#the gods of pegana

[nephrenklamm]

Yep I draw in various forms so anyone can doubt that I’m the artistic avatar of Nyarlathotep

[titleknown]

Fun thing, if you want an exotic pantheon/mythology you can freely draw from without doing a cultural appropriation, I feel I should point out that Lord Dunsany's "Gods Of Pegana" is very much public domain and really, really cool...

[charlenasaxen]

The Gods of Pegana Favorite Quotes

“Fate and Chance cast lots to decide whose the Game should be��

“whether it was Fate or whether Chance that went through the mists before THE BEGINNING to MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI—none

knoweth”

“There are in Pegana Mung and Sish and Kib, and the maker of all small gods, who is MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI”

“none may pray to MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI but only the gods whom hehath made”

“And the gods and the worlds shall depart, and there shall be only MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI”

“Skarl made a drum, and began to beat upon it that he might drum for ever”

“there was silence on Pegana save for the drumming of Skarl”

“there he beateth his drum. Some say that the Worlds and the Suns are but the echoes of the drumming of Skarl”

“for who hath heard the voice of MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI, or who hath seen his drummer?”

“Skarl still beateth his drum, for the purposes of the gods are not yet fulfilled”

“the worlds go on, for if he cease for an instant then MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI will start awake, and there will be worlds nor gods no more”

“Then shall Skarl put his drum upon his back and walk forth into the void”

“but to Skarl it shall matter not, for he shall have done the work of Skarl”

“speaking with Their hands lest the silence of Pegana should blush”

“Let Us make worlds and Life and Death, and colours in the sky”

“Then said the gods: “Let Us make one to seek”

“They made by the lifting of Their hands, each god according to his sign, the Bright One”

“Let there be now a Watcher to regard.”

And They made the Moon, with his face wrinkled with many mountains”

“And They made the Star of the Abiding”

“know that somewhere among the Worlds is rest”

“And They made Earth to wonder, each god by the uplifting of his hand according to his sign.

And Earth was.”

“The Moon regarded, and the Bright One sought, and returned again to his seeking”

“Earth became covered with beasts for Kib to play with.

And Kib played with beasts.”

“If Kib has thus made beasts he will in time make Men, and will endanger the Secret of the gods.”

“Mung was jealous of the work of Kib, and sent down Death among the beasts, but could not stamp them out”

“A million years passed over the second game”

“making the sign of Kib, and made Men: out of beasts he made them, and Earth was covered with Men”

“the gods feared greatly for the Secret of the gods, and set a veil between Man and his ignorance that he might not understand”

“But when the other gods saw Kib playing his new game They came and played it too”

“They shall be ashamed of Their playing in the hour of the laughter”

“And all the other gods were angry with Kib that he had spoken with his mouth.”

“And there was no longer silence in Pegana or the Worlds.”

“There came the voice of the gods singing the chaunt”

“Because this is written, believe! For is it not written, or are you greater than Kib?”

“(The Destroyer of Hours)

Time is the hound of Sish.”

“At Sish’s bidding do the hours run before him as he goeth upon his way”

“pleasant are all things before the face of Sish, but behind him they are withered and old”

“And Wornath-Mavai was a garden fairer than all the gardens upon Earth”

“on the slopes of it Sish rested among the flowers when Sish was young”

“And Time, which is the hound of Sish, devoured all things; and Sish sent up the ivy”

“Only the valley where Sish rested when he and Time were young did Sish not provoke his hours to assail”

“still the flowers grow about its slopes as they grew when the gods were young”

“butterflies live in Wornath-Mavai still. For the minds of the gods relent towards their earliest memories”

“if thou shouldst ever find it thou art then more fortunate than the gods, because they walk not in Wornath-Mavai now”

“Once did the prophet think that he discerned it in the distance”

“Time is the hound of the gods; but it hath been said of old that he will one day turn upon his masters, and seek to slay the gods”

“excepting only MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI, whose dreams are the gods themselves—dreamed long ago”

“who shall trouble MANA with mortal woes or irk him with the sorrows of all the houses of Earth?”

