[CHAR] The Heavens Aflame - A Civil War Among Deities

[HeySeuss]

Instructions:

• Using the provided template, please post a character here.
• Once accepted, we'll place the character on the chart (below) that shows various characters and their relations. This should be a useful tool for navigating factions.
• If your character is part of the conspiracy that killed Aroesus, I need to know in PM. There is an advantage and disadvantage to it; the hands that slew the King of Gods took some measure of his power, though they dare not necessarily reveal it for fear of turning other hands against them. But it's there, if one is wise enough to use it carefully where it counts.
• Please consider one of the requested roles.
• Don't make your deity too much of a moral absolutist, like some sort of stern god of justice -- because those characters don't get very far in the intrigue. Or if you do, make them easily manipulated.
• Post only sheets in here, thank you.

Requested Roles:

• A deity devoted to bacchanalia/drunkeness and revelry.
• A deity that runs the afterlife, though not entirely Malezus, the underworld.
• A deity in the underworld that acted as Aroesus jailer. A potential option here is that the character came to be as a combination of the energy released from the death of Aroesus and the entities guarding Lake Sharzunates.
• Deities that see the dead to the underworld and other parts; possibly in conflict with the underworld deity -- after all, bringing souls to that individual is merely empowering them.
• Aroesus' favorite child, not necessarily the eldest, who he was grooming to inherit.
• Aroesus' eldest child, who was being groomed to inherit and who has considerable clout with many of the older deities. Recently freed from Sharzunates after being put there by his/her late father.
• Mysia - She is a daughter of Ventu and Lymaeus, one of two children of that joining.
• Children of Lymaeus, more likely to be less refined and more representative of natural phenomena than representations of power. These deities were treated as second class citizens in Krona compared to descendants of Ventu's brood.
• Dihira, the Dark Librarian, the Serpent of Knowledge, Mistress of the House of Books, Mother of Serpents. A daughter of Svanus and heir to his knowledge. She slithers through the House of Books, the Dark Library, which is also the corpse of her father.
• Children of Ventu, including at least one who ought to have children of their own who they think should take the throne...or who wish the throne themselves. Aroesus played them against each other and watched his siblings like a hawk, probably alienating them by the end.
• Deities formed from new concepts and creations, as well as perhaps a mortal or two that achieves apotheosis. I'm open to good ideas that add to the story.

Character Sheet

(Please place in a hider. The provided template has the code already written for it. This is just an example of the sheet format.) Name/Titles: Sex/Gender: Can be rather mutable, in the case of immortals. Maybe it's best to say, what sex do they present themselves as? Pantheon/Affiliation:Deity, Ex-deity or powerful being seeking apotheosis. Patronage:

(This is what your deity is; a primary thing that they have authority over, though some deities have multiple patronages, such as Apollo or Athena did.)

Appearance:

(Please include common manifestations, including lecherous geese.)

Parentage:

(You can say things like "the sky" with a straight face here. Joy. Joy too. You can come sprung fully grown out of dad's skull. You can be descended of a goose and your mom, who clearly didn't have high standards.)

Centres of Worship/Places of Power:

(Example: Athens and Athena, the Oracle of Delphi and Apollo, Achilles, descended of a river nymph...so on and so forth. A deity may be a patron of a city or a kingdom, but I am going to say that deities cannot control the free will of mortals, that's what makes them so irritating, and thus while able to influence events in these places, they will not have absolute power over them. There is a give and take between such worshipers and their deities, too, as the patron is expected to do things for their patronage.)

Servants, Prominent Followers and Worship Base:

(I'm looking for an idea of what sort of people follow your deity and an idea of what sort of spirits/beings might be their servants, through which they make their wills be known. Prominent worshipers would mean prophets, kings and otherwise important mortals that are loyal to your deity. This can, of course, include playwrights, poets, singers and so forth...be creative. Worship base are the normal everyday people of various trades, tribes, nationalities and so forth who might find your god to be their patron/matron.)

Psychology:

(What is pleasing to them and what drives them mad will do; even the more benevolent deities ought to have their egomaniacal and selfish side.)

History:

(An explanation of from whence the deity came and what befell them in various events. It's not a bad idea to cooperate with other players on this and expand as you see fit.)

Relationships:

(Loves, hates, lusts, crushes, affairs, rapes, incests, zoophilia incidents with shepherd girls (always a Jovian favorite) and the like. Oh, and mere alliances and rivalries, as well. Probably fueled by the above. You don't have to list every character, just the ones your character actually has ties to/strong feelings for.)

[HeySeuss]

Sileon

Name/Titles: Sileon the Flame, the Dancer of Destruction, the Lord of Volcanos, the Herald. Sex/Gender: Almost always male. Pantheon/Affiliation: Deity. Patronage:

Fire, volcanos, destruction, prophecy, warfare, dancing. (All flame-themes.) Fire burns, but the ashes nourish, and it is all part of the plan and the cycle.

Appearance:

Like the flame, Sileon takes many forms, but he is psychologically incapable of assuming a subtle form -- even if not wreathed in flame, he stands out in a crowd, even in a human shape. He favors the shape of a lithe young man and the shape of a bird, the former being dressed in loosely-cut crimson robes, easily discarded (or he just burns them up.) Another favorite form is that of a flaming bird. Beyond that, Sileon may combine aspects of the two in a variety of combinations, though his favorite of those tends to be a man with flaming wings, which he tends to default to in Krona, when there. It is how he is represented in statuary, as well -- with a flaming halo and wings.

Man Shape

Phoenix

Parentage:

Ventu, a previous king of gods, sired Aroesus and Svanus. Sileon was the youngest of Ventu's get, sired upon the cosmos at the moment of a star's death.

Centres of Worship/Places of Power:

Kaeus, the Islands of Fire, a chain of volcanically active islands that is sparsely populated by fishermen and other small communities. The largest island houses the city of Cycander, in the shadow of Mount Nynos, whose flaming bowels are reputed to be the resting place of Sileon when he lays dormant. Sileon has a strong worship base among soldiers as well, as he carries out a duty for Aroesus and is his trusted soldier in the pantheon, the dutiful brother. Heralds often wear orange in imitation of Sileon as the herald of Aroesus.

Servants, Prominent Followers and Worship Base:

It is said the gasses from the Mount Nynos give visions to those who would inhale them, and the Arophion, a small temple devoted to Sileon, hosts oracles who are considered the most authoritative in known civilization. Cycander itself is a city that venerates flame and produces dancers of incredible grace and skill and has a reputation for hedonism, Sileon cares little for territoriality, so other deities are given their due here (up to you guys if you want to have truly powerful/influential groups here.) In the end however, Mnokaeus consider Sileon their patron god, though they fatalistically embrace a philosophy of rebirth and recycling in honor of him, fully expecting that some day he will wipe some of the islands clean of humanity. It is the way of life. It is strange, perhaps, that such a primal being, one that does not philosophize but rather tends to act according to impulse, would inspire such a following of philosophers, but stranger things have been known to happen. Everywhere else? Sileon has pockets of worshipers -- he is favored by a sect called the Kifian, who are primarily males and are known for their whirling dances in praise and imitation of Sileon. They are also famed for taking hallucinogens to try and better understand the world. In a fight, however, the Kifian are noted for their unbridled ferocity in war if they, for some reason, elect to fight. Other dancers, and many other types of artist as well, acknowledge him as their patron and ideal. Sileon isn't necessarily a very responsive deity, he's no Aroesus. He does not play favorites among the mortals.

Psychology:

Sileon is a more primal force than his brothers in the sense that he is not a planner by nature or a deity inclined to, on his own, establish a power base. Others have a strong corps of worshipers and spread their influence, and yet Sileon just is. Perhaps it is the nature of fire as a fundamental force of nature, and Sileon mimicks it. He has always been, he will always be, and he is not able to steadily build something. But he is not a fool or a monster. In its season, he wages war and dances, though these are brief flares of activity; much of the time he lays dormant. He is a creature of violent, passionate works, strong urges and is guided by unfathomable instincts. And yet, it's a mistake to write him off as stupid or easily led. Aroesus had influence over his brother, though Sileon, in a sudden fit of prophetic perception, felt that Aroesus' reign was coming to and end soon. As a deity intimately in touch with the cycle of destruction and renewal, did not consider this a terrible calamity as others might, loved as he did his brother -- and he did admire Aroesus, particularly in the early days when his vision was so clear. But Svanus died and Aroesus other siblings were thrown to Sharzunates or killed and Aroesus, as time wore on, drew within himself. How will he react to the death? No one is sure yet.

History:

Ventu was a primal deity of fire, creation and destruction, but also the absolute ruler of the world. He was content to rule the cosmic forces without doing too much with them, being a simple being of simple tastes. He sired, upon the stars, other beings, including Aroesus. Upon Lymaeus, he sired Svanus, who was of a more creative, cultivating bent and felt connection to the world he inhabited. Aroesus and Svanus grew close and became collaborators as they worked with the materials at hand and then built some more. They created and Ventu destroyed before the creations could get out of hand and his children become empowered. His final child was Sileon, who was like Ventu in so many respects that Ventu favored this youngest over all. And yet, unlike his father, Sileon stood in awe of the things he didn't entirely understand, and learned from watching his elder siblings as they moved through the world and created things, including fickle humanity, and spawned their own progeny. The time came again when Ventu was inclined to destroy the works of his children and the other things that came to being in the world, and that was when Aroesus and Svanus (and others) rebelled against them. And it was Sileon, left free, trusted, who Ventu thought understood the best, who freed them from their imprisonment in Sharzunates, who decided that he could not bear to see the works of his siblings, whom he loved, destroyed. Aroesus and his host organized, a thing unknown to Ventu, who ruled in singular absolutism, and revolted against the king of the gods. After the death of Ventu, there were other mighty beings that tried to take Ventu's place in turn and Aroesus' Pantheon fought them under his leadership. The other siblings found roles in the court of Krona that befit their talents; but Sileon inherited the raw strength of his sire, and became the primal force of destruction akin to his father, though he voluntarily put himself into slumber in a mountain so that the creation might thrive, electing to hold himself aloof until needed. From time to time, Aroesus would call upon Sileon to assist in maintaining the order of Krona, to bring other deities and beings into the order, and for this, he would be awakened and unleashed upon enemies. Even if they were powerful, they were brought low by the combined cooperative might of the sons of Ventu. And yet, the rule began to wear upon Aroesus, as it had worn upon Ventu, and the fears that came with the mantle of power seemed to eat away at sanity itself. Svanus, who rebelled to protect his creations from his father, Ventu, became tired and sick with grief for the way Aroesus similarly culled some things in preference of others and created humanity as a dominant force on Lymaeus in preference over other creations equally worthy in the eyes of Svanus. The brothers disagreed, though Sileon was not called upon to fight his other brother, Svanus, as Aroesus, upon considering sending Sileon against Svanus, wondered if perhaps Sileon might not turn against him as the youngest had turned on their father. The eldest brother, unsure, left the youngest in slumber and struck down his own brother in a fit of rage. Aroesus, after the death of Svanus, did not feel he could even trust his siblings, and Aroesus devoted himself to devising new mechanisms to enforce his will, countermeasures against even his siblings and children. When Sileon finally woke up, Svanus was gone, and Sileon accepted the explanations, though he harbored questions that haunted his dreams. Even though Aroesus still worried about the ultimate loyalties of his youngest sibling, Sileon was called upon more often to visit more destruction, and when called to deliver a message, the message was increasingly petty, and yet he remained silent and took his doubts with him into sleep. Lyrikes happened when Sileon slept. Aroesus died while Sileon slept. But now, Sileon stirs, the prophets cry that the flame is rising once again, and Krona knows that Sileon will arise. He is too mercurial to rule, too disinterested and too primal to make sense of Krona and its politics, its factions by itself. He had always been intentionally held away from them, used as a hammer by his brother against all who would rise up. But now, the question is, what will Sileon do? What's more, all this time, he's served as the fist of Aroesus, doing the dirty work, confronting upstart deities, delivering the threats and then, if unheeded, bringing the rebellious to heel. What, then, will become of Sileon, the simplest and most elemental of the brothers?

