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One day, Igel challenged Traritus to a duel and both were injured. They both fled into the mountains. With no war and no death, Itiphan rose from the earth and life began. With life came all the other gods. Traritus and Igel returned but the other gods stopped them from fighting, beating first Traritus and then Igel. From then on, war only happened with reason and boundaries were placed on Traritus to limit the destruction of all the things the other gods had built.

Soon the gods were fighting for power and in the end, Desonikas rose to the top and ruled over the other gods, on top of the world mountain. The world mountain was a place linking all corners of the world and allowed the gods to travel wherever they wanted. That mountain has been thought to have been Tyseran mountain in real life and the place where all the major gods resided. Because of this, they have become collectively known as the Tyserian's

Because of this great conflict that had taken place, Rophosion was awoken. He came from his caverns and into the light of the sun. He saw the godly order that was beginning to take shape and thought it weak. He also saw the potential of the earth, and wished to rule over it. With this thought in mind, he set out to take the earth as his own. He strode into battle against the surprised gods. They fought together in their weakened state, with Desonikas leading the charge. The battle shook the foundations of the planet and destroyed great swathes of land and sea. The Gods eventually triumphed, beating Rophosion back to the caverns, but they were shocked at what had been a near defeat. As punishment, they bound the creature with the strongest chains that could be forged and made a fearsome beast whom they named Kesinori telling him to kept Rophosion subdued. Lastly, they sealed off all entrances to the upper world with almost immovable rock.

Hekatinth: January

Ordekon: February

Akedon: March

Efidorus: April

Navet: May

Doykos: June

Holsis: July

Cetan: August

Iltimath: September

Nalske: October

Arethen: November

Gredery: December

The festival of the Gods is the largest festival but smaller festivals for individual gods are also held around Mzeusia. The festival of the Gods is a five-day event during Gredery [December] and it starts with visiting the pantheon in Mzikos, the capital city, where the entire festival will take place. In modern times, people visit their local pantheons instead.

On the first day, everyone will pray for something or give thanks for something. They will then sacrifice an animal. Then the competitors in the upcoming competitions, pray for good luck. Then everyone relaxes and the competitors can either do the same or continue to train. On the second day, poetry reading are held, plays performed, music played and victors are chosen but not revealed. On the third day, there are chariot races, horse races, foot races both long and short. The victors are chosen but not revealed. On the fourth day the competitions for spear throwing, wrestling and sword fighting take place. The victors are decided but not declared. On the fifth day, everyone whether competing or, not has the choice to have a fight. Everyone fights everyone with strict rules for what is not allowed. No armour and no weapons are allowed. No biting or gouging or scrathching or running. The last eleven men standing are the winners. Then every victor in the entire festival is announced. Then the victors thank the gods for their triumph and parade around the city before feasting.

If the baby is stillborn, then a seven-day fasting will begin and the parents will wear black. Then the parents take a candle to the Trarition [a building where candles are placed to remember the dead] and they place a candle for the life of their baby. The parents then leave and only come back with another child’s candle for mourning is not done here. Then usual funeral then takes place.

If the mother dies in childbirth, the father begins a thirty-day fasting and wears black for those thirty days. Then the father cuts a vertical cut across both palms and takes some of his blood and gives it over to candle makers who then dye the candle red with the father’s blood. Then the red candle is placed in the Trarition and the hair from the mother [given to the father at marriage] is scattered in a forest or from the top of a mountain by the father who does this alone. Then the usual funeral takes place.

While the physical body goes to grow the tree, the spirit of the deceased is accompanied to the gods by three figures, the warrior, the farmer and the politician. They are the embodiment of the different aspects that make up a perfect Mzeusian. A brave fighter, a hard worker and an engaged member of society. They help guide the dead person to the gods, and help the gods in their judgement.

When two people wanted to get married they would pray to Thethkan. The parents would decide whether the match was suitable enough and the decision was said to be made by Thethkan. Parents were not strict on who could marry whom and so they ceremonies would begin. First, an animal would be sacrificed and then the lovers would exchange a piece of their hair and then they would go to the temples of Thethken and Felitas and pray. Then they would have a feast and the family of both families would give them gifts. With that, the newly-wed could find a place to move into.

