VALLISH PAGANISM
Vallish Paganism, or as it was called by its modern followers "Den Gamål Måner" (literally "The Old Way") supposedly has its roots sometime just after the ancient invasion of the South Gotics, specifically when the Proto-Vallish settled in the Nidelva River Basin. This is according to ancient texts found which were written by chroniclers of the Vallish Empire during the reign of Haakon the Victorious, its first High King. However, scientists are unable to find a specific date aside from the ones given by the ancient chroniclers.
The Story of Creation
In the beginning, there was only the Orgråt, the chaotic abyss of perfect silence and darkness, Nevelrik ("mist-realm"), the primordial home of cold, darkness, and mist, and Vyrik ("warmth-realm"), the primordial home of warmth, light, and smoke. The primordial elements of Nevelrik and Vyrik crept towards each other, meeting in the void that was Orgråt, and as the elements melded together, they created Spronor, who subsequently created, by drawing blood from his own arm and letting it drip into the Orgråt, the Velderøn- the "Cosmic Tree". The similarities to Goyanean and Andrennian Paganism end here, as when the Velderøn first sprouted, it was only a mere sapling. Spronor had to give so much blood to grow the tree to its maximum height that he bled out and died. All the gods were born as the fruit of the Velderøn.
The Valtir
In the tradition of the Old Way, the Valtir are the "good" gods. They are comprised of Borgas, the king of the gods, and his nine friends, who, under Borgas' direction, used Spronor's head to create the realm of Strålsen, which is outside time and space, and then, using the rest of Spronor's body, the universe, or Bestån, which is comprised of all worlds attached to the Velderøn and contains space, time, and nine of the Eleven Worlds.
Borgas - God of Time; King of the Gods
Nåri - Goddess of Love and Compassion; Queen of the Gods
Alfrinn - God of the Cycle of Life and Death; Loremaster of the Gods
Jorn - God of Wisdom, Logic, and Reason; Chief Advisor to Borgas
Vrage - God of Might, Honor, and War; Champion of the Gods
Bylgja - Goddess of Beauty and Virtue
Naulunn - Goddess of the Elements and of Nature
Radnas - God of Justice, State, Law, and Governance
Gylfas - God of Work, Commerce, and Finance
The Ultir
In the tradition of the Old Way, the Ultir are the "bad" gods. They are comprised of Gelmor, the dark king, and his seven followers, none of whom were close friends of Borgas, and so were not given worlds of their own in Bestån. They were jealous, and, using their hate, their realm, Duistsen, was created outside of space and time. Each Ultir is the chief enemy of a specific Valtir, with the sole exception of Alfrinn.
Stolt - Patron of Hate and Scorn, Enemy of Nåri
Gerig - Patron of Sloth, Enemy of Gylfas
Gest - Patron of Corruption and Lust, Enemy of Bylgja
Ofnas - Patron of Idiocy and Fallacy, Enemy of Jorn
Olsig - Patron of the Abuse and Destruction of Nature, Enemy of Naulunn
Tordur - Patron of Anger and Wrath, Enemy of Vrage
Vadsig - Patron of Anarchy, Chaos, and Injustice, Enemy of Radnas
Gelmor - The Dark King. Complete embodiment of pure, utterly unambiguous evil. Enemy of Borgas.
The Eleven Worlds
In the tradition of the Old Way, there are eleven worlds; nine within Bestån and two outside it, on opposite ends. Each of the Valtir hold sovereignty of one of the worlds, except for one, the realm of the Ultir. The Valtir themselves, however, live in the domain of Borgas, King of the Gods, and leave a servant, a warden, to rule their own domains in their stead. This is the origin of the Vallish concept of the bevakter- the warden. Only Alfrinn lives within his own realm.
Strålsen - The original realm- created before all others- and home of the Valtir. Realm of Borgas, located outside of time and space. Greatest of the Eleven Worlds. Additionally, this world contains the two great feast halls which those who die in glorious combat travel to upon death- Trakvest for the men, and Feltgest for the women.
Geltsen - The realm of Nåri, where those who were compassionate and kind in life are sent by Alfrinn after death. It is filled with beautiful fields and gardens, among many other wondrous things. In Geltsen lies Lykkby, the City of Happiness, where most of its denizens live, in bliss, for eternity.
Skebsen - Alfrinn's realm, home to his massive libraries, tended by mysterious spirits, which contain the collected histories of all of existence. It is also here that the dead first come after death, after which Alfrinn sends them to one of the other realms. The only exceptions are those who die in glorious combat, who are immediately whisked to Strålsen.
Vyvsen - The realm of Jorn, at the foot of the Velderøn, where those who primarily endeavored in the scholarly pursuits in life are sent by Alfrinn after death. Here, philosophers, academics, and intellectuals often come to hold intellectual discussions in Jorn's gleaming silver halls; in the center of the immense pool of water from which the Velderøn gets its nourishment. One who drinks from the water receives great wisdom.
Kampsen - The realm of Vrage, where most soldiers or those who were physically strong in life are sent by Alfrinn after death. Denizens of Trakvest and Feltgest have full rights to travel here whenever they wish. It is here that Vrage also trains and houses the army of the Valtir, which, during Ragnarök, shall be the primary fighting force of the Valtir against the Ultir, alongside the warriors of Trakvest, Feltgest, and the Valtir themselves.