Relationships:

Yeah, Sileon has a -lot- of bad blood going on, that is to say, a lot of people probably figure they need to finish the job with him. On the other hand, Sileon is a useful tool. Dangerous, but useful.

[ActRaiserTheReturned]

Sharva Sex/Gender Male Portfolio The Good Man Of The Moon Sharva owns the Moon. As such, he controls a very large estate. The Moon is a magical place, filled with mythological occurrences, magicians go there once they have learned enough power in the world down below. On The Moon, magical things, such as Moondust, powerful herbs meant for many different unusual purposes, even faeries, etcetera, exist. Some suggest The Moon is a sort of afterlife. It wouldn't be impossible. Sharva is the god of Hospitality, and Survival, after all. Some say that The Moon is a place where it is always Winter, yet the cold isn't always harsh. The Clairvoyant Master The Master Of All Clairvoyants. Remote viewing, innate scrying, many other viewings of people across the universe. . . are all under his power. Even Prophecy, although Prophecy isn't as much under his purview as it is under a deity of Prophecy. He can, however, see Clairvoyance in others. Other forms of Clairvoyance is also under his purview. The Arch Paragon Legend says he survived the anger of the other gods by hiding, taking care of wounds and being extremely cunning and shrewd. Eventually he returned into everyone els'es good graces. He even survived having his brain removed. The legend says that he found his brain and surgically re-attached it. Likewise, for when he snubbed his lover, she removed his genitals and crushed them. He used his powers of clairvoyance to magically regenerate them. He repeatedly hid in creative places and finally the others were so impressed with his nerve and guile that they were just glad he was on their side. The Winter Ancient He possesses the power over Winter. He protects people from dying in harsh Winters, puts bears to sleep, and guides travelers to hospitality. His power over hospitality and Winter are intertwined. Also, if you want someone to piss off, don't make it Sharva. He came across a country that he found abusive to their children. . . forcing them to marry young and engage in dangerous painful activities, torturing innocent animals, making the children watch, burning siblings alive, sometimes starving them to death for sadistic fun. Sharva's reaction was to transport the children all to the Moon, now known as Moon children, march down to the Underworld and take the victims to his Palace City, and cover the entire Empire under ice, sentencing the entire population to an eternal loop of their sins, their death and damnation of Eternal Winters of biting cold. Sometimes he causes them to live in Otherworldly Ruins of their ancient Empire with very little food and sources of water, forcing them to just have enough to fight each other. Occasionally someone wakes up from their Limbo to discover what has happened, and attempt to make an offering to Sharva to appease him and escape the Eternal Cold and betrayal at one another's hands. One time, The Winter Ancient let them all live to be one hundred years old under sickeningly poor conditions, unable to bear children, freezing to near death in the Harsh Winters which never ended and watched them as they all committed mass suicide under his suggestion as a gesture of sincerity, only to wake up into the Next Cycle aware that they were unable to escape. Most of the time, victims of the Other Worldly Ruins have no idea what's going on no matter how long the Curse lasts. There have been more inhabitants of the Cursed Ruins over the years. They are always the worst that any civilization has to offer. Walder Frey, for example, violated hospitality and brutally murdered thousands of people, if you've seen Game Of Thrones. If you'd hand Walder Frey to Sharva, he could flay him alive, coat him salt, dissect him, keep his soul alive and conscious within his semi-living corpse inside an eternal funeral pyre, if he felt he was in a very good mood. Affiliation:Deity Parentage: Aroesus'es Child. . . Role In the Downfall: He gave Aroesus a place of Sanctuary in the Moon Palace City. His death there was an astounding disappointment and more than a little creepy for him, since the Moon is warded against intruders. Psychology: Sharva is the powerful Lord Of The Moon. He lords over certain kinds of mystical knowledge but doesn't identify himself as much of a mystical deity. He lords over Clairvoyance but sees Clairvoyance as something under the natural order of the world. The Moon is integral to the Cosmic order of both the world and in the grand scheme of all the Creations ever made, and he also presides over the great balance over Winter. His moral character abounds in hospitality, as a guide for the survival of others, and as a watchman who warns others of incoming peril. Sometimes he can be a destroyer of wicked doers, such as when he created the Cursed Ruins over the frozen corpses of an entire civilization whom he judged as too cruel to survive. Where the gods of life may have failed to provide attention for certain areas of the herbal crafts, he brings medicine and the ways of survival to those who have missed the little things. He is perpetually polite. On rare occasions however, he can be exceedingly sensual and erotic. . . to the point of driving the other gods and sometimes the entire world into a frenzy of frustration and annoyed mania. One of his major points in the world, however, is his ability to live in a state of exceeding cunning and is a guide to keep others out of trouble. He also provides protection for children during their sleep. Children call him Grandpa Moon. History: Sharva was said to be born from the love of Aroesus and the Moon. It is a debate whether the Myth is only making a proverb about him having sex with his wife under the Moonlight. Whatever the case, he is one of the oldest deities, some say he is Primordial, but he gets along with anyone who he deems benign to the balance of the Cosmos. He sees good, benevolent behavior as the only way to maintain order throughout the Cosmos, so people who are at least benign and not aggressive are left alone from his punishments. When he was created it's said he was given secret teachings from Aroesus and sometimes other Primordial deities. He later gave the secrets of eternal life, alternative eternal life (Living on the Moon, basically), other things regarding secrets of the Moon, rewarded hospitality and punished inhospitality. Violating his rules of hospitality doesn't just include losing your temper or being rude to your guests, although he doesn't consider such things lightly. He does, however, mete out heavy punishments against those who are cruel. Abusing a child enables him to reach heights of anger that could shake the world, perhaps even scar the world forever. He encased the forgotten civilization with eternal winter, encasing all of it's inhabitants with ice, and took their children from them, cursing the evil doer's souls to an eternal Ice Age of starvation, freezing, cannibalism and betrayal.

[Terminal]

Notice: Directly below is the original profile for Dihira, devised before the OOC was established. It possesses different formatting and possess a different sort of information on the Goddess of Knowledge than is seen in her official profile, located in the second hider below. The only common feature between them are the sections describing her personality, which was directly copied over from one to the other.

~Conspiracy is such a...treacherous notion. What did you expect would happen?~

Dihira

Dihira, Original Profile (Supplemental)

Divine Portfolio

Mistress of the House of Books: As keeper and Librarian of the House of Books, Dihira possesses an intrinsic knowledge of exactly where in the library a tome is located, how to find it, and how to read it. Due to the internal workings of the domain (see the section on The House of Books), this power is in and of itself, invaluable. Wellsprung Knowledge: While Dihira is not all-knowing, she nonetheless has unrestricted access to all knowledge. Anything she does not know, she can learn in short order, including incredibly specific and arbitrary things such as 'What were they thinking on Thursday?' If one had a plan they do not wish for her to know of, the only way to prevent her learning of it is to ensure she has no suspicion of a plan even existing. Any mention of a plan to her, with sufficient pertinent details (whose plan it is, for example), would enable her to uncover a complete discourse on the plan with a preamble by some venerable scholar and an accompanying critique by a wise philosopher, along with illustrations and illuminations on the more picturesque moments and even with accompanying iconography. Thankfully, she is not often known for intruding in the affairs of others and possesses no powers of divination or mental persuasion save for those used to govern the House of Books. This was the primary reason why her inclusion in the plot of the Downfall of Aroesus was pivotal - to risk leaving her out of the plan would have risked all the gods learning of it. Serpentine: Dihira is the Mother of all Serpents. This does not allude to mere Snakes and Reptiles in the Mortal Realm, as these are but pale reflections of the creatures known as Serpents. Dihira is the Mother of Alluring Temptation, Mother of Dragons and Wyverns, Mother of Stone-Eyed Basilisks, and paradoxically and retroactively Mother of the Eternal Serpent Ouroboros (who was technically created by Svanus). Her Servitors are the Feathered Serpents, Snakelike creatures with stunning arrays of plummage, as well as numerous hands and feet. They are most well known for patrolling the House of Books and for acting as Muses in the mortal world, moving unseen in the midst of the world with their Epiphianic Bows, inspiring great wisdom and great insanity in the minds of men.

The House of Books

Dihira is the ruler of the dominion of the House of Books, an endless, sprawling labyrinthine library filled with every form of knowledge. Everything that is, was, will be, is not, cannot, was not, possible, impossible, dreamt, glimpsed, forgotten, seen, unseen, learnt, thought... All and more reside within the shelves of the House of Books, whose rows and paths are infinite, twisting in upon themselves in great roiling coils, which form the body of the Eternal Serpent, Ouroboros, whose body the House is built within. Dihira retains dominion over the House and Ouroboros by right of Providence; she inherited control directly from her father Svanus upon birth as goddess of Knowledge. Its rule is tied intrinsically to her being and thus, short of destroying Ouroboros, cannot be undone. Dihira is not intrinsically possessing of the infinitely infinitely infinite knowledge held within her own library, as she is foremost a Librarian, the aspect of the knowledge itself foreign to her being until she has consumed it directly. However, as the Librarian, Dihira knows precisely where every book is in the Library, and how to reach it, and how to read it - vital necessities, as it is possible to become lost for all eternity just by hanging around in the foyer for too long, and not all of the tomes are tomes in the normal sense of the word. To enter the Library and find a specific piece of knowledge without her aid is impossible, as mortal wanderers and gods alike who enter seeking something specific will be eternally cursed to anecdotal discoveries. Only by entreating Dihira, or else by offering the Serpent Ouroboros a Rat King to eat, may an individual find what they are looking for. To offer a Rat King to Ouroboros is in itself no simple thing, but to peruse the Library without Dihira's knowing of it is a risky proposition at best. The library's rows and reaches are infinitely infinitely infinite in their depths, and the long corridors are as much passageways into other universes and planes as they are repositories of knowledge. Dark, twisted, coiling eldritch forms that unravel form like errant smoke await the unwary, as well as expelling paths that shunt the victim into alien worlds, never to return, and always the fabled Feathered servitors of the Mistress herself constantly patrol. If Dihira were to become aware of the presence of an intruder, she could command Ouroboros to swallow them whole. For gods, such obstacles are merely difficult to overcome. For mortals, they are nigh-insurmountable. There are many tales of fabled Heroic mortals who were forced to enter the Library at great personal peril in search of forbidden knowledge. In one fable, the Heroine Ariadne bested Dihira in a game of riddles, gaining her permission to browse freely. The Hero Fulmen permitted himself to be pierced through the neck by an Arrow of Empyrean Light shot from the legendary Veracious Bow, and thus carried directly through the library to the specific tome he sought. Dihira was so impressed by his sheer gall that she healed his injury and permitted him to leave unmolested. Because 'unmolested' is far and away apart from the meaning of 'unaffected,' this still resulted in Fulmen wandering the library for decades trying to find his way back out, and there exists a chronicle of his travels in the House of Books in the form of a Poetic Eda which, rather than being conceived of by any mortal, was paradoxically retrieved from the Library itself by Fulmen just before he left for good. There are many entrances and pathways that lead into the House of Books. The traditional entrance is to pass through the maw of the Eternal Serpent Ouroboros, whose head is lain at the summit of the realm of gods as a final obstacle to Mortals who would attempt to attain Apotheosis. The serpent itself is tasked to attempt to lure the unwary within using only verbally spoken words (the Feathered Servitors with the Spoken Swords were by admission, a bit much). However, any library in the mortal realm may possess, by chance or grace, a row that connects with one found within the depths of the House itself. In addition, any mortal who becomes truly, hopelessly lost may perform the Serpentine ritual; with success twisting the surrounding environs into a pathway into the Library, and failure resulting in the mortal being transformed into a Feathered Servitor.

Role in the Downfall of Aroesus

Dihira provided the insidious toxin that was used to taint the body of Lyrikes and ultimately weaken Aroesus sufficiently for the other gods to upbraid him. The poison was drawn from the Fractal Fangs of the Serpent Ouroboros in the House of Books, and weakened Aroesus by inducing a form of existential anguish known as Motem, amplifying the self-annihilating facets of Aroesus' psyche and forcing his very essence to erode under its own power.