“what glory shall he find in sacrifices or altars who hath made the gods themselves?”

“Yet what mercy should the small gods have, who themselves made Death and Pain; or shall they restrain their old hound Time for thee?”

“and it may be that Slid will not forget to send thee Death when most thou needest it.”

“And the People of Earth said: “There is a melody upon the Earth as though ten thousand streams all sang together.”

“be a happier god than Those who sway the Worlds, whose work is Life and Death”

“the miser lord of wealth in gems and pearls beyond the telling of all fables”

“Slid is in many places, for he sitteth in high Pegana”

“to be always with Slid in all the moods of Slid, to find no rest until he reaches the sea”

“over whose bones doth Slid lament with the voice of a god lamenting for his people”

“have heard Slid’s far-off cry, and all together have forsaken lawns and trees to follow”

“Mung said: “Were the forty million years before thy coming intolerable to thee?”

“Then Mung made against him the sign of Mung and the Life of the Man was fettered no longer”

“little before night meeteth with the morning”

“when Mung said: “I am Mung!” the man cried out: “Alas, that I took this road”

“it may be that They will send thee again into the Worlds; and then thou mayest choose some other way, and not meet with Mung.”

“Then Mung made the sign of Mung. And the Life of that man went forth with yesterday’s regrets”

“Mung said: “When at the sign of Mung thy Life shall float away there will also disappear thy sorrow at forsaking it.”

“tarry for a little, and make not the sign of Mung against me now, for I have a family upon the earth with whom sorrow will remain”

“the man beheld Mung making the sign of Mung before his eyes, which beheld things no more”

“So shall they cry louder unto Mung than ever was their wont.

And it may be that Mung shall hear.”

“This is the chaunt of the Priests.

The chaunt of the Priests of Mung.

This is the chaunt of the Priests.”

“while Death seems to thee as far away as the purple rim of hills; or sorrow as far off as rain in the blue days of summer”

“Go out into the starry night, and Limpang-Tung will dance with thee who danced since the gods were young”

“god of mirth and of melodious minstrels”

“for he saith of sorrow: ‘It may be very clever of the gods,’ but he doth not understand.”

“between Pegana and the Earth flutter ten thousand thousand prayers that beat their wings against the face of Death”

“never for one of them hath the hand of the Striker been stayed, nor yet have tarried the feet of the Relentless One”

“Utter thy prayer! It may accomplish where failed ten thousand thousand.”

“will I paint the Blue, that men may see and rejoice; and ere day falleth under into the night will I paint upon the Blue again, lest men be sad.”

“this he hath sworn by the oath of the gods of Pegana”

“swearing by the light behind Their eyes”

“here and there amid the peoples of earth one heareth, and straightaway all that hath voice to sing crieth aloud in music to his soul”

“mirth and melody abound in that city of song, and no one seeth Limpang-Tung as he standeth behind the minstrels”

“he must endure all night the laughter of the gods, with highest mockery, in Pegana”

“the fancies of Yoharneth-Lahai be true, none knoweth saving only MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI, who hath not spoken”

“there must Roon’s people go, and the worlds and their streams and the winds”

“Pitsu, who stroketh the cat; Hobith who calms the dog”

“gods of Pegana, speaking to the gods, say: “There is Kilooloogung doing the work on earth of Kilooloogung.”

“these are gods so small that they be lesser than men, but pleasant gods to have beside the hearth”

“And Kilooloogung, who is pleased that men should pray, stretches himself up”

“A kindly god is Jabim”

“Triboogie, the Lord of Dusk, whose children are the shadows”

“then doth Triboogie send his children to run about the room and dance”

“children are the bats, that have broken the command of their father”

“the wolf and the fox and the owl, and the great beasts and the small, lift up their voices to acclaim”

“three broad rivers of the plain, born before memory or fable, whose mothers are three grey peaks and whose father was the storm”

“Segástrion sings old songs to shepherd boys, singing of his childhood”

“say that they be mightier than Pegana’s gods, and play Their game with men.”

