Myth: Humakt and the Wind

From: reinierd_at_...
Date: Wed, 03 Oct 2001 07:37:14 -0000


HUMAKT AND THE WIND
As told to Veoslin Oltorrson of the Voroni by Enent the Raven, Humakti Spirit Companion

Now that you are a devotee of Humakt, there are some things you should know about him and the wind. Even though Orlanth and his family are no longer our kin, Humakt has some wind powers still, only they are hidden.

As you already know, Humakt was a son of Umath, and like Valind he made his home in the north. The North Wind was feared because of its keen edge; it was like the slicing cut of a riverside reed in your finger. This wind brought tears to the eyes of the hardiest traveler, and knew no mercy. You could be wearing the thickest furs or be sitting in the warmest lodge but the North Wind would always find a gap or a crack and it would cut you just enough to let you know that it was still there, outside, waiting for you. I remember it from my mountain training as a young initiate; caught outside in it I was be in constant pain, feeling like I couldn't continue and knowing I was dying from exposure but continuing anyway. It was the Wind of the Warrior.

There were also some that didn't fear the North Wind, but loved it because it blew hard and steady, and did not vary. Even now Humakt's Wind is one of the best for flying kites - if your kite is stout and your arms strong. He does not turn on you like Gagarth or throw snow and ice at you and try to blind you like Valind. The North Wind is clear and constant, never clouded.

Sometimes the North Wind is silent, sometimes it howls, and sometimes it makes a keening sound so sharp and so high it is like a note that can't be heard. Some say this is from a wound that Ikadz the Torturer made when he stuck a barbed knife in Humakt from behind, and maybe that's partly true. But the real reason is bigger, and is told only to devotees. It's because Humakt keeps watch on the Vale of Death. He stares into the void, and sometimes it stares back. Then the pain is so great that only this North Wind song, given to him by Chalana Arroy, can sustain him. But that is another story.

Humakt learned a special lesson from Ikadz this way, even though that's not what Ikadz intended. It is the lesson of pain. Humakt took away Ikadz's Pain Dagger and made it his own weapon against the void, because he knew that as long as he felt pain he was alert and alive, and the Predark could not surprise him. He wants everyone to learn this lesson, and that is why the North Wind is so cold and relentless.

Study these things, and think about them yourself. Then, when you are ready and you have passed my tests, I will tell you about the Brightnight Storm, which is Rigsdal's. He learned it with the help of Rashoran in the story of the Diamond Bullet. It is the Unmoving Storm, and it is a great secret.

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