Gods

Gods are the mightiest and most dynamic beings of the world. Their power is great, exceeding that of even the mightiest of mortals, yet they concern themselves with the world of mortals and accept mortals as their servants.

About the Gods

The gods themselves are rather disparate. Few are related to each other. Few have been born since the world was created.

Gods have several distinct traits which identify them as gods:

Gods do not age.
Gods embody an ideal.
Gods oversee some aspect of the world.
Gods support civilization.
Gods seek to preserve the world.

Power itself is not a defining trait of a god. Powerful destroyers, such as demon lords, assert themselves as gods, but they oversee no aspect of the world. In comparison, the Bloodletters, though terrible, are the patrons of organizations, cities, and nations, marking them as true gods.

The world itself is a fragile place. The unfathomable power of the Mother of Storms keeps it together, though imperfectly. Mindful of the world's weaknesses, gods use their full powers judiciously. Traditionally, they use their adherents to enforce their will. As civilization is an inherently social institution, this low-powered approach is usually sufficient to resolve their issues.

The worship of gods is fundamentally polytheistic. There is no "one true way" or "one true faith." Such an idea is completely foreign to the expression of religion. Instead, there are many gods, each with many forms of worship, which most people give routine worship to, and a few become more intimately involved with.

Most mortals worship all the gods to some degree or other. They give the gods their appropriate sacrifices as needed, and give them extra attention on their feast days, but do little beyond that. Some mortals admire a god to a far greater extent. These adherents dedicate their lives and future to their god, advancing the will of their god as instructed.

Each temple, monastery, or other religious institution runs itself, having established its own routine through revelation, inspiration, and tradition. These institutions often focus on single aspects of these complex gods, revealing truths about these aspects that only they espouse.

Temples are usually found in larger cities. These temples house holy relics which the clergy use to provide miracles to the people. Smaller cities, towns, and villages usually have shrines run by volunteers. They offer no significant services and have no relics. Some places are holy. These are usually have names mentioning the gods that sanctified them.

While individual mortals may favor one god over another, cities and nations do not. These institutions must stay on good terms with all the gods, both wanted and unwanted. Most cities construct state-sponsored temples to ensure that each god is worshiped and recognized, understanding that the cost of upsetting a god far exceeds the cost of any temple. These state run temples also guarantee that the worship of dangerous gods is kept highly formal.

Brief History

In the ancient days, gods acted and influenced for themselves. They hewed to their own philosophies and cooperated little until one ambitious pantheon formed, calling themselves the Oathbreakers. They and their worshippers sought to control the entire world. In reaction to this, other gods formed a counter-alliance, calling themselves the Alliance of the Sun. They led the Crusade of Light against the Oathbreakers, eventually destroying it and imprisoning them.

Alliance of the Sun

The Alliance of the Sun formed to counter the burgeoning power of the Oathbreakers. They organized the Crusade of Light, pushing the Oathbreakers and their cohorts from power. In the intervening years, the Alliance gods have wandered off or died. Few are left.

The Wild Woman

The Wild Huntress, Tender of Herds

About

The Wild Woman is the Lord of all animal kind. She appears wearing a tiger skin, a wreath of leaves upon her head, and carrying a staff. Hunters, herdsmen, teamsters, and animal trainers particularly revere her. She is sometimes depicted as a sphinx.

The Wild Woman originated far in the east, from the city of Aq, with her sisters The White Lady and the Red Lady. When Nomos sent out a call for an alliance, she answered the call, fighting in the Crusade of Light. Unlike her sisters, she never joined the Oathbreakers.

The Wild Woman later became the patron of the Griffin Empire, and most recently is the patron of the Border League.

The Wild Woman is usually depicted wearing a tiger skins and a wreath of leaves. She carries a staff in her hand topped with a pine cone.

EthosDomestication is a pillar of civilzation. Animals assume the labor of men so that men may use their minds.

All animals, wild and domestic, fall under The Wild Woman's domain. She demands that the domestic animals be treated humanely, while wild animals only hunted for need, not sport. For those who do hunt, she demands a sacrifice of blood from all fallen game. From domestic animals, she demands that a share be set aside from every kill and given to the poor.

