HOW THE HEAVENS AND UNDERWORLD CAME TO BE:

Prohibition against sibling marriage


In the early time when the gods were as yet few in number, all save a few had found their mates. L’yor and O’uch, the 
offspring of M’ort and M’orf, had none with which to mate, as all the other gods had already been mated. L’yor and O’uch 
thus chose to mate with each other.

In time, L’yor gave birth to nine offspring, all of whom were terrible to behold.

The first, L’zhey, possessed no ambition and desired no duties. Those mortals with whom he had influence became indolent 
and useless. Thus, L’zhey was know as the god of ‘sloth’.

The second, J’los, desired only that which others possessed. Great was her jealousy of gods and men. Even when she gained 
possession of that which she coveted, she was not satisfied. Always she would turn to that which was not his and covet it. 
J’los became the goddess of ‘envy’.

The third, Pr’yid, took great satisfaction in even his smallest accomplishments and possessions. Those mortals touched by
Pr’yid became insufferable, lording their achievements over all they met. Pr’yid was thus the god of ‘pride’.

The fourth, Y’uhm, did little but eat all the day and much of the night. Those he had influence over became fat and weak. 
Y’uhm was the god of ‘gluttony’.

The fifth, M’yhne, desired nothing but to amass possessions. Gods had little need of gold or jewels, yet she wanted these 
things and more, and pursued their acquisition vigorously. M’yhne was the goddess of ‘greed’.

The sixth was L’othe, who bore love for no man or god. L’othe dispised all he saw, and none could stand to be near him, for
his animosity was great. Those touched by L’othe hated all and so became hated. L’othe became the god of ‘hate’.

The seventh, D’zyer, was wanton in her desire for physical closeness. She cared little for the intimacy of love, seeking 
only physical satisfaction. Her worshippers were the harlots and those of questionable morality. D’zyer was the goddess of 
‘lust’.

The eighth, P’nik, was cowardly and fearful of the other immortals. He would inflict fear on mortals whom he disliked, making them craven in battle, or over cautious in dealing with others. P’nik was the god of ‘cowardice’.

The ninth, Dg’rade, was the worse. He would mate with anything, male or female, god or mortal, man or animal, young or old. 
Those he touched became deviants that would defile all with their vile desires. Dg’rade was the god of ‘perversity’.

Ogg and Ogma looked upon the nine children of L’yor and O’uch and wept. Man was being subjected to their depredations every
day, becoming depraved and degenerate. Ogg demanded M’ort and M’orf take charge of their grandchildren. M’ort, god of death, created two realms. The first he created deep in the earth. Here he imprisoned the nine wayward gods, each in a separate pit.

In time, as evil men died, they were condemned to the pit which best reflected their evil nature, and were tortured by the 
god that ruled that pit.
 
Those guilty of sloth were condemned to the first pit known as T’yrd. There, they would be forced to labor for the benefit 
of the gods, performing those tasks which must be done, but should not be done by divine beings.

The envious were sent to the second pit, known as N’vee, where all manner of great wealth was constantly in view, but 
forever unattainable.

For the proud, the third pit, called Dg’nytee, belittled those who came there, showing them that their accomplishments were 
as nothing in the world. Moreover, they were unable to accomplish anything in the pit, thus robbed of anything in which to 
take pride in.

In the fourth pit, called P’gout, the gluttonous suffered two tortures. The first was to be forced to eat massive amounts 
of the blandest foods until their stomachs were almost past bursting. Then they would go extremely long periods of time 
without even a crumb to eat, until their stomachs protruded from emaciated bodies.

The greedy were sent to the fifth pit, called Av’ris, filled with gold and jewels, would gather together all the wealth 
that they could see, only to find that it would turn to dust in their hands.

Those who practiced hatred found themselves in the sixth pit, known as D’spyz, surrounded by all the things they despised, 
taunted and made powerless for all eternity.

The lustful, harlots and adulterers, were placed in the seventh pit, known as H’ouri, free to wander about and be with each 
other, but without the means to satisfy their lustful nature.

In the eighth pit, known as Sk’ayr, the cowardly were forever chased by all the things they feared in life, made many times 
greater in size and ferocity.

The ninth pit, called F’reique, held the perverse, those who victimized others in their lives with their depravities. These 
vile creatures were subjected to all the ills they had perpetrated on the innocent, by demons even more vile than they.

Around each pit was a great serpent that would consume any attempting to escape, then excrete them back into the pit to be 
further punished.

The realm of the pits was called D’arplak, the dark place. M’ort asked R’kam to create three terrible guardians to keep the
dead from leaving, and the living from entering before their time. R’kam made these guardians with a manlike shape, but the 
demeanor and head of a wolf. Fast as a wolf, strong as a bear, able to grasp and use weapons as a man, with great leathery 
wings like that of a giant bat. The three guardians where called Ba’dax, the ax wielder; Har’dax, the spear carrier; and 
Ma’dax, the swordsman. Any who violate D’arplak are swiftly dealt with by these three fearsome daemons.

The second realm created by M’ort was L’ytplak, the realm of the worthy dead. L’ytplak was divided into three parts: W’hahl, place of mighty warriors; Pi’uss, place of the devout; and L’wehl, place of those that simply lived good lives. Here, too, did R’kam make protective guardians.

The first was Ry’chus, shaped as a man with the head of a stag and wings of an eagle, wielding a sword of flame. Ry’chus
guarded the gate to Pi’uss.

The second was Wr’yor, shaped as a man with the head of a wolf and the wings of a hawk, wielding a great hammer of thunder. 
Wr’yor guarded the gate to W’hahl.

The third was G’uhd, shaped as a man with the head of a bull and the wings of a falcon, wielding the staff of lightning. 
G’uhd guarded the gate to L’wehl.

Ogg was pleased with the works of M’ort and R’kam, and especially pleased with the incarceration of the nine evil gods in 
D’arplak. So pleased was he, that he took up residence in Pi’uss, where he would be surrounded by the spirits of his most 
devout worshippers.

T’ndar and T’la found W’hahl to be pleasing, and made their home their, as did, B’tal and T’or. Soon many of the gods sired 
by T’ndar and their descendants made there place among the worthy spirits of the mighty warriors that came to W’hahl. 
B’tal would observe the friendly battles during the day, and join in the great feasts of honey and venison at night.

Most of the other gods preferred the pleasant realm of, G’uhd, making their homes among those who lived and died good 
lives.

M’ort, knowing that D’arplak needed to be watched, made his place there at the entrance with his mate, M’orf.