Antymnean Mythology

Antymnean Mythology tells an embellished and fantastical version of the ancient history of the Antymnes, told in four parts. In the first part, ancient deities create the world, with the focus on the Antymnean Isles, and the Goblinoid peoples dwelling within and beneath them. The second part of the myth tells of the ancient feud between the natives' deities. The third part tells the Dragons coming to the isles, claiming to be servants of those ancient deities, and misleading Goblinkind. The final part of the myth tells the story of how the original seven royal houses of the Antymnes came to rise up against the dragons, freeing the isles of their dominion.

The Cradle of Creation
Antymnean myth says that before the world really came to be, there was only dense earth; everything that is or was or ever would be, confined to a single rocky ball. The surface of the rock was scorched by the sun, and nothing could live under its burning gaze. The first being to disturb the rock was the diety known as The Mother, called Maben. In the solid earth, she saw the potential to create a cradle for life itself. The story goes that she delved into the rock, burrowing deeply beneath its surface to carve the caverns that make up the Karst. There in the depths, she brought forth life-giving waters, which has been trapped beneath the rock. With the stone and earth she pulled from the depths, she built the mountains on the surface of Vantowyn, providing shade to the world above. In the sheltered caverns below, Maben brought her own mother to rest. The Crone, called Marwa, would settle her bones in the deepest depths of Maben's cavern, there to live her days in peace, offering her wisdom to Maben's children. Maben's daughter, known as The Maiden, or Sarhyven, also came to dwell in the cavernous homes that her mother had carved for them. In the sheltered depths, she would grow, and learn. Some versions of the story say that the three found the rock and carved the caverns together, rather than crediting The Mother with the entirety of the task.

Once the three, collectively known as the Tricham Mhnad, had finished carving and settling into the caverns, the Mother set about creating life within the depths, creating the first Goblins. These Goblins were to keep the brave Maiden Sarhyven company as she wandered on the surface, and to care for the Crone Marwa beneath the earth. The Mother did not rest after this creation, and she is credited with the creation of all other subterranean life, but Goblinkind, it is believed, was her favorite creation.

Those Who Throw Stones To The Sky
From their home in the ground, The Mother's children multiplied and grew, soon filling the caverns and it did not take long for them to seek other places to go. From the darkness of the underground, the bright and burning intensity of the sunlight above was an unwelcome sight to goblinkind, who found themselves unable to venture out into the blinding light.

One story claims that the sun was placed in the sky by Kagorix to spite the Tricham Mhnad and their creation. This same story claims that Hobgoblins were created to subjugate and reign in creation. The sun's brightness was meant to keep Goblins beneath, so that the Hobgoblins could rule over the surface world. The Maiden Sarhyven took issue with the placement of the sun, and its ever burning light. Ever a fighter, the crafty Sarhyven took leftover rock from the excavation of the Karst below, and fashioned an enormous boulder with which to block out the sun's light.

Kagorix saw this rock, and grew angry. In his rage, he pushed the sun closer to Vantowyn, causing its light to become brighter and hotter still. When Sarhyven saw this, she took the rock she had intended to throw at the sun, and bound it to a great magical rope. She began to swing the rope, faster and faster until the great rock began to circle around Vantowyn itself, threatening the sun with its motion. Sarhyven warned Kagorix that if the sun came any closer, the rock would shatter it.

In response, Kagorix attempted to sever the rope, but he could not find it, for The Crone Marwa had used her magic to make the rope invisible. And so from time immemorial, this great rock, now identified as Dakovar, circles Vantowyn, periodically blocking the sun's light, as if to give Goblinkind on the surface a breif reprieve from its ever-present burning.

The Rise of the Seven Dragons
For a time, the world was good. The children the Mother had created prospered, both in the caves and upon the surface. The conflicts between Rixites and the  Mhnadites wore on across the surface of Vantowyn, but this was nothing compared to the wars that would come.

After many long ages of their familiar foe, the goblins found a new ally from an unlikely source. When the ancient Dragons first appear in Antymnean Myth, they are portrayed as agents of the Tricham Mhnad. The Seven were seen as great warriors sent by the goddesses to help their children defeat Kagorix and his followers once and for all.

Each of these seven dragons fostered the affection of a powerful clan of goblins, which each received a blessing from their patrons. This left each clan with a mark that would be passed down, ensuring that these seven clans would forever lead the world of goblinkind.

The most powerful of all seven dragons were Malgat, and  Nirnes. They gifted their blessings to the most powerful clans of goblins, which then became known as the Gobobelyn and  Gobodulas, respectively. The five other great dragons gifted their blessings to five other great clans of goblins. The blessed of Ninchas became known as the  Goboraen, and the blessed of  Duna became the  Gobogoch. The blessed of Gesda,  Rysma, and  Ynis  became known as  Gobowyrdd,  Goboglas, and  Gobowen. The goblin clans spread across the world, and for countless generations, they guided their peoples according to the plans of their draconic patrons.

The dragons taught their chosen powerful new forms of magic, drawn from the crystals beneath the surface of Vantowyn. In addition, each of the Dragons chose a champion from among their chosen, and gave to each a sacred Saber, by which they would rule their peoples. These seven champions were Brech, Daban, Fani, Halta, Mun, Ni, and Trin, who would one day give their names to the Seven Houses of the Antymnes.

It was not long before the Hobgoblins found their own powerful new allies. Titanic creatures from beyond began to help the Hobgoblins, teaching them great and terrible magics of their own. With this new magic, Vantowyn was torn asunder. The skies turned black as the fiercest of battles raged, and the sun itself was shrouded and obscured. The Mhnadites, aligned with the dragons, saw this shrouded sky as a sure sign of their victory in this great war with the Rixites.

So powerful was the influence of the Dragons that during this time, the priestesses of the Mhnad initially believed them to be servants of the three. In truth, they were deceived.

As the Dragons led the Goblins on toward the illusion of victory over their ancient foes, their deception hid their truest intent. For the Dragons were jealous gods, and refused to share power. They knew that the Goddesses would eventually speak to their children, and reveal the horrible truth of their usurpation. Fearing the sacred connection between Antymnean women and the Tricham Mhnad, the Dragons used their wretched magics to kill any female children in their mothers' wombs if they sensed even a glimmer of prophecy about them. These horrible magics would scar Goblinkind forever. This part of the story would seem to be a Goblinoid explanation for why so many female Goblinoid births are stillborn, even into the modern age.

Thus Always to Tyrants
As the Dragons' victory seemed near, the skies parted, and the sunlight shone through brightly once more. The shrouded doors of Vantowyn were thrown open, and the beings that came through the breach were not what Goblinkind expected to see. Shining figures of radiant glory descended from the sky to smite the titans, and break the legions of the Hobgoblins. The power of these beings, oft identified as the First Men, was greater than even that of the Dragons, and the Dragons themselves grew envious.

It was then that the terrible scaled monsters revealed themselves for what they truly were to the Goblins. Even as the Shining Ones struck down the Giants and Hobgoblins, the Dragons declared them enemies. In this moment, Marwa spoke to her Prophetess, and bade the Goblins to instead rise up against the greedy Dragons, and take back their home from those usurpers. It was then that the Seven Houses drew their Sabers against their former masters, joining forces with the Shining Ones, true servants of the Mhnad, to cast them out.

Then as swiftly as they came, the Shining Ones disappeared. Retreating from the world to leave it for native Goblinkind to live in as they chose. This, to the Goblins, was the best evidence of their service to their goddesses. The Shining Ones did not linger, or impose their will upon the Goblins, but instead left them to determine their own fate once the threat was gone.