Worship

Although the Wild Woman has formal temples, these are not the center of her worship. It is in the hunt itself that she is worshiped. She is invoked at the beginning of the hunt and propitiated at the end. She is also honored by herders when husbanding, birthing, and slaughtering.

The few formal temples to her hold wild beasts in cages. Games in her honor feature warriors fighting wild creatures.

Image Source: Wikipedia Commons

The White Lady

The White Lady of Peace, Bringer of Death, Tender of Field, Preserver of Diplomats

About

The White Lady of Peace is a complex agricultural goddess. She most often appears as a white clothed woman, veiled in white, wearing a green dress. She is often depicted carrying branches in bloom.

The White Lady is also the bringer of death. During the winter, the White Lady wanders the land, killing the plants and animals. It is only during the summer, after the last frost, that the White Lady retires underground, making the world safe again.The White Lady originated far in the east, from the city of Aq, with her sisters The Wild Woman and the Red Lady. At first, she joined the Oathbreakers with her sister, the Red Lady. When Nomos sent out a call for an alliance, she abandoned the Oathbreakers, instead fighting faithfully for the the Crusade of Light.

Since the end of the Crusade of Light, the White Lady has put down her arms, taking up the cause of peace.

Ethos

Peace is a pillar of all civilizations. The peace that The White Lady speaks of is not universal peace, or a world without war, but instead refers to the peace of ordinary life. Only when arms have been put away can the creation and growth of civilization occur. Those who wish to travel under the protection of The White Lady carry branches. To attack those who travel under her protection is impiety.

Worship

Shrines to The White Lady proliferate throughout the agricultural world. There is no village or hamlet that does not have some small, public shrine to The White Lady. Her important feast days are the last frost, the first frost, and harvest. The White Lady is rarely depicted.

Image Source: Wikipedia Commons

Sonoren

Patron of the Intellectual Arts

About

Sonoren is an elderly god, old even when the world was new. He joined the Crusade of Light as the last survivor of his original pantheon, long forgotten. It was his skills in esoteric knowledge that turned the tide for the Crusade. After the war completed, he settled into the Great Library at Rhakotis and rarely emerged.

Sonoren is depicted with a book, deep in study and thought, although his adherents believe he is napping. His hair is white and his beard is full. He wears a green velvet robe.

In recent years, he has become forgetful.

Ethos

Knowledge is a pillar of civilization. All arts and crafts, from architecture, to ironworking, require both knowledge and education. One must learn to observe and observe to learn.

Worship

Small alters or statues to Sonoren inhabit virtually every craftsman's workshop. His larger shrines are placed in centers of learning, such as schools or libraries. Typical sacrifices to him include poems written for his favor, as well as scrolls and tomes.

Sonoren dwells in the Great Library of Rhakotis.

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

Tythia

Leader of the Alliance of the Sun, Arbiter of Fairness, Patron of Judges, Herald of Nomos

About

Tythia is the leader of the Alliance of the Sun, the arbiter of fairness, and the patron of judges. She appears as a woman, clothed in a black robe with golden ties. She wears golden flowers in her hair. She carries a sword.

Tythia was born to Nomos during the Age of Legends. As his Herald, she delivered the call to Alliance.

During the Imperial years, she settled into her role of patron of judges and overseer of fairness. Her name was invoked when signing contracts and when witnesses testified at trial.

When Nomos died at the Battle of Glittering Vale, the Alliance elected Tythia as their new leader. Her style differs considerably from that of Nomos, for while Nomos was the patron of warriors and suppressor of evil, she was a proponent of justice and fairness. During her tenure, her support for justice has caused considerable social upheaval and turnover, and has been cited by historians as a contributing reason driving the collapse of the empires.

Tythia is typically shown with a sword, carrying the severed head of the wicked.

Ethos

Civilization is founded and dependent upon a fair system: fair laws, fair justice, and fair deals. As long as the system is fair, civilization can flourish. Once a civilization becomes unfair, it is doomed to extinction or revolution, both of which are bad for civilization.

Worship

When Tythia assembles the Crusade, she sits in the Palladium of Light, the palace of Nomos, and the meeting place of the Alliance of Light. The Palladium resides in the Palace of Eternity in Charystos. When working, Tytha stands in judgment in her knackery, slaughtering the wicked and forgiving the innocent.

