Lodril

Sartar: Kingdom of Heroes:

    For untold generations we have farmed on the banks
    of the Oslir River, rewarded always by the fecundity
    of the goddess Oria and her mate, Lodril. We are
    a rural people, more pragmatic than the tight-assed
    Dara Happans. We do not let women rule us, but they
    are allowed to own property. Without women, there
    would be no fertility. Those Dara Happans are crazy!
    We live in large extended families, and worship gods
    not because we have sticks up our backside and our
    noses up in the air, but because they tame the river,
    enrich the soil, and protect the crops. Some of us get
    rich, and get involved in politics. When our land is
    threatened, we grab our spears and go to war. But we
    never forget that we were born with mud between
    our toes, that the best wisdom is simple wisdom, and
    that a man starves to death without food.

Their chief gods are Oria and Lodril. Oria has a lot in common with Ernalda, being the Earth Goddess, the Mother Goddess, and fecund bounty. Lodril is the Lord of Below, who covers volcanoes, earthquakes, disruptive actions, and Earth-as-Heat-and-Fire. He complements Oria perfectly, though they're both incredibly fecund and lustful, and so have spread their children and lovers far and wide. Lodril is a peasant's god, for farmers who till the fields, but also those who raise up spears against their masters. When the pressure of emperors and lords becomes impossible to bear, Lodrilli can call upon the magic of Monster Man, the darkest side of Lodril, who will cause havoc and chaos until the situation is rectified.

Lodril Paints the Animals:

    Lodril burst forth from the deep ground in a great blaze of fire and heat. The
    world was barren and empty, and all of it looked the same. So, the first thing
    Lodril did was to raise a mountain to be his home. Once the mountain had
    cooled, Lodril strode forth and traveled across the land around it.

    After a time, he encountered another god. The strange god was building
    many mountains and hills across the surface of the world. “Why are you
    doing this?” asked Lodril. “You cannot possibly need so many homes to
    dwell in.”

    “I am Gerendetho,” replied the god, “and I have seen that this world is flat
    and boring, and that it needs variety. So I am making these hills not to live
    in, but to decorate the world.”

    “You are right that this world needs improving,” admitted Lodril, “and your
    mountains are all very well. But what is really needed are things that are
    warm, that move and that lust after sensual things, such as food and sex.”
    So Lodril went to a sacred place in the south, and painted pictures of many
    wild animals, such as rabbits, opossums, beavers, and raccoons. Then he
    filled the pictures with his warmth and desire, and they sprang to life and
    multiplied so that they filled the world.

    Another time, Lodril met the goddess Pela, who was sowing seeds. “Why are
    you doing this?” he asked. “There are already many plants in the world
    since Erenbaya first made them. Why would we want more?”

    “These are special plants,” said Pela. “These grasses can be easily made into
    food, which can feed the people of the world, so that they will not be hungry.”
    “This is all very well,” said Lodril, “but it would be better to make food that
    runs and takes skill to harvest, so that people can prove their manliness,
    and only the best will have food.” So Lodril went to a sacred place in the
    west and painted pictures of many animals, such as deer, pigs, and goats.
    Then he filled the pictures with his warmth and desire, and they sprang to
    life and multiplied so that they filled the world.

    “How are you supposed to harvest food like this?” asked Pela.

    “I have a long, warm spear,” explained Lodril, “and I like to thrust with it.”
    Then he demonstrated this to the grain goddess, and she went away satisfied.

    A long time after these things had happened, the goddess Erenbaya came to
    see Lodril. “These animals that you have made are multiplying every-
    where,” she said. “Soon they will eat all the plants that I have grown to
    cover the world, and everything will be barren once more.” And the goddess
    wept and looked so pitiful that Lodril tried to cover her with his warmth so
    she would be happy. But the goddess turned him away, saying, “I cannot be
    happy until you right this wrong that you have done. When you have done
    that, and averted this disaster that your unthinking creation has wrought,
    then, and only then, will I be happy to share your warmth.”

    Lodril did not want to see the goddess unhappy. He also realized that his
    own animals would suffer once they had no more plants to eat. So, so he
    went to a sacred place in the north and painted pictures of many animals,
    such as wolves, foxes, pumas, and badgers. Then he filled the pictures with
    his warmth and desire, and they sprang to life and multiplied so that they
    filled the world.

    These new animals immediately began to eat the old ones, so that the latter
    could no longer multiply out of control and eat all the plants. But
    because there were not so many of the new creatures, they never ate all of
    the older ones, which is why there are still so many animals today. Seeing
    this, Erenbaya’s heart was filled with joy once more, and she partook of
    Lodril’s warmth, so that they both went away happy.

    As the centuries passed, Lodril fathered many children with Oria and with
    other goddesses. One day, he noticed that his daughter, Venurtera, was sitting
    in the mud at the edge of the great river looking very unhappy. Because he was
    a caring father, Lodril approached her and asked her why she was sad.

    “I am not like the other goddesses,” she said, “for I am not long of limb and
    nubile of body. I had hoped to prove myself worthy through hard work as
    my brothers have done. I am not the sort of person who can simply fetch
    and carry as my sister Urdera does, for I need to be able to show my skill and
    worth. But my brothers already work with stone and wood, and dig the
    ditches in the paddy fields. All that is left to me is mud, but try as I might I
    cannot work it, for it is slippery and falls apart, and I can make nothing
    beautiful or useful with it. I suppose that is all I shall ever be worthy of, to
    scrabble uselessly in the mud, ugly and unwanted.”

    “Do not say these things, my daughter,” replied Lodril. “I will teach you
    secrets, and you will be useful and desired just like your brothers are, and
    those goddesses who only grow things will come to marvel at your skill.”
    Then Lodril went to a sacred place in the east and painted pictures of many
    animals, such as cats, porcupines, nelesh, and widdums. Then he filled the
    pictures with his warmth and desire, and they sprang to life and multiplied
    so that they filled the world. They were creatures of beauty and humor,
    bright and cheerful, so that when harsher times eventually came, all but the
    craftiest died out. But at the time, Lodril and Venurtera did not know this
    would happen.

    The fire god said to his daughter, “Make a vessel from the mud that you
    have toiled with, and I will show you how to make it last. Then you may
    craft and paint the vessel with images of these new creatures that I have
    made, and you will have made a thing that is both useful and of beauty,
    just as you desired.” Venurtera did as she was told, and Lodril showed her
    how to use heat to harden the mud and make it into something that she
    could decorate. The goddess thanked her father. Ever after she was known
    as the Potter, and took her rightful place among the Ten Workers.