IN THE BEGINNING . . . AN ANNOTATED CREATION MYTH FOR BEGINNERS

                                                          Caine Thistlecrown
                      Greyhawk Monthly Journal of Philosophy & Science, Nov. 602 C.Y.

          All cultures have their own creation myth. In a world such as Oerth, where many deities vie for the attention of mortals, myths vary greatly even within cultures. Most often, the telling of the myth varies with the deity involved, with devout followers tending to give their favored deity a greater role. The following is by no means an authoritative version; it merely combines the most common elements polled from the religious texts of our day.

          In the Beginning, Dama¹ walked alone in the Void.² There was not, nor had there ever been, light. Dama walked alone in the darkness. After an Eternity, Dama sought to create beings like herself. But where would these children live, in the darkness like herself? Thus, Dama made Creation,³ and set it afloat in the Void. In doing so, Dama unleashed the first light in time, the blinding flash that accompanied the birth of Creation. In doing so, Dama herself cast the first shadow. That shadow was Vanu,⁴ the only being not a child of Dama.⁵ As Vanu was birthed by the light of creation, she was the source of destruction. As the shadow of life itself, Vanu was death, the cold life-sucking essence of the Void. In setting Creation in motion, Dama had also set forth the destruction of all that is.⁶

          Seeing her creation, Dama was pleased. She entered Creation and left the Void behind, never noticing her shadow slipping inside the Fields of Gray⁷ with her. Here, Dama gave birth to her children, the Gods.⁸ In her own image she made them, and Creation was filled with love, joy and song. Dama taught her children, and gave them all the gift of creation. Vanu could only devour, not create. When Dama turned her attention towards some of her children, her back was turned on others, and her children fell within her shadow. Those who Vanu touched were corrupted and altered from Dama’s image. They became colder and withdrawn. The touch of destruction was upon them. Dama led her children in a great song, the song of creation. As they sang, Creation became brighter and brighter, the Firmament⁹ came into existence, then the Waters of Heaven.¹⁰ At last, in the center of all Creation, Dama and her children sang the World¹¹ into existence. However, as the light grew brighter, and the Fields of Grey were illuminated, so Vanu grew stronger, and larger. The children she had touched faltered in the song, or introduced their own melodies apart from Dama’s direction. At first the variations had no effect, but as the light grew, and Vanu waxed in power, the song began to falter. At the song’s climax, as the World was birthed, the light and shadow were the greatest. The song fell apart, and the World was created with flaws.¹² The children were hushed into silence. Dama turned her head and saw at last her shadow, thrown long and dark over the portion of Creation she faced away from. Dama saw the doom of Creation. She knew then that she would never be rid of Vanu, that wherever her back were turned, Vanu would infect and destroy the work of her children and herself.

          With the song ended, Creation was enveloped in silence. Dama contemplated long and hard. The choice before her was a terrible one. She could undo Creation and start again, or she could attempt to repair Creation and undo her shadow’s damage. Looking at the faces of her children, and the beautiful unfinished World, she sought to repair what she could. Those who would still do her bidding, those untouched by Vanu, were sent to the World to finish their Mother’s vision. As she faced the World, her remaining children fell further into the gloom of Vanu.¹³ The Gods entered the World and set about seeding it with life. Plants and animals were created,¹⁴ the Waters of Heaven were unleashed to make the World capable of sustaining life. The Gods set the Sun and the Moon in the sky, and set the cycle of the seasons. Dama’s vision was not ended, and she clothed the Fey in flesh, and set them in the World.¹⁵ The Fey were like Dama and the Gods, but were lesser in nature. They were beautiful and kind. They named the plants and animals and lived in the World as their own. The Gods continued to live in the World, though many left to create their own realms in the Heavens,¹⁶ away from their brethren. Under the guidance of the Gods, the Fey shaped and tamed the World.

