The Gods of Pegāna · Chapter
Of Roon, the God of Going explained
This chapter introduces Roon, the god of Going, who compels all things—worlds, moons, comets, streams, winds, and people—to be in constant motion.
What happens
This chapter introduces Roon, the god of Going, who compels all things—worlds, moons, comets, streams, winds, and people—to be in constant motion. It contrasts Roon with the thousand home gods, such as Pitsu, Hobith, Habaniah, Zumbiboo, old Gribaun, Kilooloogung, Jabim, Triboogie, Hish, Wohoon, and Yoharneth-Lahai, who preside over domestic life, stillness, and the cycles of day and night. The chapter emphasizes the restless, unyielding nature of Roon and the inevitable journey he imposes on all beings.
Themes in this chapter
Time and Inevitable Decay
Roon's compulsion to go drives all things toward their end, and home gods like Jabim lament broken things, reflecting the passage of time and decay.
The Role of Art and Mirth
The home gods' small, comforting rituals and the quiet dances of Triboogie's shadows evoke a gentle, artistic mirth in domestic life.
Characters to notice
- Roon
The god of Going who drives all worlds, streams, winds, and people into perpetual motion.
- Habaniah
The lord of glowing embers, a home god who tends the hearth fire.
- Old Gribaun
The home god who sits in the heart of the fire to turn wood to ash.
- Kilooloogung
The lord of arising smoke, who sends smoke from the hearth to Pegāna.
- Jabim
The Lord of broken things, who laments what is cast away or forgotten.
- Triboogie
The Lord of Dusk, whose children are the shadows that dance on walls at night.
Key passages
“Roon met the Worlds all in the morning of Things, before there was light upon Pegāna, and Roon danced before them in the Void, since when they are never still.”
At the dawn of creation, before Pegāna had light, Roon danced in the emptiness before the worlds, and because of that dance, the worlds have never ceased moving.
Describes the primordial origin of motion in the cosmos.
“The footfall of Roon hath been heard at evening outside the houses of men, and thenceforth comfort and abiding know them no more.”
When Roon's steps are heard at dusk near human dwellings, the inhabitants lose all peace and permanence, driven to wander.
Illustrates Roon's power to uproot humans from their homes.
“Yarinareth, Yarinareth, Yarinareth, which signifieth Beyond—these words be carved in letters of gold upon the arch of the great portal of the Temple of Roon.”
The word 'Yarinareth,' meaning 'Beyond,' is inscribed in gold on the main arch of Roon's temple, symbolizing endless travel.
Highlights the central motif of ceaseless journeying.