Myths and Omens: In the Sky

Sleeper-Dreamer-First to Rise - Omen

Altador

Altadorians have been studying the constellations for decades, even before their land was discovered by modern Neopians. They have countless books and parchments dedicated to the twinkling stars in the night sky and how they relate to their leaders. Each night, one constellation they call The One, which provides unique abilities to certain users (more information in Altador Constellations: The Hidden Power by the same authors). It is believed that consecutive Ones which consist of the Sleeper, then the Dreamer and finally the First to Rise constellations, will provide even more immense powers to the affected Neopians. This is regarded as a favourable and welcome omen by the locals.

Clouds of Ice - Myth

Terror Mountain

An ongoing debate surrounds this myth, whether it is an actual myth or if it should be considered as part of history. The myth talks about how Terror Mountain used to have an active volcano which had to be frozen over as a side effect of the efforts of the Bori to defend the Heart of the mountain from the Bringer of Night. The Bori had to use the Heart of the mountain to call on a cloud of ice and hail from the sky in order to inhibit the actions of the Bringer of Night and stop him from claiming the heart for himself, a process which froze the Bringer as well as the volcano.

Triangular flock of Albats - Omen

Meridell

Meridell is well known for its agriculture and farmlands. Old Meridellians always looked out for flocks of Albats which would fly above their crops in a triangular formation. They considered this to signify prosperity in their yield. Even though one might think that Albats frequently roam the lands of Meridell given that they have wings, it is important to remember that Albats are hardly in Meridell at all.

Hissi shaped fires - Myth

Brightvale

Old Brightvalean scholars still tell the myth of Hissi shaped fires seen on the surface of Kreludor, before they even had a name for the Neopian moon and even before Dr. Sloth was around Neopia. The then scholars believed that they saw fires which started on the surface of the moon and soon took a form of their own, primarily into the figure of Hissi. The Hissi would roar and engulf part of Kreludor as the scholars kept wondering how this could be possible. This myth has still not been explained even with the combined knowledge of Brightvale and the Shenkuu lunar temple.

Sky Eyrie formation - Omen

Darigan Citadel

Legend has it that the smoke would escape from the Citadel and mix with the clouds in the night sky. These mixing could potentially draw the figure of an Eyrie into the night sky. This figure is always regarded as a good omen which can signify destruction - yes, destruction. Contrary to most of the lands, inhabitants of the Darigan Citadel are always on the lookout for new destructive acts, therefore they are eager to witness the Eyrie omen from a young age.

Dawn Carmarillers - Omen

Faerieland

Carmarillers are known to reside on the shores of the Healing Springs every dusk. Faeries are always eager to witness the petpets fly upwards and get lost in the sky every day at dawn. The lack of this event is considered as a bad omen for impending danger. The eldest Neopians of Faerieland even claim that no Carmarillers flew away from the Healing Springs on the day that Xandra brought the downfall of the hovering city.

Rocking on - Myth

Tyrannia

Being the oldest of the lands, their ways are the most primitive. The then wise elders of Tyrannia, long before Sabre-X and Kyruggi were around, would throw specific types of rocks into the air. This would be performed on the plateau for obvious reasons. Each rock corresponded to a specific outcome and the first rock to hit solid ground was thought to foretell the future of Tyrannia for the coming days.

The Cyodrake and the mist - Myth

Shenkuu

The oldest of the Shenkuunian myths refers to a large Cyodrake, more than twenty times the petpet’s size, which was the supposed creator of the clouds and the mist. It is considered the most powerful and divine creature that would control the waters and would reside on Kreludor. The Cyodrakes Gaze was built after this myth and the Lunar Temple was dedicated to the studies of the moon, Kreludor, known to control the waters.

    Red clouds after dusk - Omen

Krawk Island

Like true pirates and sailors, inhabitants of Krawk Island still try to use the sky to predict the weather for the day. An ancient superstition still carried to this age says that if during the sunset the colour of the clouds facing east turns red, then this event betokens a good, rain-free weather for the next day.