Tythia is invoked more than worship. Her name is uttered when signing contacts, making oaths, and giving witness in trials. Her shrines are usually located in civic buildings.

Image Source: Wikipedia Commons

The Enigmatic Gods

The enigmatic gods are rarely worshiped, even on the state level, and rarely discussed by ordinary mortals. These gods oversee facets of life and death, and other esoteric things that the ordinary person barely comprehends.

Scholars are fascinated with this group, endlessly seeking more about them. Given several thousand years of history, little is known about them.

Chronos

Maker of Time

About

Chronos is the personification of time. He is both the ultimate creator and the ultimate destructor. He himself is the time that we go through, yet lies outside of time. To Chronos, all of time is as a book to be paged forward or backward as he sees fit. He knows the full breadth of history, yet is also ignorant of it. He is like a writer who keeps revising his work, always surprised at what his characters do.

Chronos is a paramour of the Queen of Storms. Their child is Rem, the goddess of dreams.

Ethos

Chronos neither professes nor endorses an ethos. His is the ethos of time itself. All things have a beginning. All things have an end. All things happen as they do.

Worship

Few worship Chronos. Some state sponsored cults exist, usually as side altars in a more prominent temple.

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

Eth

Librarian of the Dead

About

Eth is best understood as the Manager of the Dead. He directs the collection of souls, their disposition for eternity, and their return to the living should it be needed. Eth sends his soul hounds to collect souls of the dead and to send forth the souls of the newly born.

Eth is depicted as a jackal-headed being with a staff and an ankh.

Eth dwells in Endhaven, poling his boat on the Lake of Souls. For those who come to see the Mother of Storms, he ferries them to her island.

Eth is of no relation to any known god.

Ethos

Eth has not ethos. He administers the dead, ensuring that their souls stay in their proper place.

Worship

Eth is only mentioned in funerary services. He is asked to place the deceased in his Lake of Souls.Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

One-Eyed Jack

The Double Dealer

About

One-Eyed Jack is patron of profit and wealth. How and where that wealth comes does not matter. Merchants worship One-Eyed Jack as he is the patron of wealth through commerce, trade, and bargaining. Rogues, pirates, and thieves worship him as he is also the patron of theft, embezzlement, and extortion. He is always popular with smugglers and government officials.

One-Eyed Jack is also the patron of those who wish to protect their wealth. Many locksmiths place his sign on their locks and their strongboxes. His sign is placed on bridges. Caravans place his sign on their wagons, hoping to ward off highwaymen.

One-Eyed Jack also represents a helping hand. He will readily use wealth to undermine authority. He will readily help you to go where you should not go and find what you should not find.

Ethos

Getting what somebody else has is the only ethos of One-Eyed Jack. You want money. You get the money by any means that you can devise. The easier and the fast that you can acquire the money, the better. If you want secrets, you steal secrets. If you want somebody's position, you undercut them.

WorshipThe clergy of One-Eyed Jack are secretive and rare. They exist throughout the civilized world, acting in secret.

Most of his cults have no clergy at all. Pirates and smugglers may have a small shrine to him in their secret lair. Bankers may wear his symbol hidden beneath their clothes. Traders may bow to him after a successful trade.

Where his cult does exist, it often connects a myriad of underworld figures in an ad-hoc cooperative, bringing together enemies on neutral ground. Those connections breed highly developed organized crime.

"Jack's Gift" is a slang term for a bribe, payoff, or other illegal payment.

Mother of Storms

The Ancient OneAbout

The Mother of Storms is a mysterious being of great power. She is depicted as a strong and stern eyed woman, hardened by her many years. Legend has it that she is the oldest of the old gods. Her thoughts are inscrutable. Her origin is unknown. Her true purposes are in doubt. She appears to control the whole world, yet plays games with mortal fates.

There are many who approach the Mother of Storms to gain power. Dealing with the Mother of Storms is no petty matter. She is a perfect bargainer, knowing far more about the price that you will pay than you do. There is a popular saying: if you pay her price then that price is too high. For those willing to pay this price, she gives power that no other being can match. If you seek the Mother, you must travel to Endhaven, ascend the mountain to the Lake of Souls, cross over on Eth's boat, and stand before her in her cave.

