Lawkeeper
God of Justice
Alignment: Neutral Good
Domains: Community, Knowledge, Nobility, Protection, War
Favored Weapon: Longsword
Divine Animal: Wolf
Rakesh has a tendency to relax and be very easygoing. He can be roused to rage when faced with injustice. He takes the dispensing of justice very seriously and rails against the innocent being punished. When not dealing with matters of justice he has a tendency to tell jokes and smile as he feels life should be enjoyed even when all seems dark. He knows the world can be very dark and dangerous, but seems no reason to add to that.
Uphold justice at all costs. The law does not equate justice. If the law is unjust then refuse to uphold it. If the punishment is unjust then refuse to honor it and instead assign a just punishment. Ensure justice is guided by facts and by compassion. Never rule without all of the facts. Never judge until all of the information is held. Never discard words due to who is speaking them, always investigate as truth and justice can come from any source.
Rakesh must uphold justice not only amongst the mortals, but also amongst the gods. He ensures the gods and celestials abide by the laws they agreed to long ago. This dual role gives him some respect and sometimes resentment from the other gods.
Rakesh's followers tend to be amongst the guards and various court systems. They generally pray to him in hopes of ensuring they deliver justice to the proper parties.
Rakesh shows his favor in impulses that lead to clues or the uncovering of a culprit. His interventions are very rare, but they can lead to an innocent man suddenly free and able to elude capture or the guilty to have everything collapse around them as they are finally unveiled.
Rakesh appears as a darkly handsome man. He has black hair and brown eyes. Unless there something of grave importance to handle he always seems to have a smile on his lips.
His symbol is that of a white key outlined in purple.
The Church
The church serves mainly two purposes. Those concerned with justice have cases tried within the walls. They have an entire court set up for trials. Each court has what looks to be a rose set within full view of everyone. It is a gift from Fatin with the magic to reveal when truth is spoken.
Priests are fairly common in the church with many duties. Their standard duty is to patrol their assigned areas for trouble. They also serve as lawyers and judges.
They are generally found in cities, but can be found in small villages.
Services are held at dawn and dusk. This is more so it does not interfere with the duties of the church.
Temples and Shrines
A temple has a set-up for sparring in close quarters to ensure the watch members have plenty of practice at fighting within the confines of the city. In addition to the standard temple for worship, sleeping, and eating there is a court area. The courtyard has a single gleaming rose made of gems that never shatter. The inner court where trials are held has a similar rose.
A Priest’s Role
A priest typically helps with handling the court, running trials, guarding prisoners, and keeping up the temple. The day looks ordered but when the scheule is full it can feel hectic to those caught in the swirl of action within.
Clerics have the same duties as a cleric, but are sometimes dispatched after more dangerous criminals. Inquisitors are sent after those who who are fallen members dealing out cruelty rather than justice.
Paladins are rare and tend to focus on bringing people to justice or sometimes meting it out if left no other choice.
I will deliver justice
I will ensure the innocent are not persecuted
I shall always seek out the truth before justice is delivered
Adventurers
A follower may travel to capture a powerful criminal. They also might travel to deliver justice in areas where no followers exist.
They view adventurers as necessary to hep with justice at times, but also at times as the ones that need to be held to laws. The church usually has at their disposal those able to match many of the average adventurers. They also keep a few more powerful ready to give assistance if needed,
Clothing
Their formal garb is normally worn within court. This garb looks like a richer version of their robes and varies by roles withing the court. The judges wear robes. Lawyers wear clothing in line with what nobles wear (though no gems aside from the holy symbol). Guards wear armor crafted into Rakesh's colors.
Like the formal garb the items vary by the role they play in court. Judges use a gavel that forces silence on a court or simply gains attention. Lawyers generally only have the books that can hold all the needed notes. Guards bear blades that can simply knock out an escaping prisoner.
Casual wear can be anything set in Rakesh's colors. Most are sturdy to allow for combat.
Holy Texts
The Key to Justice: This book details his view on the law and justice. Each book is modified by the area the church is in with those laws at the back.
Holidays
Day of Judging: Held once a season to allow members of the church (and the community) to air grievances and have them judged. This can be up to a week long if there are many grievances to work through. If there is more than a week to go through then Rakesh is entreated to com and help put the temple back in order.
Relations with other Religions
Rakesh is amenable to other duties and willing to be on friendly terms with all of them. Many will be friendly though various gods sometimes sour on him when they break the laws of the Celestial Realms. Other than those times he gets along with everyone.
Rakesh spent many years unable to call any an ally. That changed when Fatin joined the gods. She created a unique item called the Rose of Truth. None are able to evade it or sidestep truth. She gifted it to Rakesh to use in his temples so that they had a more elegant solution that the spell Zone of Truth. She has favored him since that time and he spends time with her as she understands that enforcing the law does not mean he dislikes anybody.
Once that happened he uncovered an ally in Thanatos. The god of death asked his aid in codifying punishments. Since he knew Rakesh would be guided by justice he would ensure the laws for the Court of Death to follow were fair. Once set he got Rakesh to help set these new laws as part of the celestial law to ensure the gods were fair in their punishments to the followers in need of punishment as well.
Most of his opponents are fiends or those bent on breaking the law and evading justice. Also those who prefer to mete out cruelty instead of justice oppose him. There are a few gods who resent the new laws about punishing followers who earned the punishment.
Realm
Rakesh's home plane looks like it is dotted by towns and one city. Outside of the towns and cities it is a lush and varied landscape. Within the plane only those being punished are restricted in movement.
On the mortal plane Rakesh is constantly on the move and seems to have no home. Though he seems to always return to a single city within the world. He always returns to the capitol of Sihai and a house within it.
Planar Allies
Fen: A celestial dire wolf. The wolf has the same humor as Rakesh and frequently comments about how justice can be delivered without any realizing it has been done.