Mythology

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

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© Daniel S. Wall, September 19, 2026.

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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.

Bivishta

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© Daniel S. Wall, September 19, 2026.

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“People tremble at the approach of Bivishta. They rejoice in her departure.”

– A common saying.

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Bivishta’s approach is always a terrible thing. In her coming, the goddess appears to be terrible hag with six arms, spinning to the left, a weapon leading her every movement. Her dance is intricate, and deadly. She lashes out at all around her. Items are destroyed. Living creatures are harmed or killed.

As Bivishta leaves, her visage appears to change, becoming that of a beautiful maiden, still possessing six arms. Her weapons flash about in an intricate and harmless dance. She heals the sick or injured (at least those she did not harm herself), and she always leaves something new and wondrous in her wake.

In all of her actions, Bivishta maintains an appearance of perfect calm and serenity. There is little reason to suspect that she causes destruction out of malice, or that the blessings she leaves reflect any great benevolence. Each effect seems to be an end in itself to Bivishta, its value being set by considerations quite apart from their effect on those helped or harmed in her passing.

Religion: The cult of Bivishta is powerful and influential. It is also home to a great variety of different interests. All who worship Bivishta embrace the duality of her nature. To value both creation and destruction is an ideal in the cult of this goddess. Yet, her mortal worshippers often celebrate certain aspects of her nature more than others. Consequently, her church has its share of reformers and assassins, warmongers, and healers alike. All are welcome within the cult of Bivishta.

Domains: Dance, Death, Birth.

Symbol: Bivishta herself forms the basis of her symbol. Often the image of the 6-armed deity is placed against a background of a circle, half of which is white and half of which is black).

Favored Offerings: Performance. Any item may be pleasing to Bivishta, if its offering is made in the course of an elaborate dance.

Mezizra

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© Daniel S. Wall,  September 17, 2026.

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“Show no mercy to the fly buzzing about your head and pulling you away from your thoughts. In truth, it answers to an evil far greater than any you might imagine.”

– Ilis Girdun, High Priest of Volsh

***

Mezizra appears to be a great swarm of insects and random vermin swirling slowly from east to north. Most of these are flying creatures, but some appear to crawl or ooze along the ground. When Mezizra moves too fast for some of the vermin making up his body they are simply left behind to fend for themselves. Those vermin confined to the ground are likewise abandoned whenever he takes flight. It is said that this is how all vermin have come into the world.

Religion: The powers of the surface world always look with disfavor upon the worship of Mezizra. For this reason, his worshippers are always secretive. The cult of Mezizra offers its followers the power to harm others, thus filling its ranks with the most sadistic of men as well as many seeking vengeance of some sort. Priests of Mezizra always seek to spread discord and suffering wherever they may be found.

The most powerful of Mezizra’s followers are coddled and protected by his well-organized priesthood, but the common worshippers are looked upon as expendable resources. Mezizra and his priests are happy to see such individuals destroy themselves even as they achieve their own malicious ends.

Domains: Bugs, Disease, Fire, Hell.

Symbol: A Whirlwind turning from the east to the north.

Favored Offerings: Mezizra is always happy to receive any token of value or human sacrifice, but he is particularly pleased when individuals undertake a binding oath to harm someone else.

Mirona

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© Daniel S. Wall,  September 17, 2026.

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“Her temper depends upon the season. In the Spring, she is kind and helps all things grow. In the summer, her smile is warm and beautiful, but in the Fall she begins to destroy everything in sight. We must hide our crops in the barn or she will cause them to wither away. By the Winter Mirona’s cruelty is unrivalled, killing anyone caught without shelter. As blessed as her good will, her cruelty is without mercy.”

– Old Man Naibowl, Village Elder.

***

Mirona appears as a beautiful woman. She is old enough to carry an extra line or two in her face and to carry perhaps a touch of grey in her hair, but she has lost neither the beauty nor the strength of a younger woman. One could almost see her wisdom in her face, though it might be hard to tell if it was in her eyes or shape of the faint smile that rarely leaves her mouth.

Mirona is not particularly dangerous in combat, though she is always considerably more powerful in a natural setting. The majority of Mirona’s powers are actually more subtle, working themselves out over a long term duration. She is rarely seen in anything but a natural setting.

As a general rule, Mirona is unlikely to stay in real combat longer than necessary. She is far more likely to attempt an early exit. Bad weather and natural disasters will follow those who have angered this awesome deity, a source of misery often found to be more deadly than the surest of blades and points.

It is said that the seasons themselves are caused by Mirona’s moods. Whether this be true or not, her outlook certainly changes with the seasons. In some parts of the world, Mirona’s moods appear to be more stable than others. Arctic weather is virtually alwayss considered to be Winter for purposes of her Values. Tropical Forests are considered the equivalent of Summer, whereas deserts are considered the equivalent of Fall. Where significant seasonal change is present, Mirona’s Values will change according to the normal pattern described above.

Religion: Mirona enjoys few Priests of her own, though many Priests of Nature will pay homage to her from time to time. She is content to see the grandeur of nature itself honored, requiring little direct attention from the mortal world. Travellers are well advised to utter a small prayer to her as they enter the wilderness, but it should be said that restraint in dealing with the living things in that world will do more to gain her favor than any other offering.

Domains: Nature.

Symbol:  The Horn of Plenty. (Note that an actual Horn of Plenty will also serve as an excellent Holy Symbol of Mirona.)

Favored Offerings: Wild Fruits and Nuts gathered in prayer.

 

III: Birth of the Abominations

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© Daniel S. Wall, September 17, 2026.