          Dama was not finished yet however. All her work had been to set the stage for children yet to come. In a hidden place in the World, Dama set her youngest children yet, the Elves.¹⁷ The Fey found the elves, woke them, and were delighted. They treated the elves as if they were their own children,¹⁸ teaching them the lore of the World. The elves were much like they Fey, if only slightly lesser. Like the Fey, elves were spirits bound in flesh. Yet their flesh was not undying like that worn by the Fey. In time, elves grew old and eventually left their bodies to return to Dama.¹⁹ The Fey were greatly saddened when the first of the elves succumbed to old age. They became the first of Dama’s children to die.

          Still, this was the Golden Age. And the elves learned much from their teachers, and together they constructed great works in the World. The Gods came and went from the World, but many stayed, and it was an age of miracles and peace. Heavenly kingdoms on earth were fashioned, both atop mountains and beneath the sea. The World had never been so beautiful.

          Dama could not watch the entire World, however. And Vanu hated and despised what she saw. She seeped in around the corners of the World while Dama faced elsewhere. Everything she touched, she corrupted. The Gods themselves felt the chill touch of her shadow. Some saw the World as rightfully theirs, and schemed to bend the earth to their will. The Fey who fell under her touch became corrupted and degenerate. The goblin races were born.²⁰ Those elves who became lost in forests suddenly void-black fell under her control, and the races of orcs were born.²¹ Nothing escaped Vanu’s corruption. The mighty Titans were warped and twisted into Giants, Ogres and Trolls.²² Animals became horrifying beasts. Even the great dragons²³ became corrupted into vicious evil monsters.

          War simmered in the World. The Dark Gods²⁴ turned away from Dama, and came to revere the Monster Mother.²⁵ Ghastly temples were erected in her honor. Breeding pits for monsters and worse were dug deep beneath the ground. Elves were sacrificed in her honor. Armories and evil weapons were forged for the first time. Those children who were still loyal to their Mother were taken unprepared as the Dark Gods unleashed a host of orcs, goblins, giants and worse upon the World. The Dark Gods themselves rode ahead of the horde, clad in armor and riding dragons. Many Gods were driven from the World by the assault; others fled and retreated to their holdings in heaven. Others fought back, and taught the Fey and the elves the secrets of armor and weapon-craft²⁶. It was a dark time in the World. The sky was black with soot, plunging the entire World into a black winter. Vanu walked the World at will, devouring her fill and birthing monsters as she went. She left a trail of newly-hatched cockatrices, basilisks and beholders in her wake.²⁷ And worse. The plants and animals died off in great numbers from the cold, the poisonous air and water, and from the monsters that roamed the World at will.

          It was during this time that other children of Dama woke in the World. The Gnomes, Halflings and Dwarves came to be in this dark time.²⁸ They were the first mortal children of Dama.²⁹ With a great cry, the Gods came forth in might. A great host of the Fey, armed with adamantium swords and shields rushed forth. The mithril in their gem-encrusted coats sang as they raced to cleanse the earth. The great lords among them, nearly equal to the Gods in power,³⁰ readied terrible weapons of war. Beside them came great legions of elves, in shining shirts of chain, bearing spears whose heads blazed like embers, and bows whose strings screamed like women when releasing diamond-headed arrows. Behind them came the dwarves, marching in long orderly rows. Clad entirely is adamantium plate, and bearing hideous masks, they held impenetrable shields and axes so sharp, they could cleave solid stone. Last, the Gods themselves marched forth in glory. Their gaze was so bright, the World filled with light.

          Vanu’s children met Dama’s children in the wastes of the North.³¹ Vanu had not been idle. The host of orcs, trolls and worse was now accompanied by monsters so terrifying and vile that even the Gods cried out. The worst of all was Vanu’s most awful child. Birthed in secret, and kept in a cavern near the center of the World where it fed directly on the black milk from Vanu’s teat, the Tarrasque³² shook the Earth upon its release, and drove Dama’s children before it.

