Old God

The Old Gods, also known as Pangaeans, were inhabitants of the Border Marches before the fall of Urfarah.

Overview

Beings of both Flesh and spirit, the Pangaeans were animal-headed beings venerated by the Vinča and, both prior to the Vinča's end and after, Uratha.^[1] Over time, however, knowledge of their nature has faded; the werewolves, the only group who still truly worship one of the Old Gods, believe Father Wolf to merely have been a spirit.^[2]

Known Old Gods

• Boar^[1]
• Bull: Bull was one of the two Pangaeans to willingly cede their omphalos to the Vinča Wise.^[3] Aurochs had the favor of Bull, and killing one required penitence.^[4] Bull represented strength, determination, and hardiness, in addition to magic tied to food and fertility.^[5]
• Bird: Sometimes identified with Snake, these twin deities acted as protectors of the River.^[1] Bird was one of the two Old Gods willing to cede their omphalos to the Vinča Wise.^[3] The Vinča saw elderly women as being closest to Bird among their own.^[6] Both Bird and Wolf gave favor to those who wield bows.^[7] Bird represented change, wisdom, and magic tied to prognostication and perception.^[5]
• Cat^[1]
• Crocodile: Crocodile is a dead Pangaean. After Wolf’s death howl brought an end to Pangaea, Crocodile’s divine carcass slowly transformed into something entirely of the Flesh, but the god’s cold, reptilian hunger still echoes within its corpse and taints the land around it.^[8]
• Fox: Described as "wise and vermillion", Fox was the first of the Old Gods to be murdered by the Wise so as to steal her omphalos stone.^[9]
• Snake: Sometimes identified with Bird, these twin deities acted as protectors of the River.^[1] Snake disapproved of hunters' use of javelins, as the motion to throw them was too similar to that of a striking snake.^[7] Snake represented fortune, water, the soul, the self, and the magic of healing.^[5]
• Wolf: Known to the Uratha and to Vinča hunters as "Father Wolf" or Urfarah, Wolf was once a central figure to the Vinča, presiding over the hunt, but eventually descended in importance and was relegated to the edges of the wilds.^[1] Both Bird and Wolf gave favor to those who wield bows.^[7] Wolf represented desire, hunger, death, blood, and magic tied to violence and destruction.^[5] It was Wolf's mandate that denied the right of spirits to cross into the world of flesh and vice versa, a mandate enforced by his children;^[4] when Urfarah died, his death howls destroyed the Border Marches and instituted the new balance: The Shadow, the material realm, and the Gauntlet between.^[10]

References