Leitsen - The realm of Bylgja. It is littered with beautiful beaches with the whitest sand and the purest oceans in all of the Bestån. This realm is where those who were beautiful in life are sent by Alfrinn after death. The realm is also hope to the fåran, beautiful nymphs in service of the goddess of beauty.
Skogsen - The realm of Naulunn. The entirety of the realm is a great forest, where Naulunn often hunts in her spare time along with those who were hunters in life sent there by Alfrinn after death. Naulunn herself holds a palace atop Mt. Hørvel, a great mountain in her realm, in her high halls of cobalt above the clouds, that she will retire to when not in Strålsen.
Tilsen - The realm of Radnas. It contains a great library, second only to that of Alfrinn, containing treatises on ideology, doctrine, and the political and military history of Jardr. It also contains the Well of Seeing, where Radnas looks upon the world and guides the decisions of statesmen and polticians who are not evil of heart. Tilsen is where statesmen, rulers, and politicians are sent by Alfrinn after death.
Vansen - The realm of Gylfas. It is home to the endless vaults of the gods, which house the great wealth of Strålsen, along with the great market of the gods. After death, those who were merchants, shopkeeps, or treasurers in life are sent here by Alfrinn to sell their wares for eternity.
Jardr - Our world; the realm of mortals; Eras.
Duistsen - Realm of the Ultir, located outside of time and space, on the opposite end from Strålsen. Those who were evil and wicked in life come here to serve the Ultir, whether it be as part of their dark army or as slave laborers, with the wickedest of the wicked facing eternal torture in the deepest fiery pits.
Ragnarök
In the tradition of the Old Way, Ragnarök is the apocalypse story. It shall begin with a great and devastating war all across Jardr, which will destroy all civilizations. Then, Sagenvinter will come, during which time three winters will arrive without a summer, and the sun will be useless. After this, Nåri will come forth and warm the world, but Stolt will kidnap her and cease this. The remains of mankind will consider the occurrence as a great disaster resulting in much ruin. The earth and mountains will then shake so violently that the trees will come loose from the soil, the mountains will topple, and all restraints will break, causing the boundaries of the universe to breach. Gelmor will use this opportunity to muster his great army of evil, appoint Tordur as his dark captain, and ride forth from Duistsen to conquer all of creation.
The sky will split into two. From the split, the dark army of Gelmor will ride forth. Tordur will ride first, surrounded by flames, his war hammer brighter than the sun. The dark army will conquer all of Bestån, destroying eight out of nine of the worlds there, and leaving the most mundane of them all, Jardr, as a blasted wasteland. Alfrinn will take what he can from his great library to Strålsen for safe-keeping, but Radnas will lose all of his library. Then, Gelmor will plunge all worlds inside Bestån into darkness. The great army of the Valtir, led by Vrage, will advance to the wastes of Jardr to meet the dark army, and fight the dark army. The dark army will win and only Vrage and his captains will survive. They will retreat to Strålsen and, seeing no other option, muster the warriors of Trakvest and Feltgest, the greatest warriors of all time, as well as all the gods, including the Valtir.
The dark army will march to Strålsen. Jorn will see the approaching enemy, stand, and blow the Jållarhorn with all his might. The army of Strålsen will hear the sound, and they will make their final preparations. Velderøn will shake, and everything, everywhere will fear. The dark army shall enter Strålsen. Alfrinn will stand silently, away from the battle, recording the final chapters of the history of all creation. Stolt and Nåri will fight, and Nåri will kill Stolt, but in his final moments, Stolt will chop off Nåri's head. Gerig and Gylfas fight as well, and impale each other at the same time. Bylgja will rip Gest's organs out, and Gest will use them to choke Bylgja to death before she herself dies. Alsig will eat Naulunn alive, before Jorn kills him, but Ofnas will seize the opportunity and stab Jorn in the heart.
Jorn will turn, and run straight into Ofnas, impaling Ofnas with the sword that he himself was impaled with. They will die together. Tordur and Vrage will fight with their great hammers until the ground below them falters due to the sheer force of their battle and they both fall into oblivion and die. Radnas will kill Vadsig, but then he will fall into the pit created by Tordur and Vrage and die when Vadsig falls in and drags him down with him. Gelmor and Borgas will duel on horseback with their great spears, and the joust will be a draw, as both will fall from their horses and die. By this point, the battle will have caused a great fire. The fire will have spread throughout Strålsen throughout the battle, and Strålsen will burn. Alfrinn will write the last page, and then his histories will burn around him and he will die.
The fire will then spread, and Bestån itself will burn, destroying time and space itself. Seeing the destruction of time and space, the remainders of the dark army will flee to Duistsen, and the remainders of the army of the Valtir will follow them, and they all will die. Even Duistsen, the manifestation of the Ultir's hatred, will burn. The now-dead world tree, now surrounded by utter and complete nothingness following the breaking of Bestån, will burn. The fire will go out, and nothing will be left but the primordial Orgråt. The ashes will reform as Spronor, reborn, who will draw blood from his own arm and let it drip into the Orgråt, creating a new Velderøn. Creation is thus cyclically repeated, yet made anew as well; and it is from here on that not even Alfrinn can foresee.
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