Ancient Tales - The Arrival of Occidental Men

It happened that in the oldest of days, long before Men ever sailed East, long after the oceans devoured Narratsyii that Men sailed east across the Béantic Sea that is to say the Gaping Ocean. It was said that they did this when their own lands sunk into the depths of the ocean, having awakened there not long after the Titannomachi long before Prometheus had crafted their fathers from the earth. Placed there in a grand garden, he had it was said created it with the aid of greater forces, and had hoped to grant to Men an earthly paradise unseen since the days of the homeland of the Elves. The trouble was that he soon quarrelled with Zeus, when it came time to grant them Fire.

Ere his fall though, he had organized them into nine tribes, this was it was said to be more than twice the number of those he placed in the north who numbered but four, a little more than the five tribes in the east and a little less than the seventeen tribes in the south near the lands of Ifriquya. It is said that though those of the Orient were fierce and clever, those of Scandia were lovely to look upon and of a deeply pious nature, those of the South wise and also savage, those in the West were by far his favourite. They excelled all others in barbarism, in innovation, in passion and in tools of war that their benefactor gave unto them.

Though he gave greater lands to the men of Ifriquya, greater fertility and must wisdom to those of the Orient, and granted much Valour and the secrets of Berserk-Fury to Northmen, it was those of the Occident who most impressed him. Granted less than others, they however organized themselves into Kingdoms long before the others, and came to understand smithery ere the rest. Their spirit and thirst to explore the vast gardens granted them, so impressed Prometheus that he dubbed them the Prémioni that is to say ‘first’ in the old Elvish tongues. Their fledgling kingdoms though soon proved displeasing to Zeus, who commanded that they be denied fire, for he did not look well upon any of these men.

When the King of Olympos forbade that fire be granted to any mortals, most especially those of the Occident and Orient for he feared them most, Prometheus devised many a tricks to overrule the wishes of the heir of Kronos. To the Kami in the East, he sent his friend Vé the Drago-Father, who had taught him much of the old ways, and how to commune with Yggdrasill’s spirit, so that Prometheus was gifted in the arts of creation greater than any Titan or Olympian. Vé consented to journey East, because his brother Hoenir or Vili as he was known to the Men of the North, had in turn mentored Izanagi and Izanami, the great gods of the East. Friendly with them, it was his desire that he behold those lands they had prepared for the Elves who had escaped to the East, and those Beast-Folk that had spread there in the aftermath of the Great Wars with Hella.

When he arrived there, it was Vé who sensing the great doom that was to come to the lands of Orilani where the East-Men lived, and warned them that those Men who had been given the East as a gift by Prometheus had no fire. Filled with pity Izanagi, dipped his blade into the Sea, and down came the drops that formed the Seven Isles of Zipangu. “This,” said he, “Shalt serve as their first place to weigh their anchors, wherefore they shalt continue west.”

And it was so.

To the North Prometheus sent the Nereid, Scyldia that great cousin to Njord who warned Oðin of what fate might befall Men. Seized by worry, for he had had his own hand in the moulding of the Men of all the lands, Oðin Allfathir full of wisdom and presaging what was to come, granted fire to the Men of the North and endeavoured that there should be welcomed to the North at least two of the tribes of Occidental Men that he might in time have them share their own spirit and nature with the North. In this way he in turn offered to send south-west a single of the tribes of North-men be sent to become part of the Occident. The tribe that went south-west became the Valhol-men, and they were ever the coldest of the Occident even as they were the proudest to be part of the Occident, perhaps as compensation for their not being truly of the West. As to those two tribes sent North, they became the Rossilians and the Lechians, both of whom were Occidental in nature if not entirely in spirit.

To the south, Prometheus sent his great friend Tyr after this eldest son of Oðin came to visit him, and confer with him. Tyr warned Amun-Rē, King of the Khemetian gods of the danger, and though initially reluctant to assist any mortals, the King of that Pantheon reluctantly gave his consent to have Men granted fire, giving it himself on the counsel of his most trusted advisor Thoth.

It happened that not long after he had dispersed his messengers, Prometheus played his trick wherein he taught Men to cook their food while Zeus and the Olympians were given the bones and poorer parts of the animal-sacrifices. It was for these reasons that Prometheus was imprisoned, in the lands of Aechea where the King of Olympos was mightiest.

The downfall of their great protector when it was discovered, caused a great deal of mourning and an outcry among all the homes of Men. Such was the fury it inspired in the King of Olympos though that he conferred with his brother Poseidon, and commanded him, “Raise up thy Trident brother, and let the seas wash away these Men as we washed away a great many of the Elves all those thousands of years ago! I would not have these creatures crawl and otherwise infect our lands as the ungrateful Elves did before them!”

It happened as he willed it. The Men of North, South and East though had protectors for in the North Oðin, knowing what was to come had prepared long-ships for his people and even for the two tribes that had been sent long ago to journey east to claim the lands near where Rossilia and Lechia were to later be. As to his own tribe they journeyed south, as directed by the likes of Balðr himself who sought to guide them that they might not be led astray by the likes of Loki, who ever afterwards bore a special hatred for him.

The Occidental Men though were without assistance, and liable to drown the newly returned Vé flew down in the shape of a great dragon and halted the tide for a time. Turning back the great seas summoned forth by Poseidon. He forbade this murderous act and might well have defied the Olympians for a great deal longer, were it not for Zeus who was even more angry yet could not well strike dead one of the three great brothers turned now to Hekate. The Wyrd Goddess wise in ancient lore and cunning in ways unmatched by any other goddess, advised him to trust in Loki and together the three of them lured Vé away by mortally wounding one of his dragons. Seized by pity for the great beast, he came at once to the land of Mabillon which in that era was known as Loðurand in his honour and there within the great mountains to the east of Gallia he was enchained and it was said locked away for a time in the great Gap beyond this World. He was said to have escaped much later, and had had to sacrifice much of his strength and years so that he returned in the form of an infant, with an infant god’s might. Vowing vengeance and blood not only for this humiliation but the murder of his great drake, Yrvlonn the Gentle, Vé was never to forgive Loki, Hekate or Zeus for their roles in his sealing.

