VII: Heaven’s War with Taiyo and His Marriage to Eleenian

October 8, 2026 / danielwalldammit / Leave a comment

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This is Chapter 8 of the most authoritative account of creation contained in the Stone Philosophic. A full table of contents can be found here.

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One day Eleenian woke to a great clamor. Wondering if her father had returned from one of his many trips to distant places, she stepped outside to find her brother Taiyo grappling with another man high in the sky. Entangled in his enemies fighting chain, Taiyo struck at his foe with his sword, drawing blood not once, nor twice, but three times and Taiyo bore many wounds himself as he prepared to deliver a killing blow against his foe. A great storm raged in the sky about them, and Eleenian saw bolts of lightning strike her brother even as sheets of rain choked and blinded him.

Eleenian cried, “Taiyo, stay your hand!”

Taiyo shouted down to her from way up in the clouds “Why do you meddle, my sister? Should you not aid me in war against this stranger?”

“My brother, you do not fly,” she replied.

At this, Taiyo held his hand.

And still Heaven smote Taiyo with all his might.

“Stranger!” Eleenian called out once more, “Why do you make war upon my brother?”

Heaven looked down to see Eleenian and held his own hand for a brief moment; “In truth, I do not know. I had only come to see the sun as he set it in the sky. Your brother pounced upon me, sword in hand, angry that I would steal a moment of its beauty.”

“Oh dear brother, you must learn to share” Eleenian paused a moment and continued, “Stranger, it is not the sun’s virtue that my brother seeks to protect, but my own. If you will but stay your own hand, I will be your bride, and neither you nor my brother shall have cause to vanquish the other.”

And thus it was done.[1]

***

[1] Of course the rivalry between Taiyo and Heaven continues to this day, their conflicts being the cause of many great storms and terrible winds. Each wars against the other through the kingdoms falling under his dominion. It is commonly supposed that each stops short of killing the other out of respect to Eleenian, but as the Inuli sage, Eserea, has pointed out, there is absolutely no evidence for this supposition. It may well be that both Taiyo and Heaven actually mean to slay one another, and that their plans are thwarted only by the continual efforts of Eleenian herself as she is always working to make peace between them.

VII: A Conspiracy of Creation

October 4, 2026October 8, 2026 / danielwalldammit / Leave a comment

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This is Chapter 7 of the most authoritative account of creation contained in the Stone Philosophic. A full table of contents can be found here.

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Deep within his cave, Gnea Sharn grew jealous of those living under the sun. To no-one he spoke words of anger and resentment.

And no-one answered, “Do you not wish a place in the sun for yourself?”

“Yes,” snarled Gnea.

“Place a stone under the moonlight and it will be done.”

Hval Maluk grew bitter in the north, jealous of his beautiful new siblings at play in warmer waters under the sun.

And he too heard a voice; “Do you not wish to be known to your siblings?”

And the beast howled his assent.

“Spit upon a rock and it will be done.”

Zhidastra too sat alone seething with rage at the very sight of lives well-lived in pleasant places.

“Would you have their children know of yours?”

And the great monstrosity nodded.

“Throw a piece of ice into the distance and it will be done.”

Each of the abominations carried out its appointed task. Climbing to the surface, Gnea Sharn placed the oldest of stones from his cave under the moonlight in the cold lands of the north. Turning to see the rock for himself, Hval Maluk spat upon it, and his saliva soon froze into a block of ice. And then Zhidastra took the rock encased in ice and threw it with all his might.

Born thus of malice and magic, the great comet Hoklan soared up into the distance, but before it could clear the skies, three small shards broke apart from it and fell to the earth.

Seeing the first shard fall to the earth amid the filth of the wastelands, the great tortoise, Ayomichi, tried to catch it. Ayomichi was not quick enough, and the shard fell to the ground, becoming the Goblin King, Bit Nuluk. Born in the knowledge that he and his own would never be welcome among men, Bit Nuluk soon set about the creation of his armies, siring goblin and hobgoblin alike. In time, he would also create the kobalds, carefully instilling in each of his children knowledge of war and impressing upon them a way of life filled with that which they know best.

