First of the Sun
| First of the Sun | |
|---|---|
| Shards | None[1] |
| Perpendicularities | Patji's Eye |
| Investitures | Aviar |
| System | Drominad system[2] |
| Universe | Cosmere |
![[2]](#cite_note-Starchart_drominad_color.jpg-2){kind=link}
“ If you wish more, seek these waters in person and overcome the tests we have created. Only in this will you earn our respect. ”
First of the Sun is a world[4] in the Drominad system.[2] The natives of this world have not yet developed spacefaring technology, but they have been visited by the Ones Above, a spacefaring race from another world. First of the Sun possesses a single moon called First of the First.[2]
Geography[edit]
Several landmasses on the planet, many of which are islands, have either been inhabited or explored by people:
- The Pantheon is a group of about forty islands. These islands include Patji, the largest island, as well as Sori. Patji is a place of inhospitable peaks, sharp cliffs, and deep jungle.
- The Eelakin Islands are the homeland of the Eelakin people. It is about three weeks of rowing from the Pantheon.
- The Mainland is a large, inhabited continent, also close to the Pantheon.
History[edit]
At an unknown date First of the Sun was formed within the Drominad system, humans are not a recent addition to the planets ecosystem indicating they may have arrived early in its history.[5] Throughout its history many Shards have meddled with the planet and its inhabitants,[6] of particular note is the Shard Autonomy who created Patji on the planet.[6][7][8] Patji was directly created by Autonomy[9] but the associated perpendicularity was not, that instead was a naturally occurring phenomenon.[10] This Perpendicularity is unique to First of the Sun as no other planet in the system has one, as a result First of the Sun is the best studied of the system's worlds.
Various expeditions have been undertaken by Silverlight in order to explore the planet but are generally hampered due to the fact that the world's perpendicularity is located in the most dangerous part of the planet.[11] As a result First of the Sun developed a reputation of being highly dangerous and attempted expeditions slowly died off leaving most of the planet unexplored by outsiders.[12]
During the True Desolation Hoid requested for assistance from Autonomy in combatting Odium. Patji however intercepted the letter and declined the offer unless Hoid earned their respect by surviving the challenges on the Islands. Hoid never visited First of the Sun and so never completed this challenge,[13] he did before attempt to get onto the planet however.[14]
By the events of Sixth of the Dusk there is no longer a shard present on First of the Sun.[6][1] By this stage Scadrial has achieved space travel.[15] Contact was made with a group known as the Ones Above who began to share their technology and knowledge with the planets inhabitants including but not limited to detailed maps of its surface, compasses and steam boats.[16] The Native culture of the world began to suffer though with knowledge such as the Old Arts fading away as people stopped practicing them for navigation.[16] These advancements emboldened multiple companies to be bolder with the plans to expand their outposts on the Pantheon, often resulting in ruin.[16] One such company, with the support of the Eelakin chiefs, was the Northern Interests Trading Company which reached the island with 200 soldiers and Vathi.[16] They had planned to use a machine they had taken from the Ones Above to survey the island and capture Aviar, however Sak began forewarning Dusk of the danger of doing this leading him to try and stop this from happening.[16] Instead however he and Vathi realised that the Ones Above were trying to exploit them and vowed to resist their efforts.[16]
Culture[edit]
Eelakins are solitary trappers from the Eelakin isles. They value the ability to survive on one's own. They speak very little, and will sometimes go weeks without speaking. Each carries a book in which they record their life. On the last page, they leave a brief message to whichever hunter finds them when they die, often requesting their rival trapper to care for their birds. They live a very harsh and difficult way of life. They rely on their Aviar to protect them, and develop very strong bonds with their birds. The Mainlanders tend to romanticize their ability to live with the forest, when in fact the trappers would much rather live on islands with no predators. They don't often ask questions about the ways of things, instead simply accepting it as a way of life. They name their children according to the time when they were born, and their position in the birth order. If somebody were named Eleventh of the Morning, they would be their parent's eleventh child, and born during the morning.
Mainlanders are much more scientifically developed than the Eelakins. They question traditions, and seek to develop scientifically advanced technology. They consider themselves much more advanced than the Eelakins, although they respect the Eelakins for their toughness and resilience, and their ability to live on the Pantheon.
The Ones Above are a spacefaring race of people who are very likely not from First of the Sun. They bring in advanced technology, but are careful not to allow the Mainlanders to advance beyond what they are safely able to handle. They leave notes in their devices, seemingly by accident, to help the Mainlanders along.
Magic[edit]
As with the rest of the cosmere, Investiture on the First of the Sun predates the Shattering. Certain aspects of Investiture on the Pantheon, particularly on Patji, seems to be related to Autonomy in a way that is currently unrevealed.[6]
Many of the animals on the Pantheon are able to detect the thoughts of other creatures on the planet. There are enormous sea creatures that hunt other creatures by detecting their thought patterns. Hunters of the Pantheon use their Aviars to mask their thoughts. There are plants that send out the thoughts of frightened or wounded animals, in order to draw predators, which fight near their trunk. The tree feeds off the dead carcasses. Enormous birds called Nightmaws find prey using exceptional olfactory senses, and the ability to sense others' minds.
Aviar, birds prized by the trappers for their magical abilities, such as blocking the trappers' thought waves, defending them from predators, live only on the Pantheon. If an Aviar is hatched and raised somewhere else, it will not have this ability. All Aviar, regardless of what island they come from, go to a certain secluded location on Patji called Patji's Eye when they are young, and when they leave, they are endowed with their magical ability. Nobody except for Sixth of the Dusk knows the secret to the magic of the Aviar: they eat the fruit of the tree called Patji's Finger and become infected with a parasitic worm. It is the worm that bestows the Invested abilities. A bird of another species that is brought to Patji's Eye will develop a different power, as evidenced by Sak.
Notes[edit]
- ↑ a b Salt Lake City Comic-Con 2014
— Arcanum - 2014-09-04# - ↑ a b c Map of Drominad system
- ↑ Oathbringer chapter 51 epigraph#
- ↑ Figment chat
— Arcanum - 2015-01-19# - ↑ Legion Release Party
— Arcanum - 2018-09-19# - ↑ a b c d /r/Cosmere
— Arcanum - 2018-03-18# - ↑ Oathbringer signing London
— Arcanum - 2017-11-28# - ↑ Orem signing
— Arcanum - 2017-12-21# - ↑ Prague Signing
— Arcanum - 2019-10-26# - ↑ /r/books AMA 2015
— Arcanum - 2015-03-12# - ↑ White Sand vol.1 release party
— Arcanum - 2016-06-28# - ↑ Arcanum Unbounded - The Drominad System#
- ↑ Firefight release party
— Arcanum - 2015-01-05# - ↑ Orem signing
— Arcanum - 2017-12-21# - ↑ Firefight San Francisco signing
— Arcanum - 2015-01-17# - ↑ a b c d e f Sixth of the Dusk#
