The Cosmology of Nordes

Each of the regions of Juro, the land where the stories of ‘The Dragons’ War’ series take place, has its own spiritual foundation. In Nordes, the northernmost state of the North, has a belief system that, in its practice, echoes the indigenous Tsimshian peoples of Alaska on Earth This belief system is central to the story of Katheryn in ‘The Angel of Death’ that will release later this year. Katheryn is the mother of Diana who stars in the ‘Book of Chaos,’ which will release in audiobook form on April 28.

 

Cosmology of the North

This is the story of creation a shepherd, the Prophet, taught us because humans cannot comprehend the gods. To humans, all things exist only with an opposite by which to distinguish them: there is no hard without soft, no dark without light, and no good without bad. And so we tell their story in our terms.

Existence began in Darkness and Chaos. Darkness created Light and order from its right hand, for with Light, Darkness could admire itself in all its majesty as not-light. With this creation came vanity, self-centeredness, selfishness, and the duality of our universe. In our terms, Darkness was King and Light was Queen. Light appears to fauna as Helios and the three moons, Lon, Elein, and Fures, but is present even in the smallest firefly.

Together, Darkness and Light created the moons, our world, and all life upon it, including the Worm of the World who embodied order and chaos to shape Juro. Vain Darkness tried to steal all the light except just enough to see itself, leaving Juro in darkness and perpetual winter. But Light resisted and exiled Darkness to moonless nights and shadows by which light and dark distinguish each other equally.

Before retiring to heaven and turning their backs on Juro, Darkness and Light bore the demigods, the Korshas, in pairs of opposites like themselves from which to discern vice and virtue: cruelty and kindness, sloth and industriousness, … and model those virtues to humans.

The Korshas did not have the power to create worlds of their own, and so created life on Juro that reflected their duality: male-female, good-bad, happy-sad … They created Grace and Envy, but Envy had more power from chaos. Envy infected the Korshas until they fought each other for domination over their limited world.

In a great basin, the pairs fought each other with fire, and magma, and mountains, and lightning, and tempest. Darkness and Light despaired for their children and for the world they would destroy.

After eons of conflict, one pair of Korshas, Knowledge and Ignorance, stopped the futile fighting, and suggested they direct their energy to the limits of the world that defined them. Together, the Korshas focused their powers to the gates of heaven and destroyed it, opening the heavens and the vastness of reality.

But in doing so, they banished themselves to the heavens where they live now as stars. They were now free to rule the universe as it is: as wide as their imaginations to the ends of the heavens.

In breaking their bounds to Juro, they freed life from their influence, and their opposites were projected onto humans and the other life they created. And with the guidance of their mother, Light, they inspirited animals with the lasting virtues: the bear, the raven, the eagle, and the White Elk who each held part of Light to guide and warn humans.

Light gave a piece of Helios to men to create fire and keep away the Darkness. But humans are drawn to Darkness by Light’s absence and so are prone to vice.

 

This is the story a shepherd, the Prophet, taught us so we will follow Light and Grace and listen to the lessons the animal spirits teach us.

Pantheon of the North

Name                Position in the Pantheon

The Gods

Darkness (Chaos) and Light (Order), creators of the universe and the Demigods.

The Demigods (Korshas)

Pairs of opposite virtues and vices: A sample from the hundreds of Korshas are Grace and Envy, Kindness and Cruelty, Knowledge and Ignorance. Creators of life on Juro and the animal spirits.

The Animal Spirits (a sample)

·      White Elk – justice for the weak. Sometimes called Chaucin.

·      Bear – the right path and self-knowledge. Bears always find water, and so the sign of the arrow expresses their belief.

o  Polar Bear – steadfastness, survival in the worst of situations.

·      Beaver – industriousness. Nothing good happens without work.

·      Eagle – vision, focus on a goal, martial skill.

·      Lion – leadership, strength.

·      Crow – deviousness.

·      Fox – cleverness.

·      Otter – playfulness, enjoying life to the fullest.

·      Raven – death and resurrection.

·      Wolf – family and tenacity.

·      Badger – viciousness.

·      Cougar/Coyote - ambush, betrayal.