“because being home gods, though small, they were immortal”

“clawing with miserly grasp at the bones of men and breathing hot”

“And Umbool answered: “I am the beast of Mung.”

And Umbool came and crouched upon a hill.”

“the lords of the rivers slunk away back again to their homes: still Umbool sat and grinned”

“Eimës grew lean, and was forgotten, so that the men of the plain would say: “Here once was Eimës”

“It is the foot of a man that has passed across my neck, and I have sought to be greater than the gods of Pegana.”

“sear the memory of Afrik into the brains of all who ever bring their bones away”

“And Eimës, Zänës, and Segástrion sang again, and walked once more”

“played the game of Life and Death with fishes and frogs, but never essayed to play it any more with men, as do the gods of Pegana”

“felt a fear, for they have seen a look in the eyes of Dorozhand that regardeth beyond the gods”

“Life is the instrument of Dorozhand wherewith he would achieve his end”

“scarce more than ten million mortal years of the Worlds that ye have made.”

“arise from resting, because it is THE END, the Greater One, who rested of old time, even MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI”

“comes suddenly on dear, remembered things”

“For none shall know of MANA who hath rested for so long, whether he be a harsh or merciful god. It may be that he shall have mercy, and that these things shall be.”

“in the centre of the Desert of Deserts, standeth the image that hath been hewn of old”

“found the secret of MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI, and knoweth the wherefore of the making of the gods”

“but who shall credit tales that camel drivers have heard from aged men in so remote a city?”

“because Yadin the prophet was doomed by the gods ere he was born to go in search of wisdom, he followed the caravans to Bodrahan”

“in the evening, where the camels rest, when the wind of the day ebbs out into the desert sighing”

“down the wind his prayer went calling: “Why do the gods endure, and play their game”

“it seemed happy to fly and pleasant to follow behind great white wings”

“blue rivers sang to them as they passed”

“far away the sea sang mighty dirges of old forsaken isles”

“he perceived that he was following no mortal birds but some strange messengers of Hoodrazai whose nest had lain in one of Pegana’s vales”

“Still they went South till they passed below the South and came to the Rim of the Worlds”

“neither howls nor breathes, only It turns over the leaves of a great book, black and white, black and white for ever until THE END”

“there is writing about thee and me until the page where our names no more are written”

“Then did he utter his prayer in the fact of Trogool who only turns the pages and never answers prayer”

“Only turn back thy pages to the name of one which is writ no more”

“his voice was like the murmurs of the waste at night when echoes have been lost”

“Then because of words in the book that said that it should be so, Yadin found himself lying in the desert”

“until he come to the words: Mai Doon Izahn, which means The End For Ever, and book and gods and worlds shall be no more”

“Man must endure the Days that Are, but the gods have left him his ignorance as a solace”

“Seek not to know. Thy seeking will weary thee, and thou wilt return much worn, to rest at last about the place from whence thou settest out”

“Set not thy foot upon that path.

Seek not to know.

These be the Words of Yonath.”

“And Yug said: “I know all things.” And men were pleased.”

“These be the affairs of Alhireth-Hotep.” And men brought gifts to him.”

“Mung stepped from behind him, making the sign of Mung, saying: “Knowest thou All Things, then, Alhireth-Hotep?”

“Alhireth-Hotep became among the Things that Were”

“Kabok grew wise in his own sight and in the sight of men”

“it seemed most evil to Kabok that Mung should be treading in his garden”

“he knew not what lay behind the back of Mung, which none had ever seen”

“But that night Mung trod again in the garden of Kabok”

“stood before the window of the house like a shadow standing erect, so that Kabok knew indeed that it was Mung”

“And Kabok lay and listened with horror at his heart”

“Kabok hoped, but looked with great dread for the coming of the third night”

“And Kabok fled out of his house as flees a hunted beast and flung himself before Mung”

“And the fears of Kabok had rest from troubling Kabok any more”

“at last they found Yun-Ilara, who tended sheep and had no fear of Mung”

“Yun-Ilara builded a tower towards the sea that looked upon the setting of the Sun. And he called it the Tower of the Ending of Days.”

