Saqi

The First/The Gods

• List of The First

  • The Mother of Many
  • The Father of Many
  • The Laughing Bringer of Humility (associated colors: green, purple, and pink.)
  • The Two-Faced Maker of Plenty (associated colors: red, white, grey)
  • The Twin Gods: The Fantastic Weaver of Spells and The Stalwart Master of Weapons (associated colors: black, gold, and silver)
  • The Great Singer of the Sea (associated colors: deep blue and sea foam green)

• Symbols

  Mother&Father of Many	A tadpole pond
  Laughing Bringer of Humility	A present box
  Two-Faced Maker of Plenty	A volcano
  Fantastic Weaver of Spells	A loom with runes on it
  Stalwart Master of Weapons	A Ribbit holding an axe
  Great Singer of the Sea	A singing froglet

• Domains

  • The Mother of Many:
  • The Father of Many:
  • The Laughing Bringer of Humility:
  • The Two-Faced Maker of Plenty:
  • The Fantastic Weaver of Spells:
  • The Stalwart Master of Weapons:
  • The Great Singer of the Sea: Bards, story tellers, sailors, fishers, and youth, and is also the guardian of coastal settlements.

• The Beginning

  First there were The Mother and The Father, forced to retreat to a hidden place by a storm in the unsafe and youthful world, they had only managed to save five of their children. They hid away, and made a home as best they could, protecting their young and nurturing them to grow strong enough to face the world that awaited them, and prayed to the ancient creatures of the elements for the best.
  
  One night, while The Mother and The Father guarded the pool that their young slept in, old and young beings of magic came to visit. The beings said
  
  "We are here to help, if you will let us. This world is too harsh, and while we will soon leave, we cannot leave it like this. If you allow us to bless your young, they could change it for the better."
  
  The Mother and The Father spoke amongst themselves, before asking what they planned to do,
  
  "We will grant your young some of our powers, and the ability to grow beyond what we will give, and then they could change this world to be a much better home."
  
  The Mother and The Father agreed, and showed them the five tadpoles, carefully watching the beings as they blessed them. After granting the sleeping tadpoles powers, the beings left, wishing the parents to fare well. Looking to their young again, The Mother and The Father saw that their tadpoles now had bright fantastic colors, ranging from warm to cold.
  
  Years then passed, and the tadpoles grew to tadlings, experimenting with their new legs in their teenaged life. This was when the first great change happened. In this old time, water was scarce, and finding it was near impossible, but the youngest loved to swim, and could not come to terms with one day being to big to.
  
  So, the youngest, the deep, deep blue one, with shifting sea foam stripes and skin that seemed to shimmer like water, stepped outside their cave, and onto the very edge of the cliff it was located on, and sang. They sang a song of rain, of storm, of waves gentle and destructive, a song about the sea not yet then created, and with their song, voice then existed, and water erupted into the world. With their song, fish swam to life, and swarmed to The Great Singer of the Sea, who filled their arms with them, and rushed back inside.
  
  Now that the sea and ocean covered the earth, and The Great Singer of the Sea took on a new name, and taught their family to speak with the clarity they had created, and their older siblings began to explore the altered world.
  
  Next to create, were the twins, black and gold like bottomless depth and endless wealth, with silver freckles dotting their backs like stars in the night.
  
  The twins stepped outside, and viewed the world their younger sibling had changed.
  "How will we travel?" Asked the one that loved to listen.
  "We could hop between the rocks." Said the one that was quick to act.
  The one that was quick to act, then leapt, aiming for a rock not too far, but back then, our legs we short, and weak. The one that was quick to act then swam back to the shore, and climbed out, leaping again, then swimming, then leaping, determined to reach the rock, and by the time they did, their arms and legs had grown strong, able to launch them as far as they liked, and speed them through the waters with ease. With this, we began to be able to walk, swim, and jump like we do now.
  
  After watching their twin, the one that loved to listen mimicked what they did, and improved upon it, and was soon able to match their twin in travel speed, and was then followed by their siblings and parents. The one that loved to listen then explored, listening to the world, watching it, sensing it.
  
  The one who loved to listen then found rocks, and sticks, and vines, and brought them back home. The one that was quick to act, then spoke to The Great Singer of the Sea, and said:
  "We should use these, and see who can make the better tool and bring in the most fish!"
  "Whoever can get the most fish in two suns wins!" Excitedly yelled The Great Singer of the Sea.
  The one that was quick to act then swiftly tied a rock to a stick with the vine, sharpened it against another rock, and created the first spear. Seeing this, The Great Singer of the Sea took a stick, some vines and tied them together, and then took a rock, and carved it into the first hook.
  
