One debate that often comes up on in the forums is the matter of the 'Death' of Thana'Tomos. As it is written in the old stories, the god of the life and death, whom we revere with outmost respect, seems to have very clearly given his essence so that we mortals could know true death as he did. When reading this piece of the legends, two houses of thoughts often form: is this to say that there are actually only 13 gods, or are we to still declare them as 14?
The first school of thought, argues that by giving his sacrifice, the god of death no longer resides in the Heavens and, therefore, his essence is no longer one counted amongst the divinities. The gods themselves seem to acknowledge the absence of their father, and they mourn for his passing. The train of thought is certainly congruent, and perhaps the foundation of this idea lies on a more direct approach to the matter. Certainly, there is no other means to go around it, but that has not stopped others for begging to differ.
The latter part of the question is often championed by other scholars who would say that the text clearly indicates that there is something left of the dead god, after all. The premise of this logic comes from the existence of the 'Soul', which Thana'Tomos himself explains is a part of him that resides in each of us. On the matter of the soul itself, there is no question, we have studied for eons the properties of soul and their metaphysical value or qualities that any adept healer or magic user may gain use of. The the question lies in its origin, for there are many who refute that the soul is, in fact, a godly essence. Some argue this by the mere existence of the Soul Gauge, which determines the puritty or corruption of a soul, how can something divine not be pure?
Believers of the Dead God would argue that the soul is a gift of Thana'Tomos, but it is mortal in nature for that was his will. He himself expresses that he wishes to learn all that we the children would experience in life with a piece of him in us all. This very piece enters a realm far beyond our understanding, where the god of death himself resides in secrecy. There have been many expeditions to the realms beyond and even explored planes of existence far beyond the bounds of the Material, and even still we have found a sign of him out there.
Then there is the question of the Tomb of Thana'Tomos, a curious thing. Though it is never explicitly mentioned in any of the scriptures we have in account, there is the legend of the Tomb of the Dead God. Supposedly, an undisclosed and mysterious place where the gods laid the physical remains of Thana'Tomos himself. This legendary tomb is said to be a wonder to behold, a myth of its own right. A myth indeed, if you ask me personally. Never has a trace of the thing ever been found, and countless claims of its location have been made in all manners of false scriptures, legends, stories and even prophecies. Still, there are those amongst us learned type that believe that if the tomb should ever be found, it would be evidence beyond the shadow of doubt that the god of death is truly....well, dead. However, in that same vein, those who believe in the ever lasting presence of Thana'Tomos, use the legend of the tomb as a means to voice the living presence of the god, if no tomb exists, then he is surely still alive somewhere.
Anyways, this note is getting long, and it was more so of a curious ponder than any means whatsoever to actually tackle the argument. If you ask me personally, there are far better mysteries to behold that wondering of a god is ever truly considered dead. Us, the living, will never truly know, will we?
I'm still a new scholar to the forum, but I did find a few things curious in my readings. I am not entirely sure how I am supposed to structure my writings yet, I am still learning. I wanted to share my findings, anyways, because its a question I am sure many others like me probably had in their minds. Why is the God of the Wilds so hostile towards humans? When you read the texts, they often make a habit of pointing out the many times that Cor'Neas had openly mocked and insulted humans. We are the children of the gods, and yet he seems personally opposed to us, sometimes even in direct opposition, actually.
I can't say I blame him, actually, and makes me wonder about the agenda that original tellers of these tales had to impress upon their listeners, or even, if there is some missing element here to the personality of Cor'Neas. Today, there is very little left of the Wild Places, and much of the lands and seas have been cultivated by our kind. We still feel the presence of the Wild God in dangerous places where only the brave travel. It's out right hubris of us to continue to tamper with the limited domain of Cor'Neas, and I often wondered if...he was right about us.
