Meirgan

An artist's concept of what Meirgan may have looked like before Subversion.

Meirgan (Lyrian: "One Who Devours"), also commonly called Abmunos (Tai'ora: "The Predatory Dark Land"), Mōrwan (Aranese: "Hell of Man"), and The Mire, is a realm located within Gryka. Formerly known as a paradise, the realm was diluted into a dark hell (along with the rest of Gryka) when Kutaru contributed to the Subversion of the Firmament. The realm is famous for formerly housing the Ruran, as well as being the "mechanism of death", what many describe as being a machine or magical abomination that is forever doomed to tear apart the souls of the once-living. Many religions, including the Collective and most of its splinter churches, believe that Meirgan was once the dwelling place of the Apex Gods.

Appearance & Geography

Although little is known about Meirgan's topography, trusted records in myth collections such as the Tenebra Manifest and the Dengora indicate that the area was extremely lush and beautiful before Kutaru had invaded. Myths in the Manifest describe large temples upon forested mounts, overlooking elysian grass and flower fields. However, Meirgan seemed to exist for a shorter time as a paradise, and is much more famous for its hellish landscape after its transformation.

Post-Subversion, Meirgan is described by several accounts as a land of the most concentrated darkness, taking on a limitlessly intangible form that is barely understood by mortal scholars. Descriptions vary anywhere from a more understandable land of hell and torment, where molten ash fills the air and the ground is a complex web of vine-like darkness, necrotic to the touch of mortal flesh and corrosive to most substances. Accounts of a stranger nature are common among those who have claimed to visit Meirgan and return living. These few describe the land as an infinite dark sphere, no light in sight but the roaring fires from the incomprehensible revolving wheel of Meirgan's soul-devouring center. The air is cold as ice, but burns like fire in the lungs, each breath drawn in pure agony. Kutaru can be seen patrolling the innermost regions of the realm, in an amorphous form of fire and darkness, that eminates fear and loathing just be mere proximity of it.

History

The earliest book of the Tenebra Manifest, the Provenance of Laira, introduces Meirgan during the creation of it and its twin, Atheryin, by Ugana. At first the two sat separate and independent, but Kutaru proposed that Meirgan be harbored within Gryka, the Darkness, in order to keep it protected from any outside threat. Ugana approved of the idea, and even decided that she and her two sons should live within the realm, where they could create the universe from safety and comfort. This is also the first time the Ruran is mentioned by Ugana, who places it inside the realm to be protected.

Kutaru's Corruption & Birth of Kaias

Although Meirgan itself does not play a crucial role in Kutaru's corruption, it is ultimately affected when it meets its fate during the Subversion of the Firmament. When Kutaru attempted to steal the soul of Kutsal in order to keep himself alive, Kutsal roared so loud that it fractured Kutaru's already weak soul into several tattered pieces. This created phoenixes, and also caused Kutaru to seek refuge in the outer reaches of Gryka, anchoring himself in a hidden place near Meirgan, to regain his power and plot his brother and mother's demise.

Shortly after, Kutsal wanders through the golden fields of Meirgan, and stumbles upon a columbine bud. It's unclear where the bud originates from, but a woman emerges from the bud, and Kutsal is in awe of her beauty. She presents herself as Kaias, goddess of love and beauty, and queen of all prey, and anything that eats food from the earth (i.e. plants, vegetables, fruits). Kutsal accepts her, calling her fair and kind, and brings her back to the House on the Mount, where Ugana welcomes her and Kutsal, bearing a feast of fruits and breads that she offers to Kaias.