The Campaign Builder's Guild

I've been wanting to revisit religion in the Jade Stage for some time now. It's among the oldest stuff I've written for the setting (and almost certainly the most frequently revised), and it's about time I fleshed out some of these familiar faces with new lore I've recently written. [note=Quick Stories]If you're looking for a quick read, "Corshall's Shrine Near Kisobu" and "The Greedy Dead" are brief fables that might whet your appetite. [/note]

To start with, here are the four faces of death, according to the "dwarven" faith. I'll eventually aim to post similar detail for all seventeen gods of that pantheon, and move on to include information on other religions as well. The dwarven faith is a good place to start, because it's very much a dominant force on the world, and the old Cardan empire spread it all over the place. It ain't just for dwarves anymore.

Read, enjoy, post, whatever. There's no separate discussion thread or anything; I'm just having some fun with stuff I wrote.

[ic=The Song of Comings and Goings][/ic]

The Cardan faith attributes responsibility for death to four disparate gods, who bicker constantly, sharing their powers grudgingly.


Betha the Healer, sister of Salma, is best loved of these four. In her hands, the power of death is a gift, given to ease the suffering of mortals, replacing pain with peace. In the Healer's name, an order of hospitallers serves in all but the most remote regions of Marebo, providing medical care for donations, distributing merciful, painless death when they can do no more.

Bethan Healers

Betha is one of the more popular of the Cardan gods, and the faithful all have frequent occasion to offer her prayers and supplication. The few that devote themselves wholly to Betha's priesthood form the Bethan Healers, a charitable order dedicated to the spreading of Mercy's gifts, in her name. The Healers operate in almost all parts of the world, blind to boundaries of nation, race, politics, and even belief. The Healers' doctrine demands they do everything in their power to help anyone who seeks them in need, so it is rare for governments to turn them away or restrict their work, even in areas where observation of other facets of the Faith is prohibited. (This convention makes the current situation in Ithyria all the more startling.)

The colors of the Bethan Healers are green and white, and their symbol, like Betha's, is an open hand. They display these devices prominently on their clothing and outside their clinics, so that even the illiterate can locate them in times of need (and to benefit from the unofficial diplomatic immunity the symbols often provide.) Healers live on donations from the communities they serve, so their clinics are typically sparse, spare places containing little more than necessities. Healers typically live in the same communal buildings in which they house and treat patients.

Typical of all things fundamentally Cardan, the Bethan Healers' order integrates scientific advances readily into its daily practice. Treatments employed in Bethan hospitals vary according to the capabilities of the specific Healers who work there, and simple folk remedies are often juxtaposed with restorative magic and surgical techniques. All Healers know simple techniques to deaden pain, induce sleep, and give death painlessly when other options are exhausted.

Teachings of Betha

Betha's commandments are few, and her scriptures resemble medical textbooks more than anything else. Chiefest among them is the Curani Codex, a ponderous encyclopedia of medical knowledge named for the Healer who oversaw its assembly. The Bethan Healers have been the source of numerous medical advances though history, and while skeptics credit their ingenuity and constant exposure to medical emergencies which provide opportunities for refining treatments, the faithful insist that the Healers are merely listening to the gentle whispers of Betha herself, transcribing her secrets.

Teachings not directly related to the treatment of illness and injury are few, and are largely bound up in the symbol of the open hand. It is not by scholarship, fame, or religious fervor that a good person is known, but by the work of the hands done for others. Bethan teachings are also thought to be the source of the most widespread imaginings of the Great Beyond: that death heralds not only the end of all pain, but the end of all sensation entirely. This most common conception of the Beyond is grey and bleak, but tranquil.


One of the least understood of the dwarven gods, Corshall respresents death in its most abrupt, senseless, unforeseeable aspects. Whether because of secrecy or simple deific incomprehensibility, the priesthood has very little to say on the specific nature of Corshall's involvement in such events, and confusion about his role has given rise to a roiling stew of conflicting emotions regarding this enigmatic god. Corshall is a deity in whom many place their hopes but none their trust, whom some curse and others come to terms with, and whom no one seems to truly comprehend.

Corshall's link to tragedy is interpreted by turns as mitigation and causation. The death of a child may lead one grieving parent to beg Corshall to lead the child safely to the Great Beyond, for he is the guardian of the unjustly dead and of children (whose deaths are always unjust.) Another parent may curse Corshall for causing the death, for he also represents the unpredictable and essentially unjust nature of life's end. Corshall is also credited with the fickle dispensation of both good and bad luck, and with the facilitation of narrow escapes from terrible fates. People whose daily lives involve luck or danger often consider Corshall their patron; gamblers and soldiers alike hope the Orphan will smile upon them for one more day.

Disciples of the Orphan

Dedicated followers of the Orphan are few, and the lives they lead are frighteningly isolated. They have no temples, no holy text, no standard doctrine, no leaders, no organization, and no reliable way of locating one another. Their patron makes them unwelcome in many cities, hated by those who consider them bringers of ill luck, despised by those who have lost loved ones and seek to place blame. Most of Corshall's chosen travel frequently, keep no permanent homes, and keep their affiliation hidden from all but the most closely-trusted of their friends, if they have any. Many function as comforters to the grieving and protectors of the young, doing what work is needed and moving on before they are discovered.

