Rockallic mythology

Rockallic mythology is the body of of the people of Rockall, loosely related to the  and. It is considered the best preserved of all Western European mythologies due to not reaching large parts of the islands, setting a framework for the continuation of the mythological tradition well through the Middle Ages into even the 21st century.

Though loosely related to the Norse and Celtic mythologies, Rockallic mythology has a very distinct nature that does not necessarily qualify its inclusion in either mythological family, and is therefore often considered to be a historically largely separate branch of general European mythology. It is preserved in two academically validated and maintained books: the Legendarium, which contains the most extensive of stories, describing the life of the All-Tree and all that lives on it from before its growth till the Forever-Silence; and the Prose Legendarium, a collection of tales about the various mythological aspects.

Rockallic mythology focuses on a variety of aspects that are considered important, including a total of 57 deities, nine trees, nine worlds, ten races, and countless demons and branches. Whereas the Legendarium tells one long story about the last life cycle of the central focus of all Rockallic mythology, namely the All-Tree, the Prose Legendarium features tales of interactions between deities and other entities, including giants, elves, and humanity. The tales also provide detailed descriptions of the worlds, including passages that are thought to be references to the, and.

Rockallic mythology has been an object of study for Rockallic scholars since Time Immemorial. It also attracted the interest of other European scientific traditions in the 17th and 18th centuries, and became a general subject of scholarly discourse in the late 19th century.

History
Rockallic mythology is pre-Christian, and is thought to have existed in its current form for over 2,500-3,000 years based on passages in texts from the Era of Clans. The earliest passage referencing Rockallic mythology is an approx. 2,000 years old tablet found in a in the Ravenwold, which contains the text:

The tablet, known as the Yellowlad Tablet, also contains several other passages alluding to mythological events, but this passage is the oldest known text to feature the name of one of the deities, namely Raven, who is the goddess of death and the namesake of the region wherein the tablet was found.

The book known as the Legendarium was first written in its entirety by an unknown scholar during the 4th century in An Bhá nan Éirith Ghréine and marks the beginning of a period where scholars and academics became authoraties on mythology. The Legendarium is written entirely in non-rhyming verse, as opposed to the Prose Legendarium, a bundle of approximately 1,000 tales that are considered to be integral parts of the mythology and was first used in that official capacity in the 11th century.

During the Era of Kingdoms, each of the that were located in current-day Rockall had their own official version of the Legendaria. Though different in some details, most Legendaria were largely similar to the others due to scholarly discourse between the different kingdoms, as in many kingdoms the scholars were the ones in charge of keeping the Legendaria. Nonetheless the different kingdoms each had different mythological traditions based on their version of the Legendaria, though they generally were accepting of the traditions of their fellow kingdoms.

Several of these mythological traditions were lost during the Christianisation of Rockall that took place in a limited number of places. Most notably the traditions of An Uinnia and Léubheithritha have been lost due to heavy Christianisation of those kingdoms, though most other traditions were never threatened and are indeed still alive to this day.

Deities and other creatures
See also: List of deities in Rockallic mythology.

Rockallic mythology describes 57 deities divided into two pantheons: the Twenty-two, also known as the Powerful, and the Thirty-five, also known as the Steadfast. Though some of these deities live in their respective associated worlds, many of them have their home elsewhere on the All-Tree, e.g. Grey Beard and Eagle, or have no home at all, e.g. Ever-Dream and That Ghostly Girl at the End of the Road. These deities are the most powerful creatures, and they can recruit creatures from other worlds as their servants. Their leaders are One and Forever-Equal, the two most powerful deities of all.

In additon to the two pantheons mentioned above, Rockallic mythology describes seven other races, namely the Light-Elves, Humans, Giants, Wraiths, Fire-wraiths, Ice-wraiths, and Dark-Elves. Creatures that cannot be categorised as belonging to any of these races are referred to as demons.