First Demonic Dragon

"Interestingly enough, this is one of the few mythological ballads that does not detail a creation story.

The texts do credit an all powerful maker, but they give a bit more introspection into the relationship between the creator and his 'Shadow'. Stay updated on m v l e mpyr

This creator god supposedly made everything we know and don't know about the universe around us. To safeguard his creation, he created this monster, but what exactly he's supposed to be protecting us from isn't clear...

Supposedly, this Shadow waits somewhere deep down beneath us where there is no light, no time, or... much of anything really.

Periodically, the creator would come to 'take' the essence of this creature to create new things within the light.

Like new creatures who were not in the shape of man, and invisible forces to hold up the world, it's moon, and it's stars.

Unsurprisingly, the stories say the Shadow eventually lost his mind.

With it no longer acting as itself, the Shadow took the form of a bi-pedal dragon and began trying to destroy everything that it was supposed to protect.

It was bested by it's maker, but rather than slaying it, he took pity on it. He absolved him of his duty for the time being and took him into some alternate version of heaven.

Though this part of the myth has two different stories on what happened... One states that he was taken to heaven, the other says that he became it.

The language is mostly lost, so maybe we're just having difficulty translating it... For the sake of this study, we'll just say he was taken since it makes more sense going forward.

But what's interesting is that from the texts, we can infer some similarities between this version of the pearly gates and the more well-known Christian version.

It even seems to be populated by a race of winged people. The Shadow comes to spend time around seven of them to be more specific... Anyone noticing any more similarities to something here?"

A few members of the class nodded. The rest just kind of stared like dead fish.

"That's right, well, whether or not these are the seven archangels or not, it doesn't matter. It seems like the seven of them did not get along. The Shadow was either kicked out or left voluntarily."

A student raised his hand suddenly.

"Yes?"

"What was the disagreement about..?" A trash football player asked.

"Oh, that..? The Nevi'im word is 'tiichi', which to the best of our ability, we understand to mean responsibility or honor. So perhaps they had a disagreement about how best to serve in their divine purpose.

Anyways, after leaving heaven behind, the Shadow went back to everything that he'd ever known: the darkness.

This time, when his madness returned, he bested it all on his own. Maybe it was through meditation, or perhaps even a stiff drink.

As a result, his mind had been expanded, but not filled. Put simply, he became bored. So he ventured out to explore the 'above'.

But apparently, the mortal plane could not sustain the weight of his existence. So, he 'split' himself. He rose from the depths of the dark nothing as the fated Angel of The Abyss.

He created a form said to be so impossibly beautiful that it defies all mortal and divine description. He was said to enchant every living creature with but a single glance.

And some times, it didn't even have to be a living thing... Pay attention to that. It will be important later.

When the darkness and the nothingness bore witness to his form, these concepts immediately became infatuated with him. So much so that they formed their own bodies and souls to stay with him.

Two goddesses were born from the depths. One liking the form of a hound, the other of a bat. Together, their passionate love was said to warm even the ground underneath our feet. Perhaps this is what sparked the depictions of underworlds being hot.

When their days of divine snu-snu were at an end, they went to the lands above on a journey.

Now, this is where it goes interesting, because from here we can make certain inferences about the places they may have visited.

A text from Egypt speaks of three visitors traveling to the lands of Aaru to meet with gods and deceased souls. The angel of the abyss taught those worthy a kind of magic that captivated them.

And they were not alone.

Like Darkness and Nothing, Magic itself fell in love with him and formed her own body to follow him.

But another egyptian magic goddess supposedly became jealous and tried to strike her down. The newly born wife struck her down after a short battle, before fornicating with the others on top of her corpse."

"Kinky." One student whistled.

"There are a LOT of stories like that in this particular mythos. I'm sparing you all the time because you're such delicate and adorable babies who shouldn't have to hear such filth."

None of the students really looked like they were happy about that, but the professor wasn't changing his mind.

"Anyways, you bunch of deviants, they left shortly after and traveled to another land filled with ice and snow. It was wholly populated only by blue giants."

"Like jotunn?" One student asked.

"Well look at that, you kids really do pay attention. Yes, given their similarities, we can liken these giants to the norse jotunn. But again, these are just our inferences.

While honeymooning in the snow, it is said that they came across a nomadic tribe of these giants.

Now naturally, a tribe full of savages couldn't withstand their urge to rind their bodies against this egregiously sexy frouple, so they tried to take them by force.

...As a result, an entire race is said to have gone extinct that day.

The Angel of The Abyss is said to have conquered them so splendidly that it became a part of his being.

As he danced across the frozen land, the blood and snow that he stepped over longed for him just as the other concepts had. They also took on physical form and demanded to follow him.

Next, the lovers ventured towards a more wooded land populated to the brim with animals and long ears.

Because the race was weak, they took pity on them.

The angel and his wives taught them how to adapt, and how to defend themselves.

And just like before, Adaptation came to adore him. The flame that they cooked food over felt it could not live without him. Nature was entranced by him. Storms would not trouble him.

Four more women spontaneously emerged. To commence their union, they fornicated in the middle of the great forest... The, erm, 'nectar' of their love is said to have transformed this forest into a location of such beauty that it rivaled the garden of eden."

The classroom filled with snickers, but the professor just pretended that he could not hear them. It was the only way he would be able to get through his lesson at this point.

"Yea, yea, laugh it up. Anyways, the next texts seem to have them placed on a faraway island mountain in the aftermath of a Great War with lots of casualties.

The group made their first friends there, but there is no detail. They are only described as a mother of night, and a mother of harvest."

They hadn't gone into their unit on Greek mythology yet, or else the professor was sure that they might've made a few connections here.

"Sadly though, their friendship was cut short when a deity concocted a very elaborate plan to seduce one of the angel's wives... He didn't like that, so he killed all involved and leveled the mountain."

"What, no immaculate new wife this time?" A boy cracked.

"Just be patient, Tyson, I promise it's coming.

The next tale details a battle with a sea god that ends in surprising fashion. After slaying his enemy, he tosses his body in the heavenly ocean.

The waters were so moved by his display of power that they also came to life just to be with him.

And the last story is a bit strange to say the least. They speak of a strange man coming to find the group and offering his daughter to them.

He was secretive about their identities- but insisted that she was like them: creation personified.

The group prepared to deny him, as they had a notorious sense of jealousy and possessiveness that caused them not to shy away from first degree murder.

And yet, just as it had happened ten times before, the angel and his wives felt a connection with this woman.

At the very moment that they touched each other, the women were transformed.

They became one, beautiful woman who was their husband's true equal in beauty, power, and marital devotion.

But because this form is as powerful as his own unified body, they could not stay in it or else the lands that they treaded upon might have collapsed."

"I'm confused. Does the guy have eleven wives, or just one?" A student asked.

"…For now, we'll just go with 'yes'." The professor shrugged as he realized he didn't really have an answer.

"So that's it? This angel or dragon guy takes a walk around the divine realms and collects wives who birthed themselves into existence? Is that the whole unit?"

The professor smiled knowingly as if he was just waiting for someone to ask that question.

"Not at all, my dear. Not even close."