Nine Gods

The Nine Gods were entities that came to be worshiped in Omu after the city's fall. Though the Omuans worshiped them as such, they are not truly deities.

The Nine Gods

 * I'jin, the almiraj
 * Kubuzan, the froghemoth
 * Moa, the jaculi
 * Nangnang, the grung
 * Obo'laka, the zorbo
 * Papazotl, the eblis
 * Shagambi, the kamadan
 * Unkh, the flail snail
 * Wongo, the su-monster

Legend of the Nine Gods
The story of how the Nine Gods came to Omu is told in the following legend:

''Long ago, the god Nohocha hardened his heart and vowed to weep for the people of Omu no longer. The rains stopped, the jungle withered and died, and death swept through Omu.

''One morning, a wise zorbo emerged from her hollow tree and spoke to the dying Omuans. To convince Nohocha of their worth, she decided to cook him a stew made from all their good qualities. Catching such virtues wouldn't be easy, so she asked a wily almiraj to help her. The almiraj snuck recklessness in the pot, which she saw as a virtue, and Nohocha spat out the stew when he ta sted it. From that day on, Obo'laka the zorbo and l'jin the almiraj became terrible enemies.

''At noon, a brave kamadan hopped down from her rock. She saw the evil in the Omuans' hearts and decided to lance it like a troublesome boil. The kamadan fashioned a holy spear, but she left it by the riverbank and a crafty gruog stole it. In her rage, Shagambi the kamadan forgot all about the Omuans and chased Nangnang the grung forever across the sky.

''When evening came, a wily eblis stepped from his reed hut. He didn't like the Omuans, but without them he'd have no one to play his tricks on. The eblis sent a marsh frog to reason with Nohocha, but the frog was angry and decided to wrestle the god instead. This amused Nohocha, so he gave the frog tentacles to make it stronger. When Kubazan the froghemoth returned to Papazotl the eblis, he chased Papazotl into the swamp with his new tentacles.

''That night, a su-monster broke into Nohocha's palace and stole a pail of water for the Omuans. When the god came running to find it, the su-monster hid the pail in a jaculi's burrow. Nohocha asked the jungle animals where his water was hidden, and Moa the jaculi was too honest to lie. When Wongo the su-monster found out how Moa had betrayed him, he vowed to catch the jaculi and eat him up.

''All the while, Unkh the flail snail lived deep under the earth. The noise of the other animals fighting made her slither up to the surface, and when day dawned over her shell, the light blinded Nohocha and made his eyes water. Life returned to Omu, and the people built shrines to honor the animals who'd saved them.''