Religions: Braialla and Her Sisters

Religion: Braialla and Her Sisters

After reading the information that Vhayr recieved from Meridian, I wrote him a letter asking him about the role of Braialla and her sisters in the universe of Aerynth. This is his reply.

Meridian: Hey there!

Glad you liked the Dragon musings. You have to remember that everything I said there and will say here is only "true" so far as the Irekei believe it. What's "actually" going on is another question entirely. But I don't want to get too philosophical here...

The Irekei don't have that much to do with the growing of green things and have little concept of the "bounty of nature," so as a result they have very little concept of Braialla, at least as the Rainbleeders know her. However, there are a few interesting things to point out with regard to the three sisters (Braialla, Saedron, and Volliandra), so we can assume that at least one Blood Prophet has compiled some apocrypha about them.

Here's the kicker - according to the legends of the Rain Bleeders and the Hateful Ones, Braialla and her sisters were already here when the Meddling Gods arrived, but they were asleep. Sound familiar? The All-Father awakened Braialla by breathing out His essence onto her. I would imagine that the Irekei view this as a very corruptive act - the evil opposite of what the Dragon did to Volliandra. Some of the elvish legends that gave rise to the Jackal heresy imply that the union between the All-Father and Braialla was not entirely voluntary - the Irekei see the badness as stemming from the act of awakening.

I've always viewed Braialla as a personification of nature and the natural world: much more of a Gaia type goddess than a cosmic force of universal creation. Sure, she has creative and regenerative powers (she is the lady of Spring) but there's also some destruction in her too (she's also the mother of predators and winter). Birth and death are both part of her portfolio. But, purely from an Irekei viewpoint, whoever the personification of the natural world REALLY is, no one has never known her - the Great Meddler corrupted her true nature when he woke her up. In fact, it occurs to me that the Irekei probably don't even see Braialla as the nature goddess - she's actually the daughter of the Original Nature Goddess (long forgotten by now) and the All-Father, and her birth killed the mother goddess forever. Thus, the Irekei lump Braialla in with the Meddling Gods, and place her in a lower position than the Dragon. The fact that the All-Father immediately went on to commit incest with His daughter Braialla only explains why so much is wrong with the Hateful Ones and the Rain Bleeders in general.
To the Irekei, its elementary.

Incidentally, this brings us to Volliandra and Khalikryst. Some folks think they're the same being, one a transformation fo the other. The Irekei don't subscribe to this view. Khalikryst is the Dragon's Daughter - the spawn of a figurative union between it (its flame, actually) and Volliandra. This act, the breathing forth of the Dragon's essence onto a goddess - is the exact opposite of the All-Father and Braialla. The Dragon "impreganted" Volliandra with Khalikryst, and Volliandra died in the process. It was the Blood Prophets, you'll note, who served as magical midwives for Khalikryst's birth (and the new goddess rising from the dead body of the old is the root of her phoenix symbolism). Khalikryst later returned the favor by acting as the catalyst for the Irekei transformation, in effect "birthing" the new race.

Again, bear in mind that all of these opinions are just that - opinions, and they only reflect the Irekei world view. The Irekei could easily be wrong, and their interpretations or even their memories of past events may not be entirely accurate. It is enough that the Irekei believe them, and bleieve in them unswervingly.

As to the All-Father, and what force he serves, that's another question entirely...

Hope this helps!

M

By- Unewen ap Lok-Ri