Halvadere

Halvadere was a major god of the Sverden dwarves. Second only to the goddess Astridere, he was both a major player in the creation mythology of the Sverden as well as a deity worshiped heavily by warriors. He was also worshipped by astronomers and heavily associated with the night sky and the Halvadereon, the Sverden term for the Northern Lights.

Origins

Halvadere was born deep in Sverden prehistory, when they lived in several cities on the wings of the creator goddess Astridere. He was known originally as Halvan, because he was not a god yet. Though an exact year of birth would be impossible to pin down, it was safe to say that he was born long before the greed of the infamous King Payru resulted in the Sverdens' sudden move to Beurum.   Born to a family that was famed for their beauty, Halvan grew up to become a famous warrior. He was said to, upon the fortieth year of his life, become the strongest and most skilled fighter among all of his people. For this reason he became a national hero, and even Astridere, the sole deity of the Sverden at this time, grew enamored with him.   Halvan's glory was threatened when Heru, a prince of a rival Sverden family, became jealous of him. With magic strong among his family, Heru was able to create fifteen mammoths out of thin air. He then set them upon Halvan, who was unable to defeat the creatures.   Halvan awoke in the White Sepulchre, the beautiful palace of Astridere. Astridere nursed him back to health due to her love for the warrior, but expressed disappointment that he had not been able to defeat the mammoths unleashed upon him by Heru. She then made Halvan an offer: she would give him another chance to defeat the mammoths. If he was successful, he would be granted divine status, subservient only to her. If he failed, she would destroy him. The mammoths were to be killed all at once, not separated and then killed one by one.   Re-entering the mortal plane, Halvan found the mammoths, which were now wreaking havoc on his home city. He gathered them together as Astridere instructed, but, infuriated by the destruction of the innocents around him, he did not kill the mammoths; rather, he lead them toward the Manor of Heru, where they destroyed the building and killed Heru. It was only then that he proceeded to kill the mammoths, succeeding this time.   Astridere was conflicted by this turn of events. Though Halvan had done as she asked, he had first used his situation to exact vengeance on someone who had wronged him. Eventually, she decided what to do with Halvan. He would become a god, and thus take the name Halvadere; however, as reparation for the destruction he had wrought under divine supervision, he would be tasked with creating the northern lights- referred to as the Halvadereon- each night. Despite having divine powers, he would be forced to watch his creations vanish each morning until the end of time, and have to recreate them each night.

Significance

Halvadere told much about Sverden values relating to war, building, and gender roles. War for the Sverden was seen as a necessary evil, but an evil nonetheless. To keep such evil at bay, creation had to be prioritized. Thus, Halvadere, a symbol of destruction, would always be subservient to Astridere, a symbol of creation. The Halvadereon and its continual destruction upon the coming of day forced the Sverden to reckon with the price of war, which was seen chiefly as the loss of beauty. Finally, Halvadere established war as a chiefly masculine pursuit and building as a chiefly feminine one.