Kembar
“In that time, their children would call them the Kembar, which is the Nine; and there is not a tale in the Wide World that has not its uttermost origin in them, though they came from beyond it, and brought Void to it.”
The Kembar are the Nine Gods who shaped and ruled the Wide World, and created both the Elder and the Younger Children. Much of their effort was concentrated on Rhusagos in the time of their dominion. For many long years, they were banished from the Earth on account of the Binding, but now they have returned, and the world will surely flower and wither as it did in the Days of Wrath.
Names and Relations
These are the names of the Kembar as they were known to the Patrin:
Lords of the Kembar (Arkembar)
- Gimīlhizar Sūrīnāgor, the First King, who later became Zhē Drūmor, the Mad One
- Thobrauk Tegendes, the Pilot, Lord of Rains, King of the Sea
- Hesphek, the Coppersmith, Firefather, “of many skills”
- Mālgal Temlūk, the Shepherd, Keeper of the Little Things, husband of Bēlkar
- Laegos, the Warlock, Lord of Werewolves and of Cats, Father to Dragons, “the Tyrant”
Ladies of the Kembar (Elkembar)
- Arbezmara, the Flower, Daymaker, Painter of Stars
- Kurūgan Nīmlauger, Deemer of the Kembar, Writer of the Old Laws
- Bēlkar, the Woodwose, Mother of Trees, Great Muse, wife of Mālgal
Doremil Men Aurael, the Raven, who is also called Death, is held to belong to neither the Arkembar nor the Elkembar, for they are said to have an essence uncompounded by sex.
Governances
These are the chief spheres of interest that each of the Kembar presides over.
| Name | Epithet | Governances |
|---|---|---|
| Zhē Drūmor | The Mad One | Sky, Wind, Cold, Darkness, Rage, Oblivion |
| Thobrauk | The Pilot | Water, Storms, Joy, Valor, Discovery |
| Arbezmara | The Flower | Light, Sun, Stars, Pity, Love, Grief |
| Hesphek | The Coppersmith | Fire, Stone, Metals, Crafts, Candor |
| Doremil | The Raven | Death, Dreams, Foresight, Magic, Wisdom |
| Kurūgan | The Deemer | Reason, Law, Knowledge, Warfare, Custom |
| Bēlkar | The Woodwose | Wilderness, Music, Stories, Travel |
| Mālgal | The Shepherd | Agriculture, Medicine, Decay, Disease |
| Laegos | The Warlock | Ambition, Trickery, Speech, Commerce, Peace, Moon |
History
The Kembar are of the Meldūkh, spirits that were born at the beginning of time in the Halls of Creation. Mighty, they were, and radiant, for the light of Creation was in their faces, and they were filled with awe by all that they saw and discovered, and it is said that they were the joy of Creation given form. There in the place of their birth, the first songs were sung, and they danced and were glad.
Time in Creation
Blank
Gimīlhizar and Laegos at the borders of That Which Is
Soon one among the Meldūkh became restless, for, being enamored of the world’s beauty, he desired greatly to explore it, and learn all he could of its secrets, so as to love it all the better. Gimīlhizar he was, eldest and strongest. His eyes were far-seen, and he alone had wandered into the deep reaches of Creation’s realm. But his journeys were ever lonely, and oft had he missed his kin.
Therefore, Gimīlhizar came to the Meldūkh and bade them travel with him. However, only eight of his kin were moved by his summons; in them suddenly a wanderlust had awoken, and they longed for far horizons, and imagined new designs to which they might order the world. Thus they joined with him, and the Meldūkh looked upon them thereafter as a body apart.
At once Gimīlhizar prepared for the leaving, for he was eager to be gone; and he feared that his companions might yet be won over by more cautionary counsels, or find in the delay some new reason to remain. Thus his planning was done in haste, and he considered much in private, not suffering any advice or debate lest it slow them further. In this way his overlordship was affirmed, for his judgments went uncontested.
Journeys of the Kembar in Heaven
Anon they departed from the fair places of their homeland to parts unknown and unmeasured. Many colors and lores and shapes they found in their travels, and darker things; but ere long the desire grew in them to craft new instruments that could think thoughts other than their own, so that they might love and nurture them, and show them beauty, as Creation did in the beginning. Hence they came to a globed world, which is now named Nīmlad, the Sky and Sea; and they entered into it, and their power was poured into the World, and became bound to it, and flowered and withered it.
Elder Children
TBD
The Fall and the First War
TBD
The Last War
TBD
After the Binding
TBD
Attributes
The Kembar can take many forms, for their spirits are the whole of them and are not tied to earthly bodies as the Children are. But often they clothe themselves in “raiments” alike to their creations, some preferring male, others female, or both or neither, according to their disposition. These shapes typically appear radiant as if lit by a light within, although the Kembar can suppress this attribute if they wish to disguise their nature.
Etymology
The word Kembar literally translates as “ennead” or “group of nine”, being a combination of ken (“nine”) and the collective numeral suffix -bar.
Arkembar and Elkembar are merely the result of attaching the prefixes ar- (masculine) and el- (feminine) to Kembar.