The Skadi
Elivagar
The river from which all things sprang.
The world after the Black Sun faced many Realm ending terrors. The story of the first evil to threaten the sovereignty of the Mortal Realm is epic. A hero who came from the slave stocks of The Smoky God to lead a rebellion, uniting many under their banner of freedom. Confronts a world ending evil, and is pushed to near complete defeat. In the end a divine sacrifice is made, and the Grand Architect in his slumber grants the hero access to the “Finger of God”, the wand known as Skadi, saving man kind from utter torture and enslavement. Her name was Elivagar.
Elivagar grew up near the frozen lakes in the northern wastes, born just after the fall of Babylon. Her clan, a small band of nomads, herded wild beasts and lived off of the land. Their peoples prized freedom. The sovereignty of their respective clans mattered more than anything else. The Northern tribes chose to stay nomadic, to ensure that no fledgling city state or ‘lord’ could hold dominion over them any longer.
Elivagar’s father, Ginnungigap, was a great leader. Many clans, during times of trouble, would seek the leadership of just one chieftain. Ginnungigap was that chieftain. Confided in for support during times of peace, he would lead the war bands in times of conflict. However, During times of peace the clans roamed their separate ways. Coming together only for major events like weddings, funerals, and holidays.
Being the daughter of the most powerful chief amongst her peoples, Elivagar was destined for leadership. Groomed from birth for the task, her father also impressed the value of a sword. Trained to fight, she had no equal with a blade. Ginnungigap was the leader of the rebellion of Nomadic Herders from the north against the Empire of Babylon. Ginnungigap’s tribes supplied the northern cities with freshly slaughtered meat for the aristocracy. But when the light from heaven showed that the Grand Architect stirred, hope and bravery renewed in his peoples hearts. He knew that his freedom was won first by God, but would not let Elivagar forget that it was protected by the power of the sword. He loved his daughter greatly, although he was a severe man with stern rules.
At the age of 14, the world Elivagar knew came crashing down. The hordes of the Smoky god descended on the frosty plains of the north. Without warning crude “warriors”, claiming to be the new army of Babylon swept across the plains killing men, and capturing women and children. Elivagar's father and mother were killed protecting her, and despite her prowess with a blade she was captured along with many of the women she grew up with. The new army of Babylon were no more than a band of mercenaries, paid by the fallen lord of chaos Naram-sin To collect fodder for his slave stocks. Naram-sin had visions of a revived Babylon, with the northern city of Tyr as its capstone, returned to its former sadistic glory under the rulership of the Black Sun.
The city of Tyr had stocks. These stocks held all the slaves and beasts captured during these raids. A refugee camp of prisoners was formed on the outside of the city walls. This is where Naram-Sin’s new Babylonian army brought Elivagar and her tribes. This tent city was made up of broken women and children from the clans of the north who were waiting for eventual slavery or slaughter inside the city walls. Slaves could live for weeks in this place before being processed. Elivagar held much respect amongst the clans of the north, even though she was the young age of 14. She shadowed her father from birth, and knew them well: their fathers, sons, and mothers. Elivagar had precious little time to save her people. These women were all the family she had left. Elivagar sent messages through the camp telling the Women to hold their strength as revenge would be theirs. Then she began hatching a plan of rebellion.
Elivagar compelled the leadership of the clans to lure the mercenary soldier overseers to their tents. Promising sins of the flesh. Once in their tents they could kill them, and take their weapons. The slaves outnumbered the people of Tyr ten to one, easily they could over take the city if only they were armed. The woman played their role perfectly and the soldiers suspected nothing. Led to the tents like pigs for the slaughter the first soldiers were dispatched quietly and with ease. Elivagar donned their armor and sword and had the women keep up the ruse distracting soldiers all the way into the city. One by one collecting their armor, and cladding another woman as a soldier ready for the fight.
By the time the city guards knew what was going on, the wild women had quickly overtaken them with their vengeful blood lust. It is said that at one point in the fracas, Elivagar was confronted with wild beasts who had been collected on the frozen wastes to fight in the gladiatorial arena of Tyr. The Legend goes that she stood down a pair of black Tundra Panthers. Her power of persuasion was so great that she was able to mount them. Riding her vicious beasts all the way to the top of Naram-sin’s ziggurat. However, when Elivagar approached with an ever growing mob of impassioned north women, Naram-sin dissipated into the wind in a cloud of smoke. The slave revolt of Tyr was known as The Night of Bleeding Pigs, and was the first of many heroic deeds Elivagar would collect in her life.
Elivagar, now free, demanded loyalty and quickly gained converts to her cause. Women soldiers, and men, joined her fight for freedom. Her very long and storied tale led Elivagar all across Babylon liberating cities and freeing people. For 10 years she did this, and ruled as chief of her own clan in the north a revered and holy queen of blades riding her chariot pulled by two jet black Tundra Panthers.
