Julio

Vast deserts stretched endlessly on planet Julio, covering the lands with sun-baked earth. Neither a single raindrop, nor morning dew blessed the seventh planet. Yet, life clung on. Enormous, balloon-like beasts emerged, hauling their bloated bodies with puny tentacles. One such creature lumbered like everybody else, so slowly, it was akin to stillness. She had no name, knew no destination, only a yearn for change. One day, as exhaustion overtook her, she made a decision. She raised her tentacles, gathered all strength and began ripping her skin. A tiny prick grew into a massive tear. Her stagnant blood spilled and spilled, soaking the cracked ground and filling ravines with deep blue ichor. And so, a vast ocean swallowed the seventh planet. It swept everyone, freeing the creatures from suffocating stillness.

She swam with others, feeling the first joy and the first freedom. She was drowsy, but didn't fear death. She had escaped the unbearable weight. Suddenly, an earthquake shook the planet. An enormous, long-necked creature emerged from the depths, its human face staring at the nameless one. She gazed back with confusion and curiosity. And when she looked into the monster’s eyes, she gained its vast knowledge, and ascended into the seventh god, Julio.

Physical Description

On her planet, Julio was an enormous blob filled with thick blue blood. Her skin was stretched and semi-transparent, giving a glimpse of her internal organs. She possessed a dozen scrawny tentacles, each desperately trying to move the massive body.

Following her ascension, Julio's form became serpentine, a twisting loop with no visible beginning or end. Grand caverns cover her flesh, spewing whirlpools as she moves.

Relationship with Shemokmedi

Julio is indifferent towards the Sun. She had no attachment to her home planet and deems its destruction upon the core's awakening as a blessing. The Seventh God didn't mind protecting the Sun and felt freedom in the surrounding cosmos. But as time went on, Julio grew curious. She wanted to learn the Sun's motives, why Sheutsnobeli pursued it, what each planet's task entailed. Yet, the Sun gave no answer.

New Kin

The Seventh God sought to understand other gods and learn their stories. Out of the twelve, only the fifth god, Maya, opened her heart. Julio soon befriended the little squirrel, and the unlikely duo frequently chattered. The Fifth God often hopped on Julio and swung from tentacle to tentacle with glee.

Life-bringer

The last surviving planet, Ayonerra, bore striking resemblance to Julio's home. Barren, dry, without a drop of water. When different gods began creating races on Ayonerra, Julio descended and formed rivers, lakes and oceans. One day, Maya hopped on Julio and asked for help. The Fifth God missed her kin and shaped land animals in their image. Yet, Maya couldn't create aquatic life, as she had never visited the seas of her home.

Julio was puzzled. How could she form something she had never seen either? But the Seventh God couldn't say no to her dear friend. Julio tore her countless tentacles and let them swim freely in open seas. Each morphed into a distinct animal and plant, spreading throughout the planet and bringing joy to Maya.

Julio felt everything in the waters — from tiny tadpoles swimming in lakes, to diving birds snatching their prey, to kids splashing each other in chilly rivers. The Seventh God grew to love how varied life flourished on the thirteenth planet.

When King Al’Anraakh raised flying islands, the sixth god, Yuvnis, took one floating land and headed towards Halamuth, a twin-pinnacled island in between the Northern Divider and Amaarion. Julio tagged along.

After hearing Yuvnis's goal to create an artificial star and replace Shemokmedi with it, the ever curious goddess chose to aid his efforts.

To deter anyone from disturbing Yuvnis's work, Julio began circling Halamuth. Holes in her body form whirlpools and sky-high tornadoes as she swims around the island. Some sailors speak of a booming voice warning anyone getting close and vortexes engulfing ships of curious captains. Others recall no such voice, only the deafening crashes of waves and screechings of winds.

One might often hear sailors praying for fair winds and steady currents. Before long voyages, some Divider islanders prick their fingers and let their blood intermix with the seas — a gratitude to the Seventh God. Many coastal settlements have shrines where locals ask for a plentiful catch, while offering fish and fresh river water.

In certain Dayani regions, villagers give the first bread kneaded from the year's harvest. Some place the bread on an altar, while others let nearby rivers carry them to Julio.

The Seventh God plays a major role in flying island burials. The islanders embroider prayers onto the shroud, asking goddess Julio to accept the dead and give them peace. They then bind the body with heavy weights and let them fall into the vast seas.

When the Month of Julio is coming to an end, Nikophsians gather a portion of traded goods from merchant ships. The dancers sing of their gratefulness and plead the goddess to accept their humble gifts. Nikophsians then tie the items with vivid blue ribbons, toss them in the open sea and watch as blue waters engulf the offerings.