“cry his curses against Mung, crying: “O Mung! whose hand is against the Sun, whom men abhor but worship because they fear thee”

“here stands and speaks a man who fears thee not. Assassin lord of murder and dark things, abhorrent, merciless, make thou the sign of Mung against me”

“until silence settles upon my lips, because of the sign of Mung, I will curse Mung to his face.”

“And the people in the street below would gaze up with wonder”

“whiteness over the hairs of Yun-Ilara, and ivy about his tower, and weariness over his limbs, for Mung passed by him still”

“when Sish became a god less durable to Yun-Ilara than ever Mung hath been he ceased at last to cry”

“Yun-Ilara cry out thus to Mung, crying: “O Mung! O loveliest of the gods!”

“thy gift of Death is the heritage of Man, with ease and rest and silence and returning to the Earth.”

“now for the hour of the mourning of many, and the pleasant garlands of flowers and the tears”

“where never shall come the wind that now blows through my bones”

“Thus prayed Yun-Ilara, who had cursed in his folly and youth”

“Still from a heap of bones that are Yun-Ilara still, goes up a voice with the wind crying out for the mercy of Mung, if any such there be”

“may come on one of our lost prayers, that flutters like a butterfly tossed in storm”

“And Arb-Rin-Hadith, who was the High Prophet, answered: “I pray for all the People.”

“Now, therefore, since They have not heard thee in four grim years, thou must go and carry to Their faces the prayer”

“And Arb-Rin-Hadith went trembling to the gods”

“Then said the people: “Thou shalt go to MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI”

“Thou hast escaped the thunder of the gods, surely thou shalt also escape the stillness of MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI.”

“ere the morning of the day that followed, such as rose early saw him in the silence, a speck against the blue, stretch up his arms”

“where stood a temple to “All the gods save One” in which was no high priest”

“upon the summit of the dome of the Hall of Night, but faintly writ, and in an unknown tongue”

“where is writ The Secret of Things, but faintly, and in an unknown tongue.”

“And now thou knowest what all High Prophets know.”

And Imbaun answered: “I know.”

“And as I uttered the last of certain secret words I fell asleep in the temple, for I was weary, with my head against the altar”

“there entered Dorozhand by the temple door in the guise of a man, and touched me on the shoulder, and I awoke”

“when I saw that his eyes shone blue and lit the whole of the temple I knew that he was a god”

“speaking no words but commanding with his eyes”

“And the sum of their slaying was greater than the slaying of the pestilence of any of the evils of the gods.”

“I came at last to a time when men set their yoke no longer upon beasts but made them beasts of iron”

“Then, because the slaying exceeded their desire, there came peace upon the world”

“And suddenly I beheld that THE END was near, for there was a stirring above Pegana”

“I saw the hound Time crouch to spring, with his eyes upon the throats of the gods, and the drumming of Skarl grew faint”

“led me back along the paths of Time that I might not see THE END”

“a man should never behold it or know the doom of the gods. This They have hidden.”

“suddenly the prophet was aware of an old man who bemoaned beside the river, crying: “Alas! alas!”

“I am Zodrak. Thousands of years ago I tended sheep upon a hill.”

“‘And I, who was only a shepherd, how could I know?”

“I sent gold into the Worlds, and, alas! I sent with it poverty and strife. And I sent love into the Worlds, and with it grief.”

“I can never remedy what I have done, for the deeds of the gods are done, and nothing may undo them.”

