The Wyrmkin of Ramaratha

Note: The story below will appear in an upcoming novel in the Phantammeron epic fantasy series. The tale of Ramaratha will appear in books two (2) or three (3) of the Phantammeron. As of 2015, only book one (1) of the Phantammeron has been released, and is for sale as an eBook at Amazon Kindle. Books two (2) and three (3) will appear in 2016 and 2017. – the author

In the novel, the representation of eternal night and void is represented as a black serpent originally a son of the Endless Night who perishes in Book One of the Phantammeron. This serpent of shadow represents, initially, a dark form of evil, bearing the stamp of the evil Nothingness who has sent the Nightmare Unending into its heart long ago. The black serpent symbolizes a destructive or devouring force opposing the will of good, of light, and of the Sacred Waters of the pool.

The Creation Myth in the book is much richer in laying out a framework for this concept, having wrapped the story around “The Fall of Man” concept as well and a garden….you can most likely fathom where this leads. A garden, a tree with a pool, a temptation, etc. But the serpent mythology is much richer than first perceived. This creature or son of the mother also represents a cleansing, and regeneration, and temptation, and change. We know such things are vital to any good story, so I perceive the serpent as a very critical factor in the story overall.

Often times, writers only perceive good and evil in their books. I wanted to get beyond that idea, but it has been very difficult. In the case of this shadow serpent, there is a very definite association of the beast with evil. Yet, more than this, it is a representation of death and also darkness. This creature I call Ramaratha, by the way. The story of a later form of the beast as a spirit that dwells untamed in the Land of the Phantammeron, is described below. But, I am interested in the force and power of the serpent as a shadowy presence and all-encompassing essence of darkness that pervades the world of the Phantammeron.

All things dark and sinister, save the workings of Bala and his minions, originate with Ramaratha. One of these sinister things originating from the essence of the serpent, and which is used by the powers representing magic and alchemical arts in the book, is the dragon, or wyrmkin. The primeval powers of the evil dragons in the later Phantammeron books originates from Ramaratha. Like him, they all share a part of his shadows and presence and power over other creatures in the world of the Phantammeron. I was really interested in connecting back some kind of hidden mythology behind the dragon itself, but more so in my book. In Ramaratha, is that now attained. I needed a very ancient and old origination story for these creatures, as I wanted to have a really rich and sinister view of the dragon in the book and all the different kinds of dragons that would exist in the worlds I was creating.

In essence, the spirits of dragons are summoned by ancient necromancers, or magi, who steal small parts of the essences of Ramaratha’s soul and being, harnessing them as beasts of war against the Children of Shining in later books. Like Ramaratha, there was an opposing creature of Light, called Shavalima, or the White Hawk who’s presence lay around the lands of Fey. So too, good wizards stole the formulas used for the evil dragons and created dragons of light. The two opposing forces line up that way, and are then easily used in the book, as a background element when these beasts appear in various literature surrounding the Phantammeron.

Anyway, the origination story is my main interest here and that is outlined in more depth in the book itself. But a sample snippet of this dragon or wyrmkin origination myth idea is described below:

When the Great Devouring Serpent, the flesh of the ancient Gomi of Chaos, Ramaratha, was divided up, great shadows and darkness was unleashed upon the world of Adda. Atar, Mother-Earth, who’s sacred body formed the world, was then wrapped in the evil light-devouring shadows of Ramaratha and it was driven to the outer shelf of the world in the lands where desert lands and entropic watery wastelands of the oceans both meet far to the west. Many of the creatures and beasts of the world fled in terror when the spirit descended upon the land and some sought shelter in the deepest and darkest bowels of the earth where Ramaratha would call them home to her as its spirit crept eastward over the eons. Other beasts took to the heavens in flight, hiding amongst the cloud tops and the purple arch of heaven. Others took to the misty woods, and others hid in cold mountain glaciers and ice caverns in the frigid northern realms.

Yet, Ramarathas shadow penetrated the hearts of many things across many lands and hidden alcoves, such that those left alone soon slithered in secret contemplating vile and murderous plots against their fellow creature, tempted by the destructive shadow’s presence. But his spirit was pervasive in the minds of men and beast alike, and many succumbed to its lascivious temptations of wealth and power. In time, many followed its long inky shadowy tails to the depths of their source using ancient trails lost amongst caverns and black precipices deep underground in the great maw of the black beast. In that hidden place on the edge of the world, Ramaratha drew to him armies of creatures and monstrous things unknown to the world since ancient times. All fell to one allegiance to him as a single black army, enslaved to his will and evil desires to feed on the living, enslave the undead, and to destroy the sources of all light and hope in the world.

But when his armies dispersed in fear following his many defeats in battle with the Faerie, Ramaratha came forth in anger with a new evil. For at every dark moon he belched forth a demonic tide of demons and devils, winged beasts of prey, and stunted and perverted hominids and horned things that howl in the night. His greatest creations were his black paladins, who rode on horseback, and wielding cursed armor and weapons, commanding his armies to fiercer and fiercer trials of strength and battle stratagem against the armies of the surface dwellers. Enslaved and in turn enslaving and torturing others, his minions rose up from the depths of Adda and into the half-light of the world, and many great and beautiful things, thought impenetrable, fell before them. In time, all things living on the perimeter of the world, civilizations and cities, and all who sought the light of day, fled before them in terror. For in their wake, the undead walked the earth and the unholy darkness and mist consumed all that was left standing.

It was from this time of failing hopes rose a pack of wizards and necromancers who’s hearts had fought the shadow, yet in their own unquenchable desire for power over the world, were perverted by the serpent in time. They in turn, sought yet to pervert the world further towards the will of Ramaratha through the Black Arts, which he revealed to them, giving them unknown powers over the elements and the earth they had never come close to achieving alone. So that in time, the black wizards separated from the good and attained great power. They in turn spread their evil, training others and in building huge black stormy rain-wrapped castles and keeps that housed great libraries and codex’s where were scribed the dark spells by their legions of acolytes. These in turn were passed through generations and perfected by many apprentices, such that in time many great wizards controlled the elements, and retained powers over vast legions of night creatures and demons. The price paid by so many often was their undoing, under the hands of death by the very monstrous atrocities they themselves summoned from the underverse. In time, even the wizards themselves formed a league of powerful forces, and fought Ramaratha in the underworld. This age of war lasted thousands of years. In this battle came forth a lone magi named Tobin, who it was said, made a bargain with Ramaratha. In exchange for the source of an unbridled wizards power, he was given a series of spells that allowed him to create terrible beasts, originating from the very heart of Ramaratha. These were called the Wyrmkind, or dragons.

And so from Tobin, and later the wizard Lir, are the first and most ancient of dragons set free to do battle and collects mounds of fabulous treasures in the underworld caverns beneath Anatar. This then, is a tiny backstory to the Wyrmkind and the dragons. This sets the stage for their small yet violent role in what will unfold in later my Phantammeron books.



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