Jumalat

The Jumalat or Gods of Finland are a race of superhumanly powerful humanoid beings who were once worshiped by the ancient Finno-Ugrian tribes of Eastern Europe from around 100 BC to 1000 AD when they were rejected in favor of Christianity. They have very few worshipers today, but they are still recognized as important figures of Finnish folklore and literature. The Kalevalans dwell in Celestial Kalevala, a small "pocket" dimension adjacent to Earth with an interdimensional nexus existing somewhere between Celestial Kalevala and Finland on Earth.

The Jumalat share their domain with a number of other races, much like the Asgardians and the Danaans. These races include a race of elves and faeries known as the Haltia, a race of dwarves known as Maahiset and the Hiisi, a race of demonic entities subservient to Lemp, the god of evil.

The precise origin of the Finnish gods, like that of all of Earth's pantheons of gods, is shrouded in legend. The earliest Finnish gods were Jumalat, the primeval sky-father, and Akka, the divine spirit of Earth. It is believed that Akka was actually Gaea, the primordial earth-mother who had survived the destruction of the Elder Gods of Earth by infusing her life into the life-giving essence of the Earth. Many of the Elder Gods had degenerated into demonic status and were destroyed by Atum or had fled Earth for other planes of existence. Atum had been born from Gaea by mating with the sentient biosphere of the Earth known as the Demiurge. Atum later departed the earth after shedding the excess demonic energies of the Elder Gods he had slain; some of these energies becoming demonic beings like Mephisto, Satannish and Mikaboshi, who became the eternal enemy of the Japanese gods. Whether Jumalat was another form of the Demiurge or of Atum himself is unrevealed.

The Finnish gods never developed a truly defined pantheon of gods; different deities were often revered more than others in separate tribes over other native gods. The Finnish tribes often even honored gods such as Zeus and Othin (Odin) from other rival pantheons and merged the traits of those foreign deities with their native deities. Pajonn, the thunder-god, had numerous traits with Thor, and Otso, the war-god, was often merged with the worship rites of Tiermes (Tyr) of the Vikings. Jumalat and Akka either stepped aside to allow younger gods like Ukko and Rauni to reign over the Finnish gods, or returned in new forms to reign. Ilmater, the goddess of the sky, conceived the majority of the Finnish gods. Unlike the majority of gods, the Finnish gods lived on Earth in ancient times with their worshipers and had very human characteristics; they hunted for food and shelter, created homes and migrated with their worshipers from their homeland into Kalevala, later known as Suomi (modern Finland). As they retired from their godly duties, they retired from Earth into another dimension known as Celestial Kalevala. Vainamoinen, believed to be the last of the children of Ilmater, imparted knowledge of the gods to their worshipers before departing Earth for the last time. In 1157 AD, Eric IX, King of Sweden, lead a crusade to conquer the Finnish tribes and introduced them to Christianity. Finland gradually acquired autonomy, this time from Russia, once more by the 17th Century.

Around 1000 AD, Ukko had been approached by Odin, Chieftain of the Asgardian gods, for a favor to meet with the rulers of the other gods once worshiped on Earth to discuss the threat of the Third Host of the Celestials. The rulers of the Earth's pantheons of gods have since become known as the Council of Godheads in order to discuss threats to Earth. The Celestials had threatened to seal off the portals of each of their godly realms unless they promised to stop interfering in mortal affairs. Ukko swore to this pledge and even made a vow to Odin to donate the necessary life energies to the Asgardians slain during the Fourth Host of the Celestials. When Thor came to Celestial Kalevala to petition a portion of the required life energies as part of this vow, Ukko saw that a debt had been paid to his realm and offered Thor the necessary energies to restore the slain Asgardian gods to life.