When Mzeusia would go to war, a sacrifice would be made to Desonikas, Traritus and Igel. A life-sized straw dummy would be set alight and the Priests in Mzikos would begin to pray to Traritus and then, as people heard it they would join in. The Praying would reach the ears of the boy up the mountain and then a Mzeusian youth called The Caller would light the beacon when he heard the prayer. The beacon would then be seen by other cities and the soldiers would get ready and the praying would begin hearing as well. More beacons would light until the whole of Mzeusia would be praying for a minute with the ripple effect of the prayers ending in Mzikos and then spreading out as each city came to the end.

The afterlife in Mzeusism was a very simple place indeed. The death of a person, meant that their spirit would go into growing the tree seed planted in their ashes and the body would go to be judged in front of all the gods. The evil would end up in Yerdral’s workshop, working away their evil with their own sweat by inventing things that Yerdral would toss to earth. It was believed that a lucky Mzeuian might pick the idea up and create whatever it was.

If the person was neither good or bad overall, the gods would erase their memory and leave them to wander the underworld. When a person’s body is set to wander the underworld, one of two things can happen. They can be become lost in the darkness and wander forever, or they can find light and be moved on to the Blessed land.

The Blessed land is where the good people go. Here they can have a good time and celebrate their victory over life and death. Alternatively, a good person can choose to be reborn.

Monsters were created when gods both major and minor, produced children either with other gods, humans or animals. There are many different species of monsters and they have been organised in alphabetical order. There are also spirits that are children of the gods. They reside in their individual river or forest or on top of their mountain as almost all geographical features have their own spirits. Given their huge number, they shall not be mentioned.

It was at this point that Igel decided to act. He knew a fight with his siblings would only result in a lost battle and being the god of war, he tended to know when the odds were not in his favour. He consoled himself with fighting monsters and any minor gods stupid enough to be around when he was nearby. One day, when Desonikas was out walking, enjoying the pleasant scenery that Itiphan had so generously provided, he came across something that troubled him greatly.

"What is this!" he bellowed, summoning all the rest of the Tyserian gods to him at once. Thethkan knew but spoke not. Before Desonikas, and now all the other gods, was a field of wild horses, all slain in the most brutal fashion. The sight sickened the gods as they tried to figure out who it might have been. Then Igel stepped in front of Desonikas, bowing low. "It was I who performed this most appalling deed."

Desonikas growled the wolf's growl and raised a mighty fist as if to strike the war god.

"I see now that it was wrong." Igel said hastily. "I may be the god of war and that position might suit me perfectly, but this was not war, it was slaughter against innocent creatures. In my frustration, I lashed out."

Desonikas had been feeling that same frustration along with all the other gods but he asked all the same. "Why do you feel frustrated?"

Igel shrugged before replying. "There is so little to do, so much space and nobody to talk to, nothing to conquer, no one to fight or fight with. I am a god but what of? The only violence that occurs couldn't be called a war, just an execution by a monster to an animal. How is that interesting in any way?"

The other gods began to mumble their agreement and so Desonikas decided to hold a meeting on mount Tyseran about what should be done. For months they deliberated but to no avail. In the end Desonikas called an end to the meeting, declaring that they should come back to the topic tomorrow.

Felitas, goddess of love and beauty had been feeling particularly distressed as there was no love to be found in all the world at this time, or so she thought. She descended Tyseran and heard something that intrigued her. She moved with incredible speed to the source of the sound and found two humans, sitting at the base of the mountain making strange noises. Felitas approached the two people with ferocious curiosity. "What are you doing?" She asked.

These humans were not stupid, and they got to their knees as the goddess drew near. "We were only laughing." said one.

"We mean no offence." added the other.

Felitas stopped and she thought for a moment. Then she let out a laugh so grating and so harsh that all the other gods apart from Igel fled, fearing it to be the cries of an enormous beast. Enraged, she ordered the humans to laugh again but they could not laugh on command and so they were unable to fulfil her request. When she asked them why they were laughing, they told her the joke. It took a while to explain it to her and all the humour in it was lost to them but to Felitas, the joke was still fresh, and she laughed the most beautiful laugh that has ever been heard.

