Astarte, the goddess of war, was also known as mistress of horses and chariots in Syrian and Phoenician mythology. She captured her steed, Baldium, from a herd of carnivorous underworld horses. Baldium would devour the souls of the slain warriors, which would serve to make him ever stronger and more fearsome.
In Germanic mythology, Celis, daughter of the sorceress Uslani was the most beautiful maiden in the kingdom. When a band of savage flying warriors attempted to steal her as a bride for their wicked king, Uslani hid Celis in the woods and changed her into a deer.
Gelvasta, the ruler of darkness in Latvian mythology, planted seeds in the center of the earth during the time before the sun came into being. The seeds grew into and enormous, demonic tree with branches so thick and tall that it threatened to cast the world into darkness once again The sun brought the champion Cesis out of the sea to destroy the tree and restore the sunlight. his enormous power came from is ankle-length hair and magic silver ax. It took Cesis five centuries to complete the task.
One of the wives of Odin, the lovely Valkyrie Freya was the German goddess of love. With her great strength, each day she pulled away the darkness that covered the sun and made way for the brilliance of daylight. Her magic golden necklace, a gift that Odin had forged for her in the sun, helped Freya subdue the darkness.
In Icelanding mythology, an enormous spider named Cariden possessed an enchanted golded sword that would grant its owner any wish that was spoken out loud. Cariden would hang the sword in her web to lure winged fairies inside where they would be trapped and devoured. The brave and bewitching fairy Kamal tricked Cariden by entrancing her with fascinating stories. When she was close to the sword, Kamal touched it and it became hers. She then killed Cariden and became queen of the fairies.
A female demon of Jewish folklore, Lilith was Adam's first wife. When Adam attempted to dominate her, she cursed him and flew away. Lilith then spent her time coupling with demons of the air and sea, often generating great typhoons from the excitement.
Loria, a powerful enchantress in Slavic mythology, knew of a secret cave where a magical jeweled fish named Alionu lived. When she visited Alionu, Loria would bring offerings to feed him. In return, he would grant her wisdom and magic.
In Carpathian mythology, a tribe of insects known as the Lakin was responsible for order and organization in the world while a band of menacing goblins known as the Hestas were constantly working to create disorder and destructiveness. The evil Hestas would prey upon the eggs of the Lakin in an effort to eliminate them because once the eggs hatched, the insects were too powerful a match for the Hestas. A sprite-like creature called Nikatjef was named guardian of the eggs in this battle for balance and harmony.
Celtic mythology describes Pedrum as an evil spirit of the mountains who lived in the heart of rocks. He would emerge on rainy days and capture unsuspecting travelers, sucking them into the rock and crushing their bones. The souls of the victims added to his strength. Pedrum was eventually defeated by a gorgeous woman warrior named Maline, who was armed with an enchanted hammer. At the moment of his death, the surrounding rocks changed back into the people he had slain.
The Suzle, voluptuous creatures of Siberian mythology, were hatched from eggs, and gave beauty and sensuality to the people of the earth. The Nydan, wormlike creatures with poisonous spikes, were envious of the Suzle and wanted to destroy them by making their warm hearts cold. The Nydan were eventually defeated when the envy of one of the worms turned to love, and in order to save the Suzle, it destroyed itself and all of the other Nydan.
In Patagonian mythology, Yhtac was a mermaid who was considered to be the most beautiful and elusive of all creatures. Her tail was made of gold and her skin was of pearl. A powerful sorcerer, Arasmin, created two flying beasts to carry his castle around the world until they could find her. The beasts were created with only one wing apiece so they could not fly alone. Once Arasmin found Yhtac, he presented each of the beasts with a second wing and set them free. Arasmin then transformed himself into a sea creature so that he could join the lovely Yhtac.