Seeing the second shard fall toward the mountains Ayomichi climbed as best he could in the hope that he could safely catch the falling piece of rock, but alas the great turtle could not manage the ascent. The shard fell into the mountains and became the Omus Thal, Lord of Giants. Omus looked out upon the world and saw no-one he might call a friend. Retiring to a great cavern, he set about crafting a world to his own liking. In time, he would sire all the kindreds of giants, none of whom would show kindness to man. Omus taught them all to keep to themselves.[1]

Seeing the third shard falling toward the sea, Ayomichi swam quickly to its destination, only to be struck soundly upon his back with a force the likes of which he had never seen. Ayomichi swam to shore and rested along the beach and nursed his wounds. Off his back stepped a full grown man of great nobility and profound courage. He thanked the great turtle and flew up into the sky whereupon he created a great and beautiful storm.[2]

The great comet Hoklan returns every hundredth year to bear witness to the creation of the lesser abominations, and of Heaven himself. Ayomichi’s shell still bears the scar left by the falling of heaven.

***

[1] Some scholars have questioned the accuracy of this passage. Sea Giants, for example, get along well with humans and all the fair kindreds of the world, and benign individuals have even been found among the kindreds of Fore Giants and Frost Giants. Attempts have been made to explain this contradiction, but none have proven successful. In view of this, some scholars have suggested that one shouldn’t trust any giants, not even those who trade with men or craft items of use to all. Still, the greatest scholars of the Library Philosophic have been known to wink at the passage, and to suggest that some words are best taken in half measures.

[2] The final stage of this chapter has been the subject of some debate, both as to the intended outcome and effect of Ayomichi’s intervention. In the end, the plan produced two lesser abominations whereas most would suppose it was intended to produce three. The Tierzen have long held that Svezedira himself was to be the third creature formed of the falling shards. Still others have suggested that some still greater beast was to have appeared when the third shard fell to the earth. Among the Hobgoblins, it is often suggested that no such terrible plan was ever in the offing. Indeed, the great Hobgoblin sage Venik Kull held that Heaven appeared, just as he was intended to, just as the Goblin King and just as the God of Giants did. Each of these gods, so Venik maintains, is exactly what it was intended to become. The elves of course regard this as preposterous.

VI: The Wrongening

October 4, 2026October 8, 2026 / danielwalldammit / Leave a comment

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This is Chapter 6 of the most authoritative account of creation contained in the Stone Philosophic. A full table of contents can be found here.

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When Mirona next found herself with child, she sent for Eleenian to aid in the birth of her child. She sent word through Hare, but Hare couldn’t find Eleenian, so he asked Raven to take wing and search for her from up high in the skies. Exhausted, Raven returned to ground and asked Coyote to try the desert, but Coyote soon became distracted with a small bird. In the end, he returned with feathers in his mouth and a small cricket in his paws. The cricket tried singing for the Goddess, but this only took away her dreams and filled her with fear. When Raven returned at last to Mirona, he brought only clay. Hare tried to fashion the clay into a baby, but he succeeded only in making a rattle. This too irritated Mirona, and thus her mind became winter. At the first signs of quickening in her womb, Mirona felt strife within her. In the evening, she heard wolves howling in the night, and foxes could be seen hunting about in the morning. By midday, bears and wildcats wandered about Mirona’s home.

Mirona did not give birth to one child, this time; She gave birth to three. Only two of them survived. Effinthistle, Goddess of the Elves made her appearance first, followed soon after by Ogath, Lord of the Orc hordes. It is said that the two of them, brother and sister, smiled upon each other for a brief moment before the birth of their youngest brother.[1] Who he was, and what kindred should have been born with him, nobody will ever know. That child and all its domain was lost to the world in the stillness of its birth, as was any hope of peace between its siblings. To this day, each blames the other for the death of their youngest sibling, and their words soon gave way to blows, and Mirona wept for an age.[2][3]

Ogath called his hordes into being and Effinthistle sang the trees into being along with the elves and so many of their kindred. but Ogath brought fire to kiss the branches of her sylvan fortress. Effinthistle sang the fire back upon the orc hordes, even as Ogath cut down the greatest trees and scorched their seeds.

Exhausted, Mirona finally stopped weeping long enough to beg her youngest children for peace. Neither listened to her.

