Menoth also known as the Lawgiver, the Creator, and the Shaper of Man, is a deity that is believed to be the creator of mankind. Menoth is often depicted as a towering masked giant and his existence and role as mankind's creator is believed by humans of both Immoren and Zu as well the as non-human worshipers of Dhunia.[1]
History[]
Humans believe that Menoth the Lawgiver arose from the formless chaos that predated Creation. He shaped Caen and its sun as an extension of his imperative to bring lasting order. Having arisen self-made, Menoth adopted a form that pleased him, one that was later echoed among his greatest creation: mankind. Menoth imposed his rigid order upon the turning of the seasons and the cycles of life and death. In his wake, humanity arose and began to gather into tribes. Soon from the unformed chaos came the Devourer Wurm, also called the Beast of All Shapes, a bestial and forever changing monstrosity that would quickly become Menoth’s greatest foe. The Devourer Wurm spawned an endless variety of ravenous beasts and the horrors of the wilderness. All predators and dangerous beasts are thought to have arisen from and be connected to the Wurm, and since the dawn of time they have beset the offspring of Menoth and the works of civilization. The Wurm was filled with an endless hunger and sought only to eat and kill, to destroy and rend what had been created. Menoth knew the Wurm at once for his enemy and they would clash again and again in an unending hunt, a battle that has occupied both of these primal powers since the dawn of creation.[1]
Dhunians believe that Dhunia was the primal god, to them Dhunia and Caen are synonymous, with the world described as the physical body of the goddess. In these legends, Dhunia wished a reprieve from the Wurm and so fostered a great hunter from the greatest of her children, which became Menoth, who was set upon the task of hunting the Devourer who had repeatedly ravaged her.[2]
This chase led Menoth and the Wurm away from the physical world to Urcaen, a spiritual mirror of Caen. Occupied by these battles, Menoth had no time to shelter or guide humanity, and the scattered tribes were left to their own devices in the wild places. Much of humanity forgot their Creator and many turned to worship the Wurm. All great predatory beasts and animals are seen as incarnations of the Wurm’s primal hunger, and the tribes serving the Wurm glorified these intermediaries. They worshiped the wolf, the bear, the eagle, the serpent, and carved totems in their gathering places and gave them offerings. Some went so far as to profane the Creator’s work by engaging in cannibalism.[1]
On learning that much of humanity had forgotten their Creator, Menoth became wrathful and returned his attention to Caen to reprimand the neglectful mortals however but the harsh indignities of human life tempered his rage. In the face of this fearsome manifestation, many human tribes abandoned their false gods and hastily sought to regain Menoth’s, while others fled deeper into the wilderness and refusing to give up their beliefs. Those who begged his forgiveness he treated with mercy and benevolence, bestowing upon them gifts that formed the foundation for Menite civilization: the Flame, the Wall, the Sheaf, and the Law and he promised to shelter his followers after death in a domain called the City of Man where the Wurm could not reach them while nothing but endless torment would await those who turned from him.[1]
Out of the gifts the Law is deemed the Creator’s greatest gift, representing the compact between Menoth and humanity, the agreements by which mankind settled into castes and tribes joined together to create the first cities. The largest tribe of Menites undertook a pilgrimage west, following their priests and battling the godless until they reached the shores of Meredius. Around 6500 BR, they founded the first great city of man, Icthier, a holy site where the words of the True Law were made manifest on stone, inscribed by the very hand of Menoth.[3]
The worship of Menoth is ancient, predating the Church of Morrow by millennia. Menoth is a strict, vengeful deity, credited by most humans (even those who follow the Twins) with the creation of the world and mankind. It's unquestionable that Menoth exists, for his priests were once the powerful ruling class of the land. Alas for Menoth, the more uplifting and tolerant message of Morrow began to take hold with the people, and today the worship of Menoth is a minority faith everywhere except the Protectorate. Outside of the Protectorate, the largest minority serving Menoth is among the "Old Faith" of Khador, where many citizens cling tenaciously to the worship of their ancient creator.
Menoth is usually depicted as a masked giant, towering over his frightened worshippers. He demands adherence to a strict code of conduct – part of which is providing constant tribute to Menoth and his priests. The notion that a man may "ascend," so central to the worship of Morrow and Thamar, is blasphemy in the church of Menoth. To Menoth, man's place is to serve his creator, and his reward is to pass quietly into oblivion.