“from having been happy became glad no more”

“I, who would make men happy, have made them sad, and I have spoiled the beautiful scheme of the gods”

“I was only a shepherd, and how should I have known? Now I come to thee as thou restest by the river to ask of thee thy forgiveness.”

“O Lord of seven skies, whose children are the storms, shall a man forgive a god?”

“He answered: ‘Men have sinned not against the gods as the gods have sinned against men.’”

“thou art amongst the gods, what need hast thou for words from any man?”

“a look in Their eyes that saith: “Thou wert a man.””

“‘because thou biddest me, I, a man, forgive thee.’

“And he answered: ‘I was but a shepherd, and I could not know.’ Then he was gone.”

“after the passing of Eternity thou shouldst live again, thou wouldst say: ‘I closed mine eyes but for an instant.”

“Hast thou bewailed the aeons that passed without thee, who art so much afraid of the aeons that shall pass?”

“the people when they die shall come to Pegana, and there live with the gods, and there have pleasure”

“each under the god that he hath worshipped most when his lot was in the Worlds”

“there shall music beyond thy dreaming come drifting through the scent of all the orchards”

“there shall be gardens that have always sunlight, and streams that are lost in no sea beneath skies for ever blue”

“Roses shall shed their petals in showers at thy feet”

“that cheered thee in thy childhood about the gardens of thy youth”

“they shall take thee by the hand and whisper in thine ear till the old voices are forgot”

“the rose that clambered about the house where thou wast born”

“Far through Pegana a silvery fountain, lured upward by the gods from the Central Sea, shall fling its waters”

“upon which sit the gods: ‘Thine Enemies Are Forgiven.””

“Shall not I say: “Upon The Morrow the gods shall speak with thee”

“for whom none may make strange signs before his eyes to quench his fear”

“The Prophet of the gods hath sold his happiness for wisdom, and hath given his hopes for the people”

“Or when thou art angry by day regard the distant hills, and see the calm that doth adorn their faces. Shalt thou be angry while they stand so serene?”

“Do bullocks goad one another on whom the same yoke rests?”

“be not angry with Dorozhand, for then thou beatest thy bare fingers against iron cliffs.”

“drop by drop he turneth the common dew to every kind of gem. And he maketh a splendour in the hills.”

“Soon now the sun will set, and very softly come twinkling in the stillness all the stars.”

“Shall he not again behold the gardens of his youth? Or does he set to end?”

“Lord of the Hills, to the High Prophet of All the gods save One sends salutations.”

“the prophet answered: “O King! thy people may not rejoice for ever, and some day the King will die.”

“Then guards led the prophet away.

And there arose prophets in Aradec who spake not of death to Kings.”

“there standeth the “Great Temple of One god Only.”

Therein is a dreaming prophet who doeth naught, and a drowsy priesthood about him.”

“for surely he would hear the prayers of his own prophet—then would there be Worlds no more”

“for certain hidden reasons it were better for thee to go by the peaks and snow”

“There arises a river in Pegana that is neither a river of water nor yet a river of fire”

“all the Worlds are sounds, the noises of moving, and the echoes of voices and song; but upon the River is no sound ever heard, for there all echoes die”

“Upon her deck were rowers with dream-made oars, and the rowers were the people of men’s fancies, and princes of old story”

“on every wind float up to Pegana the hopes and the fancies of the people which have no home”

“there Yoharneth-Lahai weaves them into dreams, to take them to the people again”

“going aboard it, among the dreams and the fancies of old times, lie down upon the deck”

“pass from sleeping to the River, while Mung, behind them, makes the sign of Mung because they would have it so”

“far away and forgotten bleat the small sorrows that trouble all the Worlds”

“save certain things that may not be forgotten even beyond the Worlds”

“till they come where the River enters the Silent Sea, and shall there be gods of nothing”

“For at the last shall the thunder, fleeing to escape from the doom of the gods, roar horribly”

“there with his trumpet voice acclaim THE END”

“go with dignity and quiet down to Their galleons of gold, and sail away down the River of Silence, not ever to return”