          The Battle was like none ever seen before. Mountains were flattened and seas were put to boil. The very face of the World changed. Great rents appeared, and earthquakes shook the field. Great lords among the Fey, the elves and the dwarves, greater than any who have come since, died in that field. Even Gods and Dark Gods themselves fell that day³³. It seemed as if the battle would shatter the World. Vanu herself came to the field, taller than any of the broken mountains, wrapped in a long cloak of frigid darkness brought back from the Void. She fed on the dead and dying, crushing her own children beneath her feet in her savage hunger. The Dark Gods, on the brink of losing, rallied in her shadow. The Gods quailed, and set to flee the field and yield the World.

          Then Vanu vanished, and a great shout came up from the Earth. Dama appeared on the field. She alone knew Vanu’s secret. Vanu was Dama’s shadow, she could never appear in the same place as the All-Mother.³⁴ Dama brought whole legions of her children back to life with a waive of her hand. The Gods urged her to smite the legions of humanoids and monsters that knelt cowering in the presence of the Mother of Us All. Instead, with great sadness, Dama banished all the Gods, Light and Dark alike, from the World. Their power was too much for the fragile World. Never again could they set foot on the Earth. They all retired to their kingdoms in Heaven.³⁵

          Dama cast away the clouds of smoke and ruin, and cast seeds to the wind, such that the World would live again. The humanoids and monsters, she refused to destroy,³⁶ instead scattering them across the World, ensuring that they could never unite against her children again. So that the balance would never again be upset, she set the last of her children, the humans, in the World. To the youngest and most fragile of her children, Dama set the charge of maintaining balance in the World. The humans followed no one, choosing freely for themselves their path in life.

          Dama could not stay in the World, however. Already, with her back to the Heavens, Vanu was undoing and damaging as much of Creation as she could. Dama knew she could not remain in the World forever. All of Creation would require her attention. Never again could she stay, but never again would she leave for long.³⁷
 

     ¹ c.f. Danu, Damaa, Danaan, Astarte, Gaia, the Earth Mother, All-Mother, etc. Note that, although the Author is aware that deities may not possess actual names, wherever possible, the Fey names of deities are used for reasons of accuracy.

     ² The prevailing theory is that the “Void” refers to the Outer Void (c.f. “Outer Dark,” “Outer Darkness”) an as-yet undefined and undiscovered area of the universe, and not the Astral Plane, as was the long-held competing theory. The Author recognizes the well-argued theory placing the Void as Concordant Opposition, but waits for the theory to be tested.

     ³ Here, most experts believe the myth is referring to the creation of the Astral Plane, although disagreement exists. See e.g., Mordenkainen, The Nature of Creation: The Ethereal v. Astral Dilemma, Greyhawk Gazette of Planar Travel (hereinafter “GGPT”), Oct. 572 C.Y.

     ⁴ c.f. Vama, Vamatar, Mother of Monsters, Tharizdun, the Decreator, etc.

     ⁵ This Article will not address the theory, appearing in a small minority of myths, that Dama and Vanu are, in   fact, the same deity. The Author is comfortable with the postulation that creation and destruction may be two aspects of the same deity. However, this Article is meant to compile the most common myths, where Dama and Vanu are strictly separate beings.

     ⁶ Many creation myths relate Vanu’s participation in the End Times, the most common describing how she will devour the universe at the end of time, leaving only Dama, the one thing Vanu cannot eat. Without the light of Creation, Vanu herself will be terminated, leaving Dama alone in the dark again. See Keoghtom, The Armchair Guide to Armageddon, Golden Goblin Press, 387 C.Y.

     ⁷ The frequent use of this exact expression across much of Oerth lends credence to the Astral Plane theory. See Note 3, id.

     ⁸ At this point, the creation myths vary widely. It is very common for names, numbers and attributes of the deities to be related here. Because the myths vary so greatly, the Author will not attempt to give a name or a number to her initial children. It is worth noting that most experts agree that it is the creation of the so-called “Greater Gods” that is being discussed at this point.

     ⁹ A puzzling term that appears in over 70% of Oerth’s catalogued creation myths. Experts have long argued over the identity of the Firmament. The Author sides with the theory that the Firmament refers to the collective Inner Planes (Elemental, Positive and Negative).

     ¹⁰ Most experts agree that this refers to the Elemental Planes themselves.