The Mother of Storms is served by storm hags. These creatures bargain with lesser men too intimidated to approach the Mother directly. They, too, are insidious bargainers, but not so insidious as their mistress. They can bargain for life and death, but they can not bargain for the powers beyond time.

Ethos

The Mother of Storms is truly inscrutable. She appears to care little for the world, yet endlessly has her hands in its affairs.

Legend says that she saved the world from utter destruction. Prophecy says that she will destroy the world.

Worship

The Mother of Storms has never acknowledged any type of worship. States sometimes dedicate small temples to her. The populace makes no attempt to worship her, but will make the sign against evil when her name is mentioned. When she is sacrificed to, it is usually a sacrifice of last resort. History shows some instances of human sacrifice or self-sacrifice at these moments.

Source: Wikipedia Commons

Rem

The Poet

AboutRem is the goddess of dreams and mysteries. She dwells in the land of dreams, or she is the land of dreams, depending on who you ask. She is a known and powerful presence, dealing in eroticism, visions, and nightmares in unpredictable turns.

The Mother-of-Storms has admitted that Rem is her daughter, and cited Chronos as her father. Perhaps these powers explain her gifts of prophecy and her unfathomable nature.

Few have ever met Rem, or what they claim is Rem. The Prophet described her as "the center of everything and the existence of nothing."

EthosMany scholars and clerics have attempted to articulate an ethos for Rem, but all attempts fall short of her phenomena, for Rem brings a senseless incomprehensibility upon the living, and what she brings refreshes the mind.

Worship

Rem is not routinely worshipped. She is only placated when she brings unending nightmares.

There are those who seek out the experiences that Rem has to offer. They smoke opiates and dream.

Image Source: Wikipedia Commons

The Bloodletting Gods

All Bloodletters require human sacrifice. The Bloodletters believe that conflict is the ultimate expression of Civilization. The conflicts of civilizations (social, economic, and political) should occur literally rather than figuratively. As such, they have each striven to bring bloodshed back to the places where it belongs.

The Bloodletters themselves are a gods who once joined with the Oathbreakers. Samael was the first freed, and he in turn engineered the freeing of the Red Lady of War.

Other members of the Oathbreakers remain imprisoned. The Alliance of the Sun hid those prisons well. Whether the Bloodletters can find and free them, or even intends to free them, remains to be seen.

Red Lady of War

The Seductress, Patroness of Lust and War AboutThe Red Lady of War personifies unbounded ambition, vision, and the lust for greatness. She places into men the belief that war will make them great.

For those she courts, she appears as a beautiful woman. She promises great sexual rewards for men who follow her, only to raise the price for her favors. For those she disfavors, her countenance is far sterner. No mortals survive this wrath.

The Red Lady was a member of the Oathbreakers in ancient days. She was subdued and imprisoned for a thousand years. By some means, her prison was found and she was freed. She inspired the south into a brutal war, collapsing the mighty Phoenix Empire, and turned a peaceful land into a brutal dictatorship.

For human sacrifices, the Red Lady prefers nobles defeated by her followers.

The Red Lady hails from the east, along with her sisters the White Lady and the Wild Woman.

Ethos

The followers of the Red Lady of War embrace war. They fight for greed, ambition, and power. They fight for the feeling of superiority that victory brings. There are no morals or ethics to their fighting. Victory comes to those who are most sincere and the most ambitious.

Victories are to be celebrated. These celebrations will be large wild affairs. It is said that children conceived in such revels are the children of the goddess, and that the goddess favors them in war. The Red Lady also favors those conceived in rape and violence. The strongest of these becomes her sybils.

Worship

The Red Lady is most widely worship in the south. Sacrifices to her are frequent and extravagant with her priestesses sacrificing hecatombs of cattle on feast days. On the holiest of days, she prefers human sacrifice.

Many mercenary groups embrace the Red Lady, erecting secret altars where possible. In any army, you can be sure to find any number of shrines dedicated to her if you know where to look.

Many of her clergy can be found as members of military orders as they always seek higher positions of power. They bribe, betray, and murder their way up the ladder of success.

The Red Lady's closest followers are her Red Sybils. These seers speak the Red Lady's truth. Although they do not know the future, they do speak of opportunities, secrets, and other things hidden. They drive the ambitious to the ripest opportunities. These women are so dedicated to the Red Lady that they destroy their own eyes in order to gain Her gift of visions.