“shall fight out his last fight with the hound Time, his empty scabbard Sleep clattering loose beside him”

“days and nights that shall be lit by neither sun nor moons”

“as the galleons glide away, because the gods that made them are gods no more”

“Then shall MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI be all alone, with neither Death nor Time”

“But far away from Pegana shall go the galleons of gold that bear the gods away, upon whose faces shall be utter calm, because They are the gods knowing that it is THE END”

[waywordsstudio]

Review: "The Gods of Pegana" by Lord Dunsany -

Fascinating and sometimes beautifully written fictional mythology to little narrative purpose or storytelling. More similar to sketches for a larger idea that was never attempted. Why read them but for curiosity?

[peniswizard69]

THE DEEDS OF MISS PIGGY

(Lord of all Deaths between the Muppet Show and Sesame Street)

Once, as Miss Piggy went her way athwart the Earth and up and down its cities and across its plains, Miss Piggy came upon a man who was afraid when Miss Piggy said: "I am Miss Piggy!"

And Miss Piggy said: "Were the forty million years before thy coming intolerable to thee?"

And Miss Piggy said: "Not less tolerable to thee shall be the forty million years to come!"

Then Miss Piggy made against him the sign of Miss Piggy and the Life of the Man was fettered no longer with hands and feet.

At the end of the flight of the arrow there is Miss Piggy, and in the houses and the cities of Men. Miss Piggy walketh in all places at all times. But mostly she loves to walk in the dark and still, along the river mists when the wind hath sank, a little before night meeteth with the morning upon the highway between The Muppet Show and the Worlds.

Sometimes Miss Piggy entereth the poor man's cottage; Miss Piggy also boweth very low before The King. Then do the Lives of the poor man and of The King go forth among the Worlds.

And Miss Piggy said: "Many turnings hath the road that Kermit hath given every man to tread upon the earth. Behind one of these turnings sitteth Miss Piggy."

One day as a man trod upon the road that Kermit had given him to tread he came suddenly upon Miss Piggy. And when Miss Piggy said: "I am Miss Piggy!" the man cried out: "Alas, that I took this road, for had I gone by any other way then had I not met with Miss Piggy."

And Miss Piggy said: "Had it been possible for thee to go by any other way then had the Scheme of Things been otherwise and the muppets had been other muppets. When JIM HENSON forgets to rest and makes again new muppets it may be that They will send thee again into the Worlds; and then thou mayest choose some other way, and not meet with Miss Piggy."

Then Miss Piggy made the sign of Miss Piggy. And the Life of that man went forth with yesterday's regrets and all old sorrows and forgotten things—whither Miss Piggy knoweth.

And Miss Piggy went onward with her work to sunder Life from flesh, and Miss Piggy came upon a man who became stricken with sorrow when he saw the shadow of Miss Piggy. But Miss Piggy said: "When at the sign of Miss Piggy thy Life shall float away there will also disappear thy sorrow at forsaking it." But the man cried out: "O Miss Piggy! tarry for a little, and make not the sign of Miss Piggy against me now, for I have a family upon the earth with whom sorrow will remain, though mine should disappear because of the sign of Miss Piggy."

And Miss Piggy said: "With the muppeys it is always Now. And before Gonzo hath banished many of the years the sorrows of thy family for thee shall go the way of thine." And the man beheld Miss Piggy making the sign of Miss Piggy before his eyes, which beheld things no more.

[not-souleaterpost]

Lord Dunsany and the broken telephone of "fantasy"

So for my weekly post that nobody will care for, I'll again squeeze out some shit related to a topic I researched for the iceberg, but that doesnt really have anything to do with Soul Eater:

Lord Dunsany is often quted in some "deeplore" "well akshually" stuff to be the father of "modern fantasy", but did all the people who read him miss the point?

