Lore:Ruptga

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Tall Papa, and his children: Hunding, Leki, and Ansei.
"Pretty soon the spirits on the skin-ball started to die, because they were very far from the real world of Satakal. And they found that it was too far to jump into the Far Shores now. The spirits that were left pleaded with Tall Papa to take them back. But grim Ruptga would not, and he told the spirits that they must learn new ways to follow the stars to the Far Shores now. If they could not, then they must live on through their children, which was not the same as before. Sep, however, needed more punishment, and so Tall Papa squashed the Snake with a big stick."Satakal the Worldskin

Ruptga, more commonly Tall Papa, is the chief deity of the Yokudan and Redguard pantheon. He was the first god to figure out how to survive the Hunger of Satakal.

Mythology[edit]

Tall Papa's Lamp

Following his lead, the other gods learned the "Walkabout", or a process by which they can persist beyond one lifetime. Tall Papa set the stars in the sky to show lesser spirits how to do this, too.[1] It's said he was able to do this due to his enormous size.[2] When he undertook this endeavor, he created a purpose for Tu'whacca, the Yokuda god of souls and caretaker of the "Far Shores", who helps Redguards find that place of waiting between worldskins after death. He sired many children, earning him his moniker of Tall Papa, and when there were too many spirits to keep track of, Ruptga created Sep out of the dead skin of past worlds.[1][2] Sep was supposed to help him regulate the spirit trade, but Sep could not think straight in his hunger, and Ruptga sometimes had to reach into Sep to save spirits his helper had eaten.[2] Sep convinced other spirits to help him build an easier alternative to the Walkabout, even though Ruptga did not participate or approve. When the plan proved to be a failure, leaving many spirits stranded on a dying patch-work worldskin, Tall Papa punished Sep for trapping the spirits.[1] Legend says he squashed Sep with a big stick for leading so many into a place where they could not reach the Far Shores, and Sep's hunger fell out. However, he refused to save the stranded spirits who had allowed Sep to trick them, instead proclaiming that they would have to find new ways to jump to the Far Shores.[2]

Redguard myth holds that Leki was Ruptga's goddess daughter, and Morwha was his favored wife. After the creation of the world, his son Zeht, an agricultural deity, renounced his father, which is why Tall Papa makes it so hard to grow food.[1] One elven scholar wrote he was the most popular god of the Redguard tradition, along with his children Leki, Hunding, and Ansei.[3]

Worship[edit]

The color purple is associated with Ruptga, with Ruptga prayer beads being purple for example. Star motifs are an integral part of depictions of Ruptga, as Ruptga without stars is like Akatosh without a Dragon.[4][5]

Known Expressions[edit]

  • By Tall Papa's breeches
  • By Tall Papa's scratchy beard[6]
  • By Tall Papa's starry breeches
  • By Ruptga's blade[7]
  • By Ruptga's beard

See Also[edit]

References[edit]