When water first invaded, the Emperor tamed only the Oslira River. So each time that his realm floods, Reladivus of Nivorah masters the waters of the Arcos River, forcing them into a proper riverbed.
Complete Myth[]
One day something new came roaring into the world. From the north rushed great blue serpents, cutting deep ravines into the earth and drowning all who opposed them.
Shargash and his drummers marched out to fight the invasion, but they were swamped and had to flee.
The Emperor strode forth. A blue snake surged towards him. He gave the Shovel and Bucket to his servants, and they used them to tame the serpent. This was Oslira, who ever since flowed past the Emperor's city in her new banks.
But the rest of the Empire was still flooded. Reladivus, the son of the gods Elmal and Nivorah, set out to protect his mother's city. First, he had to find the chief, an immense blue dragon. The dragon was guarded by so much spray and mist that it could not see the god approaching in his brilliance. Reladivus burst into searing radiance, and the mist and spray fled, leaving a much smaller dragon. It attacked, but found itself boiling away. It offered riches to Reladivus, but Reladivus was not tempted and pushed forward. Finally the dragon capitulated. Reladivus compelled it to flow peacefully as the Arcos, and yield its treasures to the people.
But the Arcos was untrustworthy. When Reladivus had to fight the Rain Folk, Arcos rose up and flooded the land again. After Reladivus dealt with the Rain Folk, he asked Relandar for a map of the realm. Feigning injury, he returned to Arcos. Sensing weakness, the dragon lunged for Reladivus. But Reladivus was ready, and raced towards the nearest valley, then across a plain to another, then turned again, following the plan he and Relandar had made. The dragon chased after, but quickly tired, and was easily compelled to stay in its new banks.
Again, Arcos could not keep its word, and rose up to flood the land. This time, Reladivus consulted with Ekarna, who gave him a clay jar that she sealed up with wax and gum. Reladivus brought it to Arcos, who was intrigued by the jar and took the form of a beautiful blue woman. She tried to seduce Reladivus, but he rebuffed her. Finally she offered a reed basket full of pearls of all hues, but Reladivus would only trade if she returned to her channel. Arcos agreed, and used the jar to make a great lake in which to bathe and raise her children.
The Arcos can never be truly tamed, but Reladivus could always master it.