[Earth] Cycle of the Threefold Threefolds

[Scott of Hyperborea]

[As some of you may know, I have been mostly working on the Hyperborean culture on Earth recently, as opposed to the one on Micras. On Earth, Hyperborea = Greenland, and flourished from about 3500 - 500 BC]The Cycle of the Threefold Threefolds is the last great work of Hyperborean poetry. Composed by a nameless bard from the city of Oromon in northern New England/southern Canada in around 480 BC, it tells the story of the destruction of Hyperborea and the three men who set out to save it. The name comes from the three books devoted to each of the three men, for a total of nine books in all.The number nine appears everywhere across the Cycle. Long considered a holy number among the Hyperboreans for various reasons (the number of celestial bodies was, for them, the Seven Wanderers plus the Sun and Moon, for a total of nine, and the Boreal word for nine, borate sounds very much like the word for Hyperborean, borele). Indeed, the very style of poetry in which the Cycle is written is called borate for its lines of nine syllables each. These syllables are not random, but follow a very strict pattern of stresses: USUUUSUSU. For example,Quote:Like polar bears, that sleep in winterEnveloped in the warmth of snow-driftsLay Thulel in its ashen blanketLay dreaming though enrapt in slumberSuch dreams as might be dreamt by citiesThe three men with whom the cycle deals are Romon Rithar, Kaluk Nudan, and Samakh Nibor, each of whom lived in the last generation of Hyperborea. The order of the books is as follows:Romona IRomona IISamakha IKaluka ISamakha IIRomona IIIKaluka IIKaluka IIISamakha IIIRomona I describes how, in S'3344 (554 BC) Mount Yaanek began to erupt, and how Romon, the Elder of Hyperborea, evacuates the government from Thulel to Taras.Romona II describes how the eruptions cause terrible famines, disease, and biting cold, so that the people begin to fear the end of the world. Romon decides after much soul-searching to order the evacuation of the people of Hyperborea across the frozen straits to North America, to the Hyperborean colony of Talon that already exists close to the Hudson River.Samakha I describes how Samakh Nibor, a powerful Councillor, objects to the plan on the grounds that it cannot save the Hyperborean culture. He proposes an alternate plan, in which they evacuate by sea to the nearby Hyperborean colony of Pajol in nothern Scandinavia. Romon objects to this plan on the grounds that it will be impossible to save the entire populace by ship. Samakh splits with Romon and decides to embark upon his plan himself, and convinces two of the southernmost cities to help finance the construction of the fleet.Kaluka I describes how Kaluk Nudan, governor of the Hyperborean colony of Retath, or Ireland, hearing of the troubles in his homeland, sent a massive fleet of ships to Hyperborea's aid, and how they returned to Retath filled with refugees from the four cities on Hyperborea's southeast coast, and many wonderful treasures.Samakha II describes how Samakh launches his fleet of ships, carrying many wonderful cultural treasures and thousands of hand-picked refugees. Truth and Beauty, who in their incarnated forms have determined beforehand that Hyperborea must perish, test Samakh with a series of trials, and on the last, he fails. They then destroy the nipila flower that Samakh has taken with him as an omen of his mission's failure. The fleet lands in Pajol with low morale, but quickly sets to work building the city into a great capital.Romona III describes how the mass migration across the Baffin Straits begins, and how many reach Talon and many more perish in the icy crossing. Romon himself insists on going last of all, without any more amenities or resources than the rest of his people. His wife dies in northern Canada, and he refuses to go on, and dies there as well. The Hyperboreans who have reached Talon rename it Oromon in his honor, and it too becomes a great capital.Kaluka II describes how the new inhabitants of Retath make a pact with its native people, the Vibogal, and set up a thriving civilization. However, scarcely had they been on Irish shores a generation when foreigners from the south invade. They appeal to Samakh, who is intent on reunifying the three remnants of Hyperborea, and pledge to swear loyalty to his capital in Pajol if he sends his forces to their defense. Samakh agrees and sends troops to Ireland, along with an expedition to Oromon to convince them to join forces and reunite the remnants of Hyperborea.Kaluka III describes the battles between the Hyperboreans and the invaders, and how despite the help of the Vibogal and Samakh, the Hyperborean forces are defeated and Kaluk is killed. The Hyperboreans in Ireland scatter into small bands, their political power broken, but the invaders view them and their technology with superstitious fear and either leave them alone or give them high honor.Samakha III describes the deliberations of the people of Oromon in response to Samakh's proposal to unite. They eventually return a negative answer to Pojol, and Samakh decides that the only way to show his sincerity is to cross the Atlantic and speak to the Oromonal himself. He orders Pajol's swiftest ship to bring him to Oromon, but falls sick in the middle of the journey. Knowing that his time is near, he asks the captain to divert course to the lost island of Hyperborea, and they land on the deserted city of Midhoth. There he dies and is buried on Hyperborean soil.More on these communities and their fates later, though some of you well versed in history and mythology might be able to figure it out yourselves. Also, I'm working on some excerpts from the Cycle (don't think I'll write the whole thing...) and have a bit of Samakha II that'll be ready soon. Edited by: Scott of Hyperborea  at: 3/19/05 15:04