Interestingly, even though the Five Material Beasts are described as being female in most myths, Menaken is referred to with masculine pronouns here. The long version is even more inconsistent with Material Beasts being described as mother to one member of a clade and father to another member.
It is not known how much the God Learners manipulated the Animal Naming Myths. It is suspected that, at the very least, associations of the Material Animals with the Malkioni Castes is their doing.
And so it came to pass, Malkion the Seer left the Castle of Logic and walked the First World. The world of this time was vast and wonderful beyond imagining, but the First People and The Great Thirteen were few. Malkion concluded that this world should be filled, and no sooner had he reached this conclusion than he was approached by the Power Animals and the Material Animals.
"Great Ordelvis, we have each said the Eight Words Eight times Eighty Times. Our children are obedient and beautiful. But we have also discovered the Five Movements, and performing them, have filled the world with many wondrous strange new children. We humbly ask that you go forth and name them, as you named us, so that they may know their natures and their places in the cosmos."
And Malkion the Seer smiled upon these obedient followers, and set forth in his beneficence to name their children. He saw into their essential natures, seeing their great virtues and also seeing their potential for vice. Knowing these traits, he named them such that those who would come later (for Malkion the Seer had vast insight into what would be) could learn the lessons of Righteous Living and Possible Error by knowing them.
First, he descended into the darkest depths, below the earth and below the sea, to visit the children of Sakozar. He was impressed by their many hands, which they used for many different things. For this, he named them Molaskvali for they were each one like those First People that worked together to accomplish tasks.
Rising out of the darkness, he floated serenely through the realm of Dolanala. These children were characterized by their constant movement. They played games of pursuit and speed and strength; the nature of their realm saw them move even when at rest. For this restless energy, Malkion named them Iktivali.
He stepped upon the perfect Prime Beach, and seeing scales flashing in the sunlight he was confronted by the children of Jakasal. In them dwelled a complementary spirit to the Iktivali – where Iktivali were constantly in motion, he found in these animals a deep stillness. Even as he watched them gambol in the gleaming diamond sands, their essence was still, contemplating secrets and truths. Thus, it was obvious they should forevermore be called Amnivali.
Looking up into the golden skies, Arvana's children were journeying in every direction, determined to see what there was in this world, and as was already their nature, loudly proclaiming their opinions on what they saw. Malkion was pleased by their forthright and vocal nature, and named them Avavali as a reflection of it.
But looking around, Malkion did not see Menaken's children. He did not sense Menaken lurking just out of sight, anxious like the other parents to see what he thought of their children. But Malkion was not troubled. He began his journey back to the Castle of Logic, and as he knew would happen, found Menaken and his children waiting. "Why are your children not out in my world, as your nieces and nephews are already?"
Menaken bowed before The Seer, and replied, "Great Ordelvis, I wished for my children to be perfect, so I enjoined them to learn from their cousins all that was best, and improve upon it. They are energetic like the Iktivali, but are also able to find stillness like the Amnivali; they cannot be as flexible as the Molaskvali but they can work harder, and while they are not as facile in their judgement as Avavali, theirs is deeper." And Menaken humbly, but not as humbly as he might, awaited Malkion's judgement on his children.
And Malkion laughed to see the expression on the face of the Walker.
He named each of the children in its turn, and then turned to their father. "Menaken the Walker, blessed child of Hykim and Mikyh, I have named the families of your siblings after the strongest impression they gave. And your children, prodigies that they are, impressed me with one very strong characteristic before I had ever encountered them. Your children were late, and as such, they shall be known as Therivali forevermore."
And Menaken was fully humbled, but he saw the Logic in The Seer's name.
Each of the 40 Ancient Animals was perfect in its niche, its own
virtue self-evident.
Each of the 40 Ancient Animals had the potential for error, vice
waiting to be born.
Study the Ancient Animals so that you may see the path of
Righteousness and avoid the traps of Error.
Amen.
(I'm still not sure this was the right Glorantha group to post this to, since we seem more concerned with Q&As here. But "pure myth" didn't seem as appropriate for the HeroQuest-RPG group)
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