Cyndor

"Augury is a moral balm."

"The course of Fate cannot be controverted."

The Fundamentals

Cyndor is usually depicted as a towering, featureless humanoid with powerful block-like limbs. This form symbolizes the inevitability of time itself. One of the most important depictions of Cyndor resided within the monastery of the Vale outside of Devarnish, which has since been razed. The sculpture depicted Cyndor as a golem-like creature with indistinct facial features and limbs which had not been refined from their geometric origins - blocklike, mechanical.

He is thought to be a passive deity who takes pleasure (such as his pleasure may be) in documenting all the events which occur on Oerth. He is concerned with the integrity of the Prime Material and ensuring it does not become too diverted from its natural Fate by external beings from other planes. As such, the Godswar concerns Cyndor in particular, much as he is diametrically opposed to Tharizdun -- to a degree that is more explicit than other deities.

Cyndor's Beliefs

The following is as perceived by his disciples, particularly as the deity himself is usually silent on these matters. The beliefs of the Church are therefore created from traditions passed down through successive generations of the Church over time. Most hark back to a time when the Church was more organised. Some core texts of the faith espouse the following beliefs, though their meaning may have been warped over time:

(1) The Tale of Oerth and all that happens thereupon is intrinsically beautiful: the synthesis of divine and mortal endeavour.

(2) There is a plan laid out for the Prime Material, but this can be altered from its original course according to the designs of external entities.

(3) Cyndor records the actions of every living creature in his Perpetual Libram, upon the Clockwork Plane of Mechanus.

(4) Time and space (which determine the quality of the plan) are sacred and are domains which should be meddled with only under extreme circumstances (e.g. when corrections are required after an external entity has ‘interfered’).

(5) Time and space - and thus the arrangement of the planes - must be actively guarded from powerful beings who desire to subvert it from its pre-determined path (determining what classifies as subversion is down to interpretation). Especially those of non-deity status.

(6) False prophesies are an insult to true prophesies, which are precious insights into the beauty of the predetermined pattern.

Nowadays, the only 'beliefs' which the average Church member has the power to observe are 1, 2, 3 & 6. The others lie beyond their understanding. Cyndor is silent when it comes to the clarification of these matters. Some suggest that Cyndor's relative silence may be a test of his subjects. Alternatively, it could be evidence of his passivity, or simply that he is extremely busy.

Cyndor's divine allies

Although Cyndor is regarded as quite an insular deity, he is known to have some links to other divine beings. Three are especially notable. However, his Oerthly Church also has tight links to the Church Rao. Moreover, it is known that St. Cuthbert has communed with Cyndor in the past, as he once told Kendra that her deity thought well of her.

Lendor

(Cyndor’s Superior)

The Suel god of Time, Tedium, Patience and Study. A distant deity, he is often depicted as a husky older man with flowing hair and a beard of white. He is supposed to have begun the flow of time with one stroke of his mighty, flaming sword, Afterglow. His relationship to Cyndor is that of a superior, but they are often found allied with one another when marshalling their Oerthly influences.

Merikka

(Cyndor’s Subordinate)

The Oeridian god of Agriculture, Farming and the Home. Usually described as grey old lady of faded beauty, Merikka is obsessed with dates and cycles. She is therefore consulted for when harvests should be made and when seeds should be planted. She was trapped for some years in the Godtrap underneath Castle Greyhawk. She is directed in her tasks by Cyndor.

Tsolorandril

(Cyndor’s Servant)

Tsolorandril is a hero-deity of Wave Motions who originally came from a plane quite unlike the Prime Material. It is thought that he was sponsored to his current position by Cyndor, and that he now wanders the ethereal plane. He is depicted as a tall, androgynous humanoid with white skin, silver-blue hair and the attenuated facial features of a very alien being. He is Cyndor's wanderer, perhaps voice - at times.

The Clockwork Plane of Mechanus

What follows is mainly rumour. It is based upon paintings and ancient texts in old languages. Deeper, solid knowledge is not widely-possessed.

The Clockwork Plane of Mechanus, sometimes known as the Clockwork Nirvana, is a purely lawful plane. Located within it is a smaller demi-plane wherein Cyndor makes his personal home in his palace of the Perpetual Libram, with a handful of loyal servants. In the Clockwork Plane of Mechanus, from which the Perpetual Libram is accessed, chaotic beings feel out of place. The implacable rationality of its design galls them. The plane is predominantly inhabited by mechanical creatures called Modrons, who see to its maintenance.

This Plane is quite unusual from many others, in that what constitutes the ‘ground’ and the distribution of gravity is actually variable. The foundations of the plane are thought to be built upon many interlocking, slowly twisting cogs which are at various alignments with respect to one another. Some are perpendicular to one another, some are slightly more disjointed and offset. However, they all turn with an infallible regularity and relativity. The turning power for all the cogs is thought to originate from a central hub. Curiously, the ‘gravity’ of the plane orientates to the horizon of the cog upon which one treads, leading to very disorientating scenarios for outsiders.

Cyndor owns a realm upon the Clockwork Plane called the Path of Time. From this region, his Perpetual Libram upon the Demiplane of Time can be accessed.

Inhabitants: inevitables, modrons, formians, other orderly beings, many other deities.

The Demiplane of Time, Tempus Cidatus, and the Perpetual Libram

The biggest conduit to the Perpetual Libram itself resides upon The Clockwork Plane of Mechanus. The Perpetual Libram is a modest palace, coloured in what appears to be white marble and dark, dark gold. The broad windows of this palace look out into an illusory black oblivion. This represents the infinity of time. However, there is no formal door through which this blackness can be accessed. Indeed, the palace is a physically inaccessible fortress upon the Demiplane of Time.

A maze-like network of mirrored corridors radiates outward from a central forum wherein the Court of Cyndor is thought to reside and discuss their duties. Also radiating out from this central chamber are rooms dedicated to the accommodation (and travel) of visitors to this demi-plane. A grand hub of dynamic portals, it is thought. Messengers arrive and leave all the time, bringing dossiers and news.

The deity himself is said to seal himself away in his own private study – and only summon his servants in isolation, and for enigmatic reasons. None dare to needlessly disturb his task: transcribing all that occurs upon the Prime Material. He is said to have a hundred animated quills which transfer his thoughts to parchment. Fittingly, the windows in his chamber are thought to view the Prime Material rather than the blackness of Oblivion – effectively pools of trans-dimensional divination.

Inhabitants: visitors to Cyndor, Cyndor's select servants. A handful of only 20 or so are permanent residents of the Perpetual Libram itself. Temporal dogs & time dimensionals (beings which exist outside of time) also interface with the Perpetual Libram, as is their whim.