Aiaye
Aiaye is an ancient nurlak deity returned to Demrefor from the stars after a long time of absence from the planet. Like the other old nurlak gods, Aiaye takes the form of a serpent-skulled burnsay with multiple arms. However, unlike the other old gods who are consistently depicted to have twelve arms, people who have seen Aiaye describe them with many different numbers of limbs ranging anywhere between four and twenty.
Aiaye’s return to the planet was a violent one; they fell from the stars, bound to two large memoryshare stones (currently in possession of Canis La’Can’s Queen Distro) that hit the planet so hard the ground shifted. Their fall to the planet began the study of soulstone and lead to the creation of many new variants of the crystals.
Shortly after returning to the planet Aiaye’s stones were salvaged; but separated. Due to the stone’s separation contact to the god became impossible and for their first few years on the planet it was unknown that the stones were alive. It was only after the stones were brought together again by King Rorlbar of Canis that first contact to Aiaye was made.
During their first contact to the mortal realm Aiaye provided the second cure for the nurlak’s self-feeding sickness to Canis La’Can’s crown prince, Ka’harja Nigelle, during an uncontrolled pandemic. It was speculated, though not confirmed for a long while, that the prince contacted Aiaye through dream walking magic.
For a long while rumours about the stones and their connection to dream magic were spread around the world as dream walkers who fell asleep in the presence of the stones would have dreams unique to themselves; something almost completely unheard of until this time. Other kingdoms continually requested that Queen Distro allow them to study the stones. She refused up until the mid-10,000’s when one of the god’s stones were stolen and the god became uncontactable.
Eventually the stones were found and returned to Queen Distro, who finally relented and allowed them to be studied further. It was then the rumours that the god could be contacted through dream walking magic were confirmed as truth. From that point, many dream walkers would approach Distro and request access to the stones in order to visit Aiaye’s magical realm. And over the years, as faith in the deity grew, Aiaye became more powerful and was able to reach distances further and further from their stones; until those who wished to meet the god no longer needed to make the trip to Canis La’Can in order to receive a visit.
Aiaye’s realm is an endless white void filled with flecks of rainbow soulstone. Each fleck joins to another in a trail of colourful light, creating square-edged patterns throughout the realm. The only time these strange patterns have ever been seen before has been in ancient human ships; and it is still not clear if they have any meaning.
The deity’s voice is often described as a soft beeping that is unlike any noise found in nature. There are arguments as to whether Aiaye speaks words at all, or if the use of dream magic in their realm simply allows the walker to understand what the god wishes to say. Unless the god confirms this themself, though, it is unlikely that a consensus will be made.
It is unknown exactly what Aiaye’s motivations are. However, they seem to come from a place of great love, especially for nurlak people, and have gained a devout following. Aiaye is often said to share old knowledge with people; from old farming techniques to long-lost medicines, the god shares what it can to help those who need it most. However, they often talk about their memory being fragmented and broken, and sometimes struggle to recall their history.