Gods
Banach – Hatred, jealousy, anger, lust
Sometime shortly after the start of their existence Banach began to develop feelings for Rylum and he became consumed by jealousy over the attention she was giving to Orthos’ orb. His jealousy quickly manifested into a burning rage.
This rage multiplied tenfold once the Green Elves sprouted into existence and Rylum began tending to them as well; which was taking even more time from Banach.
Banach raged and seethed as jealousy and hatred washed over him, twisting his mind, and corrupting his thoughts. He began plotting to destroy everything she loved and to make her feel pain and suffering.
Banach and his followers are loud and bold in their dealings. They will openly and loudly pursue their goals.
A follower of Banach will smash in your face, in a crowded tavern, with no concern for the repercussions of their actions, where a follower of Morsash would most likely slide a dagger between your ribs and then slip out the back door.
Morsash – Fear, greed, deceit, murder, revenge
Morsash was a bit of a loner among his siblings, only growing close with Banach. At first he had no real ambition or drive. Morsash was content to sit, wait, and watch things unfold.
This all changed when his heart became tainted by the powerful hate filled emotions emanating from Banach. This caused Morsash to become obsessed with examining negative emotions.
His studies and experiments have exposed him to so much strife and trauma that he has become a bit insane and this insanity trickles down to his followers.
Where Banach is loud and brash, Morsash is more subtle in his underhanded dealing. Using stealth and murder in place of brute force. Morsash is the thinker of the two and more carefully plans out his moves.
Rylum – Nature, natural order, balance
Rylum was the first of the deities to take an interest in Orthos and she was the first to nurture life from nothing. It was Rylum that created all the plants and animals that we know today and it was from her hand where the green elves first came into being.
Rylum learned how to manipulate the dormant energy deep within Orthos to grant magic to her druid and shaman faithful.
This is a primal energy found deep within the core of Orthos and hidden between strands of arcane and divine energy. This source of power was created when a portion of Orthos’ divinity was compressed and altered when he transformed himself.
Through trial and error Rylum was able to split the energy into two distinct forms. Giving the raw and unrefined energy to her shamans and the softer and flowing form to her druids.
This makes druids and shamans quite unique and frees them from any connection with Selorna and her monopoly over arcane magic.
It is because of these unique powers that you will not find any clerics or mages among Rylum’s followers.
The followers of Rylum understand and work with the chaotic flow of nature. They believe everything in nature has a place and a purpose. No one thing in nature is greater than another.
There is a constant flow of harmony and balance. When that balance is interrupted they find the source and take corrective actions to restore the balance.
They believe Necromancy and the undead are abominations that have no place in nature and must be destroyed at all costs. What is dead must remain dead and return to the earth to complete the cycle.
They are protectors of the land and sea and although they are every bit as passionate about resisting the encroachment of civilization, they are not as violently fanatical as the followers of Beln.
The followers of Rylum will use more tact and diplomacy as a first attempt when they feel threatened by civilization. If that fails to achieve a satisfactory resolution then all bets are off.
Arom – Justice, peace, laws, honor
Arom was the first to notice the changes coming over Banach and Morsash and when he approached them to learn more about these new emotions he was disregarded and coldly dismissed. Their relationship quickly deteriorated from there and never recovered.
Arom is often at odds with Banach and Morsash, as is Gard. Open hostilities between their followers are a common occurrence. Banach and Morsash will dismiss Arom without a thought but with Gard, they will be willing to sit and discuss their disputes in a relatively civil and open manner.
The followers of Arom place a high value on honor and laws, they are honest to a fault. There are no grey areas with Arom or his faithful, it is very black and white, something is either right or wrong.
Arom and his followers will pursue the truth regardless of the obstacles and with no consideration of anyone’s feelings. They believe truth and justice surpasses personal feelings.
This can give them a reputation for being heartless and cold but it is this strict code of truth seeking and undaunted blunt honesty that makes them the ideal candidate for settling disputes or making judgments on accused criminals.
Arom may be the god of peace but his followers will not shirk from battle and they will fight fearlessly for a righteous cause. Honor demands they protect the innocent, even if that means getting their hands bloodied.
Selorna – Wisdom, knowledge, magic, mysteries
After the fall of the dragons and due to her role in confiscating their magical energies, Selorna became the keeper of magic. With the responsibility of magic comes the realm of mystery and wisdom.
She is the patron deity to mages, scholars, and any seeking wisdom, knowledge or enlightenment into the mysteries of the world. Many of the great libraries in the world have been erected in her name.
All of the gods respect her wisdom and deliberate thought, she is often consulted by them for advice.
She is not the patron deity to all arcane spell-casters but all arcane spell-casters pay her homage and respect. Because Selorna is the guardian of magic she does gain benefits from any and all arcane spells being used, regardless of who the casters patron deity is.
Selorna gets her share of the divine benefits anytime anyone uses arcane magic. This makes Selorna very powerful and quite possibly the most powerful of the gods.
It should be noted that clerics, druids, shamans and warlocks do not draw on arcane magic to shape their spells.Therefore they have no allegiance to Selorna at all.