Hearing a sound just beyond his sight, Ogath chased it all the way into the wastelands whereupon Coyote finally dropped his rattle and slipped away. Seeing her brother with his back turned, Effinthistle readied a great arrow, but Raven threw sparks into the skies and the elven goddess soon turned her attention to the wondrous new stars. For his own part, Hare taught all the gentle creatures of the earth how to hide and to run, and thus to survive the presence of new creatures with which they now had to share the world.

And finally, there was peace.

When winter finally gave rise to spring, Mirona gave her blessings to all the new creatures of the world.

Rabbit Sage took note of all of this from his home upon the moon.

Nobody ever learned where Eleenian had been, but her apologies were met with forgiveness and love.[4]

***

[1] A minor sect among the Łigen holds that the stillborn child of Mirona was neither male nor female, being neither or both. They maintain its legacy is carried in their own kindred, and in the lives of all who escape the logic of two genders. Most Łigen deny this of course, and few outside their circles doubt that the stillborn child was anything but a male, or that its nature was lost in the stillness of its birth.

[2] Few scholars would doubt that the death of the stillborn child was the work of the orc lord. Still, the wretched creatures of the Stone Philosophic put the cause of his death on Effinthistle. The greatest crime in all of history, so their shamans will tell you, was in fact carried out by the fairest of kindreds, and blamed on the children of the wastelands. True evil, so the orcs and goblins will tell us, lies not in their own filthy homes, but deep in the most beautiful forests of the world.

[3] It is of course a forgone conclusion that many of the worlds creatures did not survive this long winter. One can of course find the bones of great creatures buried deep in the soil of the Stone Philosophic. What they were and how they lived, we will never know.

[4] The Preisthood of Eleenian commonly suggests that Eleenian was lost in prayer throughout this chapter or the creation narratives. What it would mean for a goddess to pray is of course an interesting question, one asked of Eleenian perhaps more than most deities. Indeed, few of the other gods have ever been thought to pray, but Eleenian is often supposed to engage in prayer, or something like it. Critics of the cult of Eleenian are prone to suggest that the prayers of Eleenian are actually some truly malevolent form of magic. They will commonly point to her prolonged absence during this fretful chapter of creation for evidence of this supposition.

V: The Creation of the Sun and Moon and the Birth of the Elder Gods

September 19, 2026October 4, 2026 / danielwalldammit / 1 Comment

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This is Chapter 5 of the most authoritative account of creation contained in the Stone Philosophic. A full table of contents can be found here.

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And Taiyo made his first appearance in this world, bringing with him the sun itself.

“Come, my love,” Mirona called out to the great dragon, “for I have born you a son.” Hetht returned, and all enjoyed the bright sunlight of the first day. Taiyo grew to the full stature of a man. Hetht slept and ate as he always did, and for a time Mirona seemed still and content. But the day was long, and all of them grew tired, as did the trees, the birds, the grasses, and the very ground itself.

“Mother, do not forget me!” Cried a voice from Mirona’s womb.

“Who is that?” She answered.

“Tis I” spoke Kotoya. And thus, Mirona gave birth to her second son.

Seeking to play, Kotoya bothered his tired mother. Smiling and dancing about, Kotoya irritated his father, and then his brother. Finally, Taiyo chased his brother away. But when he left, Kotoya took the sun with him.

And finally, the others slept.

When Taiyo awoke, he searched everywhere for the sun. Finding it hidden beneath the eastern corner of the world, Taiyo took the glowing orb from his sleeping brother and set it high in the sky, but Kotoya took it from him later that evening and carried it once more beneath the earth far to the west. Thus has it ever been between the two brothers, each claiming the sun for a time only to lose it to the other in the course of the day.[1]

In time, Mirona once again grew sour and angry, and the world withered and froze under the weight of her misery. Then she gave birth to a daughter, Iñacha, whose cries could be heard in the far corners of the world.

“My sister, what is wrong?” asked Taiyo.

“I am hungry,” she answered. “My mother is angry and she will not feed me.”

The Shark King brought her fish, but Iñacha could only cry. “I cannot eat this.” In despair the great shark swam away.

Ayomichi brought her fruits and vegetables, but Iñacha spurned him. Unable to bear the sadness of his half sister, Ayomichi too crawled back into the sea.