  The two then stepped out, and The Great Singer of the Sea cast their line into the water, while the one that was quick to act dove in headfirst, at first, the older of the two competing siblings was winning, before the younger was struck with an idea, and put some food on the end of their hook, and tossed it back out again, and so began the practice of fishing.
  By the end of the first day, the one that was quick to act was tired, and needed to rest, but The Great Singer of the Sea still had plenty of energy, and was cheerfully singing a quiet song as they fished, taking pieces from the fish they caught and using them as bait for more.
  
  The one that was quick to act saw this, and quickly started experimenting with the rocks, sticks, and vines that the one who loved to listen had continued to bring home. The one that was quick to act soon made many weapons that we now know as swords, bows, harpoons, axes, and much more. The one that was quick to act used every one of these to try and win the competition, but in the end could not best their younger sibling, who could calmly sit and sing, without expending much energy, and still bring in many fish.
  
  "I've lost! I put in more effort and lost! I made more tools and lost!" Yelled the one that was quick to act.
  "But now we have more than enough to eat, and you could find new uses for these tools." Comforted the one that loved to listen.
  "Just because our younger sibling, The Great Singer of the Sea, can fish better, does not mean that you are not better in some other way." The one that loved to listen continued.
  
  With this, the one that was quick to act realized their twin was right, and then began to experiment with their tools. One day, while practicing with their weapons while their twin sat aside and listened to the world around them, something began to close in from above.
  
  "Look out!" Cried the one that loved to listen, as a great beaked bird swooped down and tried to snag the one that was quick to act.
  
  The one that was quick to act then quickly slashed at the bird with sword, and when it broke they stabbed them with spear, and soon had cycled through all their weapons and were all but defenseless. Seeing this, the one that loved to listen now jumped to action, and moved their hands as they spoke:
  
  "Please, I listen to you, now I ask you listen to me, save my sibling and rid us of that beast!"
  
  And the world listened. Moving their hands as though quickly weaving, The Fantastic Weaver of Spells repaired and strengthened their twin's weapons, and stunned the bird with a spell, while The Stalwart Master of Weapons lunged at the bird and slew it in one final slash.
  
  The second oldest sibling, with colors neatly split down the middle, one side deep red, and the other cloud white, with dull day grey splotches symmetrically scattered across their body.
  The second oldest was clever, while their three younger siblings created, fought, hunted, and scavenged, they explored. The second oldest examined the earth, the plants, the water, and imagined what could be made.
  
  As the second oldest sibling wandered and wondered, they encountered a dry spot, with sticks and rocks laying around, it was so hot too. This, gave the second oldest an idea, for they had seen their younger siblings create from nothing, through song and through spell, as well as seen them create from something, so why not try it themself?
  
  The second oldest sibling, thinking and pondering, gathered up the sticks, in this dry, hot, spot, and picked up two rocks, one in each hand, and struck them together over the sticks, but nothing happened. Again they tried, but again it was for naught, so now they spoke to themself,
  
  "Perhaps I should think, only nothing will happen if I have no goal."
  
  So the second oldest sibling thought, they thought of how cold it got at night, how the sea air bit at them in their cave, how could they keep warm? The second oldest thought, they thought of how much energy it took to swim and leap, just to get a short distance away, and only to come right back, how could they make travel easier?
  
  The second oldest sibling then realized, if they could make heat portable, they could keep warm, and if they could pull the rocks and dirt from beneath their youngest siblings oceans, they could make travel easier. So the second oldest sibling set about looking at the world again, before they thought to look up, above was the sun, bright and warm, it did not hurt the second oldest to look at it, and it gave them the thought they needed: fire.
  
  The second oldest picked up the stones again, and struck them with the speed of lightning together, creating the first sparks, and then the first fire, warmth made portable, but the second oldest wasn't satisfied, they found something sharp, a broken sword that The Stalwart Master of Weapons had made and abandoned, the second oldest sibling picked it up.
  
  "I name you fire, and wish for you to be able to do more, right now you can only warm, but you should be able to protect and harm as well." The second oldest sibling spoke, and tossed the broken sword in.
  
  The first fire grew, turning from soft comforting yellow and orange, to flaring red and gold, with grey smoke rising from it. With this, the second oldest grabbed another stick, and carried the fire elsewhere. Soon the second oldest arrived at a large mountain, full of cold stone, and the second oldest said
  
  "There is far too much sea, so let's spread forth the land."
  
  And dropped the first fire to the cold stone, which immediately began to melt and churn.
  
  "I am the earth made hot, I am fire turned to stone, now made liquid, tell me how I can become more!" Bellowed the ravenous heat.
  
  "Spew forth into the sea, and I will give you a new name to match your new power." Said the second oldest sibling.
  
  And so spewed forth what would soon be known as lava from a volcano, launching melted stone and heat from the unfathomable depths of the world, brought forth by the second oldest sibling's fire. The lava hit the water, and cooled into new land, but some sparks and rocks came far to close to the second oldest sibling's home and family, so it was that when the volcano could spew no more, the second oldest sibling said.
  