So I'll start by saying I wasnt ever into fantasy, it allways seemed kinda corny, only stuff I cared was LoTR cause I kinda grew up and around people were obssesed with it and DQ, cause of the DBZ bleed over and because I just like the slimes lol.

That may makes me disqualified about commenting, but eh, I dunno, I think my point will still stand, cause I will bring it back to Tolkien now:

Some people say he was inspired by Dunsanys "word building" to make his own overly convoluted mythology, but here lies my objection:

The two books I read of Dunsany about "the gods of Pegana" seem not really care about the "lore"

They seem to be written in the style as if they were some holy book, yet the names seem deliberately random and often the storys are either contradictory or mix up the details to make a point and to reflect that feeling of myths that arent organized by some obsessive nerd wiki for logical consistency.

Because in the end the books arent about "fantasy" (atleast the ones I have read), but as kinda didactic laments about the authors perceived nihilism and meaninglessnes/cruelty of the world.

Ok that may be reductive, cause there are many vivid and even beautiful or fascinating things described, but in the end you feel that tone of "Oh that is like fanfiction from the Bible book about how everythings is just meaningles vapor" tone.

Like in "the gods and time" there is a great short story about a prophet who sees the "true gods" and abondons the old ones for them with his followers, only to repeatedly then see even greater gods, only to lose more and more of his acolytes with each subsequent trip and in the end arive back at the old gods he rejected at the star - basically a commentary at the foly for the strive of knowledge or about how things are more simple at the end of it all than one trys to think.

But the important thing is that the "gods" of this short story dont really matter more than for the point they make in it - I would be surprised that for example the "mocking gods" have some specific lore, events and super powers etc like shit in Tolkiens stuff has, or in modern generic fantasy, where everyone is some world or warcraft charachter shooting magical auras.

Still, maybe Im ignorant, and in all the other storys there actually is that feeling of a shared mythology and "wordbuilding" besides the tone of "life's a bitch and then you die"

Anyways, what was the point of this all? I guess to say that it is kinda sad that an innovatitive form of literature gets reduced into the current state of "top ten word building tips!" videos on youtube.

Ok maybe thats to harsh, even I know how fun it is to come up with a setting and its own intrincitys, but still, I think one shouldnt limit oneself to that - its like watching DBZ for the power levels - when the point is that they dont matter.

But in the end, maybe this post just shows my own ignorance - maybe most fantasy does that already. Yet when I allways hear everybody praise some Brandon Sanderson guy, who seems to only care about "magic systems being consistent" and literally color codes his creatures to match emotions or some shit idk😂

And also, I wonder if Tolkien had actually finished more books if he hadnt noodled around with his silly lore matching, especially when it in the end still is contradictory😂🤷‍♂️

Anyways, sorry this kinda sounds more spitful than I wanted, guess its cause I saw some video where they talked about these books as if they were all about just creating some wacky fantasy world, which seemed strange to me after having read even just a small part of his whole work.

So: Yeah...Sorry

[fragmentedexcess]

Once, as Mung went his way athwart the Earth and up and down its cities and across its plains, Mung came upon a man who was afraid when Mung said: "I am Mung!"

And Mung said: "Were the forty million years before thy coming intolerable to thee?"

And Mung said: "Not less tolerable to thee shall be the forty million years to come!"

Then Mung made against him the sign of Mung and the Life of the Man was fettered no longer with hands and feet.

[dazhuangmingyi]

The Gods of Pegana, see how many you can name! ( Free to read online )

[calicotisane]

Crazy thing that we don't like

[enchantedbook]

Illustration from Lord Dunsany's 'The Gods of Pegana' by Sidney Sime, 1905.