Description

Dihira's predominant drive is the maintenance of her library - as she was born a Librarian. She has little ambition beyond eternally tending to her own domain within the House of Books, and so is not a serious contender for the throne of Aroesus. However, she also believes in a rather embarrassingly extreme level of freedom of information. For every single sordid tale of some god bestowing cruel and unusual curses upon mortals or else cheating on their mate or that one time their testicles created the foam in the sea (long story), half of them were 'leaked' into the mortal world by way of mythological accounts 'inspired' in Mortal scholars through Dihira's Feathered Servitors. Dihira is relentless and merciless in her pursuit of creating accurate historical accounts of Divine politics and then disseminating them throughout the mortal world, which often has profound consequences. In the immediate wake of Aroesus' death, she immediately moved to inscribe the event in Human mythos, and thus every mortal worshiper became aware of the exact roles and places of every god involved during the event. She has no problems even with hanging her own dirty laundry out for everyone to see (she was the on-and-off lover of Fulmen during the many decades he spent lost in the House of Books, and made no effort to hide the fact that she provided the poison used to weaken Aroesus in her various anthologies). The worst of this is seen when she uncovers hidden knowledge of affairs which have been kept secret, which she will then abruptly expose to essentially every living entity in the world, as well as all the gods. Dihira can also be just as cruel and haughty as the other gods when it comes to governing her domain and Portfolio. She has little tolerance for the destruction of knowledge of profaning repositories for it, and has cursed many mortals for banning, censoring, or burning books, as well as authors she deemed insufficiently productive and terrible poets. Many a conqueror has razed a city to the ground, only to go to great care to leave the central library untouched for fear of invoking her wrath. As a librarian, she is a stickler for proper decorum - hushed voices, or forever you will be forced to hiss with a snake's tongue. No fire, least you be burned by the knowledge kindled. No dirtying or damaging the pages or covers of books, least you would have gossip and rumors spread of you. Bad poets are SHOT with BURNING, POISONED ARROWS (and she seems rather quick to judge based on whether your iambic pentameter is structured correctly). She is also rather personally petty - although she does not mind when scholars write of her various misdeeds and failings, she is quick to chastise them if they dare actually criticize her actions or judge her.

Fatal Flaws

Presumption of Genius: Dihira has consumed so much knowledge over the ages that she always asserts herself as the smartest and wisest Deity in the Heavens, and it goes without saying that Mortals are beneath even her contempt. She is so utterly convinced of her infallibility, that the notion has suffused with her psyche. Proving her wrong, even in a trivial matter or affair, would literally shatter every fiber of her being and fling each piece into the deepest recesses of the Library from the sheer blow to her ego - this would not be fatal, but it would preoccupy her with reassembling her broken form for quite some time. Purple Prose Prone: Dihira has a great weakness for literary theory, historical monograms, and philosophical texts. Many times, she has been distracted by a wise mortal speaking with her at length of such things while their adventurous companion would sneak into the stacks in search of arcane texts and lore. It hardly even matters how pretentious or ephemeral the subject in question is, so long as Dihira can be successfully engaged in conversation. Dihira can become so caught-up in such discussions that she can even become sexually infatuated with her conversation partner, if they are successful enough, which can lead to prolonged periods of absence in her oversight of the House of Books. No Sense of Propriety: Dihira does not care how sensitive or damaging a particular account of Divine actions might be - she /will/ see it produced in the mortal realm, even if doing so is incredibly inadvisable, for herself and others. The best she can be convinced to restrain herself is to momentarily withhold her accounts until a specific moment of time (the downfall of Aroesus for example), but more often she is the epitome of the Divine rumor mill. Ingeniously Untalented: Despite having access to limitless knowledge, Dihira is terrible at practicing any arts she may learn of. She might know every theory and nuance of blacksmithing, but were she actually to take to the hammer and anvil, she would be lucky if she could even produce a bent nail. The same is true of other disciplines, and thus, she often requires assistance from other gods in order to act on any of her knowledge.

Dihira, Official Profile

Name/Titles: The Dark Librarian, Serpent of Knowledge, Mistress of the House of Books, Mother of Serpents, Daughter and Mother of Svanus. Sex/Gender: Appearing in a feminine form the majority of the time, Dihira firmly self-identifies as female. Pantheon Deity Patronage:

Dihira is the goddess of Knowledge, learning, scholarship, scripture, and literature - encompassing the notion of recording and transmitting information. She is also the goddess of snakes, serpents, and consumption. Being described as 'draconic' describes a general, gluttonous desire for food, wealth, power, or even knowledge itself, because of the association to Dihira. It is often employed as a backhanded compliment.

Appearance

Image credit: http://yaichino.deviantart.com/art/Naga-138780464

Parentage:

Dihira's father is Svanus, creator of humanity and who is also paradoxically and retroactively her son. He is dead, struck down by Aroesus in a fit of rage. Her mother is Mysia, who was the sister and wife of Svanus, and is the current dowager queen of the gods.

Places of Power:

Libraries, classrooms, and snake dens are the altars of Dihira. Merely to learn, teach, write, or read is sufficient worship for her purposes. Exceedingly old, large, or prominent libraries may sometimes possess permanent passageways leading into the House of Books.

Servants, Prominent Followers and Worship Base:

Dihira is worshiped by teachers, scholars, philosophers, students, snake charmers, mages, and alchemists. Reasons for worshiping her might be in hopes for a visit from a Feather Servitor which may bestow inspiration and wisdom by shooting the individual, unseen, with its Epiphianc bow. Other times she might be worshiped in order to assist in the comprehension of esoteric knowledge which is already known, but not fully understood. Her favor is said to ward off Basilisks, or to result in desert vipers draining venom with their bites rather than injecting it. Dragons are said to spare scholars who might prove their knowledge. Those skilled in the ways of the arcane might worship her both for knowledge and for the chance to gain the favor of one of her Feathered Servitors, whose scales, feathers, teeth, nails, and eyes are extraordinarily potent alchemical ingredients. Poets worship her IF THEY KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FOR THEM.

Description

Dihira's predominant drive is the maintenance of her library - as she was born a Librarian. She has little ambition beyond eternally tending to her own domain within the House of Books, and so is not a serious contender for the throne of Aroesus. However, she also believes in a rather embarrassingly extreme level of freedom of information. For every single sordid tale of some god bestowing cruel and unusual curses upon mortals or else cheating on their mate or that one time their testicles created the foam in the sea (long story), half of them were 'leaked' into the mortal world by way of mythological accounts 'inspired' in Mortal scholars through Dihira's Feathered Servitors. Dihira is relentless and merciless in her pursuit of creating accurate historical accounts of Divine politics and then disseminating them throughout the mortal world, which often has profound consequences. In the immediate wake of Aroesus' death, she immediately moved to inscribe the event in Human mythos, and thus every mortal worshiper became aware of the exact roles and places of every god involved during the event. She has no problems even with hanging her own dirty laundry out for everyone to see (she was the on-and-off lover of Fulmen during the many decades he spent lost in the House of Books, and made no effort to hide the fact that she provided the poison used to weaken Aroesus in her various anthologies). The worst of this is seen when she uncovers hidden knowledge of affairs which have been kept secret, which she will then abruptly expose to essentially every living entity in the world, as well as all the gods. Dihira can also be just as cruel and haughty as the other gods when it comes to governing her domain and Portfolio. She has little tolerance for the destruction of knowledge of profaning repositories for it, and has cursed many mortals for banning, censoring, or burning books, as well as authors she deemed insufficiently productive and terrible poets. Many a conqueror has razed a city to the ground, only to go to great care to leave the central library untouched for fear of invoking her wrath. As a librarian, she is a stickler for proper decorum - hushed voices, or forever you will be forced to hiss with a snake's tongue. No fire, least you be burned by the knowledge kindled. No dirtying or damaging the pages or covers of books, least you would have gossip and rumors spread of you. Bad poets are SHOT with BURNING, POISONED ARROWS (and she seems rather quick to judge based on whether your iambic pentameter is structured correctly). She is also rather personally petty - although she does not mind when scholars write of her various misdeeds and failings, she is quick to chastise them if they dare actually criticize her actions or judge her.

History

Notice: The history is subject to change pending discussion with other posters. Dihira's childhood was a confusing one. Chronologically she was created by Svanus before the downfall of Ventu, but paradoxically and retroactively became his mother due to her status as the Mother of Serpents. She also inherited the House of Books inside Ouroboros at the moment of her birth, despite the fact that Ouroboros could not have existed until after Aroesus struck down Svanus after the downfall of Ventu, his corpse being shed as a molt by the eternal serpent Ouroboros and becoming the frame for the House of Books. Most of the gods do not recall much of her during this period, and it is a common notion that the natant essence of her divine form was still being shaped even after birth, not settling until after Svanus had died, retroactively altering the fabric of the world in the process. Dihira, possessing no lost affection for Aroesus after he had slain her father and son Svanus, inspired mortal accounts and tales of his maddened acts as king of the gods whenever possible. However, out of fear of Aroesus casting her out of her library and down into Sharzunates, she regularly did his bidding in searching through her library for evidence of treachery and misbehavior on the parts of the other gods. While it cannot be said with certainty that her discoveries alone led to the castigation of any of the gods Aroesus cast down, she did nonetheless abet the mad god's whims to a great degree, especially during the ascension of Lyrikes. Although many of the gods were angered with Dihira for her casual outing of their private affairs and for assisting Aroesus in his lunacy, it was agreed that with her constantly looking out for signs of treachery, Aroesus could not be deposed - she therefore had to be struck down or else reasoned with. As destroying her would have alerted Aroesus to their conspiracy, they convinced her - with little effort, as she harbored deep resentment for Aroesus due to his murder of Svanus - to join her conspiracy. Her contribution to the plot was the poison used to taint the body of Lyrikes, which was milked from the fangs of Ouroboros.

Relationships

Aroesus: In addition to immediately inspiring the account of Aroesus' downfall in the mortal realm, she also inspired the creation of a new holiday specifically celebrating his death. Needless to say, she was rather pleased with the outcome of the rebellion. Mysia: Dihira harbors a thinly tempered apathy for her mother, disgusted at how Mysia could so callously disregard the death of Svanus at Aroesus' hands. They are estranged and have not spoken since Dihira was born, and the Dark Librarian is perhaps more eager than is strictly necessary for any news or rumors of aberrant behavior from the Queen of the gods that might be used to weaken her influence in the mortal realm. Sileon: Dihira harbors some resentment for Sileon for, in her eyes, his complicity in the death of Svanus - however, she views him more as the weakest, youngest son of Ventu, and so does not hold him as fully responsible for his own actions. Sharva: There exists a faint conflict in the divine portfolios of the Goddess of Knowledge and the God of the Moon, as mages and alchemists have fair reason to worship both. Not being overtly ambitious or seeking dominion over spellcraft (which, just like everything else, is only incidentally entwined with her dominion over knowledge), she views him with some favor, valuing his mental fortitude and wisdom. She has been known to permit his followers free access to her Library if they can provide cursory proof of their cleverness. Paichnidi: Dihira is at least partially responsible for the uncovering of the conspiracy of Proditus, seeking signs of treachery within the Pantheon out of fear that Aroesus would cast her down otherwise due to her many written accounts, tales, and myths regarding his madness and antics during his reign of king. Ultimately the evidence she provided was merely one of the many spears that Aroesus used to obliterate Proditus, and she had no involvement in the exile of Paichnidi personally. Now that Aroesus has fallen, she is somewhat wary in awaiting his inevitable reascension to Krona much the same as she is wary of all those returning from Sharzunates, whom she helped in part to cast down, although he is currently only at the peripheral of her awareness. Lucretius: Lucretius is the current, Mortal lover of Dihira. He is widely regarding as the most learned natural philosopher in all of Lymaeus and is of some renown. A pious man, he has written a number of poetic edas describing the nature of the Mortal realm and correlating it with the illuminated histories of the Divine realm, as revealed to him by Dihira.

