Arcyna, Goddess of Life
“The cycle of life maintains all of creation. Where something ends, something greater can begin. There can be no death, without life.”
Arcyna was the most youthful of the Old Gods and she was infatuated with nature. Vines spiraled around her arms, occasionally sprouting pink ethereal flowers that would fall to the ground and sprout more plant life, even in the harshest of conditions. Her long hair would change colors to reflect the seasons she brought. Winter would turn her hair an icy blue, Spring was pink and purple to reflect her favorite blooming flowers, Summer was a vibrant blonde and Autumn brought a deep orange.
She loved all life and filled the world with as much as she could. Arcyna blessed the land with flora and fauna of all kinds. She took the lost souls from Maldoria’s age of conflict and gave them new life. Some of them followed her into the peaceful forest and worshipped her as a goddess of renewal. Their robes were marked with a tree baring different colored leaves to reflect the seasons. She was saddened when the humans would hunt the animals and harvest plants and it took everything in her not to act out. She would simply create more life and find her joy once more.
One day she came across a horrific sight. In a clearing, she would find multiple corpses of deer and smaller fauna. Enraged by the bloody sight, she followed a trail with the assumption that there were overzealous hunters in the area, taking more than they need. She heard shouting beyond the bushes and charged forward with rage in her heart. Clouds formed overhead and a violent thunderstorm appeared in a flash.
To her dismay, it wasn’t hunters of the human variety that caused the bloodshed. They were huddled together atop a large boulder while a vicious pack of wolves surrounded them. The wolves were covered in blood but the human’s weapons were clean.
The bloodshed didn’t happen because of the humans but rather because of her own zealous nature. She created far too much wildlife and the ecosystem started to collapse. Her creation was destroying itself. As human and predator populations grew, so too would the prey to meet their needs. She created a never-ending cycle of abundant life that resulted in more death than she could handle.
She looked to Ornyc and Maldoria for guidance but they were too focused on helping the mortals rebuild. Maldoria suggested crafting apex predators while Ornyc recommended pacifying the animals. Life was far too fragile to simply bend to their ways however. Arcyna saw what happened when they tried it their way and wanted nothing like that.
Alone and sad, only one would come to her aid. Leviathan, the God of Death, cared for Arcyna. Unlike the other two, Arcyna’s and Leviathan’s differences formed a bond of respect. He would do everything he could to ease her pain.
