Meracahe
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Meracahe
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Life is about balance.
Every living being has its place in the grand tapestry of nature. All animals hold a piece, even if they know it not. At odds though they may be, predator and prey uphold the balance of nature. Without the predator, prey would multiply and graze the land until it was barren. Without prey, the predator would hunger and fight over scraps of remnant food. The flora bears fruit to feed those who wander, and those who wander propagate the seeds of those who root and prosper. Thus, even the greatest beast owes its life to the tiniest insect. All species come together in a precarious balance that upholds something greater than the sum of its parts. A grand creation, like a living, masterful painting.
Meracahe was no great hunter. His form was not splendid to behold. He did not bear a crown of antlers like the great Amaethon, nor fierce tusks like the mighty Moccus. His silhouette did not inspire the fear of a wild wolf, nor the majesty of a proud soaring eagle. Meracahe sought not to boast or bluster his glory, for he was content in the knowledge that he had a part to play. His labor was of utmost importance.
Through the work of the River Guardian and his favored kin, the beavers, would the many realms continue to prosper. For it was him who ruled the stream. It was him who made bountiful wetlands out of dusty riverbeds. It was him who dammed the powerful river, and forged the lands onto which many different species would come to settle. They would come together, predator and prey, mighty beast and tiny insect, to the land he had created. His labors often went unnoticed by the other Mani. A thankless job, but one which the Guardian accepted without hesitation. Meracahe knew this was his role in the world
This Mani was the first to notice the Elven settlers when they arrived. Their presence was frightening yet fascinating. The River Guardian recognized the ability these Elves had to affect the biomes around them. Thus, if guided properly, they might serve as keepers of the balance for aeons to come. But theirs, too, was the power to destroy everything Meracahe had worked so hard to create. If left unchecked, these Elves and their kin- Humans, Orcs and Dwarves- would unsettle the ecosystem beyond repair.
And so the River Guardian was left with a choice: Assist this fledgling tribe and help them grow, or wipe their nascent foothold from the face of the earth. For many nights, Meracahe secluded himself and pondered. The settlers foraged and hunted, but Meracahe let them be. The other animal Princes surely began to notice the new visitors as well- some perhaps even began to conjure up their own designs for these new visitors- but the beaver prince failed to act.
Until one day, a young girl wandered past his lodge. The Elfling could not have been more than 12 years old, yet there she skipped too far from her parents or her village. Her humming stirred the Beaver Prince, and so for the first time in months he emerged from his solitude, to gaze upon this young girl.
And by next sunrise, the River Guardian decided he would aid the Elves.
Meracahe showed his presence rarely, but the elves in the forests would come to know him as a force of benevolence and balance. In time many of the tribes pledged their allegiance to his cause. Ever humble and aloof, worship of the Mani never resulted in his blessings being bestowed. The strange rituals that Elves invented to please the River Guardian remained unanswered and died and quickly as they arose. Sacrifices and words of prayer attempted and discarded. Rarely ever would Meracahe come upon the mortals as he had upon that little girl by the stream, but from the rare encounters with the Beaver Prince it would eventually become clear what he wanted of his followers...
Balance.
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The chosen of Meracahe
The great River Guardian holds sway over a host of diverse and versatile critters. His favored, those whose form he has chosen to embody, are the beavers. Humble and hardworking, the beaver is known as the keystone species for its environment. It stands at the very foundation of an ecosystem of countless plants, insects and animals. Where beavers choose to settle, a dam is erected across the river. Soon the lands are doused in overflowing riverwater. In the damp, fertile ground many new plant species can rise up. And with the advent of plants come the animals. And as the populations of these animals increases so does the diversity and variety of new species that one by one are attracted to this rich and bountiful area. Meracahe opens his lands to all: predator, prey, even elves and humans.
The great capybara, the largest of all living rodents, are the ones to stand guard over Meracahe’s carefully crafted world. They are gentle creatures. Their movements are slow and calm. Their stature sturdy but not terrifying to behold. Poets write no great works of their majesty and men do not tremble when they approach. But despite this, they are powerful swimmers and can bear great loads. Their wisdom and intelligence is uncanny and often underestimated due to the rodents’ appearances. Those select few whom Meracahe blessed personally had grown even larger, even more powerful. Rumors go around, although they are never confirmed, of capybara the size of horses, which offer themselves as mounts to carry a blessed few Elves in dire need.
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But conversely, as is fitting of a guardian of balance, Meracahe also keeps communion with the countless colonies of rats that scurry to and fro across the lands. Persistent and tenacious, rats have the unmatched ability to live among the descendants uncaught and unfettered. The walls of mortals, erected to keep out powerful and malignant forces, fail to keep rats from scurrying between the cracks. And as they do so, consequences may be severe.
Rats are known carriers of disease. Diseases which, if circumstances permit, wipe out a species with terrifying precision and efficiency. Wherever a certain species have grown too numerous and too cramped, a disease will often rear and benefit from the proximity of viable hosts, spreading all too quickly and leaving in its wake a trail of suffering and death. This, too, is Meracahe’s way. For whether it is rabbits being torn asunder by wolves or the proud stag starving in an area grazed barren, the restoration of balance is cruel to those who have broken it. Nature is kind, giving, but it can also be heartless. Should sickness take you and your kin and you curse at the injustice of the world, try to remember: It is all for the greater good. For balance.