Cloud free sky - Omen

Kiko Lake

Inhabitants of Kiko Lake dread the day that the sky above them will be cloud free. Even the smallest speckle of cloud is welcome above their lake. This omen, feared by all the elder KIkos, dictates that a clear sky, free from any signs of clouds will bring a turbulent water activity in their beloved lake.

Water on Kreludor - Myth

Kreludor

It is common knowledge that the atmosphere of Kreludor doesn’t allow for normal weather events to occur, especially rainfall. The surface is always dry, even competing with the Lost Desert. Despite this scientific information, inhabitants of Kreludor still talk about the myth that there once occurred rainfall and water was found on Kreludor which came from their sky, unexplained and unseen up to this day and age.

Pyramid alignment - Myth

Lost Desert

Ancient scholars of the Lost Desert looked up to the sky and studied the Hunter constellation, even before it was known that it actually resembles King Altador, the Hunter by the Altadorians. That was their favourite constellation, of the Lupe and they never bothered to study the rest. It is believed that their pyramids are purposefully built to be orientated in such a way so that the constellation of the Hunter would illuminate their tips on a clear night sky.

Dark waters - Omen

Maraqua

Being an underwater kingdom makes it difficult to allow any kind of sky omens or myths to exist in your culture. Nevertheless, Maraquans still regard the ocean surface as their sky. They believe that once the ocean surface turns pitch black even though it is supposed to be daytime and sunny outside, that it is a bad omen for their kingdom.

Ghost Lupe buying - Omen

Neopia Central

Despite the Neopia Central being primarily a marketplace, there is an omen feared by most vendors. It is claimed that is a bad omen if the Ghost Lupe hovers above Neopia Central marketplace during the months of Hiding or Gathering. That is because that period is referred to as the ‘ghost period’ and this affects the sales of the marketeers. The Ghost Lupe is feared so much there that it is not compulsory for the actual spirit to appear. Vendors also look out for any cloud or shadow formation for the omen.

Space Faerie token - Myth

Virtupets

Dr. Sloth is the most feared villain of Virtupets, if not of the whole of Neopia. He has been imprisoned inside the Space Faerie token and floats in deep space for many years, nowhere to be seen. Nevertheless, workers of Virtupets station claim that they used to randomly get signals from the token which showed that the token was found floating inside the station itself and not in outer space, signifying the return of Sloth.

Out of thin air - Myth

Roo Island

It is still a mystery why Roo Island exists other than the safety it firstly provided for the creation of petpetpets. Its lore states that it is an island which essentially appeared out of thin air. Inhabitants claim that the island appeared magically overnight, on an especially cheery night, as if the air molecules assimilated by themselves to form this haven of Blumaroos.

Rain of Fire - Myth

Moltara

The latest land to be discovered holds one of the most vicious myths regarding its formation. It is a common tale to be told between Moltarans that consistent natural disasters composed of molten rain pouring from the sky lead to the formation of the crater that now forms the entrance to Moltara. The pit has since burned every day and only became stable relatively recently with the help of The Wise Gnorbu, prior to the land’s discovery by modern Neopians.

The Flower of Rain - Omen

Mystery Island

The most feared omen by the inhabitants of Mystery Island refers to the tourists visiting the island and picking a specific plant. It has been said that when picking the Tropical Flower Plant from the sacred trees of Mystery Island, it will bring torrential down pours upon the usually sunny shores. The inhabitants refrain from doing this, however on sight of a tourist picking one such flower, there exists a ritual that is performed on Mount Techo to counteract the omen.

Moonlit Fog - Myth

Haunted Woods

Despite the Haunted Woods being the most frightening and tricky land in the whole of Neopia, they too have their own myth regarding the Giant Ghostkerchief. It is said that a specific full moon brings out a strange, purple, impenetrable fog that settles across the whole Woods. This causes the rise of the infamous Giant Ghostkerchief which reigns over its land for 24 hours before disappearing back into the foggy shadows.

    Even though it is hard to conclude whether any of these myths are true or any of the omens ever come to fruition, it is always interesting to learn about the tales that young Neopians grow up with.