I'll elaborate a little, in the chapters following the creation of man, Stell'Arya herself attempted to ensure that the children would stay to the cycles of nature, as to appease Cor'Neas, but I feel like...something is missing here. By all means, Cor'Neas should have found peace in this struck balance, and yet in the later chapters, he outright calls us corrupted and disrespectful to the wild places. Where are the tales that speak of the bond between Humans and Cor'Neas? Are there any? Did the old storytellers know that we failed to stay true to our course set out by the goddess of the stars, and so they decided there was not value in telling things that ended in fruitless efforts?
Cor'Neas...even today, his cult is very adamant about strict admission and revealing their rites. What few accounts we do have only tell us of the vigorous devotion those that follow the Wild God have towards the conservation of nature. Some accounts even tell rumors of secret groves that only thew worthy are able to enter, and no person known to be associated with the cult ever mutters a word on the topic. Believe me, the scholars have tried. I can say, with certainty, that those who worship Cor'Neas learn to have a sour outlook on the rest of us, and seldom do they involve themselves in average dealings of society, preferring the comforts of nature.
I wonder if...perhaps, this is the missing piece to the puzzle. I wonder if, when first our ancestors were formed from the gods, we shared in a sort of symbiosis with nature, the way that druids and cultists of Cor'Neas to do...to an extend. Perhaps, that is the goal, for them to achieve a fraction of the 'natural state' as they call it...perhaps our bond with Cor'Neas was once very intimate, before we went and ripped it asunder. Cor'Neas seemed to be very pleased with the idea of inviting the humans into his domain in the very beginning, even if he he made clear lines on what was and wasn't allowed. But, later, that all changed, and I feel as if we can see the fall out of this bond today, still, as we move forward.
I've always been a bit of a nature enthusiast myself, heck, maybe if working under the Forum doesn't work, maybe I'll cut my ties and seek out the Wild God personally....maybe even find one of those secret groves and live under a tree of my own right.
I find it curious that the scripture of the gods often finds itself in a sort of repetitive nature. Of course, we know now that the reason for this is more than likely tied to the fact that many of these stories were once orally transmitted from generation to generation. However, the manner by which the show repetitiveness is still something to be amazed by.
The patterns of the cyclical natures of the stories are hard to locate, at first, but once you've poured over them for hours upon countless hours, you come to them. Some of the patterns can be hard to miss, like the ways that gods often reference cycles in their nature. Some of them a little more artistic, and while they seem to be going for unique stanzas, the pattern becomes clear after the first few times. One really good example of this, is the way the gods present themselves, the scriptures. All of them seem to follow a memorable formula: "I shall take blah blah, and I shall do blah blah blagh, and I shall make it my domain, and it shall be called blah blah blah. I will take the name 'insert god name here', in honor of blah blah blah or 'insert god name here.'
Its fascinating to know that it was such a popular pattern amongst oral bards of the past that they kept it going and going and going through out the ages, very rarely swaying from the formula. There are some larger patterns, too, some that are right in your face, the whole time, without really thinking about it. Like, how the paragraph usually always breaks when a god speaks, and often times, when a god responds back to another, they share a similar pattern of exaltation to each other. The only break to this pattern that I have found thus far, is when ever Cor'Neas speaks. He seems to be a break in the pattern, at first, but even his appearances tend to be calculated too, or the motifs that he comes with in the tales.
I think, perhaps, the most fun part of the repetitive nature of the scriptures, is the fact that all the stories with: "And Stell'Arya marked the day in the movements of the stars." It is such an iconic phrase that we still use it today in plain conversations with others. I imagine it was a very good way to end a story being told a crowd, and so the tradition kept on for annuls to come. Often times, when we want to end a conversation, or when we want to mark a point made, a transition in direction of conversation, we say: "Marked in the Stars". This goes to show how the tradition is still alive and well in the social atmosphere of our society. A thousands year old repeated saying, used, like many of the other repetitive patterns of the texts, over and over over and it has launched itself from eras long gone and dead, into the lexicon of today.
How marvelous, the power of oral tradition on storytelling, and how you can still find the marks of its effect on story telling today, and in the way we regale ourselves with stories now...Simply, marvelous.