[Dead Cruiser]

Arkho

"Knowledge is cruel. It will break your heart and test your allegiances. Are you certain you want this curse?"

Name/Titles:Arkho, the Eldest God, the Secret Scribe, Keeper of Cycles, the Journeying Sorcerer Sex/Gender: Presumably Male Pantheon/Affiliation: Diety Patronage:

Time, Horizons, Mysteries, Magic, Secrets, Cycles, Stars, Journeys

Appearance:

Unconcerned with appearances, Arkho most often takes the shape that he finds to be most natural form him. That being a star-filled hole in the sky, in the shape of a four-armed man. If he wishes to go unnoticed among mortals, he may take the form of a blind, old mystic, or that of an ibis or even a moth.

Parentage:

Arkho was born with the first mysteries of the universe. He came to be when man first looked upon the stars and said, "I wonder."

Centres of Worship/Places of Power:

Worship of Arkho is esoteric among mortals, and so his shrines and effigies occupy strange and easily-overlooked locales. Modest offerings and faithful followers can be found under waterfalls, atop mountains, deep in wooded alcoves, carved into cliff-faces, and buried under the earth. It is said that the only true temple to Arkho stands at the end of the world, where the sea pours out into the endless void.

Servants, Prominent Followers and Worship Base:

Arhko's followers are rather uncommon, as such a strange and unconventional god has little appeal among most mortals. Ostracized prophets, forsaken oracles, mad seers and hermetic druids pay patronage for to Arkhos for granting them insight vindication, and keeping the cycles of creation consistent. Explorers and scholars may ask his blessing for their pursuits into the future or the past, respectively. Those crazed by the pursuit of power, be it power over men or magic, may claim to wield his might.

Psychology:

Wisened by eons of knowledge and observation, Arkho is a strangely benevolent and complacent god. His is demeanor calm and introspective, bordering on melancholy. His quiet contemplation is a sharp contrast to the dynamic personalities expected of gods. He holds genuine concern for the mortal world and its inhabitants, as he considers them to be precious, and the duty of the gods to be to protect them. That said, he does not take kindly to otherworldly forces that threaten the stability of the mortal world, be they gods or otherwise. Just as Arkhos is not wildly passionate, he is neither a god prone to sentimentality. If it is within his power to remove what he considers to be an overt threat, he will do so without hesitation or remorse. Such things are inevitable, and time shall move on regardless.

History:

When Arkho came to be, he found himself alone in the cosmos. He watched the mortal world for a time, learning about both it and himself. As he left his mark on the world, the world in turn shaped him, as their beliefs and his power shaped each other in turn. However, Arkhos was not alone for long; after him came death, cold and inevitable, and then after such realities as the sun, fire, the woods and the sea. After them, more abstract concepts filled in: warfare, deception, love, and so on. As Arkho watched and learned from the mortal world, he too learned from the other gods. Never one to impose, he stayed to the edges of his realm, only ever a silent observer. When the gods began to bicker and clash, he found himself brought to action. Their carelessness endangered the world below them, threatening to erase the world of mortals and mystery. Arkho could not abide this, and acted as a mediator between the gods, and a barrier between the divine and the mundane. However, his ire was invoked by the sea god of long ago, a wrathful avatar of the primordial oceans. To spite the god of forests, the sea god sank an entire continent, drowning all that resided on it. Arkhos was not pleased. As punishment, Arkho took the sea god's mind from him, leaving him a paralyzed font of impotent rage. This incensed the god of the dead, who saw each other god as an affront to his realm, demanding the same treatment to them. The other gods were infuriated, and so the first true divine war was spawned. Horrified by the result of actions, Arkho brought his master of time and magic to bear, using all of his power to end the war, and stop its ravages on the mortal world. As an armistice was reached, the gods formed a pact between the realms of life and death. As a symbol of their agreement, Arkho took the form of the mindless sea god, dying from having been abandoned by his worshippers, and formed the Nasan Waterfall between Miphas and Sharzunates. Though eons have passed since then, and numerous pantheons have risen and fallen, Arkho has remained, eternal and ever vigilant. As gods have been born, love, war and die, Arkho has stood alone to watch and to remember, only ever exerting the might of his wisdom and divinity to protect mortality from the carelessness of gods.

Relationships:

Arkho has lived for far too long, and seen far too much to relate to most mortals or gods. He sees the vast majority as children, unaware of the impact of their actions, and unable to see the bigger picture at work. He is largely divorced from the pantheon, as he sees such organizations as fleeting and unnecessary. He spends as little time as he can afford with other gods, completely apathetic to the court and its machinations. He returns to the company of gods and makes his presence known only to quell disputes that he feels disturb the mortal world beyond what which is acceptable.

[whist]

Paichnidi

Name/Titles: Paichnidi (PAICH-knee-dee), the Blind Advisor, Grandmaster of Games Sex/Gender: Naturally assumes a male form, but may present himself as female if it confers some advantage. Pantheon/Affiliation: Ex-deity (exiled many years ago to Sharzunates) Patronage:

Games (especially mental games of skill), puzzles and riddles, strategy, manipulation, advisors, and gambling/gamblers.

Appearance:

Image

Image credit: http://jialu.deviantart.com/

Paichnidi's natural form appears as an old man clad in a loose, white robe made of a rough but supple material. His face is lined with a god's lifetime worth of wrinkles and pockmarks and bears evidence of frequent frowns, but equally frequent smiles. Many believe him to be blind as his eyes are almost always kept shut. In actuality, Paichinidi can see quite well. The truth behind his hidden eyes is their uncontrollable shifting of colors according to his mood and feelings. This is one of his most closely guarded secrets, as many of his plots and strategies rely on careful deception and misdirection. He prefers to go barefoot. Alternate Forms Paichnidi will sometimes take the form of a young and attractive male or female to distract and unbalance his opponents (whether they be across the game or negotiating table). He has also been known to appear as a greying raven to gather information that is of interest to him without attracting undue attention. However, he does not enjoy leaving his natural form. Furthermore, any alternate shape he takes will share his eyes' quality of shifting colors, necessitating keeping them closed. This is one way of identifying him for those in the know.

Eye color/emotion list (adapted from V:TM by White Wolf):

• Orange - Afraid
• Purple - Aggressive
• Red - Angry
• Brown - Bitter
• Light Blue - Calm
• Pink - Compassionate
• Lavender - Conservative
• Gray - Depressed
• Deep Red - Lustful
• Light Green - Distrustful
• Dark Green - Excited
• Rose - Generous
• Vermilion - Happy
• Black - Hateful
• Yellow - Idealistic
• White - Innocent
• Blue - Lovestruck
• Green - Obsessed
• Silver - Sad
• Gold - Spiritual
• Dark Blue - Suspicious
• Mottled, Shifting colors - Confused
• Sharp Flickering Colors - Daydreaming
• Rapid Rippling Colors - Frenzied
• Hypnotic, Swirling Colors - Psychotic

Parentage:

Paichnidi sprung from Ventu's mind in a moment of boredom and as a passing whim. Many view him as the weakest of his brothers.

Centres of Worship/Places of Power:

Paichnidi's ancient place of worship, called Iudicium, is now a lost ruin. It was once a great arena where mortals (and, rarely, demigods) tested themselves against each other in games of skill, hoping to impress Paichnidi and win his favor. The arena was built of stone, with many ingenious mechanisms, hidden traps, courts, fields, and rooms with tables and equipment for challenges of every kind. At its center was an altar tended by his followers. Those who demonstrated skill and ability were allowed to pray there for Paichnidi's blessing. His special favor fell upon geniuses in games of mental skill. The most famous of these games was the Teglon, a geometric puzzle of near-impossible difficulty created by Paichnidi himself (note: I borrow this from Neal Stephenson's highly recommended novel Anathem. Read about it here: http://anathem.wikia.com/wiki/Teglon). The Teglon has been solved by only three mortals, and even many less mentally-inclined deities find it baffling.

Servants, Prominent Followers and Worship Base:

As he was exiled many thousands of years ago, few followers of Paichnidi remain. Present day, some mortal scholars may still know of Iudicium, and perhaps one or two even have an idea of where it is. Records exist of Paichnidi and his "temple" in the greatest of mortal libraries, though few would know or care to look upon them. An old saying exists among gamblers, "By the luck of Paichnidi." Some still use it, but none remember its true origin and meaning. Paichnidi employs a demigod servant to guide him around and perform some tasks for him. In reality, this is completely unnecessary and a ruse to maintain the impression of his blindness. However, it is a ruse he enjoys both because of the company and the excuse it gives him to be criminally lazy.

Psychology:

Paichnidi loves mental challenge, whether it be against an opponent or inherent within an activity (i.e. the Teglon). Therefore, he tends to view most things in the context of a game, especially the intrigue of the pantheon. This makes him an excellent manipulator and conspirator. However, he balks at the responsibilities and restraints of those who must actually hold positions of power. So, he assumes the role of advisor and confidant. He is calm, encouraging, and almost never fails to find the right words to assuage or inflame. Others find his advice valuable because of his strategic mind and ability to carefully plan, often thinking many "moves" in advance. He is usually very beneficial to the individual he becomes attached to, but he never becomes attached unless there is a benefit for himself as well. He prefers to stay in the background, with his partner unaware of his manipulation. Open confrontation must be avoided as much as possible. Paichnidi would much rather settle things with a game, riddle, or puzzle. His thing most feared and abhorred is boredom - thus, his time in Sharzunates took a significant toll on him both mentally and physically. Also, Paichnidi almost never loses a game if he does not wish to - doing so would likely drive him to temporary insanity.

History:

Before his lengthy exile to Sharzunates, Paichnidi was a generally trusted and well-liked member of the pantheon. In the eyes of most deities, he posed little to no threat to their power or holdings. He freely gave advice, and provided delightful pastimes for gods who had grown bored or disinterested with their responsibilities. However, Aroesus was ashamed of his brother's relative weakness to the rest of Ventu's sons. He was tolerated before the death of Ventu and Aroesus' rise to power, but soon after his ascension Aroesus grew more and more displeased with his younger brother. Furthermore, Paichnidi had refused to lend his support against the other contenders for Ventu's place, wishing to maintain neutral until there was a clear winner. Aroesus took this as disloyalty and Paichnidi lost further favor. The breaking point came when a young deity named Proditus began visiting Paichnidi at his estate on Lake Miphas more and more frequently. He would come, and they would play games, exchange stories and riddles, and speak of the happenings of the court. Eventually, Proditus came to lean heavily on Paichnidi's advice, and gained much valuable information from him. One day, the rage of Aroesus could be felt and heard all across Hevas. Sileon was summoned from the bowels of his mountain, and the gods gathered to witness Proditus' utter destruction. A conspiracy to overthrow Aroesus had been uncovered, and Proditus sat at it's heart. It was known that Proditus spoke often with Paichnidi. In a rage, Aroesus flew to Paichnidi's estate, intending murder. Paichnidi threw himself at Aroesus' feet, pleading for mercy and insisting of his ignorance of Proditus' plot. At the behest of Mysia, with whom Paichnidi was a fast friend, Aroesus stayed his hand and instead exiled Paichnidi permanently to Sharzunates, knowing it to be a fate much worse than death for the Grandmaster of Games. And so there has Paichnidi remained, imprisoned before many of the current Pantheon were even sired. Now, Aroesus is dead and the guards of Sharzunates are gone. Many who knew of the quiet Paichnidi are either dead or have forgotten, and the time is ripe for a new King or Queen to take their place on the throne of Krona. Paichnidi is ready to play the game again, with new pieces and a new strategy. His unassuming advice is offered to all who seek it, as he reinstates himself in his long abandoned estate.

