The Apples of Kings

Irath gave every elected king a crown to symbolize the power and leadership they would have, but only the crown of Dynbodaul was made with her light, and was brighter than all the other. Rathias had no favourite, she thought each species were equal and deserved a gift worth of this balance they had found themselves. She gave each king a golden apple, telling them that true wisdom and balance were a leader's responsibility. The apple should remind them always to make their people fed and prosper within the balance of nature. Only the Dynbodaul king were not as happy as all the other races, he thought he should have received a more precious gift than a simple apple, but said nothing.
— Scroll of Rathias

The most known apple of all of Agia is the golden apple mentioned in the Scroll of Rathias. It tells of the time where the six species gathered for the first time in the King's Assembly to find the leader among them. While the six could not come to a result, they chose instead that each species were to select a leader of them own. This became the Breinhoeleid, the Kings Lineage. To commemorate their decisions both Irath and Rathias gave them presents to, and while Irath gifted all the kings a crown, the one for the Dynbodaul was made of her light as the only one. Rathias did not favour a species over another, and so she gifted all the kings a golden apple.

The origin of where the apple came from is eluded, but some scholars claim it could be from the tree Godwenbyth . The Godwenbyth is never mentioned what kind of tree it is, but since it provided life for Agia, it would make sense its fruits would be of gold and have special properties.

Spread

The myth of the golden apple only appears in the Scroll of Rathias. After the occupation from the north, Isith forced the religion Lesfydd upon the people in Northern part of Western Agia. After the defeat of Isith, the The Church of Irath ensured all traces of the heretic religion was purged, but an aspect of the religion managed to survive and become part of the Aistanian Coronation Ceremony. The golden apple is no longer an edible item like in the myth, but an apple made of gold.

Some adventures have tried the perilous trip to Matem Ynsulas to the Land of Unknown to find the apple tree, but nowhere in Scroll of Rathias is it mentioned where it is, and since none has survived the trip back, it is unknown whether the fruit tree has been found. There has been several routes adventures has tried to get to the Land of Unknown, one is the southern route passing the Saithon Isles. This might have affected the belief that Hethna has a golden fig tree.

Variations & Mutation

In Saitlonian Pantheon it has been suggested that Hethna, the goddess of land and life, had a fig tree upon which golden figs would grow. When a soul had left its container at the bottom of the ocean, she would sail with her son Ob Nath and give water and a golden fig to the soul, protecting them in the afterlife. It is said the goddess' garden lies on an island that cannot be seen by other than the divine and the dead, making it impossible to travel to.

This island could be a reference to one of the islands in Matem Ynsulas. The very same location for the Godwenbyth in the Book of Irath and Scroll of Rathias.

Related Ethnicities