Hetht inquired, “Will you not feed our daughter?”

But Mirona answered him with silence.

Finally, Kotoya brought his sister a bowl of milk.[2] And he took her to the west whereupon the two fashioned a home for themselves and called it the moon.

“For them and theirs,” said Hetht, “but that must never happen again.” To this Mirona heartily agreed, but Taiyo grew angry. It was enough that his brother took the sun from him every evening. Now this!

Still, the great dragon had spoken. His word was law.

The following Winter Mirona gave birth to another girl, Lady Spider. Seeing her mother in a foul mood, Lady Spider crawled to her father for sustenance, and Hetht bade her to drink blood from his palm, sheltering her from the cold wind that Mirona called up.

It was that spring that Mirona conceived Osun, and it was in the winter that Osun was born, All who looked upon her knew at once the meaning of love. All but Mirona, lost as she was in a winter mood.

Upon her birth Osun too found only her mother’s cold shoulder.[3] The young goddess cried in the snow until Lady Spider spun her a blanket for shelter and Kotoya brought her a pitcher of milk for sustenance. Osun too survived to see her mother become kind once again. From her mother and her sister, Lady Spider, Osun soon learned the medicinal powers of plants, and she became a great healer.

The following winter, the world trembled at the coming birth of Bivishta. Mountains fell and forests burned as this child danced out of the womb and into the world, but soon fresh peaks grew and wondrous new gardens flourished in the wake of her passing. All grew to fear this new child even as they marveled at her creations.

Finally Mirona gave birth to Eleenian who suffered her mother’s winter without complaint. She loved each of her brothers and sisters. She quickly learned all that they had to teach her, making herself a blessing to all who encountered her.

***

[1] Scholars differ as to the nature of the exchange. Some describe the passage of the sun from Taiyo to Kotoya as a peaceful and cooperative hand-off. Others suggest that this always a kind of theft, albeit one aided by the exhaustion of each deity at the end of efforts to carry the sun. By most accounts, a solar eclipse occurs when Taiyo and Kotoya actually fight over it. Few would suppose that this could be a fight to the death, but brother’s being brothers, it should surprise nobody to see them scuffle over an item clearly of interest to both.

[2] The question arises; where did Kotoya get the milk? In truth, nobody knows. The question itself gave rise to at least one civil war, after which the Torturer’s Guild was given the task of putting the matter to rest. Nobody now speaks openly on the matter, at least not in the Sunset Isles. Being largely found in the Turtle Islands, Kotoya’s followers are of course free to discuss the matter, but most seem to regard it as a pointless inquiry.

[3] It is sometimes suggested that Osun chose to make the Cradle Islands her home as a direct result of her birth in the winter of her mother’s moods. For their own part, the cult of Osun has always maintained that she was born to the Cradle Islands at the outset. Some have argued that the entire archipelago was once subject to colder seasons than one finds there now. Some have suggested that Osun was born on the highest mountain in those isles, a location that does know the meaning of winter even today. Wherever she was born, few could doubt that Osun belongs to these Isles, and visa versa.

IV: The Coming of Mirona

September 17, 2026September 19, 2026 / danielwalldammit / 1 Comment

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This is Chapter 4 of the most authoritative account of creation contained in the Stone Philosophic. A full table of contents can be found here.

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Once again, the great dragon heard a voice, but this time it was different, its tone soft and warm. “You are doing it wrong, my love,” said the voice, and Hetht turned to see the goddess Mirona, standing in all the glory of her first spring. “You must not give birth to your own progeny.”

“Are you a man,” asked Hetht.

“No, darling.” She laughed.

And thus the two were wed.[1]

In the early days of their union, Mirona proved a blessing to all the world. It was her smile that produced the flowers and the trees. It was her caress that gave birth to the deer and the rabbit. It is through the love of Mirona that all the gentle creatures known to men and elves first came into being.

But Mirona’s love waned, and in time she grew cold. Snow covered the land, and the green grasses withered. The world grew dark and Hetht himself found far corners in which to pass the days well away from the newfound cruelty of his wife. At this Mirona grew still more angry.

“Am I to give birth alone?” She cried.

No-one answered.

“Does no-one love me?”

