Positioning of the gods
Following on from my investigations into the possibility that certain systems named after deities hold some unknown spacial alignment, please find below the following data.
These lists are not definitive and may be edited over time.
Thunder and Storm gods
Systems named after thunder or storm gods are positioned tightly around Sol in a bubble, the large majority are above Sol, these collectively sit above those systems named after rivers etc. This sector is also attributed to various ‘upper gods’ also.
River gods
Systems named after various river goods are positioned just below this ‘thunder zone’. They also look to slope downwards towards the zone identified as the Lost Realms.
Underworld gods
Systems named after death or rulers of the underworld are sparsely grouped below the river zone , with a distinct slope towards or with a focal point in the Lost Realms zone.
Fertility, paternity and death
Systems named after fertility deities are positioned just below the Lost Realm zone. Those with death are in the same zone as those of the underworld. Those with paternity are in the same zone as those of thunder.
Additional boundary layers of waters
In game there are a set of systems with bodies named after Mountains. Directly above and below these are two systems identified with triad goddesses.
In between these are systems linked to story of
Gilgamesh, linked to mountains and the primordial waters of creation of Aspu.
Assessment
The placement of systems in game named after deities having a shared locality relationship with waters,
I identify as probable (55 -75%) to be intentional, this can be identified due to the relative close proximity to other systems sharing similar relationships and being grouped tightly into a
common focal point.
All deities found to date are focused around or below Sol, there are none found further out than the prescribed sphere of influence set by the furthest discovered systems up-to 2296.
These systems when shown together do advocate the existence of a
focal point corresponding to the
Lost Realms zone, an area denoted just under the underworld zone. This zone is encapsulated by all other zones.
The Yggdrasil systems also correlate, likewise aligning with the Lost Realms zone, associated with systems describing the ‘edge of the world’ and the guard dog of the underworld. Likewise this area aligns with the first tour of Brookes galactic tour.
Assumptions
Michael Brookes (RIP) wrote a number of drabbles about some of these deities.
These various deity systems are not in totality; there do exist various other related deities outside the game which are not in game, in addition to the evident concentrations in game and that certain deities are omitted, and Brookes interest in certain obscure deities, might indicate these systems were
placed intentionally.
These zone denotes a
separation boundary (water) similar to that denoted by Robert Holdstocks Lost Realms, namely that the
Otherworld is hidden over sea or water or below ground (aka the underworld) or through a mountain as well as the myth of
Gilgamesh, which Holdstock utilises as a reference in the Lost Realms and his other works such as Ragthorn.
In if following this the ‘Otherworld’ is the same as Holdstocks ‘Lost Realms’ eg a lost paradise ergo Eden, as Holdstock identifies. Similarly as FD establishes Raxxla is the same as John Miltons ‘pendant world’ aka Raxxla is another example of a lost Eden aka a Lost Realm.
The above maps further establish the Lost Realms zone as a
focal point. And that the ’Otherworld’ aka Raxxla is probably below or above the zone of ‘
Water’ or above or below the zone of ‘fertility’.
Many deities have multiple meanings, for instance certain fertility deities are also attributed to be, mother and or earth deities.
Within certain beliefs of a world-tree concept, various deities are considered guardians, or emissaries. In some Celtic beliefs certain trees / groves denote a fulcrum, or bridge to the Otherworld. It’s possible certain deities in game may further identify the general location of Raxxla.
Considering this zone also falls upon my hypothesised sphere of influence set by the date
2296, I prescribe this area is the same as that referred to by FD as the ‘
outer rim’ within the discarded FD/DW missions.
This outer rim is itself a metaphor for the Miltonian concept of a model universe, the outer sphere or rim being the Crystalline Sphere. However, our real cosmological sphere was inside that outer sphere, denoted to belong to that of
Urania.
The Greek historian Herodotus ascribes the ‘Interpretation graeca’ (Greek Translation) of Gaia to be that of Aphrodite Urania, one of the Moirai (fates).
One such assumption then is that FD has utilised this reference to denote a
boundary, the outer rim. And that Raxxla sits upon the ‘Brow’ of this sphere in the same regard that Miltons heavens gate sat upon the brow of his sphere (Milton actually calls it a brow in Paradise Lost).
I prescribe that location is the same as the focal point for the Lost Realms zone and that those deities linked to
fertility and or
mother/earth gods verily denotes its zenith.
Intelligence gaps
It is currently unknown if certain deities are linked to a Holdstock concept of a triad or Holdstocks Ragthorn temple or Celtic tradition as guardians of the path to the Otherworld.
Recommendations
Identify all ‘fertility’ deities with duality references to earth/mother concepts and which fall within the focus point of the Lost Realms zone, identifying an area of influence applicable for searching.
The List Realms of Robert Holdstock
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/the-quest-to-find-raxxla.168253/post-10214625
itself.
