Mythology Interlude · 3:33pm Sep 22nd, 2012
Part of the fun (and the torture) of writing The Greatest Of These is the almost whole-cloth construction of various mythologies that I've had to perform to get the story to make any sense. So far there's been a brief mention of a Unicorn myth - The Fall of Adara - and an even briefer mention of the Pegasi myth of Okeanos. It's safe to say that all the mythologies of the three tribes and other races are interwoven, in ways that will be revealed later in the story, whenever I get to that part...
It'll take a while. Here's a few notes to show you what I mean.
OKEANOS
In Greek myth, Oceanus, or Okeanos, was a pseudogeographical personification of the great world ocean, but was also said to be the final home of the mythological Pegasus, the winged horse who left springs wherever he stomped his might hooves and who did various deeds, mostly involving flying fast and being 20% more awesome than all the other demigods and personifications of natural events.
The mythology of the Pegasus tribe is a little more detailed. Okeanos is not merely a final resting place but the origin of the Pegasi.
Pegasus mythology is primarily concerned with the origin of the pegasus ability to control atmospheric phenomena. Their founding myth tells of the creation of the world by the Great Titans, who crafted the skies and the earth and set the pegasi amongst the clouds to act as messengers between the earth-bound unicorns and earth ponies, and the great Helios, god of the Sun.
Pegasus, the First One, the Great Warrior, was said to be a most beloved of Helios and the leader who drew his chariot across the sky each day, and who would return to his home of Okeanos each night to tend to his foals by Nephele, the goddess of the clouds.
One day the pride and jealousy of the Unicorns caused Helios to stumble, burning the tail of Pegasus. Helios blamed Pegasus for his fall and cast his lot with the Unicorns, who would now guide his chariot from afar, thus no longer risking that he should fall against sweaty pony flank. The Unicorns took this to mean they were the favoured race, but Pegasus disagreed, and set himself and his children against the Unicorns and Helios both.
His children fought many great battles with the Unicorns, forcing them into the high mountains where they lost the ability to farm and became reliant on the Earth Ponies for their food. They would use their newfound influence over Helios to deny the Earth Ponies light unless they fed the Unicorns. Pegasus vowed to defend the Earth Ponies and wrest back control of the sun.
Okeanos became the rallying point of the Pegasi, and their most sacred perch. The great sky tower soon threatened to touch Helios himself and would have forced him to alter his path, or treat with the Pegasi. In his anger he cast a great fire against the tower and destroyed it, and Pegasus along with it, forcing his children out into the world at large without a home.
Nephele took vengeance on Helios by granting the pegasi the ability to block his light from the earth by moving the clouds, and gave them the power to control the rain and water, along with great speed in their flight. The pegasi thus became the guardians of the sky and the rains, and the arbiters of who could see the face of Helios.