And no-one answered

“Very well then,” Mirona embraced her despair and the night grew colder. “I will bear a child with which to keep myself company.”

A voice from her womb shouted, “Let me not be born on this day.”

“Will you not keep company with your mother?”

But the voice in her womb called out, “Let me not be born in this darkness!”

“All the world betrays me,” muttered the Goddess of Nature, and she slept in sorrow. And the world slept in sorrow with her.

When she woke, so did a single blade of grass. When Mirona stretched and opened her eyes, the flowers once again bloomed. And when she smiled, the trees once again covered themselves in leaves.

And she prepared herself for birth.

***

[1] The true origins of Mirona have been the source of considerable discord within the scholarly commentary, as one can find no credible account of her own origin. What she too created by Hetht? The implications are disturbing enough, but to most the prospect seems quite implausible. Few would doubt that Mirona is coequal to Hetht, and so her origins cannot subordinate her in such a manner. So, the question arises, just where did she come from?

If one puts this question to the High Priestess of Mirona, she will almost certainly tell you that Mirona was already present in the nothingness, and that she too is responsible for her own creation. Some would add that, she too is responsible for the creation of the world. Hetht may have spun the Stone Philosophic, but it Mirona who nurtured that movement into growth. A small sect within Mirona’s church also maintains that it was she who fastened Hetht’s claw to a corner of his afterbirth in the first instance. An even smaller sect within the cult of Mirona maintains that it was she who gave birth to Hetht, a claim universally rejected by all credible sources on the topic.

The principle objection to Mirona’s own self-creation lies in the absence of any reference to her until the first mention of footprints, but as the arch mage, Sea Amar, once wrote; it is not surprising that men would be slow to recognize the contributions of a woman. This, she tells us, is exactly the point of the footprints, a clear indication of the blindness that Hetht and his priests to the presence to the significance of a woman.

Sea Amar is of course far too harsh!

III: Birth of the Abominations

September 17, 2026September 17, 2026 / danielwalldammit / 1 Comment

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This is Chapter 3 of the most authoritative account of creation contained in the Stone Philosophic. A full table of contents can be found here.

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Before laying down once again, Hetht spoke to the voice in his head; “Will you not allow me some rest?”

“I will let you sleep” came his reply. And this time the old dragon slept soundly, awakening to find a mysterious set of footprints leading off to the south, and a fly buzzing about his face.

“Who made these?”

“I do not know,” said the fly, “But I think it was a man.”

Hetht did not know the meaning of “Man.” So, he decided to make another that he might look upon the next in order to know more about the first, but the fly needled him.

“How will you make the second if you do not know the first?”

Hetht paused.

“Perhaps you may find a man in the east, said the fly.” But Hetht found no-one to the east. “Is it possible that she waits for you in the north?” But in the north there was no-one to be found. “Try the west!” said the fly, and once again the great dragon found no-one. The fly made one last suggestion; “Perhaps, you should look to the south.”

When he arrived in the south, Hetht found three great aberrations had taken form in the middle of the world. First, he beheld the great troll, Gnea Sharn. Next came the terrible beast, Hval Maluk, and finally he came upon the abomination, Zhidastra. Each rose out of the soil to greet its father, but Hetht grew angry and chased them all away. Hval Maluk swam to the north and Zhidastra ran to the south. For his own part, Gnea Sharn hid in a cave not far from his place of origin.

Seeing that the fly (now grown to a swarm) had deceived him, Hetht swatted at it with his tail, but the swarm disappeared through a hole in the ground. Still angry, Hetht breathed deep into the hole in the ground, igniting the depths below. Four times, did Hetht scorch the underworld, and four times he then listened to the sound of the flames below, and four times he also heard the buzzing of insects.

Regaining his composure, the great dragon pronounced his judgment; the swarm would henceforth be safe so long as it remained underground. Upon the surface, his life and that of his descendants would be taken at will. So did the dragon speak, and so it was. To this day, Mezizra rules the underworld, and insects may be slain without guilt wherever they are found.

II: Creation of the Waters and the Wastelands

September 15, 2026September 17, 2026 / danielwalldammit / 1 Comment

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This is Chapter 2 of the most authoritative account of creation contained in the Stone Philosophic. A full table of contents can be found here.

