of the equinox, when the glutton is made to burst by a knife sliced through the length of his stomach.

The outpouring blood is collected in many bowls and is used to water and bless the fields. Then the sacrifice is butchered and his entrails are preserved to be used in crafting wards, totems and talismans of many a kind.

In more common displays of veneration, Ofasa accepts offerings of food and drink, the value of which are determined by size, quality and rarity, as well as fasting and the sharing of gifts to others, particularly in the season of his celebrations, which is spring.