Igel, thinking these humans had bewitched the goddess, raised his hand to obliterate the humans who ran away in fear when they saw him. Felitas scolded him and immediately called for the gods to be called back to Tyseran. When they had all arrived, Felitas told them of her discovery.

When Desonikas heard this news, he sent the gods out to kidnap two humans from each corner of Mzeusia and bring them back to the base of Tyseran. There, the humans were observed and protected by the gods although they were never aware that they were being watched. After their initial shock at leaving their homes, they began to get over any mistrust that had for each other and, as the months went by, they formed new relationships and built a small settlement. Over time, the gods added a few more people who were always received with open arms. With godly protection and the resources of the land, the humans hollowed out a cave and called it Tyseran, after the mountain it was built next to. In modern day, the city still bares that name.

The gods watched with fascination and delight as their little experiment revealed so much about these creatures they had once thought to be no more intelligent that beasts, were proving themselves to be quite resourceful. Infant mortality was extremely high, and fire hadn't been discovered yet but compared to anything else not divine, the humans were far and away the most advanced. Despite all this, it didn't take long for the people to die of the elements or lack of food. It was clear that civilisation still had a very long way to go but the gods considered the experiment a success and met on Tyseran to discuss what to do with this new-found knowledge

In the third Tyseran meeting, it was decided that the humans should be protected from utter destruction at the hands of monsters. This protection did not however, mean that they would have an easy life.

Under the gods supervision, the hollowed out cave dwellings became larger until Yerdral and Thethkan decided to shake things up. Thethkan gave the humans a rudimentary knowledge of the world around them and Yedral went to his workshop and worked for weeks, creating things that nobody had ever seen. With Thethkan's knowledge and Yedral's gifts, they began to progress much more rapidly. They made spears for hunting and defending the village, small straw huts and learnt how to forage.

Soon the other gods joined in. Desonikas watched and gaurded them with a fearsome pack of wolves, Epicras gave them fire and Igel taught them to attack and defend. Moglan showed them how to aid someone when they were wounded. The village of Tyseran was soon created, the first of its kind.

Soon the people grew curious as people do. They marvelled at their luck but thought there might be a higher power intervening. Had they been more careful, they would not have done what they did, but seeing no other way to test their theory, they decided to kill one of the wolves that had been guarding them. After days of trying to separate one from the pack, they grew angry. Little did they know, their attempts had confused and annoyed Desonikas and he had been almost convinced that humans were no better than they other animals.

When he saw men charge out of their huts with spears, yelling at the wolves and throwing their weapons, he shot down from Tyseran and landed between the humans and wolves. He appeared as a human but three times taller than their tallest warrior and twice as strong.

"What on earth are you doing?" He roared.

"Are you a god?" They asked, timidly.

"What do you think mortals? Of course I am." he answered, puffing out his chest.

The humans bowed lowed, dropping their weapons. "We deeply apologise."

The other gods saw what was happening and rushed over, appearing in their godly forms. The humans were over whelmed and they froze.

Two unfortunate monsters had been planning to attack the village and were in shock at the sight of the gods. Traritus spotted them looking stupidly at the scene. At a glance, one of the monsters fell dead. The humans, who hadn't noticed they were about to be attacked, raised their spears at the remaining monster.

"No." Traritus commanded, going over to the monster and bending down low. "You tell all the others this my friend. Tell them that the gods have made themselves known and all who do bow to us shall perish." With that, the monster fled the scene, shouting in panic a cry that would reach all Mzeusia.

When that was done, the gods told the humans their offer. Having been lonely for so long, they demanded that they be worshipped as higher beings and that in return, they would make the village prosper. The humans had little choice but to agree with all the Tyserian gods before them.

Now that the gods had revealed themselves, they went to all the spirits and monsters and humans and animals and gave them the same offer. Everywhere they went, their offer was accepted, except by the few monsters that there were. This, the gods found perplexing, given that they were all children of the gods. The monsters were adamant and they held a great meeting were thousands gathered. Giving up the reigns of power was a difficult thing for them to accept and it didn't take long for the monsters to reach a unanimous decision. They were going to oppose the god's rule.