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In time the great dragon awoke to the sound of a voice; “Are you not hungry?”

And he was.

So, Hetht consumed a portion of the mass below him, carving still greater valleys into the mass still spinning beneath him. In time, the great dragon satisfied his hunger and laid down again. Before he could resume his sleep, the voice returned; “Are you not thirsty?”

And he was.

But the world as yet had no water, and so Hetht cupped his great forepaws and spat in them. In the palm of his left hand, the great dragon found to his own surprise that he held a small turtle whereas a tiny fish clung to the talons of his right hand. And Hetht placed the spittle, the turtle, and the fish in the greatest depression he had made upon the mass and bade them to call it home.[1]

At first, the turtle and the fish got along well with one another, but then the fish bit the turtle and grew larger in consequence. Again, and again, the fish lashed out at the turtle, growing still larger each time it feasted. In his own defense, the turtle grew a hard shell, but still this did not deter his voracious companion. Hetht admonished the fish to play nicely and to love its brother, but the fish cried out; “I cannot help myself father. My brother’s flesh calls to me, and I hunger so.”

Seeking to end the rivalry between his children, Hetht sent the fish to the east and the turtle to the west. As each swam away from the other, the waters stretched out with them until all the great impressions in the world had been covered. And the turtle grew into the god, Ayomichi, and the fish became The Shark King. Ever enemies, these first-born children of Hetht contend with one another for control of the seas, the one by means of its wisdom and the other by the strength of its jaws.

Hetht then drank his fill from the oceans created by his progeny.

Once again, Hetht laid down to rest only to be disturbed by the voice once again. “Isn’t there something you have to do?”

And so the great dragon relieved himself, turning a portion of the world into a great wasteland.

***

[1] It goes without saying that the text here refers to the great trench, Marianis, but the great sages differ as to the source of the impression. The greatest mages of the Library Philosophic insist that this location had been created when Hetht dined upon the world earlier in the text.

A rival school of thought favored among the elves of the Sylvan Isle suggests that the depression was in fact the place where Hetht finally slept. The impression left by Hetht’s meal may be seen, according to this view, in the beginnings of the great dungeon which is said to stretch beneath all the seas and to connect all the great lands of this world. What Hetht actually did when he consumed the first meal, so this theory goes, was to pull a great tuber up and out of the ground, only to find its roots stretched endlessly in all the directions of the world. Hetht ate all of this, leaving a great tunnel complex where its roots had once been. No dwarf has ever accepted this theory, of course, insofar as it suggests the origin of their own homes are best understood in terms preferable to surface-dwelling gardeners and arborists.

Cosmogony

September 15, 2026October 8, 2026 / danielwalldammit / 8 Comments

The best account of creation can be found in the Library Philosophic, complete with commentaries from a number of credible sources. Below is a list of the individual chapters in this story along with a brief summary of its content.

I: Out of Nothing. Being an account of the creation of The Stone Philosophic by the God, Hetht.

II: Creation of the Waters and the Wastelands. Being an account of the creation of the oceans, the wastelands, and of the gods, Ayomichi and The Shark King.

III: Birth of the Abominations. Being an account of the quest to find a man along with the accidental creation of the gods, Gnea Sharn, Hval Maluk, and Zhidastra. The story ends with Mezizra banished to the depths and the lighting of the fires below.

IV: The coming of Mirona. Being an account of the appearance of Mirona, the first marriage, the creation of herbivores, and the origin of the seasons.

V: The Origin of the sun and the Moon, Being an account of the birth of Bivishta, Eleenian, Iñacha, Kotoya, Lady Spider, Osun, and Taiyo.

VI: The Wrongening. Being an account of the appearance of the tricksters, Coyote, Hare, and Raven as well as the birth of Ogath Skull-Gritter and Effenthistle Shirdisk’neen. Also, this passage contains the first mention of Rabbit Sage.

VII: A Conspiracy of Creation: being an account of the origin of Bit Nuluk and the goblin kindreds, as well as Omus Thal, and Heaven by means of deception.

VIII: Heaven’s War with Taiyo and His Marriage to Eleenian. Being an account of the war between Heaven and Taiyo and the marriage of Heaven to Eleenian.