The People were free, and she ruled over a confederacy of clans founded on the principles of freedom. This was hard for some to accept, but over time people began to live lives of peace free from the complete desolation of The Black Sun. Then the holes began to appear.
Some believed it was the Lesser Architect punishing humanity for their insolence. A curse upon the people for attempting to throw off the legacy of the Black Sun. Regardless of the reason the holes appeared, Dark and deep. Opening outside of cities the holes would lie and wait, some time after belching out a gibbering horde, sweeping the inhabitants away.
One by one the lights started to go out, and as the tribes moved farther and farther north to escape the phenomenon it became clear that there was some evil magic at work. The Smoky god Naram-sin, was behind it. Naram-sin reformed himself in the underground catacombs of the Babylonian Empire . there in the dark, and in secret he developed an army. Foul beasts with inky black flesh, and teeth sharpened to a razor point the better to tear meat with. Heavy musculature, and above all, a love of violence and bloodshed. Now ready, they sprang forth to consume humanity.
Elivagar led the ever dwindling tribe of humanity in a desperate defense of their cities. The encroaching hordes pushed her and the people of the Mortal Realm further and further north, until only one city, surrounded by the frozen plains, stood against the darkness. The cold was Naram-sin’s armies only known weakness. It halted their advance, and quickly the beasts died when exposed to it. This is why Elivagar led her people back to her native lands in the north, and away from the more fertile regions of the Mortal Realm. It seemed her people might be safe for a time while a new strategy was devised, but in the middle of winter the snow began to thaw. Naram-sin had discovered The Wand of War somewhere, deep & cavernous, locked away since the Sundering. This gave him, and his unholy host, the power to completely annihilate their foes. With the power of the wand, Naram-sin increased the heat on the earth, warming the lands as his armies marched towards the remaining stronghold of man. Elivagar prepared for the last stand of humanity.
As the Dark Creatures of Naram Sin approached, the warmth of the sun melted away the frost of a long winter. It would have been pleasant if it weren’t for the monsters waiting at the gates, and the intense smoke which preceded him. Naram-sin had limitless numbers. It was said the land was painted black with his army as far as the eye could see. The Beleaguered confederacy of clans stood watch, knowing their deaths were soon to come. They hid the women and children deep within the catacombs of the walled city, and gave tearful final goodbyes. However Elivagar was a beacon of power and fire in this time of despair. She had nothing but righteous fury towards Naram-sin and his philosophy. She did not fear death, only that she might miss the chance to thrust her spear into the “Smokey gods” inky black heart.
Naram-sin and his dark host sang the litanies of destruction in a never ending cycle for days prior to reaching the city. As they approached, their hateful cries and dark screams slowly grew into a fever pitch before stopping. Silence fell on the battlefield as Naram Sin, stepping down off his gilded platform, walked to the front of the lines. Carrying the Wand of War, he held it up and pointed it at the city walls. A blast or arching hellfire blew open the gates in an intense explosion. Elivagar and her men were in utter confusion, as the beasts at the outer gates were given the order to advance; everything seemed to halt in time as Elivagar prayed. Then she mounted her chariot pulled by two wild and magnificent Tundra Panthers, and she rode out to face Naram-Sin herself with her battle chariot riders at her side.
As the black wave of creatures washed over the city, an island of honor and bravery pierced through Naram-sin’s army. Elivagar, and her chariot riders cut a swathe in a direct line towards the Smoky god. One by one her chariot riders succumbed to the enemies and were destroyed. Only Elivagar's chariot was left. As she approached Naram-sins platform she unhitched her beasts, and she leapt from her chariot spear in hand. Elivagar's panthers pinned Naram-sin while she thrust her spear into his chest.
At that moment a blast of cold released from the “Smoky god” as if he had been sucking in all the cold of the world, holding it within him. Elivagar pulled the spear out and noticed it had transformed into a powerful wand. White writhing energy swirled around it and her. In an instant A powerful blizzard descended on them, with white vortexes of cold descending from dark clouds sucking up and dispersing the Black Horde. Elivagar and one of her mounts rode swiftly back towards the city. Her other trusted Tundra Panther was killed during the assault. For 30 days freezing snow and cold poured out of the heart of the Smoky god freezing the surface of the mortal realm save for a small strip around the equator where fresh water flowed and temperatures were more moderate. After the snow subsided Elivagar led her people through the frozen landscape to find respite from the unending horrors that befell them.
It is said that the line of Elivagar created all magi known today, and that her lineage became the pantheon of many polytheistic religions. The gods of ancient times were almost entirely made up of powerful Magi. While this story is myth and well known among the Magi there are elements we know for certain did occur. There was a massive Realm freezing event sometime directly after the ending of the age of the Black Sun, and there was definitely worship of a false deity the Smoky god. Black horde creatures are known to exist, but more to come on that later as their origins are convoluted and mired in Magi lore. However it’s generally accepted that many of the elements of the story are embellished.