  "I call you volcano, and the hot rock you spew lava, but I never said I'd let you stay intelligent, and I saw you aiming for my family. For that, I banish you away your intelligence to someplace far."
  
  And with those words, a being of pure lava burst into existence, and disappeared in a flash of heat, as the volcano fell silent, it's last words a curse upon the second oldest, that one day they will be repaid in kind for what they had done. The second oldest sibling went back home to check on their family, and found their youngest sibling, The Great Singer of the Sea, hurt.
  
  The second oldest sibling inspected the wound, and quickly left to find something to help, finding plants, and water, and earth, they carefully gathered it all up, and sprinted back. Upon returning the second oldest sibling tended to The Great Singer of the Sea's burns and bumps, feeding them a berry that shined like early spring to help them heal.
  With this, The Great Singer of the Sea grew healthier, but no longer grew in age.
  
  The second oldest sibling then explored the land they created, it was scattered, and varied in size, but they found the ground welcomed new life. The second oldest sibling gathered the dirt from these lands and spread it far and wide, and then planted within it seeds, seeds from plants that grew food, seeds from plants that grew medicine, and seeds from plants that could harm if touched incorrectly, or eaten.
  
  Soon, the second oldest went on to create the first pots, pans, and glass things, vials and bottles, shovels and rakes, they took from the land to give to those that lived on it, took from those who lived on the land for it, and created with what they took from both, and so became The Two-Faced Maker of Plenty.
  
  Last of the five to gain a name, the oldest sibling, green as grass and leaves, with purple stripes on their body and pink spots on their legs, they watch their siblings create and alter the world, yet never truly explore it.
  The oldest sibling had always loved to laugh, to play and to jest, so when they saw their siblings grow lazy, grow complacent, they knew something needed to be done, and just what to do.
  
  The oldest sibling set up a series of pranks, created new fish and asked
  
  "Singer,

• Trivia

  While Ribbits pay respect to all of The First, they tend towards focusing on the one's the affect them most. Such as how coastal settlements, sailors, musicians, storytellers, and fishers, will primarily pray to The Great Singer of The Sea, while those that live further inland, farmers, crafters, and thieves will pray to The Two-Faced Maker of Plenty.
  
  Ribbits with colors and patterns like that of any of the given gods are respected like a first born descendants of The First.
  
  While Ribbits call their Gods "The First" this is more in reference to them being the first steps towards modern Ribbits and life, as there were plenty of other Ribbits back then, they were just scattered and had no proper settlements yet.
  
  The Mother Many and The Father of Many's followers tend to be medics, child caregivers, and teachers, working to the best of their ability to help parents and their children.
  
  While they have no special powers in the stories, The Mother of Many and The Father of Many are respected as the parents of the other gods, because if they had never had children, or fate forbid, not saved the five most well known of their children, then the world, and Ribbits, would never have changed into what they are now.

• Holidays

  The name's of the holidays, when in reference to the holidays, are pronounced differently than they would be when in reference to whatever else may be referred to by that word in Ribbit. Ex: Mist (holiday) vs mist/Mist (the type of fog)
  
  Year's Dawn/Year's Dusk: The new years equivalent for Ribbits, this holiday is split into two halves, each of which takes two days to celebrate, and are generally celebrated around the end of summer, and then again at the beginning of spring.

  • Year's Dusk, the first half, is celebrated as the days turns cold and dark, and is a time to spend with friends and family, warm drinks and hearty foods are made during this time.
    
  • Year's dawn is then celebrated when it starts to become warmer and the days longer, with cold drinks and sweet foods being the staple, now is a time to explore, to wander, and to prepare for coming fruit harvests.

  
  Mist: Mist takes place in late Autumn, or whenever else it is foggy-est. Mist celebrations involve lighting bonfires, telling stories, singing songs, exchanging presents, and feasting, some tadlings and froglets even dress up as the different gods to play pranks.
  
  Drifter:

• Death Rites

  The death rites vary from tribe to tribe, based on who their mainstay patron is, what normally happens is: The tribe's patron is honored, and personal patron of the deceased is honored, and The Song of Passage is sung. While it is primarily The Great Singer of the Sea who has musical ties, Ribbit culture is very musically influenced in general.
  
  The Song of Passage is sung to call to the soul of the deceased, and send them to The First Home. This is where the souls rest of The Mother of Many and The Father of Many's children went, rather than oblivion, they were found by the same beings that blessed The First, and created a place for the Ribbit souls can find rest, and possibly even aid The First after death.
  
  Once The Song o Passage has been sung to completion, originally, the body would be placed within the catacombs of a temple to their personal patron, though after a horrific event involving a necromancer of some sort, the bodies are burned, and the bones turned to dust and scattered.