Relationships:

• Aroesus: Paichnidi was ecstatic to hear of his death and the opening of Sharzunates.
• Mysia: Paichnidi has always held a fondness for the queen (perhaps a jealous love?). He seeks to comfort her and would readily support her in a bid for power.
• Dihira: Paichnidi has a love/hate relationship with the Dark Librarian. He envies her access to such great knowledge, but respects her position and power. He is also aware of that access to information possibly contributing to his downfall to Sharzunates at the hand of Aroesus. It worries him that she is one of the few beings who would remember his involvements from that time period. He also worries that she may uncover his most carefully guarded secret, his treacherous eyes. If she found out, he would do anything to prevent the dissemination of that information. Therefore, his present plans are to stay within her good graces, or at least out of her thoughts.

[Blackbeard]

Name/Titles - Pannax Sex/Gender - Male Pantheon/Affiliation - Deity Patronage - The Underworld Appearance - It is difficult for Pannax to leave the underworld. As such he rarely speaks to others face to face, and instead opts to summon his Seer to the human world in his place. This servant of Pannax speaks directly for the God as the two are linked in both body and mind. There are occasions in which Pannax must manifest himself, generally in order to manage serious matters. His preferred form in this case is not dissimilar from his true appearance, however his face is absent as he believes others are not worthy to look upon him. Parentage - WIP (You can say things like "the sky" with a straight face here. Joy. Joy too. You can come sprung fully grown out of dad's skull. You can be descended of a goose and your mom, who clearly didn't have high standards.) Centers of Worship/Places of Power - WIP (Example: Athens and Athena, the Oracle of Delphi and Apollo, Achilles, descended of a river nymph...so on and so forth. A deity may be a patron of a city or a kingdom, but I am going to say that deities cannot control the free will of mortals, that's what makes them so irritating, and thus while able to influence events in these places, they will not have absolute power over them. There is a give and take between such worshipers and their deities, too, as the patron is expected to do things for their patronage.) Servants, Prominent Followers and Worship Base - WIP (I'm looking for an idea of what sort of people follow your deity and an idea of what sort of spirits/beings might be their servants, through which they make their wills be known. Prominent worshipers would mean prophets, kings and otherwise important mortals that are loyal to your deity. This can, of course, include playwrights, poets, singers and so forth...be creative. Worship base are the normal everyday people of various trades, tribes, nationalities and so forth who might find your god to be their patron/matron.) Psychology - Pannax is the god of the underworld, this is a huge responsibility and power and his psychology reflects as much. He is an egotistical deity who believes he is both essential and respected among the Pantheon. His arrogance has gotten to the rather ironic level that Pannax does not boast of his power, it is readily assumed. He finds it confusing when others do not see him in such a light and equally assumes that anyone who does not believe him to be the mightiest of the gods is ignorant of such matters. His visage is obviously quite bleak and frightening, considering the domain he lords over. But Pannax is fair and he listens to what people have to say, he has such a vibrant collection of souls he finds each and every one has something worthy of learning. So he can be quite the reasonable person unless he is angered, as do many gods Pannax has a very cruel streak. When someone questions his prominence, power or any such act of hubris towards him he can become a very sour and violent deity. History - WIP (An explanation of from whence the deity came and what befell them in various events. It's not a bad idea to cooperate with other players on this and expand as you see fit.) Relationships - WIP (Loves, hates, lusts, crushes, affairs, rapes, incests, zoophilia incidents with shepherd girls (always a Jovian favorite) and the like. Oh, and mere alliances and rivalries, as well. Probably fueled by the above. You don't have to list every character, just the ones your character actually has ties to/strong feelings for.)

[Jig]

Dinn

Name/Titles: Dinn, Keeper of the Flood, Dinn the Transient, The Keeper of the Threshold. Sex/Gender: Male Pantheon/Affiliation: Deity Patronage:

Naturally running water, rain, contained water (and man-made containers, particularly urns), thresholds, death Dinn is responsible for ferrying souls to the underworld, and so he is associated with ‘passing’ in all its forms. He sees no difference between crossing from one room to another and crossing from the mortal world to the afterlife. With this comes a sense of inevitability and natural flow, hence the association with running water and rain. However, he is not unknown to ‘bend the rules’, and so his interference with the water cycle, in the form of storing water is representative of that.

Appearance:

Clay Form: Dinn typically takes a form similar to that of a mortal, but is patently not. He is much bigger, for a start, and just so happens to have four arms. Much of his body comprises mortal(like) flesh, but his hips, legs, much of his back, and half his stomach from the left side is composed from a terracotta, clay mosaic, as are both his bonus arms and the top half of his face, including, eerily, his eyes. His body is completely bald and his ears, pointed. Needless to say, Dinn is absolutely stacked. He is perpetually drenched: in places, his mosaic skin is cracked, with water perpetually dribbling through, giving him a certain glisten. In particular, the palms of his terracotta arms, which are always pressed together as though in prayer, overflow with water, making him basically a walking fountain. He wears nothing but a white, ankle-length, silk sarong from the hips, that somehow flows majestically, despite also being completely waterlogged (ah, the mysteries of the divine). While this form is stable, he can dissolve himself into nothing but water and shards of clay. Liquid Form: Dinn may emerge from urns or running water, taking essentially the same form but with all four arms free, but comprised of water instead. While in liquid form, he does not constrain himself to 'mortal physics', and so may blossom extra limbs, take any size (irrespective of the volume of water he emerges from) and generally be somewhat trippy to behold. He may emerge from any man-made container with liquid contents, so could theoretically comprise honey, wine or any other contained liquid. Being 'insubstantial' in this way, he has no voice in this form. Dinn prefers to take the form of liquid, though he cannot sustain himself in a transient body for extended periods at a time. When appearing to mortals on good terms, this is the form he will typically take, pointing as his primary form of communication. Naturally, he can appear almost anywhere that is suitable for him to exist. His clay form, as the far more imposing, and, frankly, practical, is his default, and the one he will use upon visiting mortals when in a less benevolent mood.

Parentage:

Lymaeus’ son, cast from a clay fountain and her own flesh.

Centres of Worship/Places of Power:

The Temple of Passing is Dinn’s primary centre of worship (location to be determined). It is a huge construction featuring many many chambers, each of which connected by a completely open arch. While the followers of Dinn guard the temple, there is nothing archaeologically stopping a given mortal meandering through each and every room, and, within reason, strangers are welcome to do so. The temple is almost completely devoid of features, constructed of nothing but flat stone and arches, with domed ceilings. The only contents of the temple are urns, and plenty of them, neatly ordered and categorised by Dinn himself. It is strictly forbidden to touch or peer inside any urn in the temple without Dinn’s blessing, and there are many myths about what happens to mortals that do, including, naturally, being turned into or imprisoned in an urn themselves. Almost all of the chambers are identical, but for the biggest one, located at the temple’s centre. This is Dinn’s personal chamber, The Chamber of the Altar of Rain, where his throne is built into an impossibly tall pyramid of urns. Because the inside of this chamber is somehow perpetually raining, the urns are constantly overflowing, making a huge fountain. This fountain drains into a great well before the throne, forming a vortex of swirling water, which is said to lead directly to the Nassan Falls. Underneath the Temple of Passing, through a passage only Dinn and his most trusted can find, there is a crypt of inactive clay golems: more on them later. Dinn’s places of power are those places relevant to his portfolio, such as cellars where liquids may be stored, rivers and waterfalls, and, probably most pertinent to mortals, thresholds of all kinds. It is common for mortals to briefly acknowledge Dinn upon entering or exiting a building.

Servants, Prominent Followers and Worship Base:

Almost all mortals pay their dues to Dinn, as he is the arbiter of their immortal fate. As the one responsible for their journey to the afterlife, he is relevant to every mortal that will die. According to almost universal doctrine, it is Dinn that presides over the passing of souls from this life to the next, though, naturally, he very rarely does this in person. It is instead his servants, the Guardians of Passage, that commend the deceased soul to the heavens, before it manifests itself as the rain in the central chamber of the Temple of Passing and passing through to the underworld. While followers of other gods may have their own deity the primary feature of their death rites, concessions are typically made to the Guardians of Passage in at least an administrative capacity. Where those concessions are not made, it is said that Dinn keeps the souls for himself in the topmost urn in The Chamber of the Altar of Rain when they inevitably reach him. The Guardians of Passage are Dinn’s primary sect of fervent worship. They are monastic in structure and have branches covering spiritual matters (such as commending souls to the heavens), military (defending the Temple of Passing) and personal (serving Dinn personally). It is typical for followers of Dinn and those soon to die to make tributes to Dinn, typically in the form of an urn (with something valuable inside, of course) dedicated to him on a threshold or in a place of prominence in the house. Those really seeking to carry his favour make pilgrimages to the Temple of Passing with their tribute to deliver it in person. The tribute is simply stored with all the other urns. The Exempt are a privileged few, exclusive to the powerful, the rich, and the upper echelons of the Guardians of Passage. They pay, in essence, not to die. Through a ritual ceremony, sometimes conducted by Dinn himself, their immortal soul is stored in one of Dinn’s urns, where it is safe from being forced to pass into the next life. Needless to say, this requires a tribute of the highest quality, and implies a life of servitude and dedication to Dinn, and political support for the Guardians of Passage. Other gods tend to frown on this practice, for fear that dedication to Dinn would diminish their own standing. Alternatively, one may become an exempt via sacrificing another mortal (of Dinn's choosing) so that he may claim that soul for his own. While becoming exempt does quell death, it does not prevent ageing (though it does slightly slow the process): eventually, the mortal must accept their fate - and Dinn keeps their soul permanently. It is rumoured (ie: true) that, underneath the Temple of Passing, there is an enormous crypt containing four-armed clay statues in the likeness of the Exempt. Should Dinn combine these statues with their respective souls, they become golems, utterly subservient to the Keeper of the Flood. There are only four active golems, the original mortal founders of the Guardians of Passage, who currently are the 'saints' of the sect, even though they no longer retain any of their humanity or characteristics. They are known as The Corporeal. While any three-dimensional depiction of Dinn is strictly forbidden, depictions of The Corporeal are incredibly common among Dinn's followers. Since the deity is frequently invoked in human poetry and theatre as a proxy for the passage of time, inevitability, and, of course, death, but his image is taboo, The Corporeal are depicted as his agents. While it is not clear whether this is merely myth, crafted from those poets and playwrights that worship him, Dinn is known to appear in his liquid form to mortals in need at a threshold, and provide a gateway to wherever they need to be.

Psychology:

Dinn is a deity not given to fraternising with mortals. He considers himself superior than them, and is rarely interested in the minutia of their lives, and so interacts with mortals primarily through the Guardians of Passage. That mortals should suffer or fear death is of no consequence to him, and, though he is theoretically capable of causing a complete cessation of human mortality, he is too uninterested to bother. What truly motivates him, with respect to mortals, is, though he does not admit it, their complete and utter adoration and submission. This is the purpose of tributes in his honour: no material gain (being divine, he has no need of gold), but simply a physical manifestation of his value in mortal eyes. He is a jealous and possessive god (aren't they all?) who, though he administers the passing of souls to the underworld, is not unknown to embezzle souls for himself: those who refuse to bow to the minimum standard of funeral rites are, as far as Dinn is concerned, his for the taking. His corruption with regard to the Exempt is also a sore spot among the heavens, though he is known for doing this in conjunction with other gods for reciprocal gain. Despite having crossed the 'corrupt' threshold, he is careful not to fly too close to the sun. After having been imprisoned in Sharzunates, Dinn was left more scarred than vengeful, and has been left with the divine equivalent of claustrophobia, and a hatred of being trapped in any enclosed space. For this reason, it is strictly forbidden for mortals to make statues in his honour, for fear of his form being 'captured'. While powerful and proud, Dinn is not known for great intellect or pro-activeness.