Gard – Protector, battle, bravery, war
Gard is the undisputed lord of battles and wars. Everyone from warlords and mercenaries to bar-room brawlers flock to his side. Every soldier on the battlefield has most likely said a prayer to Gard at some point in their life.
No battle has ever been fought that Gard has not watched over and had his hand in. He has even manipulated and goaded mortals into battles. Many great wars throughout history were ignited because the hand of Gard covertly directed and pitted two sides against one another.
Those seeking protection will also turn to Gard. Scores of women, children, the elderly and infirm will often turn to the Lord of War. Gard does not tolerate cowards but he does feel a duty to protect those too weak for battle so long as they demonstrate bravery in the face of adversity.
Gard has an uneasy relationship with Arom. They are always at odds over wars and battles. It is Arom that influences negotiations and the peaceful resolution to the conflicts that Gard stirs up.
Dolorr – Pain, loss, sorrow, misery, suffering
To call Dolorr a god may be misleading for the origins are not exactly clear and his very existence has been called into question. Priests and priestesses of Dolorr do have apparent divine inspired powers but the exact source or validity has never actually been agreed upon.
You do not follow Dolorr unless you are a bit insane and his followers are so fanatical in their belief that it is theorized their prayers are being powered simply by the sheer will of the practitioner.
If not for their ability to demonstrate rudimentary divinely granted powers, this would be categorized as a cult and not recognized as an actual divinely inspired religion.
Followers of Dolorr participate in ritualistic beatings, self mutilation, and long pilgrimages across the harshest of terrain with little protection from the environment.
They have even sold themselves into slavery seeking out the cruelest of masters. In rare occurrences, some have even been known to kill their own friends, family, and loved ones just to feel the emotional pain of losing them.
The healing prayers administered by a Dolorite clergy member do heal as intended but they cause the recipient to feel intense grueling pain as the flesh and bones mend.
It should be noted - Dolorr, will manifest in a variety of forms, appearing differently to each of his followers. The descriptions of Dolorr provided by his devotees vary greatly and almost always reflect what the follower expected to see.
It is rare to hear reported cases of Dolorr to appearing to more than one follower at a time but even then, his description is always different.
(The two deities Lock and Beln are relative newcomers. They made their presence known some time after the fall of dragons. It is commonly believed that they have always existed for at least as long as the rest of the pantheon. Their relative power, in comparison to their peers, is unknown. It is widely accepted that they are not as powerful as the other gods, with the exception of Dolorr who is generally considered to be the weakest)
Lock – Trickery, information, mischief, shadows
Lock appeals to those free spirits that rebel against the constraints of law and authority but are not comfortable with the level of violence that comes with worshiping Banach or Morsash. This is not to say the followers of Lock are not capable of violence but they tend to be more casual when they engage in such activities.
His followers are reckless risk takers that live in the moment with no regard for the consequences of their choices. They feel more at home in the cities, jumping from rooftop to rooftop or flitting through the shadows.
You can find many of Lock’s followers at a tavern having a drink with their fellows and convincing them to pay for it, or on a stage performing simply for the joy of hearing the applause of the crowd. However, they are also just as likely to be lurking in the shadows listening to your whispers or lifting your coin purse.
Beln – Chaos, strength, destruction, storms
Beln presents himself as a savage beast, he is the embodiment of primitive and natural savagery; his domain is the primitive and primal side of nature. His followers are typically wild and uncontrollable. It is theorized that Beln is actually an aspect of Rylum. A persona that she created to appeal to the more savage nature lovers but others claim he is the son of Rylum and Banach.
Beln encourages his followers to embrace chaos and destruction as a means to promote renewal and rebirth just as nature intended. Beln oversees the unsavory side of nature and his followers unerringly follow the code of survival of the fittest. There is no place for weakness among the followers of Beln.
Violent, destructive storms and natural disasters are often attributed to Beln. Beln abhors civilization and its encroachment on wild-lands. His followers fiercely oppose anything that inhibits the natural cycle of life.
Rylum taught Beln the secret to tap into and use the unique, primal arcane energy that she had discovered. Beln uses this energy to power his followers' prayers, you will find many Druids and Shamans among his faithful but much like Rylum, he does not accept clerics or mages.
Torrg – Exarch of Arom - Atonement, lost honor, penance
Torrg was once a mighty human and honorable to a fault, in his mortal life he was a powerful priest of Arom. Torrg was granted divine powers and elevated to Exarch by Arom for his unwavering and faithful service during his mortal life.
Incidentally, shortly after his elevation to Exarch, Torrg unintentionally began to gather a small following of fallen knights trying to reclaim their honor or other individuals that have felt somehow unworthy to continue following in the path of Arom.
Torrg is nowhere near as powerful as a full-fledged god but he is still able to grant his priests divine prayers. Torrg does remain subservient to Arom but this is of no concern to the followers of Torrg for they feel unworthy to serve Arom directly. Due to Torrg being an extension of Arom, Arom does gain a measure of the benefits due to him for the followers that Torrg gathers to his side.
The followers of Torrg are not limited to those who strayed from Arom. Many others from other paths gathered to his side for their own personal reasons and feelings of inadequacy.