Being a short account on the creation myth of centaurs

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Being a short account on the creation myth of centaurs

Postby Nerreya on Fri Jun 12, 2015 12:24 pm

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Depicted above, The Wheel of Creation, engraved onto an obsidian plate.



The symbols listed in the Wheel of Creation above, and prior to each category or 'phase', below, are representative of centaur pictography, and quite literally incorporate the concept of the story into a visual reference frame. Often these symbols are used by storytellers, carving them into the ground while narrating, or painting them somewhere near permanent places of power that reverberate with a particular sphere.

The following myth is an example of oral storytelling among the centaurs, and as such always takes on characteristics of the person narrating the tale. Therefore no one story is entirely the same, not even when told by the same individual, even if the major events remain much the same. Tribal shamans, however, are rumoured to know more about the hidden narratives that are left unsaid.

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ImageThe Beginning: the Great Mare and the Noble Stallion

"The world was once an endless ocean-abyss, in which resided a single, perfectly round egg-sphere. Into this non-existence the first unicorn appeared, and with her slender horn pierced the shell of the egg. Twice did she do this. Through the cracks that followed sprang forth the Great Mare and her brother-consort the Noble Stallion."


ImageThe First Herd

"With the aid of the unicorn these siblings created the stars in the sky, and for each star a foal was born. Their many children would grow into the First Herd; whom they tasked to shape the egg into the world of Belariath, while they themselves departed to wander the vast abyss. Eventually they returned, and saw what their children had accomplished. And they agreed that it was good, but something was clearly missing: the force to set all things into motion."


ImageThe Wild Dance

"So the Great Mare and Noble Stallion spoke at length to their children of things that were, things that are, and of some things yet to follow. Once they had spoken, they danced the wild dance, and joined together one last time, and merged with the world that now was made ready. And thus began Time. But as the two entered the world, as one, they unintentionally freed the ills that still remained imprisoned inside; those that were too large to escape through the fine holes that the unicorn's horn had once made."


ImageThe Great Conflict

"And these ills felt gnawing fear as they saw the cycle that now existed, and fell upon the young world with a great, tearing rage. The First Herd fought them bravely at every turn, but for each victory claimed, the ills countered with victories of their own. And numerous casualties were endured on both sides, and the world burned all around them, and became sick, and dying."


ImageThe Scattering

"So, the First and the Last of the Herd came together, and devised a desperate plan. They would take the remaining ills into themselves and forever bind them to their essence. And when the time came, this they accomplished, and lo and behold it worked! A new world grew from the ashes of the old one. But their success came at a costly price, for the Herd was now scattered in both thought and form, and became the many races that now live and die on Belariath."


ImageThe Final Foal

"Yet, the story goes, the Great Mare and Noble Stallion only sleep within the world, and will eventually wake, causing the ultimate end of days as the world is shattered and Time itself grinds to a halt. And they will weep at the demise of their creation, and they will dance another wild dance, and through the love of their union the Final Foal will be born, and the world itself reborn."


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"The path of a shaman... is one of trials few others can ever fathom." -N.W.
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Re: Being a short account on the creation myth of centaurs

Postby Cronn Thunderhowl on Wed Jun 17, 2015 10:33 pm

I really like it as it accounts not only for te creation of their own race, but every race. Also it has an end of days myth, which is always a plus.

One question though: as it is the myth of the centaurs, one would expect to read which ill they took inside in order to become centaurs, and as such sets them apart from the other races.

Great read and nice artwork though. We need more of such.
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Re: Being a short account on the creation myth of centaurs

Postby Nerreya on Thu Jun 18, 2015 12:53 pm

Hi, and thank you for the positive critique, Cronn! Developing the myth was a wonderful opportunity to dig a little deeper into mythologies, borrowing as the creation myth does from our IRL equivalents, and hopefully in doing so create something that works with existing myths for Belariath.

I'm very happy - and more than a little bit humbled - that you'd actually like to see even more material being posted! I'll give this some thought. That being said, the story is intentionally left vague so that others can fill in the 'blanks' if and when they desire, and while the 'The Scattering' doesn't answer what ills were embraced to create centaurs, the symbol accompanying the story hints at the emerging three tribes of the race.

To anyone interested, the races section for centaurs has additional information in the form of history and tribes.

Reconciling the creation myth with what already exists could lead to some interesting stories to say the least, but also shows that mythologies often muddle things by default... for instance, maybe the ills depicted in the centaur creation myth are really some of the gods and spirits of other religions - or maybe some of the First Herd never merged with any ills, and thus remain 'pure' in form, and godlike to the rest of us? ;)
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