History:

- Subject to change as relationships emerge. Dinn was the first being born to Lymaeus, and was born to Lymaeus and her alone. She took water from the greatest fountain in Krona and cast with it her own flesh: Dinn was born a god with a transient form of vapours and flowing water that billowed and flourished as he wished. He was at this point not yet responsible for the flow of souls to the underworld, as Ventu's destructive rule took this upon himself. Dinn was too uninterested in anything but his own freedom to be concerned with the rebellion against Ventu - until Ventu was minded to exile him as well. However, Dinn was too immaterial to lock away, and so was thrust back into the fountain of his origin, sealed inside the great four-armed clay statue from which the water itself flowed. The entire fountain was ripped from Krona and itself thrust into Sharzunates with Dinn within it, where it served as the gate (technically 'dam') to the prison of the gods. When it came for Sileon to release the prisoners of Sharzunates, he was unable to release Dinn in his original form, and so Dinn was released from the fountain by bringing it with him, hence the half-clay form he has to this day. When returned, his very form was a testament to his suffering, and so joined the other gods in their revolt against Ventu, and, with Ventu vanquished, he took it upon himself, with his ties to Mephas personal, to guide mortal souls there such that they need not suffer as he did. However, he overestimated his own beneficence, and his period of mortal interest was brief. It was during this time that he reached popularity as a deity among mortals, with the construction of the Temple of Passing and establishment of the Guardians of Passage - from there, he began to grow uninterested in mortal affairs (his heart was never truly in it), and his influence declined somewhat, though his following remains an institution, if a little passive.

Relationships:

WIP

[Paper Angel]

Vaela

Name/Titles: Vaela, The Queen of Grace and Beauty, Mistress of Spite, The Silver Archer Gender: Female Patronage: Love, Kindness, Mercy, Beauty, Youth, Lust, Spite, Malice, Envy, Seduction, Archery. Parentage: Vaela was a child of Ventu but she was feeble in her youth and he discarded her with disgust. She rejected her father after he cast her out and does not claim her heritage. Pantheon/Affiliation: Deity Appearance: Vaela is a creature of divine beauty and youth. Her body is the envy of mortal women and the dearest desire of mortal men. Her hair is like spun gold, intricately braided and shimmering in even the faintest light. Twin braids hang down sides of her face as the rest of her hair cascades down her back. Two ivory horns that twist around each other emerge from the sides of her head. Her skin is the color of silver and perfectly flawless with not even a single scar or cut. Vaela’s face is an almost perfect oval, her eyes shimmer with a totally bewitching golden glow, her nose is perfectly positioned, her cheekbones are high and refined, and her lips are warm and inviting like the honeyed words she speaks. She normally wears a silver gown that leaves her back exposed and clings to her body like a second layer of skin. Vaela can also appear in a more unpleasant guise when she is enraged or slighted. Her skin becomes blood red, and her head is adorned with a crown of much longer ebony horns. Her hair changes from gold to white and her eyes turn to blood red orbs that emit hatred and malice. She’s also appeared as many types of animals but they are always silver colored so they are easy to spot. Centres of Worship/Places of Power: Vaelan is one of the strongholds of her worship. The ageless Queen Avaelin is the adopted daughter of Vaela and she showers her blessings on the nation. Vaelan is slightly to the south of Caesilinus and not the largest nation but it is her most beloved of human nations. Vaelan also holds the greatest of Vaela’s temples and is the home of the highest concentration of the Vaelie. There is also a great temple in Caesilinus. Almost every town or city has at least a shrine to Vaela because her aspects are almost universal. Servants, Prominent Followers and Worship Base: Almost all women and many men have worshipped Vaela throughout their lives. Maidens plead to her for a blessing of her beauty and the love of man, while men plead that they will be successful in wooing those same women. Many vain women pray for their beauty to remain constant and ask her to keep them from aging and many men do the same; asking for their virility and strength to remain even as they grow older. Jilted lovers often pray to her, asking for the balm of renewed love or for the sweet nectar of malice and spite that makes it easy to forget they ever loved at all. Vaela has always been fond of pleasure and frequently allows her favored mortals the joy of a union with her and her many children have spread her blood throughout many parts of the world. Vaela is also open to the worship of deviants and individuals with strange or perverted lusts and she understands that many find pleasure in pain as well; she even has been known to find it herself. The Vaelie are her children and they all inherit her skin, hair, and horns, they also can shift from the fair form to the darker one at will like she can. There are both male and female Vaelie and they are supernatural attractive and able to incite lust and desire in the hearts and minds of others. They feed on the youth of those they couple with to sustain their own lives and they have magical gifts too. They worship her a lot. Vael’Lana, High Priestess of Vaela: The eldest of Vaela’s living children and the first of the Vaelie Vael’Lana presides over the faith of Vaela and the affairs of the Vaelie. She is said to be insatiable in her appetites for both pleasure and pain, much like her mother before her. Avaelin of Vaelan: Avaelin is the Queen of Vaelan, a nation to the south. When she was young she was beautiful enough to draw Vaela’s gaze and her fondest wish and burning desire was to remain as she was forever. Vaela watched her with favor as the Queen sought any method for eternal youth. In the end she came herself and offered the Queen eternal youth for eternal faith. The Queen accepted taking a name that paid homage to her goddess and renaming her own nation. Though Avaelin is human she has the ability of the Vaelie to feed on youth through intimacy. Psychology: Vaela is given pleasure by love in all its forms. She does not discriminate between the gentle love of a young romance and the sadistic love of a man who tortures his partners during the act. She has a special place for those as they meld her two attributes together in a way that she truly admires. She is known to be difficult to pin down, enjoying acts of pleasure herself to the point that she has likely coupled with many of the gods of the pantheon, both male and female. There were even rumors that at times Aroesus had called her to him. Vaela frowns on celibacy considering it one of the only sins that she cannot abide. She also takes rejection very poorly and often will attempt to trick people into accepting her if her advances are initially rejected. History: Vaela was one of the children that Ventu sired upon the stars. She was gentle and kind with no violence or malice in her then. But Ventu did not find her docile beauty and grace appealing, and wished that she had instead been a force of destruction. He cast her from his sight with disgust and that rejection changed her. She had loved her father with pure and unadulterated love that had known no limits. But now it was shattered into pieces and where a broken heart lived darkness crept in. She began to hate, and malicious intent crept into her even as she embraced the creations of her brothers; teaching them of love. When Aroesus rebelled against Ventu he searched for his sister and promised her a place in his new order if she helped him. Vaela agreed in an instant, eager for acceptance and companionship, and believing that when the time came she would be chosen as the Queen of the gods and as his bride. He passed her over after the victory, choosing instead the goddess _____ which made her furious. Vaela’s darker side became more visible after she was passed over; her malice and spite changing her from the pure goddess of love and beauty that she once was into the double sided being she is today. But until the end Aroesus often called his sister to him 'secretly' and there are rumors something might have come from their union. Relationships: Loves, hates, lusts, crushes, affairs, rapes, incests, zoophilia incidents with shepherd girls (always a Jovian favorite) and the like. Oh, and mere alliances and rivalries, as well. Probably fueled by the above. (Anyone can have had a liaison with Vaela. Pm me if you want to! I totally want to flesh this out more and totally think she would have had flings with almost anyone -_^.)

[Howler]

Molydeus

Name/Titles: Molydeus, Molidae, The Cage and Chain, Our Keeper the Mad, The Prince of the Sharzunates, The Shattered and Maimed Sex/Gender: Molydeus is either androgynous or hermaphroditic, depending on how one sees these things. He is referred to with male pronouns, though 'it' is more correct. Pantheon/Affiliation: Deity. Patronage: Jails and jailed, madness and hope, punishment and redemption, obsession and revenge, pain and endurance, water. Appearance:

Molydeus rarely appears directly. When possible he will do so through a mirror or reflective pool, ravaging both the image and the vessel. In the mortal world it prefers to use surrogates--anyone in the grips of madness willing to surrender themselves to their Lord can be used as a puppet, and he prefers to use as many such puppets as he can at a time for effect. When he must appear as himself it is as an one or many androgynous young men or women, scarred and maimed and swathed in white. If he appears as a multitude they speak in chorus and are viciously chained to one another.

Parentage:

Molydeus was conceived long ago when the first God was cast into the Sharzunates, but was only born with the death of Aerosus. The power he poured into keeping his enemies (and allies) constrained was released and combined with the divinity bled from the Lake's captives until finally, at the moment of betrayal, Molydeus opened centuries closed eyes and was birthed from the depths with a cry of relief.

Centres of Worship/Places of Power:

As a new god, Molydeus is not well known to the mortals. Still, at the moment of Aroseus' death there was a murmur among the jailed and the mad, a new word for their captor and fellow inmates to mutter, to obsess upon. For better or worse they were no longer alone in their suffering, and they soon learned it. As the god of prisons and imprisonment he is strong wherever men and women are held in bondage, wherever they hang in cages or stocks or are tortured and confined. In the oldest and foulest of these places he walks the halls freely, and it is said that to speak in that musty air is to whisper in his ear. Everyone has their prison, and all the prisons are his.

Servants, Prominent Followers and Worship Base:

Few people choose to worship Molydeus, but more of them do than will ever admit it. When the lights have gone out and the beatings start, when the cell doors close and the shackles click shut, Molydeus is there. A born prisoner, familiar with punishment and confinement of deific proportions, he is the balm and the comfort in the mewling dark even as he whispers in the ear of the whiphand. Prayers to him come in gasped breath and frenzied, fervent pleas, pregnant with that most desperate and sincerest of supplication. Even in freedom they remember the soothing whispers in their ear, the calming hands on their shoulders...and the fingers knotted in their hair to hold then beneath the water. They know who they owe their lives to, and they remember. While the survivors are his champions, the mad are his servants. Captivity breaks more than it spares, and those who break beneath the hand of Molydeus are his, body and soul. He speaks through them, wears them when he walks the earth and guards them and abuses them jealously like the dangerous, manic, broken children they have become. Though he dwells in all jails and prisons and asylums, there is one most holy penitentiary that bears special mention. On the island of Kirkonau there is a prison that accepts any offering, and it is here that Molydeus swallows them whole. It is the Molidae, and the less said of that sunken abbatoir the better. What happens to them then is a secret shared only between captor and captive, but they emerge with the blessing of Molydeus or not at all.

Psychology:

Outwardly, Molydeus presents himself as gentle and soft spoken, innocent and well-meaning. It is a lie, and a good one. Molydeus is young. Though he has languished for centuries in an ovarian prison he was born only in the death of Aroseus, and it is through new eyes that he sees the world and the other Gods and Goddesses. They entrance him and frighten him but he is a brave and headstrong child and a God in his own right, and he is as powerful as any of them in his own domain. Mercurial and possessive, masochistic and sadistic, it is his nature to imagine those he meets wrapped tight in his chains until he grows tired of them. He jealously guards what he sees as his and his wrath is as vicious as a bone-deep lash. But above all else he is hungry. A growing god needs his nourishment, after all.

History:

When the first deity was cast away to Lake Sharzunate, its dreams and rages and sorrows and agonies seeped into the water, for not even these fragments of being were allowed free. They sunk and began to consolidate at the bottom of those endless waters, mixing with the power and will that Aroseus poured into their prison. It coalesced into a nascent jailor, a fetal warden that dreamed of its charges and held them tight with iron fingers and aqueous embrace. It visited their dreams and relived their torments, and it grew to know each of them intimately and invasively. And then the betrayal, and birth, and Molydeus rose from beneath the lake with joy. Since he has declared himself the prince of the Sharzunates and viciously defends his title, claiming his Isles and working to rechain the gods that He feeds upon. Recently he has begun to get the Isles back in order, using his knowledge of his captives and the strength of the prison that held them bind them once more. He has only begun his forays into expanding his power beyond the Sharzunates and the prisons, beginning with the water that nurtured and confined him for so long.

Relationships:

(Loves, hates, lusts, crushes, affairs, rapes, incests, zoophilia incidents with shepherd girls (always a Jovian favorite) and the like. Oh, and mere alliances and rivalries, as well. Probably fueled by the above. You don't have to list every character, just the ones your character actually has ties to/strong feelings for.)

Good but for relationships, which are being discussed.

