Chapter 1: Veronyka Soth's Fury is a series of caverns named by the ancient Pyraean people who that believed the south wind--called Soth--was wicked and vengeful, blowing storms and chaos up into the mountains from the valley below. Only Soth could carve such deep, destructive paths through the mountain, creating shadowy places in the world where Axura's light could not touch. Soth was more superstition than true god, at least to the people of Pyra, and a product of lower rim communities who mingled more with the valley civilizations and their diverse, wide-reaching pantheon. The word itself has similarly unknown origins, and most historians believe that the god may have been adopted from the mysterious Lowland civilization that was later wiped out by Lyra the Defender and her Red Horde after the Lowlanders tried to invade Pyra. The tradition of naming nature gods is a popular custom of the Arborian people, possibly suggesting a unified ancestry with the Lowland civilization. For example, the people of Arboria pray to Nors, the fair north wind, for good weather and safe travel to this day. --"Weather and Nature Deities," from Obscure Gods and Goddesses of the Golden Empire , by Nala, Priestess of Mori, published 84 AE Excerpted from Heart of Flames by Nicki Pau Preto All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