The monsters gathered for a week so that their forces could arrive. They had chosen the mountain of Deralion as their base. When the end of the week arrived, they began their march to Tyseran.

Minital was making her way across the sky on Tesidok, her horse. She looked down and saw the ranks of the monster army. Immediately sensing their goal, she rode hastily back to Tyseran, her battle cry reaching every edge of Mzeusia. When she arrived at Tyseran, the monster army had almost reached the mountain and the gods where gathering for war. Moglan was the last to arrive but he was just as angry at this invasion as the rest of them.

Desonikas addressed the Tyserian's. "Moglan, you stay behind and heal us when we need it. Yerdral, after this battle, you must make us the best armour but as you have no time now, I demand your strength and courage. I demand the same thing from all of you. He howled into the wind, a chilling sound that drove fear into the enemies. "Tonight, we defend our home and our status. Let's show these upstarts what they have done."The gods yelled back their approval and descended Tyseran to meet the monsters.

The battle was earth-shattering. Desonikas was at the fore with Igel and Minital beside him, the three of them hammering into the monster lines. Moglan danced in between the carnage, touching the gods when they felt tired. Epicras riding majestically on Klipnophon, radiating light that burned all it touched. Traritus, usually looking bored with life, charged into the fray with his godly kin, slaying a hundred monsters with a sweep of his hand.

The battle was soon done, the gods were victorious and their children lay lifeless. Moglan healed what minor wounds the gods had received and they were all feeling jubilant. The first battle to keep their godly positions had been a decisive victory. It would not be the last competition they would face, but they were certainly off to a good start.

After the battle, the Tyserians were feeling rather insecure and annoyed. Now they had no monsters and their protection for the humans was not needed. Desonikas called a meeting on Tyseran where they decided that the world was too large a place for them to govern without cutting out all fun.

With this pressing matter pressuring them into action, the gods started to observe humans again. This time however, they studied them individually and marvelled once again at their personalities. They were all so different.
After a year of watching, the gods visited the humans that they had picked. What did they pick them for? To be the minor gods.

These humans had displayed extraordinary qualities of a certain kind. There was for example, an extremely loyal one called Hekatinth. He was visited by Desonikas and made the minor god of loyalty. With this method, around fifty minor gods were born to rule over specific aspects of the world.

To stop the minor gods revolting just like the monsters had, the Tyserian gods made each one declared undying loyalty to them and put a curse on them so that if any minor god tried to knowingly attack one of them, they would instantly fall dead.

With their power secure, the world was calm and peaceful, for now.

The minor gods disliked their limited power, but compared to their lives as humans, the status that came with being minor gods was a very advantageous thing. These new gods began to assert themselves in the human world, walking among them and meting out punishment to them when they saw fit. On other times, the minor gods were severely punished by the Major gods. The so-called myth of Fyniron and Agoanion is one such example. Before Deveskas became the god of violent storms, Fyniron occupied that position. Agoanion was a Mzeusian sailor, renowned for his skill at sailing in rough seas and making dangerous crossings with valuable possessions on board. One day, Fyniron spied his ship on the horizon. He was braving a storm with his crew, and Fyniron wanted to see just how tough he was.

A massive storm was whipped up, Fyniron making it larger and larger. The storm quickly became too large for even the great Agoanion to handle, and it tore his ship apart. Agoanion happened to be a favourite of Akses, god of the sea. When Normally Akses would have left Fyniron to his fun, not suspecting anything and not bothering to check on him. The storm was so unusually large however, that Akses grew curious and went to the sight of the wrecked ship.

When he saw Agoanion sinking to the bottom, drowned, he cried out in fury. Fyniron shook as Akses beckoned him over. All the sea-life stopped to watch what would happen.

"Why have you done this?" Akses roared.

"I was just bored father." Fyniron replied.

Akses was not impressed. "I'll send you to a place where you will never again be so bored as to drown like that again." With that, Akses summoned the full might of the sea and obliterated Fyniron where he stood.

Following the death of the minor god, Akses then appointed Deveskas to the position of god of violent storms, but that is a myth for another time.