Image Source: Wikipedia Commons

Samael

The Butcher, Lord of Panic and Rout

Samael is bloody revenge personified. There is no grievance to large or too small for vengeance. "All grievances are mine, and I give them to you."

Samael is the first of the Oathbreakers freed after a thousand years of captivity. He adopted the wild tribes as his people, uniting them into a vengeful amalgam called the Feral Nation. He smashed what remained of civilization in the north, and every year takes more territory. He himself broke the gates of Fera Nea, the unconquerable city, destroying what remained of the Griffon Empire. Even Verdigris, most powerful dragon of the west, and guardian of the imperial treasury, failed before his fury.

Samael assembled an army of the outcasts and the trodden upon. Those things that hid themselves for a thousand years he welcomes and made Reivers. These creatures now take back those lands that once were theirs.

For human sacrifice, Samael prefers vast numbers of captured opponents. Quantity matters more than quality. On his feast days, blood runs through the streets like a river.

Ethos

Samael is among the few gods who has spoken for himself to mortal. This is his commandment to his his troops.

"To all who have wronged you, enslave them. To all who helped your subjugators, conquer them. To all who sat by and did nothing, drive them from their homes. To those who hold what is yours, take it back. Give no mercy. Give no quarter. Make the ground weep with blood."

The creatures that follow Samael remember that they once held countries and powers throughout the lands before the Crusade of Light drove them from their home places. They each want their places back and fight to get them. They will not be placated until the newcomers are driven from their ancient lands and the world again become a savage place.

Worship

"War is my altar and battle is my fire. Pour fourth the bowels so that I may smell their sickening vapors and be pleased. Heap the corpses so that I may smell their rotting flesh ten leagues away. Drag away the prisoners by chain, driving them to work as they once drove you, until they die from the load upon their back."

Although there are those who worship Samael as priests, most do not bother. "To kill in revenge is a thousand times sweeter than hearing a victim screaming for mercy."

Elemental Lords

In the deep past, the elemental lords battled each other for control of the world. They and their forces directly marched and clashed. Over time, those wars diminished. These lords now dwell in their places of power, acting as singular powers within the world.

Unlike the other gods, who make their own place in the cosmos, the elemental lords occupy established positions. When an elemental lord dies or retires, a new elemental lord rises to take the position. Why this is, or by what mechanism this happens is beyond current understanding, and remains among the great divine mysteries.

The lords themselves are a different as the elements that they rule. They are united in their outlook on the world, and their hosting of mortal servants who volunteer to serve them.

The elemental lords do not have complicated causes. Perhaps this is because they are causations in and of themselves. They follow their nature.

King Astreus

Elemental King of Air

About

Astreus is the reigning Elemental Lord of Air, and the last of the ancient elemental lords.

Astreaus appears as a many-armed and many-winged being, often with many eyes, faces, and arms as well.

In battle, Astreaus wields the hail and thunder to lay his enemies low.

In his early days, Astreaus fell in love with the beautiful city of Aq, so he picked it up and took it with him. Those who live there today are called Astreans.

Ethos

Astreaus professes no ethos.

Worship

The temples to Astreus are located in high places. They are usually small, although some are composed of many small buildings across many levels. The home of Astreus is in his temple on Astrea, the floating city.

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

King Basileus

Elemental King of EarthSingle-eyed Basileus is the mono-focused lord of earth. He is a creator, above all things, working long in his underground forge.

Basillus appears as a great cyclopse wearing a simple tunic and wielding a great iron club. He assumed the lordship of Earth after Lord Cason was killed during the Crusade of Light by the Dread General.

Basilus is friends with both dwarven folk and most giant races. He has brought many a giant down to work in his forges. His servants make many wonderful and unique weapons.

Baileus lives under holy mount Perma in the Hadean mountains.

Ethos

Basilus professes no ethos.

WorshipBasilus's temples are located underground. They are often located in mines and tunnels. These underground cathedrals are built over generations into magnificent spaces.

The dwarves are the most accessible worshippers of Basileus. All who work metal and stone hold him as most holy. Those who serve Basileus directly are called the Metallurgists.

