Tulkon Rodenhe Nemilis

***Tulkon Rodenhe Nemilis***, which translates as "Legend of the Birth of the Tulkon" in Penoisa, is the mythologized telling of the origin of the Tulkon. It is believed in by most Tulkonists, and modified versions are preached by Savatists, Pantulkonists and Prophetists. It is the opening chapter of *Guruakh Tulkon*, the most important text in all of Tulkonism.

## The story

There were four deities: Ukohah, Noral, Zan Zat, and Sehoha Ataadinua. The deities answered to the Great Conscience, the spirit of the planet. Their duty was to keep balance in the world. The Xertani (Demons), Meleki (Angels), and Ea were created by the Great Conscience, and lived in harmony, if not fragile peace. The Xertani and Melaki eventually began a war with each other, causing great devastation and killing many Ea. The survivors of the crossfire abandoned the Known World for the Four Islands. Over millennia, they developed into the Humans, Dwarves, Orcs and Elves, with each race being protected by a specific deity and ultimately defended by the Great Conscience.

The Great Conscience, after 10,000 years of war, used the last of its energy to cleanse the Earth of the Angelic and Demonic threats. The Four Deities distilled what was left of the Conscience into the Essence of the Tulkon, which would be granted to a worthy host in order to defend the Earth. Arrkea, the Last Angel, was tasked with choosing the Essence's host. Arrkea spent roughly five centuries on her search, eventually granting the Essence to the human Bytu, an explorer, scholar, and warrior whom Arrkea believed to be among the bravest of mortals. The bonding of his *Ilho* with the Essence marked the beginning the Tulkon cycle. After the Tulkon's birth, the Four Islands sank into the sea, and the Deities left their positions, as well.

### Other versions

In Savatist interpretation, the Tulkon's birth is not emphasized. Instead, *Tulkon Rodenhe Nemilis* is called ***Elsegh Nezerek*** (the First Hardship), and tells the origin of the Orc race. Much of the story remains the same up until the distillation of the Great Conscience, as the Tulkon is not always viewed as a manifestation of the former in Savatist belief systems. *Elsegh Nezerek* ends with the landing of the Orcs on the Penazaduz coast.

In the Pantulkonist interpretation, rather than acting on behalf of any deities, Arrkea was acting in service of the Cosmic Ilhui, which chose Bytu to be its agent on Earth.

In Prophetist tradition, Arrkea acted as an agent of the god Kathar, who chose Bytu to be his first agent that was a member of the Ea. Kathar was, in fact, the Four Deities and the Great Conscience amalgamated into a single being, who gave Arrkea different traits of themself to grant to the Tulkon.

In other more apocalyptic circles of Tulkonism, Arrkea stole the Essence of the Tulkon from the Four Deities and killed them, making the Tulkon the sole protector of Earth.

## Historicity

The true origin of the Tulkon is shrouded in mystery (even to the Tulkon), thus *Tulkon Rodenhe Nemilis* is believed by scholars to be mostly myth. Precursor stories, including those about the Infinite War and the origins of the Four Earthly Peoples, are found in religions such as Savatism and various pre-Tulkon religions based on worship of the Four Deities.

Despite its mythological status, some elements of *Tulkon Rodenhe Nemilis* do have historical evidence, confirmed by various Tulkons or archaeological findings. Among these are:

* The Four Earthly Peoples are descended from a single ancestor race, and migrated to the known world from remote islands.
* Bytu was given the Essence of the Tulkon by Arrkea at the Tip of Kepet. However, her reasoning and methods remain unknown.
* Angels and Demons fought a very long, very brutal war that changed the world's landscape. However, the war's length and reasons for the conflict are not fully known. The figure of 10,000 years offered by *Nemilis* is generally accepted academically, but is generally understood as referring to a very long amount of time.
	+ It should be noted that the Angels and Demons weren't completely wiped out at the end of this conflict. At least one Angel, Arrkea, was known to have survived, and the Demons were able to rebuild their numbers and return to the Mainlands twice in the following millennia.