Bysmerian

Hyrtha is also ascribed control over the sea; her childhood associates her with the surf and rising tide, and she did not relinquish that on ascension. If she wishes waters calm, or wishes them rough, so be it. She may bear ships to shore or keep them for her own; who would tell her no?

5/5

Hyrtha's orders can be short-sighted: while Hrakk’s venom might drive one to act on their worst impulses, Hyrtha’s word is experienced as impulse in the moment. Her command may give the faithful the push they need to take a step or get the object of one’s affections to give one a chance.

4/

And then there's Gyrma. Sweet Gyrma. Passionate, impulsive Gyrma, full of life and wonder. If only she could, but...later this week we'll discuss the Parable of the Rose; Hyrtha does not and will not command her brother. So it falls to the mundane world to hear and to respond

3/

In theory this authority extends to other gods, but what of it? Most of them do not trust each other. The only two she might call for are Gummun and Gyrma: ordering the former is like pulling rank on an austere respected patriarch, and even as queen Hyrtha doesn't feel comfortable with that

2/

Hyrtha may touch the souls of living mortals more directly than most of the gods of the Broken World. The Torc of Command--once Kermalach's, now hers--allows her to orders to resonate in the hearts of mortals and in the stuff of world; her word must be obeyed: her will be their will be done

1/

...On second thought, we'll get into the specifics later this week because this really ties into how he interacts with mortal worshippers

To finish for now: he earned his reputation as wonder-smith; while he has not made anything in the living world in centuries he never lost his edge

3/3

People pray to him to allow him to in turn allow the dead to visit them in dreams, where they might provide counsel, inspiration, and insight. He may also be petitioned if one wishes to alleviate or cope with disability, although this is more a folk tradition than anything with text backing it:

2/

Gummun is, again, not the king of the dead but the closest thing to it. He has has authority and capacity to track down wayward shades who are shirking their duty to build Kermalach’s tomb-palace. If one suspects their ill-fortune to be the result of a haunting, one may draw his attention.

1/

Only in direct worship, direct communion, is it considered "proper" to show Gummun in his entirety. Even then, many faithful or superstitious avert their eyes. Casual observation and actuarial data would suggest Gummun doesn't care one way or another, but he's still an ominous figure

4/4 (end)

Few have the courage to show him directly in his role as keeper of the dead. His stained fingertips are often shown ordering the souls of the deceased, or beckoning the recently fallen. When in narrative, his actions and words are oft demonstrated through reaction rather than direct depiction

3/

Like most gods, ancient depictions show a different figure to the present: Gummun of old has a stout strength to him, but his present place as director of the dead has replaced that with something lean, wiry & grim. His sunken eyes do not blink. His fingers and tip of his beard are inkstained

2/

Gummun is a tower of a man. His face is lined, with white hair and long beard ornately braided. He wears a heavy cloak, waterproofed with wax and oil. It was green once, but the regular storms of the land of woken dead has stirred up ash and dust and mud and stained it black and gray over ages

1/

It is not unknown to draw them ill-fitting according to (again) her youth or their original bearer. But the difference between a depiction of extra straps holding the gauntlet in place versus a child dressed in a grown-up's outfit is the stuff of religious schism. People die for this

4/4 (end)

She always wears her queenly raiment: The Iron Gauntlet of Rule on her right hand, The Stone Scepter of Law in her left, the Bronze Torc of Command at her throat, and the Golden Helm of Order at her brow.

She also wears the Cloak of Glory, woven "of the sky" and thus drawn in many colors

3/

She is usually depicted as much like her brother in age: young, untested, and unworn. A few depictions focusing on her, and especially those regarding her inexperience and unreadiness depict her as younger still. She has been portrayed (rarely and heretically) as barely more than a child

2/

Hyrtha in "historical" contexts is generally depicted as a child, she and her brother both appearing perhaps ten or so

After being bathed in Lirah's blood and touched by Hrakk's Want, she is universally depicted as older, although while Gyrma is always late teens/early twenties she varies a bit

1/

Gummun is the closest thing to a king of the dead that exists. He represents duty and obedience w/o question or reason or rest, as well as knowledge and skill, esp. outstripping the task at hand

His commitment to the building of West-Beyond-the-Sun also explains the mundanity of the present day

Hyrtha is most directly connected with the sea and the rising tide. She is associated with passion, ambition, and rulership, although myths vary: while her poisoning of Kermalach isn't *good*, sometimes she's got potential to be a good queen; others hold she's a spoiled shit and part of the problem

On second thought, I'mma do two gods this week. Number 2 is Hyrtha, queen of the gods. It was initially easy to dunk on her, but I really feel like there's more to her than "wants to jump her brothers' bones and committed regicide so she could take over and make it hunky-dory for her to do that"

Why wouldn’t she like Star Wars? She’s a new Hope.

Gummun -- former wonder-smith of the gods who has been turned from the world to an endless labor in service of his ever-dying king

Of all his kind he's least changed, undiminished and untainted, and in eschatology he figures heavily in restoring the world and its gods, but he's not a shining beacon

Hope is a dork and I love her dearly

But if you wish: when the wild wind howls from the east at dusk and presages a storm, take a handful of the ashes of the dead
Cast them out before you and follow where they fly. If you can track them in the growing gust, dark, and rain, where the last mote falls is the land where the dead toil
End/

Gummun, the most competent of the gods, is also the only one who has generally agreed-upon directions. It is not wise to seek him: he does not know Want but neither does he know mercy. He has no great reason to heed the living, and the dead serve him to raise Kermalach's tomb-palace.

5/

And that is bullshit. I really wish it was surprising bullshit but... *Gestures around at the everything*

The location of Kermalach's workshop is a secret: Gummun closed the door and swept the road there away when he left. Kermalach abides there now but as much as he's trying to keep things running to keep the original smith of the gods from running back... Well, he doesn't advertise his services

4/

(Gyrma et al in the first post mostly do not live anywhere and are mostly free roaming. Hrakk has Mohri's home and library but as the shitstain of the gods he is more interested in making other peoples' days worse than actually perusing the knowledge he stole from the sage when he blinded him)

3/

*brought the latter down to the former

I need to proofread better

Hyrtha started in the sea and may live there still. It is less a genuine matter of religious significance and more a shibboleth by association as to whether she abides in the deep, dictates from Kermalach's former palace above, or brought the later down to the forever as she ascended to power

2/