Vee the Scoundrel

In the beginning, there were Three. Their names were Arc, the Ruler, and her children, Vee, the Scoundrel, and Ris, the Dancer. They began all alone in the world. They lived on Kallimar, but Arc was not content.

“I have built this world”, she said, “And yet it has no life”. So, she created creatures from sticks and clay to inhabit the world, and breathed life into them. And in this world, she was declared Ruler, and all who laid eyes upon her were subject to her will. Her creatures were mindless, devoid of life and hope and ingenuity, driven to do her bidding, and hers alone.

Vee and Ris, who had played with these creatures when they were young, were upset to see this.

“Mother”, Ris cried, “How can you treat them this way, are they not beings of their own?”. His cries fell short, as Arc turned him away scornfully.

So Vee took his brother aside, and said, “If she refuses to let them live and create and dance, then we must be the ones to save them.”

The siblings stole into Arc's palace at night, and broke into the gardens where Arc kept the Flowers of Ingenuity, which she used to build all of her creations. Vee and Ris took half each, and began to sneak out of the palace.

However, on their way out, Ris knocked into a great brass urn, sending it tumbling to the floor and waking up his mother, Arc.

The siblings fled. Vee escaped into the night, but Ris was not fast enough.

“My own Son,” Arc declared, “Has turned against me. This crime shall not go unpunished.”

And so Arc took her son and ripped him to pieces, scattering the shards of Ris to the edges of the world, all while Vee watched from the darkness.

Now left with only half the Flowers of Ingenuity, Vee went over the world, giving each creature one of these Flowers, and thus giving them creativity and life. As they did so, Vee also searched for the remains of his brother, Ris. It took him half a lifetime, but they gathered up all the pieces of Ris, and built a new set of creatures, as they had once seen their mother do all that time ago. Inside each, they placed a part of Ris, and a Flower of Ingenuity, and released them into the world Arc created. These creatures were named the Rissi, and they loved and danced as Vee's brother once did.

And with their ingenuity, they learnt, and they built, and they grew. Discovered fire, and built forges with it. Created language, from which they wove books, poetry and plays. With this newfound gift, they evolved, each generation becoming more learned than the one before.

Vee, the Scoundrel, is now the god who lives in Shadows, hiding from their mother, Arc. When you see a face in the darkness, leering out at you, that is Vee. Or when you hear a crash when alone at night, that is Vee. But don't be afraid, for Vee is there to watch over you, so they can watch over the descendants of their brother, Ris, whom they loved.

[Translator's Note: This is a retelling of the creation myth of Arc, Ris and Vee, by the ancient Rissi author Tellna Ostrybius. It's had some very notable changes from the original, in that the roles of Arc and Vee are reversed, with Arc originally being a benevolent artist/creator now being a tyrant, and Vee going from “Thief” to “Scoundrel”. Ostrybius was an outspoken critic of those in power at the time, no doubt leading to this re-interpretation of the story. Ostrybius was labelled a “dissident” due to their plays and poems involving anti-authoritarian retellings of many Rissi myths in this style, and was eventually exiled.]