Queen Dauphin

Elemental Queen of Water

Dauphin is the goddess of all the oceans. She is deep, powerful, and very unforgiving. She is a very harsh mistress, indeed.

The most recent Elemental Lord of Water, Tsunami, was killed by Samael. His first wife, Dauphin, assumed the throne. Dauphin is generally regarded as both weaker and more unpredictable than her husband. Since assuming her lordship, she has faced no mortal challenge. So far, she and Samael have not moved against each other. Rumor says that she seeks items of power and a great weapon.

Dauphin appears as a mermaid, wearing little but jewelry. She carries no weapon, for the sea itself is her servant.Dauphin is often represented as a spiral.Ethos

Dauphin professes no ethos.

Worship

The clergy of Dauphin are often merchants, inhabitants of sea towns, or in love with the sea. There is something in the sea that moves them.

Dauphin's temples are of myriad size and shape. Each is unique, given in vision to her clergy. Her temples are as mutable and changeable as the ocean itself.

Image Source: Wikipedia Commons

The Iron Duke

Elemental Lord of Iron

AboutAn elemental lord of Earth, Lord Iron is the god of stell and all the power that iron provides. He is worshipped mostly by smiths, who pass his secrets from one generation to another. Dwarven Ironmongers are his most renown servants, being the only organization who know how to build blast furnaces and mass produce steel.The Iron Duke is usually depicted as a dragon or a dwarf-like smith. He is shown with a hawk, and more recently is shown with firearms.EthosLive life, drink merrily, work hard, and fight your enemies.WorshipThe forge itself is a place to worship Iron. It is there that smiths practice their secrets, passing them from master to apprentice. Image Source: Wikipedia Commons

Queen Plasm

Elemental Queen of Fire, The Passionate Crafter

About

Plasm represents the passion that strikes all makers, and the burst of creativity that comes from this. She is usually depicted with a harp. Plasm current holds the title Elemental Lord of Fire. She was once the elven goddess of passion. She fought along side the Transgressor gods in the Battle of Glittering Vale. The Lord of Fire died in that battle, and she assumed that mantle in his stead.

Plasm resides in the land of Schanderna, and is served by those elves that yet follow her, in addition to other strange creatures.

Ethos

Plasm's clerics are artisans and craftsmen. Their work is their worship, and their worship is their work. They make things from the deep seated passions that dwell within them. To create something is the only reason that mortals exist.

Worship

Plasm's clergy are all craftsmen. Her temples are every workshop where her followers dwell. Her sacred flame is placed in prominent flame in every workshop. This flame came from her and is an actual part of her being. Those who let this flame extinguish through neglect or impiety suffer her anger until they seek out Plasm herself in the bowels of Schanderna and beg her forgiveness.

Plasm is the last living god of the elves. She dwells in the Smoking Forges of Schanderna. She appears as a large flame, sometimes as a column of fire, and sometimes as a flaming humanoid with female features.

The gods of the elves died fighting Nomos. She is now the sole deity of this race, and her personality now dominates their racial character. She has driven the Schan into a deep and perpetual making urge.

Image Source: Wikipedia Commons

The Oathbreakers

The Oathbreakers were an ancient pantheon defeated in the Crusade of Light. All members were imprisoned or killed. Some members have returned with a new agenda under the aegis of Bloodletters.

One-Eye Jack, Seizer of Wealth
Red Lady of War, Seductress of Battle
Samael, Lord of Violence
The Dread General, Lord of the Relentless Legion (imprisoned)
- The Relentless Legion (imprisoned)

God-Like Beings

Destroyers

Destroyers are the beings that would bring the end of the world. Even the Bloodletters, in all their ambition and immoralities, seeks to preserve the world and rule it for themselves. This is not so for the Destroyers. These beings hate the world, hate living, and only have the ambition to weaken it bit by bit until it falls apart into the primordial chaos from whence it was born. Myth says that the Destroyers are beings accidentally trapped in the world after it was made, suffering for all is rational existence. Others legends say that destroyers creep in through the cracks in the world, ever seeking to open those cracks wider, until the world is rent asunder. No matter their origins, these horrible creatures are real and threaten mortal peril to all they encounter.