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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

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© Daniel S. Wall, September 15, 2026.

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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.

 

Hetht

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© Daniel S. Wall, September 15, 2026.

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“The Priests of Hetht are very wise. But one should be wary of such ancient wisdom. The affairs of man tend to fall a bit below its gaze.”

– Garnybos Moalrem, The Suspicious.

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Born in the very moment of creation itself, Hetht is undoubtedly the first Dragon. Hetht appears as a great black dragon with fiery green pits in place of his eyes. But to say of the color of this great beast as black is something of an understatement, because light itself is swallowed completely in the scales of his body. As, one can discern no reflection upon the surface of Hetht’s skin, nor may one see any hint of texture upon it. To look upon Hetht is to witness what appears to be a great rift in space, one which moves about in the shape of a dragon.

Hetht travels among the stars, visiting places known only to him. Hetht is a great proponent of law and order, but he is also known for exercising great wisdom in his approach to such matters. Hetht is firm but fair in his dealings with others. He is also known to support any who will conduct themselves in like manner.

There is an air of calm about Hetht and his followers, owing largely to the awesome power wielded by this great creature. Being as old as time itself and as powerful as any living creature in any known world, there is little that could cause Hetht any worry. As for others, he has seen civilizations come and go. Hetht knows he will outlive the worst of his enemies and that the best of those he favors will fall to corruption in time. It is not that Hetht is uninterested in the affairs of other things, but he always sees a little beyond the urgency of the moment. And for Hetht, the urgency of the moment could well be a geologic era. So, Hetht seems always to be aloof in his dealing with mere mortals, and even most divine creatures; it takes a great deal to break this calm.

Religion: Followers of Hetht generally seek to bring order and justice to the lives of those around them. They seldom seek extensive involvement with kings or other such powers, but they will make their preferences known. Priests of Hetht will try to locate their temples a day or so travel away from large populations. This enables them to gain access to the powers that be when necessary without creating needless entanglements in day to day affairs. Where dragons are present, the followers of Hetht will often make an effort to contact them and establish a relationship of one kind or another. Those proving benign will quickly fall under the protection of Hetht’s Priesthood. Those inclined to hunt people or destroy property may well find themselves hunted by men well-schooled in the ways of dragons, sent by the church itself.

***

Domains: Justice, Patience, Travel.

Symbol: A black dragon with its wings stretched wide.

Favored Offerings: Hetht is pleased with offerings of incense or the burning of scented candles. He does not seem overly interested in the price of such offerings, but he prefers to see those making an offering take their time and stay in prayer and meditation for as long as their endurance holds out.

I: Out of Nothing

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© Daniel S. Wall, September 15, 2026.

***

This is Chapter 1 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 the beginning there was nothing, not even Hetht, a fact which displeased him to no end. And so the great dragon brought himself into existence. There is little reason to believe that he meant to create the rest of the world, but of course accidents do happen, and something else soon followed the self-creation of Hetht. All things in this world have their origins in this something else, the afterbirth of the first Dragon.[1]

No sooner had he brought himself into this world than the great dragon flew to the east, but his claw caught a corner of his afterbirth and stretched it right along beneath him. For eight days and untold miles the great dragon flew to the east. Finding nothing of interest, he turned to the South, still dragging a corner of his afterbirth along with him. Sixteen days did the great dragon fly to the south, but he found nothing to keep him occupied. So, Hetht turned and flew west for thirty two days before changing course. Finally, Hetht flew to the North for sixty four days, the formless mass still caught in his claw. [2]

Wondering at the effort it now took to fly, Hetht looked beneath his feet and finally saw the great stretch of ill-formed mass now grown large and spinning slowly beneath him. Tired of dragging so much weight along with him, Hetht finally shook the mass from his claw, yawned a bot and stretched his wings one after another, until he resolved to shed the feeling of exhaustion that had come over him. So, Hetht laid down upon the center of the mass beneath. His sleep was fitful, and Hetht tossed and turned for ages, kicking up mountains and digging out great impressions in the mass below his body.

Thus did the world begin to take its present shape, even as it slowly hardened beneath of the fitful dragon sleeping on top of it.

***

[1] The dvergr sage, Horst Gverdigen, objects to this passage, arguing that the world could not possibly be the afterbirth of a dragon as of course any real dragon would have issued from an egg. Gverdigen does not object to the notion that this world is secondary to the self-creation of Hetht, but he does reject the specific notion that the world began as a sort of placenta.

The hrega sorceresss, Tiannon Shigire, has provided what most consider to be best answer to this argument when she noted 3 things, 1) that Horst Gverdigen is known to have disappeared fully a hundred years before one might expect a Dvergr to die of old age, and no-one alive today can rule out divine retribution, 2) it is in fact an article of faith among the priesthood of Hetht that he is the sole dragon to have been born rather than hatched, and 3) the next phase of creation is far easier to reconcile with the qualities of soft and malleable placenta than those of a hard and brittle egg,

The Cult of the Broken Shell has long argued that Hetht was indeed hatched and this world has an entirely different origin, but this is best regarded as a minor heresy of little concern to serious scholarship.

[2] A wise man would note that the direction of movement in the first stage of creation matches that of benign winds and whirlpools. This is not a coincidence. All right-thinking winds and currents follow the pattern of creation by turning from east toward the south. Following the pattern later established by Mizizra, a corrupt wind reveals its nature by turning from east to north.

The pattern of movement described herein is of course the basis for the common terms used to describe the direction of spinning movement. Those turning from east to south are commonly said to be turning creatively whereas those turning from east to north are said to be spinning destructively.