Tales from the Storm Discussion

[TinyRedLeaf]

(1)
To be sure, the first inkling I had that the Dawn Father and Dusk Mother could be the modern myth of an ancient memory was when Temulun, the khatun of the Mol, first met the WoL.

Recall her words, when she requested to speak privately with the WoL:

A singular radiance. Shimmering. Like a jewel of the Dusk Mother, blinding in its brilliance.

That description by the khatun, who's clearly clairvoyant, reminded me instantly of the Mother Crystal. Temulun spoke of the Dusk Mother as a "jewel".

(2)
We later learnt from Udutai, the lorekeeper of the Oronir, that Azim and Nhaama were lovers. He spoke of them thus:

Alas, he was of the sun, and she of the moon. Apart they must remain, lest day and night cease to be, and with them all creation.

My thoughts at the time... Could this be a garbled memory of a Rejoining, and its consequences for mortal life?

Even more telling, the Ascians describe a Rejoining as the "Ardor", a strong emotion, not uncommonly associated with passionate love.

Udutai also said:

As time passed, Azim's yearning for his beloved grew deeper still. Was there truly naught that could be done, he wondered. At last, he knew. "If the Father cannot be with the Mother, then he shall go amongst her children. Now and ever after."

So it was that Azim took a fragment of his being and with it fashioned an avatar. Clad in scale of midnight, he descended, and sought out the xaela.

The hint, it seemed to me, was that Azim created agents ("children") of his own, to be his proxies among mortals. Now, what does that instantly remind you of?

(3)
And Udutai said:

When Nhaama looked down and saw the avatar of Azim, she knew him at once, and shed tears of love and longing. When they struck the earth, they arose anew, as a counterpart to the Oronir. Their fates entwined.

The tale is specifically meant to explain the creation of the xaela and the raen but, keeping in mind the distorting effect of oral historical traditions, it's not hard to extrapolate from here the hint of Hydaelyn's anguish, her search for an Answer to the eternal question of why mortals are forever wont to sow the seeds of their own destruction.

Imagine if the truth behind the Sundering was that it was Zodiark, not Hydaelyn, that sparked or triggered the creation of mortal life, his "avatar" to reconnect with Hydaelyn.

Hydaelyn grew to love his imperfect creations, in turn crafting counterparts of her own, but in so doing also realised that mortals, forever torn between two poles, are doomed to an endless struggle.

Hence, her anguish. Hence her continuing search for an Answer.