[Harbringer]

Epideimos

Name/Titles: Lord of Disease, The Poisoner, The Harvester, The Censer, The Healer, The Alchemist, The Black Duck (For children only) Sex/Gender: Probably male, but you don't really want to check. Pantheon/Affiliation: Deity. Patronage: Disease, Plagues, Crop Failure, Illness, Pestilence, Rust, but also Medicine and Healing Appearance:

- A hunched figure usually completely veiled in a dark, hooded cloak. Epideimos carries a rusted scythe notched with a single hole near the tip through which a chain is linked, leading down to a small glowing censer which constantly emits a dim green smoke which pools at his feet. This is his apparition as an omen of disease. He prefers this form when conferring with other deities as it reminds them that he may strike their followers with a plague at any time. - A tall, hooded figure wearing hempen robes often found on monks. He carries a small sickle on his side with a smaller chain and censer attached to it, similar to his scythe. In this case, the gas that spews forth is black, similar to any other smoke and smells distinctly of Hennaleaf. Around his body is a myriad of pouches, bottles and vials, while a wicker basket is strapped to his back containing freshly cut herbs. It is said that in this form, he will hand out a panacea which will cure all illness known to him if a person pleads for the life of their sick relative. However, if the person lies, or attempts to sell the medicine then the bottle will explode, releasing a virulent plague. - A black hooded duck. Epideimos really likes ducks after his first trip to the surface world

Parentage:

To be discussed

Role in the Downfall: Epideimos was the one who supplied the poison that killed Aroesus Centres of Worship/Places of Power:

- It is common to have a shrine to Epideimos within hospitals, pesthouses and other places of healing. Small shrines within family homes are commonplace alongside other deity worship. - The city of Epideimia is dedicated to his worship and boasts the most effective hospitals in all the land. However, it is also the city with the largest underground crypt network beneath the shining pillars. The streets are often choked with the bodies of the dead and dying as pilgrims attempt to regain his trust and favour, but often the worst symptoms come a few paces away from the shrines atop the polished steps, from fits and epilepsy to instant death. The God of Disease is not a forgiving one.

Servants, Prominent Followers and Worship Base:

Epideimos is revered as both a healer and despised as a bringer of disease. - Servants: The servants of Epideimos come in two forms. First are his messengers of pestilence. The most grave one is an emaciated, skeletal human bearing a censer and an empty half of an hourglass which is actually an indentured human who has greatly displeased him. This servant is a sign of an incoming plague. Less...definite servants are black rats and pigeons. His other servants represent his healing tendencies. These range from white ducks which are a sign of a minor blessing and young cherubs bearing bottles of panacea and syringes in more extreme cases. These cherubs have the deep voices of men and are actually qualified doctors. These will sometimes follow in the wake of a plague if Epideimos is remorseful. His main followers are healers, doctors and chemists, although some groups of bioterrorists seem intent to act under his name, launching plagues where they desire. Cities which possess hospitals or other medical facilities will often include a small shrine to Epideimia at the very least in an effort to gain his favour while conducting their business.

Psychology:

Epideimos is a living embodiment of medicine. While soft, kind and healing when treated with respect, he can quickly turn into a deadly force when slighted (too much is imbibed). While usually soft and helpful, he quickly resorts to violence when things are not going his way, reminiscent of how quickly medicine can turn to poison. Easy to trust people at face value, many people initially saw Epideimos as naiive and took advantage of him, angering him with false words about the wrongdoings of another god and goading him into a rage, at which point he would turn into the Lord of Pestilence and devastate an area. Of course, after he would learn the truth and devastate the former's area while healing the latter's. While quick to befriend and trust, his trust is not so easily re-earned, as shown by the bodies lying on the steps of Epideimia. Those who have incurred his wrath will often never find the panacea to their crimes. Incredibly self righteous, Epideimos attempts to be a paragon of virtue, but is too easily goaded into action.

History:

To be decided

Relationships:

Later

Need to discuss some things with people

[Prince Potter]

Tulkas, God of the Deep

Name/Titles: Tulkas Salkur, Father of Abominations, The Drowning Man Sex/Gender: Male Pantheon/Affiliation: Deity Patronage: Deeper parts of the Ocean, Drowning, Monstrosities, Predatory sea creatures, Sailing. Appearance: The Drowning Man: Though quiet rare for Tulkas to take the time to communicate with Mortals directly, it has happened. During these unlikely events, he is known to usually take a rather deceiving form. The Drowning Man is an elderly fisherman with sparse wispy white hairs that remind the perceptive of seafoam. He has a heavily wrinkled face, with a thin and seemingly frail body. His skin seems to sag from his ancient bones, and he has few teeth. He usually wears the simple linens of the common folk, allowing him to be relatively invisible in a crowd if he wishes. The Drowning Man is subtle and clever, but is also friendly enough to those who show respect to his domain. He is known for having a grand sense of humor, as there are stories he saved the lives of shipwrecked sailors who could make him laugh. Father of Abominations: When Tulkas is found skulking about ship wrecks at the body of the ocean floor, he is closest to his natural form. He appears to have little solid form, coming closest to simply a writhing mass of mottled grey flesh. It is apparent he has tentacles beyond number, each with their own barbed and poisoned suction cups. He does not possess a centralized face, though there is a ‘primary mouth’ which is eerily similar to the black beak of a squid. He possesses constantly forming and unforming eyes and smaller mouths all over his massive swirling body. One of his most well-known features is the ‘Lighthouse of Lost Souls’. The Lighthouse is actually a gigantic bioluminescent extremity that Tulkas can raise out of the water, usually during the heart of a storm. The light of his membrane can easily be confused for a lighthouse, and many ships have approached it seeking shelter only to be drawn straight into the maw. Parentage: Tulkas was a Child of Ventu that was much more reclusive and introverted than his siblings. He near immediately found himself at home deep under the waves of the great oceans, and left his domain only for the most serious of events. Centres of Worship/Places of Power: Illium – A bustling city-state that has founded itself upon Sunset Bay, the entire economy of the city is based around their uncanny success with fishing in the bay. The city hosts the Temple to Tulkas, the only one of its kind. It is here that the High Anchor trains future generations of worshipers and teaches sermons from the Book of the Deep. Lyos – A small fishing community nestled by the ocean out in the wild untamed lands, The Drowning Man is said to take special notice of the small community, calling it his ‘special fishing spot’. Though small and poor, they are zealous in their commitment to him. Icuson Bay – A beautiful and idyllic crescent bay that the residents of Lyos have settled themselves at. It is said to be the original spot that Tulkas fell from the Heavens at, and is considered a Holy location to the locals. It is well known that at least one of Tulkas’s children is near the place at all times. The Grey Ghost – A group of mere husks of men who served the God of the Deep faithfully in life. Though their soul is gone, their bodies still yet serve to seek out Lech and end him once and for all. This is useful in that Lech grows stronger absorbing souls. Servants, Prominent Followers and Worship Base: High Anchor Victarius – The ruling figurehead of the Drowned Man’s religion at the Temple to Tulkas at Illium, he himself is nearly a hundred years old. Because of this, he has on occasion earned himself the nickname of Drowned Man. It is said that he is one of only two living persons to have communed with the Drowned Man directly, and even then it was only to write down the words that Tulkas told him, in order to create the Book of the Deep. Captain Ulysses – A fat and pompous man from further inland who came to Illium only a decade ago. He was a famous merchant, and quickly monopolized the ideal conditions of Sunset Bay to accumulate vast wealth. Eventually, he ended up becoming Captain of Illium, a term in equivalence to King. Now Ulysses must try and appease the religious masses as well as the High Anchor and still turn a profit. Anchor Abbot – The head of the Lyosian fishery temple, he has been a devout follower since he was a boy. He was born and raised in Lyos, and is middle aged now. He discovered Aeto on the beach as a babe, and raised him as his own. Because of this, Abbot is a kind of surrogate father to Aeto, who Tulkas has little to do with. Abbot is said to have rosy red cheeks and a large pot belly, with hair the color of fire. Captain Kernwallis – An Ex-Anchor and one time pupil to Abbot, Kernwallis was disgraced and exiled from Lyos after it was discovered that his ship sank during a storm, and he did not go down with his vessel, as is custom. The Drowned Man appeared before Captain Kernwallis at Icuson Bay, and cursed him in that he may never die from downing, considered the ultimate honor to their people. The Drowned Man told him the curse would be broken, and he allowed to finally drown and find his rest once his task was complete. He was then placed in command of the Grey Ghost, a haunted ship of the damned who search for Lech. Children of Tulkas ------- First Gen: Kyril, The Raging Storm – A behemoth of a creature with limited intelligence, Kyril has the characteristic fin of a shark, as well as their multiple rows of serrated teeth. He is known for being rash and reckless, and prefers to rush headfirst to smash into vessels at sea. He possesses multiple tentacles along the side of his body, which he uses to slap at ships and throw people about. Second Gen: Aeto, Son of the Sea, Herald of the Deep – Fraternal twin to Sisina, he is the only of Tulkas’s children that is not only capable of going on land, but lives there. He is a well accomplished seaman and captain, and lives in a small shack just outside of Lyos that the devout sometimes pilgrimage to. He yearns for the approval of his Father, and is very devout. Second Gen: Sisina, Mother of Sirens – Sisina is the fraternal twin to Aeto, and has the lower body of a fish. She is known for her alluring beauty, and way with words. She is known as the Mother of Sirens after her mother, and has lured many men to their death at sea for her own pleasure. Third Gen: Chrysos, Slayer of Survivors – Chrysos is known for keeping mostly to himself at the bottom of the sea. He possesses the multiple legs of a crab, but with the torso of a lobster. He has a single claw from both animals, and is usually found at recent shipwrecks. He enjoys the role of cleaning up survivors and feasting on the corpses of the dead. He is especially apt at destroying lifeboats and dinghies. Because of this, he is usually close behind Kyril. Third Gen: Lech, The Great Parasite- A grossly over sized leech that is capable of eating a man whole or sucking an elephant dry in under a minute, it is a cowardly and envious creature. It possesses little intelligence, and is usually concerned more with finding its next host. Lech is surprisingly quick in the water for its size. Despite having several scars across its bloated frame, Lech has survived for a very long time despite being universally hated by both its father and siblings. Fourth Gen: Nalus & Nemus, Twin Snakes of the Sea – Twin sea serpents that are capable of extremely intense bursts of electricity through the water, they are the youngest and most naïve of the Children of Tulkas. They are usually charged with protecting those who would do damage to the sea, or those who worship it. They have a fairly close relationship with Aeto, who they occasionally let ride them. Psychology: Tulkas has always shunned the limelight, and this is part of why he became God of the Depths, as few ever disturbed him. He is sadistic and manipulative, having zero empathy for those he deems unworthy. He is a vengeful and prideful god, and it is commonly known that shipwrecks and disaster at sea happen only because those aboard had not pleased Tulkas sufficiently. Though Tulkas is a rather cold and uncaring deity, one of the few things he does actually care for is the state of his domain. Because of this, poachers and polluters of the sea find him a constant threat. He always yearned for the approval and acceptance of his father Ventu, by birthing many children. But Ventu found them horrid and disgusting. He has since felt a stinging jealousy of the love that Sileon received from Ventu, and an envy of Aroesus once he overthrew Ventu and became Chief among the Gods. Tulkas’s disdain for Aroesus grew into outright seething hatred once Aroesus killed Svanus, his only friend. Once the God of the Deep’s vengeance was complete with the assassination, he was sickened by the bickering that the power vacuum brought. History: Tulkas was one of many Children of Ventu back during the time of original creation. His birth marked an explosion of stars across the nebula that sent a wave of force across the universe that still echoes in some distant part of space to this very day. He fell from the Heavens and plunged deep into the murky abyss of the primordial oceans. It was here he would make his home and grow in strength and power for millennia. It was during this time that he took the mighty beasts the shark and squid and married them together, creating his first child named Kyril. Tulkas would socialize little with his siblings, finding them uninteresting and unworthy of his time. The only exception to Tulkas’s relative isolationism was his brother Svanus. These two grew in friendship and brotherhood for some time, and when Ventu threatened to destroy the world, it was only Svanus that was able to convince Tulkas to rise from his depths to fight. When at first they were defeated by the strength of Ventu, Tulkas was among the Gods that were imprisoned within Sharzunates. It was while he was in chains with his siblings in that dark place that he would for the first time; get to know his fellow Gods. He would never forget his time spent in exile in that forsaken land, and when Sileon freed them from their chains, he secretly felt ashamed that he needed rescuing, and he hated Sileon for saving them and being all that Tulkas was not. After the fall of Ventu, Tulkas argued that Aroesus was not fit to lead them. Unfortunately due to his reclusive nature, he had few friends and allies to back up his stance. In the end, it was Svanus once more who convinced Tulkas to begrudgingly bend the knee. Relative peace would soon follow, but it would not last. During the time that Aroesus ruled as King of the Gods and the prophecy had not yet come to be told that he would be assassinated, Tulkas found a beautiful and sadistic lass named Siren in the small fishing village of Lyos. He took the lass as his wife, and the mortal woman died giving him fraternal twins. He would have a half fish daughter named Sisina, who would go on to become the Mother of Sirens, after her mother. He would also receive a complete human son named Aetos. Aroesus eventually struck down Svanus in a fit of rage over Aroesus’s domineering control over the world. Svanus had been the only friend of Tulkas, and only advocate of Aroesus to Tulkas as well. His death marked a sharp change in Tulkas, who near immediately began conspiring to overthrow the tyrant god and avenge his only fallen friend. In preparation for what he assumed would be war with Aroesus, he married the lobster and crab together as his fourth, naming it Chrysos. Yet when Tulkas went to examine his newly born fourth child, he discovered upon the baby Chrysos a unexpected result. A leech the size of a small ship was attached to Chrysos, and suckled his strength away. Tulkas quickly discovered the leech could not be removed without either killing the host, or offering a new host in return. The God of the Deep, in a strange act of benevolence, placed the Leech upon himself to free Chrysos and allow him to live. This leech would go on to become his fifth child, and be named Lech. It was a weak and cowardly creature that survived purely on jealousy and fear. Once Lech had grown large enough to support itself, at least temporarily, it fled into the vastness of the sea. Because of Tulkas’s secretive and reserved nature, Aroesus did not know enough about his brother to suspect him of his treason. This allowed Tulkas to continue to live on Lake Miphas, though primarily as a silent ghost. When the time came to strike Aroesus down, Tulkas aided without hesitation. After Svanus was avenged, Tulkas witnessed the surviving gods quickly turn on each other to vie for the empty throne. He had never cared for the other deities, and especially didn’t care to rule over them. He considered the death of Aroesus to be the end of his need to interfere with the affairs of the others, and has since returned to lording over his waters. Recently the people of Lyos spotted him apparently reaching up and pulling down twin bolts of lightning from the sky itself, before materializing them into his most recent creations. They are apparent electric sea serpents named Nalus and Nemus, are charged with protecting areas Tulkas deems worthy. Relationships: Kyril – As the firstborn of Tulkas and being a force of great destruction and power, Kyril is definitely one of his more favored children. While Kyril is admittedly too unintelligent to ever take Tulkas’s place as heir, he serves a strong purpose as the Wrath of the Ocean. Sisina – Born from his dying wife, Sisina takes after her father in that she is incredibly manipulative and sadistic. Though he disapproves of her more human upper half, he tolerates it only because of its use in drawing foolish sailors to their death. In his eyes, those killed by her are only those deserving it. Aeto – One of the few true abominations Tulkas has ever truly created, he abhors the lungs and legs of Aeto. Though he found his son to be monstrous upon birth, he found he did not have it in him to kill any of his spawn, and left it on the beach to its fate. Aeto survived, and wishes desperately for his father’s approval. Chrysos – Tulkas suffers a fairly shallow relationship with Chrysos, due to both of their reclusive natures. Because of this, Chrysos is fairly neutral in his father’s eyes, as little has happened to shape his opinion further. He created Chrysos as a mop up tool, and that’s what he is. Lech – The only other abomination that Tulkas believes he has ever created, he despises the parasitical animal. He suffers the same problem he did with Aeto, in that he cannot find it in him to kill the beast. Because of this, he has sent a devout by the name of Captain Kernwallis to kill it for him. Nalus & Nemus – The youngest of all his creations, he believes the twins to be steadfast defenders of his domain. He loves them for their unique electric abilities, but disapproves of their friendship with Aeto.

