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    Canonfire :: View topic - Bakluni Dogma - The official Theogony of the Exalted Faith
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    Bakluni Dogma - The official Theogony of the Exalted Faith
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    Apprentice Greytalker

    Joined: Aug 15, 2001
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    From: France

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    Wed Dec 02, 2009 2:40 pm  
    Bakluni Dogma - The official Theogony of the Exalted Faith

    As I have started to look at the different ressources written in french, I came upon the Bakluni Dogma - The official Theogony of the Exalted Faith.

    This document strongly relies on my vision of the theogony as discussed with Iquander in 1995.

    When writing the gazeetter for Ekbir, Gael Richard (Ekbir Triad) put a lot too into it in order to make everything flow logically (as far as it is possible in this kind litterature).

    If you have the luck to read french, and are interested in Ekbir, you should have a look on our (ex) Living Greyhawk website http://www.ekbir.org - It was (and still is) by far the more complete of all sites dedicated to a country in the Living Campaign.

    Many members of the official french translation team for the Atlas of Greyhawk where also involved at one degree or another in this website

    Enjoy !

    Before the creation of the universe, existed three gods, equals in power and in dignity.

    Some theologians consider them as co-eternal and unborn, the others say that they were engendered by Cyndor, the eternal, the time and the infinity. These gods are indeed beyond the human understanding and are called the cosmic gods. The first one of these gods, Horsis-Ra was of an immense purity and kindness. We call it generally the Spirit of Light. The second, Tharizdun, was on the contrary malefic and dark. These two gods, equals in power, were engaged in a fight with no outcome because they perfectly balanced themselves.

    The third divinity, traditionally considered as a goddess, often identified as Istus, arbitrated this cosmic conflict without taking a position. This cosmic goddess embodied the balance.


    To resolve the sterile conflict between the two cosmic gods, she suggested creating beings endowed with free will, which could choose between good and evil and so proclaim a winner definitively. The two gods accepted and the World was created so that these beings can live there. Horsis-Ra created the World and the Life and all which is good and Tharizdun corrupted its creation, bringing the Death and the Destruction. The three cosmic gods did not have the right to enter into the World because their power was such that it would finally destroy it . Only some emanations of these gods penetrated into the creation to perfect it and assist the future beings. These emanations were the major gods.

    The Spirit of Light had several emanations which we call the Distant Gods or also the gods of the Paynims. They have for name Korshid, Asman, Khaleq and Danesh. Tharizdun also had emanations Incabulos and Nérull and unspeakable gods as the ancient God of Elements. The goddess of the balance had for emanation the goddess Istus whom some assimilate to the very cosmic goddess and who is the Fate. She measures the fight between the Good and the Evil in the World and, when there will be a winner, she will proclaim him and will announce the end of times. The three cosmic divinities created of concert Beory which is the personified World and Boccob who embodies the rules which govern it and which we call magic. Each of the cosmic gods having participated in the creation, this one was neutral just like Boccob and Beory. Boccob is not interested in the conflict between Good and Evil nor in the choice of the future beings. He is the blood of the World, he is the magic, he knows the World and how to control it, but he is himself just the keeper of the knowledge and of the rules.

    Meanwhile, the cosmic gods created all the creatures who will serve their emanations and the gods to come. (Celestials, devils, slaads etc...)

    When the World was created, some other gods were born by hierogamy, especially by union with the goddess mother Beory. The gods, emanations of other gods or engendered by them, had themselves their own emanations.

    When the World was created, the gods decided to create those who would have for mission to choose between the good and the evil, the Men. Istus came to warn Beory that the moment of the creation of the Man had come. The goddess-mother put then out of her body two masses of clay which she shaped in the form of a man and a woman. Geshtaï cleansed them by spraying pure water so that they can receive the gifts from the gods.

    Then came the three cosmic gods. Horsis-Ra made them two gifts, that of the life and that of the love. Thanks to the first gift, both beings received the spark of life and livened up. Thanks to the second, they were able to multiply and live in community. Tharizdun made them two gifts too but they were the death and the hate. The death that must inspire the fear and fuel the hate. So, he thought, the Men would slide spontaneously towards the evil. Finally, when everything was finished, Istus gave to the man and to the woman the gift of the freedom to allow them to choose freely their fate between the good and the evil.

    The first man was called Aboukadim and the first woman Oumma. They had children and gave birth to all the races and the nations of the world. The first men had the wisdom to tilt toward the good. Legendary heroes fought triumphantly the worshippers of evil and their malefic troops. It was the mythical fight of the Light and the Darkness and the Light was getting the upper hand. Then Tharizdun entered the World to conquer it or to destroy it. In answer to this violation of the rules established by the three cosmic gods, the Good and the Balance united against him and, at the conclusion of a terrible fight of cosmic scale, it was imprisoned.

