Hurricanes and Tornados

Hurricanes and tsunamis wreak havoc on land masses with great winds and walls of water. Tornados, while seemingly less destructive, cause their share of problems on land as well. The following is a myth that explains the existence of these storms:

In ancient times, two brothers, Makani, the god of wind and Kari, the god of curling wind created an empire that extended three times that of the Roman Empire. In their greed, the devastated large land masses, stripping the land of trees and animal habitat. This greatly angered Rinji, the god of the forest. He felt that Makani and Kari and their followers were depleting the forest of all flora and fauna, without giving heed to restoration. Animals were needlessly killed and their habitat burned to the ground in the name of expansion of the empire. Makani and Kari killed only the land-dwelling animals, as they felt those were the main obstacle to safety and area for their people.

During this same time, Rinji was at battle with Kaia, the godess of the sea. She was constantly lapping at the shores of the land, taking away precious soil from the land inhabitants. Kaia saw nothing but the continuous killing of the fish and mammals that lived within her. The land dwellers came out into the sea in crudely fashioned craft, harvesting more and more creatures. Kaia blamed Rinji for these harvests. She warned him to control his people, to keep them in his forests to find their food. From time to time she sent great waves to retrieve the bones of the animals harvested from her so that she may make new creatures from the bones of the dead. In this way she restored herself and her brood.

Rinji came to Makani disguised as a dragon, pledging the allegiance of dragons to his empire. Makani followed Rinji into the forest to discuss this alliance, only to be led over a cliff and into the sea. Rinji used his very powerful forest magic to banish Makani to the sea. Rinji also attempted to lure Kari into the same fate. Kari took to the air instead, as he had the ability to fly for short periods. When Rinji cast his spell then, Kari was banished from the land to the air.

Kari and Makani both found alliances with other deities. Makani, banished to the sea, found a friend in Kaia, the godess of the sea. They held the same loathing for Rinji. When Makani learned of his brother’s exile to the sky, he went to Kaia to ask her assistance. She called upon her sibling Kalani, the god of the sky. Kalani and Makani met together, sky and sea, at the horizon. Upon Makani explaining Kari’s exile, Kalani agreed to help Kari exact his revenge on Rinji. Kalani had long resented Rinji’s people for the smoke and other gases they pushed upward into her from their fires. A strong alliance soon grew between this foursome.


Even today Makani and Kaia punish the people of the land for their devastation of the sea with great hurricanes and tsunamis. Kari and Kalani bring tornadoes from the sky as a constant reminder of their anger at the poisonous gases emitted by the lives of the land dwellers.

The names I used for the gods and goddesses are explained below:
(Makani=wind) (Kaia=Sea) (Rinji=Forest) (Kari=Wind, curls) (Kalani=sky)

Word Count: 543