Helpers

Some beings work with the gods. They are not gods in any practical sense. They have no worshippers. Yet they do have an impact in the divine realms. They are the beings that actually accomplish the daily tasks that must happen, whether the god is present or not. For example, Ebon Sol works for Tythia by capturing escaped souls and returning them for trial.

Dead Gods

Nomos (source: wikipedia commons)
Lord Tsunami of the Water
Lord Magma of Fire
Lord Cason of Earth
Destiny
Gladius
Numerous Elemental Lords

Destiny

The death of Destiny destroyed the fate of the world. Without Destiny, the empires collapsed. She was killed by the White Lady for unknown reasons, and now only death has the power of destiny.

Nomos

Nomos lead the Alliance of the Sun during the Crusade of Light. The Prophet appointed him the leader. He eventually fought the great elven trees and nearly won. After Nomos died, his daughter Tythia was elected leader of the Alliance.

The Prophet of Uma

The Prophet of Uma is the first god to speak against the Oathbreakers. He always claimed to speak for a higher god that was unable to act. The Prophet was killed during the Battle of Carmarthen far in antiquity when the White Lady was forced to take the field in support.

Philosophies

The religion of Endhaven is filled with a myriad of philosophies. Although the philosophies themselves claim no exclusivity, the implications of some philosophies naturally bring them into conflict with other philosophies even within the faithful of the same pantheon. In recent centuries, Axiomism and Transgressionism have come into conflict. In the ancient past, the philosophies of light and shadow came into conflict.

Elementalism

Elementalism is among the oldest of all philosophies, and the most widespread among non-humans. Elementalism is the basic "worship" of the natural elements as embodied by the Elemental Lords. To call this reverence "worship" begs incorrect conclusions, for though the adherents of elementalism give great reverence to the elemental lords, they do not worship them in a way readily understood as worship. One could alternately say that the Elemental Lords are placated.

Where other philosophies deal with abstract concepts, the philosophy of elementalism deals with the physical world itself. Our existence in this world is innately tied to the nature of the physical world. Elementalism shapes the world by simply existing: stone is hard, fire burns, and water is wet. Their inherent nature limits how we interact with them, and channels our existence down certain naturally occurring paths.

In the extreme, the elements have a potentially massive effect on the life of people. When the natural elements are in upheaval, their true power is shown. Earthquakes, tornadoes, tsunamis, droughts, and wildfires each can take a catastrophic toll on civilization. In order to avoid such fates, most civilization seek to placate the elemental gods.

Some people become adherents of the elemental lords. The dwarves are the best known example, basing their kingdom in and around the great forges of Basileus, the Lord of Earth.

Axiomism

The concept of Axiomism began in the Great Library of Rhakotis. The philosophers there noted that civilization begins with rules. Not only does a civilization begin with rules, but its development into higher stages is dependent on the creation of new rules. Thus, for a civilization to reach its true potential, the members of that civilization must adopt rules for all things.

Axiomism slowly gained credence in the imperial world. The members of the movement eventually grew numerous and influential enough to form a meeting of its membership called the Axiomite Diet. The goal of this diet was increasing the stability of the great empires, which were then in a notable decline.

The Emperors eventually embraced Axiomism, making this idea the predominant philosophy within the empires. Ambitious men inside the empires then used the philosophy as a lever to control the lower classes while increasing their own station. This loss of rights ultimately turned public opinion against the Axiomites and through Rhakotis, created Transgressionism

Transgressionism

Transgressionism began in the Great Library of Rhakotis as a reaction against Axiomism. The Transgressionist saw rules and laws as a way for the ruling class to gain more by denying natural opportunity to others. One can only reach ones true potential, the philosophers surmised, by transgressing the immoral laws of the ruling elite.

The philosophy of Transgressionism spread quickly in the outlying provinces of the empires. Opportunists quickly embraced this philosophies to break away from other powers while increasing their own power.

Light

The philosophy of light is the philosophy of conscience. No matter what our power and no matter what our knowledge, our actions must ultimately fall servant to our conscience. We eschew the shadow, the unacceptable parts of knowledge, not because we fear that knowledge, but because acting in those ways leads us to preying on each other, dividing us and weakening us. There is always a price to be paid in embracing the shadow of our knowledge.

The philosophy of light admits that the lights binds your choices and weakens you potential power, but in trade gains long-term stability, making it the superior philosophy for civilization.

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