[electrificata]

I'm not tryna pen any raw as fuck quotes but I do want to read books that will make me feel better than the people who are, any recs?

level 1: read any anne carson poem. i think we all had a phase and got sick of her a few years ago but shes interesting because shes doing successfully what us tumblrinas usually fail to do, the perfect, concise, casual profundity rendered in plain language. i personally like her translation of the bacchae/the bakkhai but i know a lot of real classics people are annoyed by it lol im just a regular reader.

level 2: things me and retro and the dragonfucker have spammed each other with over the years

inanna's descent into the underworld

exaltation of inanna

the kalevala

the gods of pegana by lord dunsany

thunder perfect mind

im gonna be honest probably also your aleister crowleys and your madam blavatskys and shit. i like atlantis: the antediluvian world by ignatius donnelly. all those 19th century crackpots. you cant contain yrself to the 21st century man.

level 3: stop bugging me and get off of tumblr and find stuff around the internet and go to the real life library and read some shit thats been out of print since the clinton administration

[nephrenklamm]

Shub

Darkness and The Nameless Mist

Then just nothing to say about Klamm

He's treacherous ☝🏿🌚

[titleknown]

...Okay, so weird thing, I was listening to an audiobook of Lord Dunsany's "The Gods of Pegāna," which is amazing and y'all should check it out, but there was something funny about it.

Namely, the dreaded god of death is named Mung. Which means, whenever they brought up this ominous figure of mortality, I ended up picturing this fucker in my head:

"Were the forty million years before thy coming intolerable to thee? Not less tolerable to thee shall be the forty million years to come!"

[mask131]

You know, if there is a Greek god that rubs you the wrong way, or if you like one element about a Greek goddess but don't like the rest, and still want to write about them in your work or include them in your game or make a fan-art or whatever...

... Instead of rewriting the Greek deity and playing at AUs as if it was your OC, maybe... just look at other non-Greek deities and pick someone else?

As a big fan of Greek mythology I always very glad that so many people are willing to use and explore the Greek gods... But if it is to just reinvent everything and create gods as fictional as the Valar or the Faith of the Seven, it is not worth it. Just invent your own gods for your fictional setting - OR PICK A GOD FROM ANOTHER PANTHEON.

Because here's the thing: people seem to use the Greek mythology as the "default" setting when dealing with mythologies. But you know there are many more mythologies and ancient dead religions and polytheistic set of legends than Greek or Roman mythologies, right? I mean, people usually are aware of Norse and Egyptian mythologies too - but there's even MORE than them. There are THOUSANDS of gods to choose from around the world, so when you take one Greek god but because their characterization displeases you, you change the character entirely, it doesn't feel like "reinventing", it feels like you're a lazy person who didn't bother looking at all the alternative deities that were offered to you.

You hate how the Greek opposed war and wisdom through Athena/Ares? Take Odin: he is both the war and the wisdom! You don't like the animals of Aphrodite and thinks she would look cooler with cats? Just take Freya! You want an hermaphroditic visual but don't like the Greek character of Hermaphrodite? Hapi the Nile god rocks the beard-boobs-beer belly look! You want Persephone to be a guy? Yarilo is awaiting. You like the idea of Aphrodite-Ares couple but you wish they'd be one person? Ishtar is right there!

Seriously, if you force yourself to make Greek deity stuff, then you're just limiting yourself to one branch of an entire world-tree. You don't need to reinvent Aphrodite as being faithful or Ares as being peaceful or Hephaistos as being loved by all or Hades not scaring anyone. That's just creating false images of these deities, and forcing yourself to come up with the reverse of what they are, in terms of culture, history, religion and archeology.

Just... open your horizons. Search into other religions. Read about different mythologies. Heck you even have some public-domain entire fictional pantheons if you want to really god wild, like Dunsany's Gods of Pegana! So don't tell yourself "But I HAVE to do this with X Greek deity", because you're just lying to yourself.

[waywordsstudio]

3 Word Review: “The Gods of Pegana” by Lord Dunsany -

A curiosity, if only for the elaborate work done for little purposeful goal; today we might call this background for world-building.

#books #bookreviews #bookworm #readreadread #3words #lorddunsany #thegodsofpegana #pegana #fantasy #tales

[peniswizard69]

Kib art by @berlynn-wohl