     ¹¹ It is at this point that the creation myths differ the most. Virtually all faiths place their own deity centrally in the creation of the World. The Author follows the prevailing theory that said creation was a joint effort, and this theory has compelling evidence. See Mordenkainen, An Interview with Veluna, GGPT, Apr. 595 C.Y. It is the prevailing theory that during the “song,” the Gods created the Titans, who actually did the manual labor of constructing the World according to the Gods’ design. Note that the “World,” applies almost certainly to the Prime Material Planes, which appear to be infinite in number. See Drawmij, A Crisis of Infinite Earths?, GGPT Dec. 601 C.Y.; Bigby, How Many Titans does it take to Change an Infinite Number of Torch Sconces?, Musings on the Consequences of Infinite Earths, Golden Goblin Press, 587 C.Y.

     ¹² The “loss of innocence” storylines are frequent and varied. See Bigby, So Much for a Perfect World, Greyhawk Journal of Science & Philosophy, Jun. 597 C.Y.

     ¹³ Very few myths ever refer to these lost children again. Theories abound that these children are the progenitors of demons, devils and other lower-plane denizens, or that Vanu devoured them. It is curious that not even the creation myths of evil deities place their own Gods among these lost children.

     ¹⁴ This is obviously a controversial point regarding the identities of the creators of various animals.

     ¹⁵ It is interesting that the Fey’s creation takes place outside the boundaries of the World. The Fey are spirits, like the Titans, given mortal form. No creation myth yet catalogued is specific when it comes to the origins of spirits. If the Titans built the World, and the World was created by the Gods’ “song,” it is logical that the “song” also created spirits. It is highly curious that this event is never mentioned.

     ¹⁶ Presumably the Outer Planes.

     ¹⁷ The Author rejects the theory that the Elves, who are also spirits clothed in flesh (after a fashion), were set into the World by Dama to test whether or not the World was safe for mortals. The Elves play an important role in the history of the World. They are not penny-fish bought to test the waters of one’s aquarium.

     ¹⁸ The Author will not address the quandary of how the Fey, who are spirits clothed in flesh, can multiply, creating apparently new spirits also clothed in flesh. Although the phenomenon is well-documented, a thorough discussion is beyond the scope of this Article. See Rary, The Sex Life of Spirits: The Quandary of Multiplying Constants as Applied to the Procreation of Spirits; If a Set Number of Undying Spirits Exists, Where are the As-Yet Unborn Spirits Kept? Mathematics & Philosophy, Vol. CCX, 487 C.Y.

      ¹⁹ Obviously a controversial point. See e.g., Tenser, Musings on the Reincarnation of Elven Souls, GGPT, Jul. 598 C.Y.

     ²⁰ Although this is bitterly disputed in some quarters, the Fey themselves acknowledge it. See Mordenkainen, Note 11; see also Tenser, The Ecology of the Slig, Greyhawk Gazette of Flora and Fauna, Dec 566 C.Y.

     ²¹ Both races hotly contest this matter. The Author has included this point solely on the basis of its frequency in the creation myths of other races. For an interesting comparison of both arguments, see Tenser, The Perfect Race?, Greyhawk Gazette of Flora & Fauna, Dec 565 C.Y. and Shiwan Eveningstar, Not in Our Family Tree: Debunking the Orc-Elf Connection, Celene Tribunal, Mar 532 C.Y.

     ²² Although this point appears frequently, it is widely understood that Ogre races are in fact descended from the Irda, undying spirits given flesh to serve the Gods as handmaidens and valets during their reign in the World. Likewise, it is generally accepted that Trolls are not related to either Giants or Ogres, although they are capable of crossbreeding with both. In this Author’s opinion, there is no satisfactory explanation of the origin of Trolls in any catalogued creation myth. The Troll’s own creation myth acknowledges Vanu’s involvement, they revere her as Vaprak the Slayer, but categorically states that they are direct descendants of the Monster Mother, birthed in a great stinking cavern in the center of the World (which, characteristically, is also the Heaven of Trolls).