    His influence on the World became very limited there but he had had the time to assure the perpetuity of the Evil in the World, his development and his existence until our days. It exists in diverse places some antic sanctuaries where remain shards of the power of Tharizdun. Horsis-Ra, him, had to turn away from the World to concentrate on Tharizdun to maintain the closed prison. He too, his power hardly irradiates the real world and its name was almost forgotten. The emanations of Tharizdun took advantage of his detention to become emancipated. With the exception of the evil loyal factions which cultivate the worship of their supreme leader and work at his liberation, the powers and the gods of evil do not wish his return and prefer to remain free to act in their way.

    The departure of the cosmic gods constitutes the Hegira. The Men established then the Bakluni Empire under the direction of Azor' Alq and the other divine heroes of first time and of their successors.

    The outcome of the fight between the Good and the Evil is now uncertain because the poison sowed by Tharizdun at the beginning of the World continues to act and to spread. The conversion of the whole humanity in the camp of the light is the big task which has to allow the ultimate defeat of the Evil. Then the World will be cleansed, regenerated and cleared of any stain. It will be as he should have been in the absence of the Evil. The victory of the Good will mark the end of the current time and the birth of a new World. A savior whom we call Mahdi will appear at the end of time and will complete the triumph of the Good in the cosmic fight against the Evil. But nothing is decided yet and the Evil can still win. It is said that at the end of time, if the Evil wins, Tharizdun will be freed and he will destroy the World.


    * Traduced with the help of Reverso...but not only :)
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    Armenfrast, Sage d'Ekbir<br />aka Belvor_x (Greytalk / AOL 1995-1999)<br />aka 100523.157 (Compuserve 1994 - 1995)<br />http://www.greyhawk.fr
    GreySage

    Joined: Oct 06, 2008
    Posts: 2788
    From: South-Central Pennsylvania

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    Wed Dec 02, 2009 4:43 pm  

    An interesting take on the origins of the Gods. Cool

    The struggle between Tharizdun and Horsis-Ra , as well as Horsis-Ra's continuous need to maintain Tharizdun's prison, does a nice job of explaining why -- of the three -- only Istus remains known to "us."

    You even included an explanation of why the Gods of Evil have also chosen to side against Tharizdun. All in all a very nice bit of information for anyone wanting to add that aspect to their game.

    Keep it coming Armenfrast. Happy
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    Apprentice Greytalker

    Joined: Nov 03, 2008
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    From: Dallas, Texas

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    Thu Dec 03, 2009 6:59 am  

    Excellent! And thanks.
    Journeyman Greytalker

    Joined: Aug 30, 2001
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    From: Niflheim, 9to5

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    Thu Dec 03, 2009 7:21 am  
    Re: Bakluni Dogma - The official Theogony of the Exalted Fai

    Armenfrast wrote:
    The victory of the Good will mark the end of the current time and the birth of a new World. A savior whom we call Mahdi will appear at the end of time and will complete the triumph of the Good in the cosmic fight against the Evil.


    Uh oh. Did LG ever follow up on the rise of the Mahdi in the Dry Steppes region mentioned in the LGG? Is it known yet if he/she is the TRUE Mahdi, a false prophet, or a mahdi but not THE Mahdi?
    Apprentice Greytalker

    Joined: Aug 15, 2001
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    From: France

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    Thu Dec 03, 2009 8:24 am  

    Quote:
    Uh oh. Did LG ever follow up on the rise of the Mahdi in the Dry Steppes region mentioned in the LGG? Is it known yet if he/she is the TRUE Mahdi, a false prophet, or a mahdi but not THE Mahdi?


    Nothing in LG is mentioned, the Dry Steppes were not allocated to a country, and the article on Zeif mentions nothing.

    As for the second question...well...i do not know
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    Armenfrast, Sage d'Ekbir<br />aka Belvor_x (Greytalk / AOL 1995-1999)<br />aka 100523.157 (Compuserve 1994 - 1995)<br />http://www.greyhawk.fr
    Apprentice Greytalker

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    From: France

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    Thu Dec 03, 2009 3:47 pm  

    Concerning the Madi here are the last information I have found, dated CY 594 (2004)

    The Madi of the Dry Steppes is said to be gathering an army of fanatical dervishes to his banner somewhere in the heart of the arid trackless wastes east of Lake Udunakhar. Tales circulating through the souqs of the Western lands report that the Madi is bent on reuniting the Bakluni people and restoring the Empire of the Padishahs, destroyed centuries ago in the Invoked Devastation. He has denounced all who stand in his way as infidels and the consorts of shai’tans (fiends). Though many of these rumours contradict each other, the one consistent detail is the description of the Madi himself – a tall man swathed from head to toe in robes of black and green, his face obscured behind a silken cowl.
    _________________
    Armenfrast, Sage d'Ekbir<br />aka Belvor_x (Greytalk / AOL 1995-1999)<br />aka 100523.157 (Compuserve 1994 - 1995)<br />http://www.greyhawk.fr
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