It happened though that whilst he remained trapped beyond the World, Poseidon sought to break and destroy the land of the Occidental Men. In this he was successful, however to his embarrassment this time Men had been prepared and had loaded themselves along with all their herds and people into great barges and journeyed eastwards to the lands of the two Agenors.

The first ship landed in what became known as Korax. It was thereupon that soil that four of the tribes arrived, and soon spread with one going north that they might spread across the lands of Hespanya. Further to the north the next ship arrived in the most northerly parts of the island of Bretwealda whereupon a portion of them journeyed still further to the great isle of Ériu. The tribe most closely related to this one though travelled still further, their own ships not having been sunk though they had been separated from most others, so that they arrived in the lands of Gallia.

Well might they have landed safely were it not for Poseidon and Zeus’ last foul act of trickery; turning now to Hekate they had her defile with black arts of the most Wyrd sort eels and serpents. Twisting and perverting them into gargantuan serpents they were given a portion of the physical nature of Vé’s beloved dragons so that they became veritable Leviathans.

These man-eaters were then released into the seas, that they might purge the world of Occidental Men. They did indeed throw over a great many of the ships and countless thousands drowned, with the beasts soon to the immense embarrassment of the brothers turning upon the Cyclops, those beloved sons’ of Poseidon and also the Elves, whom Zeus had been tricked by Oðin into protecting by an Oath on the Styx. The Tower of Aldraine, long held as the place where the first Oaths of Elves, Dwarves, Beast-Men and those of Olympos and Asgarðr first convened. Where they had sworn to be bound together in eternal alliance against the dark, was thrown over and toppled. So that in this way the place where Aldraine the Pure, the maiden who’s death had so infuriated the gods into having Hella at last thrown down into Nifleheimr, was no more. There were few acts that have yielded more bitter fruit and spread greater bitterness between the Lords of Asgarðr and those of Olympos than this.

The Tower thrown down and laid low in the sea, its shimmering stones pure and white as her flesh had been was lost forevermore. It was at this time as men struggled to fight, swim and escape from the great beasts unleashed by the gods that Llucth the child of a poor farmer threw himself to the front of one of the great arks. Many grabbed their spears and maddened by the Battle-Joy that was to become so common to their tribe, many of the Men even those who had somehow managed to make it to the sward threw themselves back into the sea to ward off the giant Sea-Serpents from their kinsmen and kinswomen.

Raising his arms high into the air, his dark crimson hair blowing in the wind he called upon great Prometheus for aid. When that failed, he called next upon the goddess Tempestas that great storm-goddess that had in earlier days seemed to always favour the tribe or so Llucth’s parents had told him.

None know quite why it was that the goddess interfered now, knowing that it would greatly displease Zeus and might bring down his fury, the goddess intervened then. Her own great thunderbolts were mighty indeed, if paler and lesser than those of the King of Olympos. Such was the terror that she spread that many of the women shrank back from the storm, even Llucth’s aunt did so forgetting for a moment her fear for the lad who had neither father nor mother at this time. Llucth was without fear, and remained undaunted, to the contrary he laughed and made merry as one fey, in the face of so devastating a storm.

When one of the serpents drew near he took up his own staff, a gift from his father and praying to the goddess said to it, “Fly now! Fly through that terrible beast and lay him low, that all may know Tempestas to be mightiest of our tribes’ mothers!”

The staff flew as though flung from the arm of a man full grown, hewing through the air and rain-water, with the staff strangely catching a bolt of lightning ere it struck the mightiest and nearest of the Leviathans. Such was the shriek that was torn from its great lungs that there was a great outcry as many plunged their hands over their ears.

In the silence that followed, silence that resounded all the way to the heavens, such was the shock and amazement that all even the gods felt at Llucth’s accomplishment. This then was Llucth’s first great deed, one that had been blessed by Tempestas and that inspired much talk, even among those Elves who had joined in the fray, having sought the death of the beasts that had destroyed the revered Tower of Aldraine.

Llucth it is said was the first one off the ship, with the boy having been dressed in a simple wolf-skin tunic and with a cloak of rooster feathers hanging from his shoulders. At his side was the only memento he had of his father, the dog Mérodrée, this being the name he had given it in honour of his own father.

The Elves were awed by Llucth, and the Men of the boy’s tribe rallied to him and raised him up. It is said that when gifts were offered, they would only accept them from Llucth’s hand so that he received the greatest share of them. Pleased and amazed at this strange show of humility, by the boisterous Men, the Elves of those lands gave a great many treasures, jewels and cloth, many which came to decorate Llucth’s person.

It happened that while the rest of the tribes sailed further east, arriving on the cusp of the lands between North-Agenor and Beveriand, where they were to spread, those of Llucth’s people stayed where they landed.

It is said in after-days that it was because of this great act of heroism that Llucth was crowned King and his people became the ‘Llucthii’ or later the Lutetii as his name was to later be changed by the Elves, to Llute which meant to ‘battle’. It is possible they meant it in honour of his musical voice that never failed to charm those who heard it, and for his musical prowess with the lute. Little did it matter for the people of Llucth’s tribe became the first of all Men in the lands of Gallia, and it was there that they made their home so that it is for this reason that the kingdoms of Gallia were the oldest of all lands in North-Agenor four times over. The first Kingdoms were founded by the Elves, then later by the Dwarves, still later by the Beast-Folk and at last now, by the first of the Men of the Occident.