Er-Heofun

Er-Heofun MYTHOLOGY — A demigod. Er-Heofun was a mythical figure said to have been the fourth son born to a demigoddess known as → Rubel. Her fourth and final son, Er-Heofun was a surprise to Rubel. Whereas her first three sons were conceived by Rubel alone—without the aid of a male lover—Er-Heofun was conceived after Rubel copulated with a cosmic entity, in some versions a comet and in others a star. Rubel gave birth to Er-Heofun without realizing she was pregnant. Er-Heofun was the most rambunctious and unpredictable of Rubel’s four sons, often creating problems for his mother and brothers. His most notable folly—as it was perceived by his family and other deities—was that he imbued humankind with souls. Many variations exist of the telling, but a common theme among most is that Er-Heofun harvested holy substance from the cosmos—star dust, comet tails, and sun beams—and shaped these together and fired the result in the sun, creating Soul, the human → ehwain. He then used the darkness as glue to bind this substance within the human body and light to seal the body after.