My attempt at a godless mythology

[WooHooMan]

So, I've been working on one of those mythopoeia things for this story I'm doing but I feel like it's kind of messy right now. Like it's just a bunch of ideas thrown together without much keeping it together or coherent.

As part of this project, I wanted to avoid a few cliches I've noticed in made-up mythologies.
First off, no "creation of the universe" myth. I don't have any particular reason why I'm not doing one. I just didn't feel like making one is all.
Second, no gods. I'm tired of hearing about mythologies that are just "blank is the god of whatever and he's all blah blah and then what's-her-name is the goddess of stuff and she's like" you know, that's kind of boring to read.

So, the most basic idea of my mythopoeia is that the universe is constructed of three elements: the machine, the animal and the drama. They're the basic cosmic forces of which everything else is a representation or aspect of.
The Machine is the laws of nature, science and magic. The interchangeability and similarities of these laws is something of a reoccurring theme. Harmony between the three, progress of science, preservation of nature; I was hoping these could be reoccurring themes through the different myths.
The Animal is a representation of life.
The Drama is a little more abstract. The idea is that the people that this mythology applies to follow the "life is a story" worldview. Things like irony, fate, symbolism and so forth are actual forces in the world. These nonphysical forces are what the Drama represents.

The nature of time is circular. The universe is destroyed and from its remnants, a new universe emerges. As such, there is no creation and, to some extent, there is no destruction.
The only consistent aspect of every universe is the Titans.

I couldn't list the Titans and their names because there are millions of them. They're suppose to be like bugs: barely sentient with a huge but barely noticeable impact on the world. In fact, I imagine them looking like dragonflies.
There are three types of Titans: embodiments of knowledge, power and "meaning".

The Titans of the previous universe are dead and have been fossilized. The fossilized remains of the primordial Titans are know as the Three Mystic Hearts.

The first, and most important, is the Heart of Time which is made-up of a bundle of dead knowledge Titans.
Time is like water in this universe. It just kind of stands still unless something moves it. The Heart of Time is what allows time to flow, irrigating the universe and making progress possible.

The second is the Heart of Material made from dead "meaning" Titans. Initially, the energy it emanated allowed the remains of the previous universe to reshape itself into the current universe, creating new matter when new matter was needed.

Early in the life of the universe, a mortal found the Heart of Material and ate it. He then achieved a form of apotheosis and became known as "Oblivion". He is the closest thing this mythology has to a "god".
Early in the mythos, he acts as the trickster. Later in the myth cycle, he becomes the personification of death.
Because the Heart of Material is no longer around, things cannot be created from nothing. Matter is now finite though changeable.

The third is the Heart of Power made from dead power Titans.

Odic Khan is a prophetic figure in this mythology. It is a golem created by early humans and powered by the Heart of Power. It is the most powerful being in the universe - capable of destroying the world.
It's the apocalyptic herald of the story like Fenrir in Norse mythology or even the anti-Christ in Christian lore.

I plan on explaining the mythology through the story of Zane, the legendary hero of the mythos.
Zane's story will explain the beginning of modern civilization, the origin of evil, the nature of Odic Khan, the prophesied end of time, and Oblivion's rise to the position of Death incarnate.

So, there you go.
I'd appreciate any kind of feedback, questions, criticisms, whatever.

As I said before, I feel like it's kind of disorganized and random right now. If anyone has any ideas on how I can make it feel like a more complete work, I'd love to hear it.

 

[Pythagoras]

As part of this project, I wanted to avoid a few cliches I've noticed in made-up mythologies.
First off, no "creation of the universe" myth. I don't have any particular reason why I'm not doing one. I just didn't feel like making one is all.
Second, no gods. I'm tired of hearing about mythologies that are just "blank is the god of whatever and he's all blah blah and then what's-her-name is the goddess of stuff and she's like" you know, that's kind of boring to read.

I don't know that creation myths and gods should be considered "cliches" of made up mythologies, considering they are not only common but are major elements of many real-world mythologies. That's not to say that you should include them in yours; it's just that your choice of terms sort of irks me as a self-proclaimed amateur mythographer. Personally I find that a creation myth provides a setting and gods provide characters that are integral to the stories that myths are meant to convey.

As far as your mythology goes, I find myself a bit confused about the titans, but I'm sure that's only a result of the disorganized state of things at the moment, and will become clearer as you develop your mythos. Maybe you could flesh out some stories for them to help explain what they are and do (or did), and why.

My favorite part from all this is Odic Khan. That ought to be fascinating to work with.

 

[WooHooMan]

it's just that your choice of terms sort of irks me as a self-proclaimed amateur mythographer.

You know, I noticed that it came across kind of snobish after I reread it. I can't really edit it now. Sorry if it sounded like I was saying that using gods and creation myths are bad. That's definitely not what I was trying to say.

As far as your mythology goes, I find myself a bit confused about the titans, but I'm sure that's only a result of the disorganized state of things at the moment, and will become clearer as you develop your mythos. Maybe you could flesh out some stories for them to help explain what they are and do (or did), and why.