     ²³ Some myths include entire sections to the creation of dragons. It is a generally accepted principle that dragons are spirits of the World itself, as opposed to spirits from outside the World –Fey, Titans and the like.

     ²⁴ The identities of the so-called “Dark Gods” vary from myth to myth. Generally, the evil deities of the given faith are included here.

     ²⁵ As a point of order, Vanu’s nature as the “Monster Mother” is paradoxical. Most human and demi-human myths are quite clear that Vanu is capable only of destruction and corruption and cannot herself create. Yet, those same myths frequently go on to describe at great length and detail the various monsters and abominations she herself gives birth to. These lists nearly always culminate in the birth of the Tarrasque. Most theological theorists take the position that the monsters attributed to her are actually corrupted versions of other creatures placed in the World by Dama. This has led to some argument about the original nature of some of the more fabulous monsters. See, Bigby, So, What did the Tarrasque Used to Be? And Other Tough Questions, Greyhawk Gazette of Flora & Fauna, Jun 591 C.Y. Other theorists attribute monsters to the so-called Dark Gods.

     ²⁶ This is act generally attributed to the “Smith God” of the faith, i.e., Govannan, Moradin, Moradhin etc. This Author supports the theory that it was about this time that the dwarves, at last recovered from their expulsion from the dwarven Heaven, became organized and resisted the humanoid and monster hordes. It is even possible that it was the dwarves who disseminated their deity’s crafts.

     ²⁷ These constitute just a few of the monsters widely attributed to Vanu.

     ²⁸ Obviously, these races all have their own extensive, and often very differing, creation myths.

     ²⁹ Note that while Gnomes and Halflings generally support the theory that they were created by Dama, the Dwarves differ. It is worth pointing out that, of all the races, the dwarves’ creation myth varies the least among different clans, even between far-flung populations. The dwarves maintain that they were created by their deity Moradhin (aka Moradin) before the elves, and took part in the creation of the World, not entering the World until their exile, much later. This would place their creation before that of the Fey. Obviously, this contradicts not only the majority of myths, but also their rather obvious relation to gnomes. It is also worth noting that the Fey dispute portions of the dwarves’ account. See Mordenkainen, Note 11.

     ³⁰ This is a point of contention, obviously. Although the Author believes it is a futile exercise to differentiate between the levels of power of beings of this magnitude, he will concede the point that even the greatest of the Fey, such as Ahmazda, were probably “only” equal to demi-gods in power. See Bigby, Ahmazda v. The Old One: Who Would Win?, Theology & Philosophy, Oct. 598 C.Y.

     ³¹ Interestingly enough, this point seems to be universal.

     ³² The nature of the Tarrasque is the subject of many articles, and the Author will not repeat that scholarship here. Suffice it to say, it is nearly universally accepted that the Tarrasque first appeared at the Great Battle between the Gods and Dark Gods. It is worth noting, however, that the Fey maintain that there was more than one Tarrasque at that time, and that the one living today is only the sole survivor of that race.
 
    ³³ While this point is quite controversial, it appears in over 90% of the catalogued creation myths. The identities of the slain deities vary according to faith. The true identities, if any, may never be known.

     ³⁴ Obviously, the physics, or more properly, metaphysics, of this are problematic.

     ³⁵ Whether or not a deity can access the World is an item of some disagreement. Obviously, it has never been observed.

     ³⁶ Of course, if one holds these myths to any measure of consistency, Dama cannot destroy, she can only create. Presumably, she is forced to rely on other agency if she wants something destroyed, e.g. The Horned King.

     ³⁷ One question the Author has posed frequently to followers of Dama is this: Since Dama and Vanu are inextricably bound together, and if, Dama is unable to cast a shadow in the Outer Void, and if Vanu is presumably extinguished in the event Dama casts no shadow, why does Dama not simply exit Creation and enter the Outer Void? According to the creation myths, Dama was able to enter Creation from the Void, why is not the reverse true? This would seem to solve the “Vanu” problem, i.e., Creation falling apart and degenerating whenever Dama’s back is turned. Obviously, the Author has never received a satisfactory answer.