[Whiskers]

Odysus

Name/Titles: Viria Odysus Shepherd of Nightmares & Dreams, Keeper of Asorphii, Conduit of Visions and Seer of the Unknown, the Unpredictable & the Unnerving. Sex/Gender: Seamlessly switches through both male and female at will. Patronage: - Hallucinations, Visions, Nightmares, Dreams, "Day Dreams" -- Deception, Illusion, Manipulation, Foresight --- Hallucinogenic mushrooms and other herbal substances Appearance: As Odysus confronts others in a masculine form, there is almost always a mystic haze of smoke surrounding his face. A blurry visage of crimson and violet obscures wildly fashionable and royal clothing as if he lived like a king. The only clear and definitive part of his appearance is a crown adorned upon his head in gold and ebony. He is known to take the form of a large eastern screech owl with rustled gray feathers and a grotesque scar over his two missing eyes, his head sporadically twitching about in every which direction. When often morphing into a feminine form, a fully crimson visage blurs as she transitions into a blended variety of colors and robes. She stands taller than as a man, with a violet cloth draped over her face. Devilish horns protrude from out the cloth as they jut out from her jaw line, as well as random patterned design of short and thick horns stubbed along her scalp. Her hair and otherwise most of her body is either obscured by clothing or a blurry hue. She is known to take the form of a beautiful island fox with a miraculous set of feathered wings allowing for a short distance of flight. The eyes of the fox are also gouged out, however there are no scars present along the perfect coat and slim body of her primal form. Other than these four known appearances, it is often rumored that Viria Odysus can take the shadowed form of practically anything. That they are indeed the things you swear you've seen out the corner of your eye, always watching and observing from a peripheral line of view. Only the most perceptive and observant deities can sense such a presence, usually automatically summoning Odysus to a known form if they realized they are caught. Parentage: - A thought, or a vision. -- Saoaedes, High Prophet of Dassanos. The first mortal human to ingest hallucinogenic mushrooms and conjure the deity known as Viria Odysus for the first recorded time in history. Pantheon/Affiliation: Affiliated almost entirely with itself, Odysus will join the Pantheon at wildly sporadic and infrequent moments. Centres of Worship/Places of Power: - The Temple of Heathens, known by The Cult of Dassanos as the Temple of Clarity on Mount Zorus. Has been reduced to rubble and rebuilt thirteen times. - Underground/Basement Cults in a variety of cities, villages and homesteads. - Seven altars and statues are known to exist within Lymaeus, scattered in various locations and known only to a select few within the Ordus Psylybus. Servants, Prominent Followers and Worship Base: - Saoaedes, the Deathless Soul, the Mortal Father. Something literally no other being can sense is even there, something almost all deities believe to be imaginary, nonexistent. Odysus, however, claims to be accompanied by the soul of a once mortal human man whom they have the privilege of being child to. They will console always to their right shoulder, head turned in a cloud of mist and fog or mystic smoke to whisper unheard words to seemingly nothing. A low ringing is heard, and the vibrant being returns to normal. This is when it is presumed the infallible "deathless soul" is giving advice and wisdom to his child, to many skeptics it is a weird occurrence. - The Cult of Dassanos. Branded heretics and banished from the city of Caesilinus, what was once the Church of Dassanos had quite the prominent base of worshipers. At some point in the early years of Caesilinus' establishment, several priestesses from the Church of Dassanos entered the Megali Naos seemingly uninterrupted by guards or anything else. Once inside, the unknown number of females brandished knives and began chanting in tongues in a wild and chaotic fashion, defiling several great artifacts in the process. As they approached a painting of Aroesus and several other gods of the Pantheon, they proceeded to stab the painting's rendition of Aroesus several times and slashing the painting toward certain other deities in the Pantheon. The painting was so torn and destroyed, however, no one was able to interpret the meaning behind it. Worship of Odysus was forbidden from then on in Caesilinus, and frowned upon immensly in other settlements and cities and nations within Lymaeus. The Church continued on as the Cult, and places of worship were constructed underground or in dark alleyways, shadowed places and sometimes even hidden in plain sight. While hallucinogenic substances are still socially acceptable in most places along the mortal plane, those who took to kindly to the mushrooms were viewed with suspicion and often raided by city guards or armed and concerned locals. The current day finds itself in the waning end times for the Cult of Dassanos, as of the death of Aroesus occurred several important underground temples had been ransacked and destroyed. Only local places of worship and a select few underground temples exist now, the cultists desperately scrambling to save the physical imprint of their god on Lymaeus. - Ordus Psylybus. A sacred organization, a secretive sect within the Cult of Dassanos. Hundreds of order members have been rounded up and executed coincidentally following the assassination of Aroesus. Only a handful are left, and not even the most honored cult members can determine where they've gone. Psychology: Patience is something Odysus has a lot of, normally able to collectively calm others even during heated debates or tense confrontations. There is a cowardly being under the cool and collected stance they display unto others, attempting to vanish from deteriorating situations as fast as possible rather than confront anything if necessary. Regardless, situations deemed out of control appear to place Odysus into a frantic state and almost always turns the being into a hollow shell of itself for hours. This is when they are most known for transforming into their prospective primal animal forms and scattering away from the situation swiftly and clumsily. Seeing things undetectable from even the most powerful within the Pantheon, skeptic gods and clueless mortals believe Odysus to simply be a walking mental illness. Those who defy his "infallible vision" are often met with rudeness and aggression, while others whom either truly believe or pretend to believe such a being are met with kindness and compassion. History: Viria, the name bestowed upon a creation of a mind in a moment just before civilization forged culture. A young boy known as Saoaedes had found himself lost for three days in the dense and vastly unexplored Dassanos Forest. Game was highly scarce, and plants bearing anything edible was just as uncommon. Low on water, he stumbled upon a patch of peculiarly shaped mushrooms. Shortly upon ingesting them, a fiery winged fox soared through the clouds above, forming new images and colored patterns behind the trail. The fox landed before him, shifting into a red blur taller than himself. A thunderous echo rung through his fragile ears and the blur shifted to gray. Within the span of a lightning strike and the blink of an eye it was gone, and the boy found himself forever changed. Odysus was eventually bestowed as the official title to the public for some odd reason. Meanwhile, along the fields of Hevas came forth an owl, which proceeded to infiltrate its way into Krona during a meeting held by the current pantheon. The owl promptly landed on the table before Aroesus and the rest, darting it's head erratically at every single individual being. Within a moment's notice the owl had vanished as a man donning purple and golden regalia and dress attire pulled up a chair, a long wooden pipe jutting out from a face obscured in both smoke and a consistently blurry visage spoke to them. "Why hath they no creation of the mind at night, no reason to sleep nor wake? Where do they go in the day to find reality's escape?" The Pantheon appeared bewildered, and only Aroesus grinned in response. "I will create a shallow river to flow from our lands to theirs, a way to seed my gift unto them. And in their sleep they will visit my theatre, in their minds I will forge them a cultural renaissance. We ought to take care of them sometimes, worry less of our meddlesome affairs." And just like that, the man vanished as a faint shadow flew from sight out of the palace. -- Maybe some cooperative history stuff here. -- After Aroesus' death, Odysus frantically turned skittish and paranoid faster than any other. A fox and an owl both had been seen by various beings in Hevas to have clawed their own eyes out. Their formal appearances appear to the other gods and goddesses only rarely and have much to say in very short time spans. An owl was last seen hovering over Hevas aimlessly. Relationships:

(Loves, hates, lusts, crushes, affairs, rapes, incests, zoophilia incidents with shepherd girls (always a Jovian favorite) and the like. Oh, and mere alliances and rivalries, as well. Probably fueled by the above. You don't have to list every character, just the ones your character actually has ties to/strong feelings for.)

Again, waiting to cooperate with other players before I fill too much of this out.