They're suppose to look like some kind of insect. They even think and act like insects but they emanate types of energy. When a person is around Titans, they become more insightful, energetic and so forth.
Why do they do anything? No reason. They're just life caught in the Machine, playing their role in the Drama.

The major intent of the Titans in the context of the story was to explain the origin of the Mystic Hearts.
In the context of this mythology, they'd be a kind of deus ex machina. In Greek Mythology, if they need an explanation for why something happened, they'd say "the gods did something". It'd be like that for these Titans.
"Why did an arrow to the ankle kill the demigod Achilles? Because there was a swarm of Meaning Titans and the energy they emanate caused his life story to take a different, more tragic direction." Something like that.

 

[DavidJae]

It's an interesting concept, and bold, too. The more empheral, unseen things are very powerful. It reminds me of the concept of Luck, which only works if it is not invoked. As soon as you mention luck, it fades away.
It should make a good basis for your story.

 

[Pythagoras]

Out of curiosity, why did you settle on the word 'titan'? I like the concept, but it's not typical of what I imagine might normally be called a titan.

 

[Mythopoet]

Out of curiosity, why did you settle on the word 'titan'? I like the concept, but it's not typical of what I imagine might normally be called a titan.

That was my first question as well. The word "titan" passed into the English language long ago as meaning something gigantic. Having you describe your Titans as small bug-like creatures throws a huge wrench in my willing suspension of disbelief. It feels like maybe you're trying to subvert the concept of the Titan, but personally it really bothers me when writers take a name for something that's common in fantasy or mythology and understood by the general readership in a certain way and then apply that name to something completely different. Tropes exist for a reason and subverting them in that fashion is not a good thing in my book.

In Greek Mythology, if they need an explanation for why something happened, they'd say "the gods did something".

Well, that's not really true. Most Greek myths have nothing to do with explanations of the nature of the world. Most myths in most cultures are just stories. I think that whole "people explained everything they didn't understand with myths about the gods" is a condescending modern attitude. Ancient peoples just liked telling stories about gods and supernatural beings and heroes. (Wouldn't we all here agree that's way more interesting that a close examination of Ugg's midlife crisis?)

 

[Terry Greer]

An interesting concept.

however the term mythology implies its a belief system and not the way the world actually is. For example Christians would not consider their beliefs as Mythology - but if Christianity lost all its believers then in a few hundred years it could be given that label.
Also the way you describe it indicates that its the way you want your world to actually work (i.e. the Titans actually give out energy - rather than it just being a belief system - I could be wrong about this but it all sounded rather confusing to me, and I wasn't sure which parts were the belief system and which intended as a description of the 'real fantasy world'.

I also agree that the world 'titan' (and its other uses such as in the term, and name, Titanic) has too many real world uses for it to be reused for tiny insect like things without massive confusion.

 

[WooHooMan]

Also the way you describe it indicates that its the way you want your world to actually work (i.e. the Titans actually give out energy - rather than it just being a belief system - I could be wrong about this but it all sounded rather confusing to me, and I wasn't sure which parts were the belief system and which intended as a description of the 'real fantasy world'.

Oh wow. I can't believe I forgot to mention this but the story of Zane is suppose to be a myth to a fictional people. The "real world" is our Earth. All that jazz about Titans and golems is part of the mythology of a fictional people that lived in our universe.
Huge mistake on my part. Sorry for the confusion.

Most Greek myths have nothing to do with explanations of the nature of the world. Most myths in most cultures are just stories. I think that whole "people explained everything they didn't understand with myths about the gods" is a condescending modern attitude. Ancient peoples just liked telling stories about gods and supernatural beings and heroes.

I said that to explain that the Titans are a storytelling device.
I wasn't trying to imply that mythology was some kind of science to ancient people. I was actually talking about how in things like ancient Greek plays or Indian epics or whatever, the gods would directly involve themselves in the affair of mortals to progress the story. I never mentioned nature.

The word "titan" passed into the English language long ago as meaning something gigantic. Having you describe your Titans as small bug-like creatures throws a huge wrench in my willing suspension of disbelief. It feels like maybe you're trying to subvert the concept of the Titan, but personally it really bothers me when writers take a name for something that's common in fantasy or mythology and understood by the general readership in a certain way and then apply that name to something completely different. Tropes exist for a reason and subverting them in that fashion is not a good thing in my book.

The idea was that when the reader think "titan", they'd probably imagine some giant, presumably humanoid deity. By having my Titans be magic bugs, I was trying to imply that the power they had was something greater than the physical or beyond a person's preconceptions.
"The Titans themselves aren't big but the power they have is gigantic". Something like that.

And I think that "titan" in the context of a mythology implies "primordial incarnations of natural forces that predate other deities" and that's basically what these Titans are. So I think the name makes sense on some level.

I have been trying to come-up with a better name but so far, no luck. If you have any suggestions, I'd be happy to hear them.

 

[Pythagoras]

And I think that "titan" in the context of a mythology implies "primordial incarnations of natural forces that predate other deities" and that's basically what these Titans are. So I think the name makes sense on some level.

That's what I would have assumed was meant by using the word titan. But I wasn't sure if that's what you intended. You may want to somehow explain this meaning in your mythology.