There is no temple to join, no visible organization to find, so most disciples of Corshall choose their path out of a feeling of being individually called. In many cases, this "calling" takes the form of a manifestation of channeler power, perhaps because lesser signs are more easily ignored, or perhaps because the Orphan is generous with the gift of power. Corshall has fewer followers than perhaps any of the dwarven gods, but many of those followers are also Hands. Hands of Corshall, more so than the Hands of any other god, tend to exercise their powers subconsciously and inadvertantly, to the extent that some consider themselves pursued by magic rather than wielders of it.

Corshall's Shrine Near Kisobu

In the early days of Imperial Cardannis, there lived two brothers of Mero Clan, as different as ground and sky. Aneja had been given mastery of the mind and its sciences, a knowledge of agriculture, and skill with all growing things. Harat had been given strength and sureness of the body, and knowledge of all wild beasts and their hunting.

The two brothers put their talents to use in various ways throughout the year, following the changes in growing seasons and in the migratory habits of creatures. One winter, they both found work in the mountains near Kisobu. Aneja was working to cultivate a new species of cave-grown mushrooms which could be grown under harsh conditions; Harat was hunting the mountain trolls, before the growing cold could force them out of their homes to prey on dwarven settlements below.

While following a winding trail through the cliffs, Harat's foot found a loose stone, which gave way. Each pebble struck and dislodged seven others, and the sudden rockslide threatened to carry Harat to his death. His life was spared by the unlikely growth of a gnarled spruce, whose exposed root Harat was able to grasp. He held fast until the rocks had settled at the foot of the mountain, and pulled himself to safety, battered but not seriously harmed. Grateful for his life, he made his way to a promontory rock facing south toward the city. There, he constructed a cairn of stones, a shrine to Corshall, who had spared him.

Aneja did not return home that night, and Harat was not concerned. It was not unusual for his brother to spend long nights in his tiny cave, nurturing his mushrooms. But Aneja did not return home the next night, either, and Harat began to feel worry for his brother. At the first cold light of morning, he set out to his brother's mushroom-cave with a loaf of bread and a jar of cider, hoping to offer a hot breakfast to a chreotech too deeply absorbed in his work. When he arrived at Aneja's cave, Harat was stricken; the mouth of the cave had been sealed by a rockslide.

Heartsore and angry at his brother's cruel fate, Harat returned to the shrine he had built in a fury, curses against Corshall on his lips. Intent on tearing the cairn apart, stone-from-stone, Harat grasped the first large rock and hurled it down the mountain. But the motion was exaggerated by grief and rage, and Harat's foot found a loose stone, which gave way. Each pebble struck and dislodged seven more, and the sudden rockslide did carry Harat to his death.

Corshall's shrine still stands on the promontory rock, looking south over the valley to Kisobu. Few visit it anymore.


Kath the Scribe, brother to Jatta, is the collector of all knowledge-- including the knowledge all mortals possess and fear: the realization that one day, each must die. The Scribe writes with the pen of fate, coolly and without compassion; he is respected and feared, for he represents the absolute finality of unavoidable death.

The Hour and the Day are Marked

Endless patience and unfathomable comprehension are the traits of Kath, who remembers all things that have come to pass, and waits for a future no other entity can see as clearly. Some place elements of time and prophecy within the compass of Kath's power, though a more common theology attributes these to his brother, the Skyfather. Kath holds dominion over death because of its inevitability; the one true and inescapable fact that can be said of any creature with no supporting knowledge is this: "One day, you too will die." To Kath is made known the hour of all deaths before they happen, and he records this information with the pen of fate, sealing the doom of mortals. The Fate-Scribe is not cruel, merely unavoidable; his work is not slaying, merely a chronicle of events.

Though many imagine Kath as the most distant and emotionless of the gods, there is some evidence that he merely covers compassion for mortals with consummate restraint. Some Lorekeepers explain that Kath's greatest act of mercy was the decision to withhold his knowledge from mortals, both to spare them the pain of a death that can be foreseen in immaculate detail but never evaded, and to grant them the joy of learning for themselves.

The Archive Eternal

Kath is said to dwell in a bleak manor at the edge of the Great Beyond, looking out upon the Void beyond the stars. In this, he is unusual among the gods; with the exception of Jalsilvi's prison, the Scribe's great Archive is the only location permanently inhabited by a god. The Archive is lined with shelves of infinite height, heavy-laden with books containing all facts: past, present, and future. Each book has been carefully penned in Kath's own hand; he now watches with scientific detachment as events continuously unfold to match his writings, always accurate.

Disciples of Kath strive to do his bidding by creating imitations of the Archive Eternal, amassing and preserving stores of knowledge in the mortal world. The Lorekeepers operate temples that are libraries in all but name, collecting, copying, and trading information. Their undeniable usefulness gives the Lorekeepers considerable clout in former Cardan Imperial lands, and to a lesser extent, elsewhere in the world as well; universities are dedicated to the Scribe, and monarch support Kath's temples financially in return for the services of Lorekeeper advisors. As part of there efforts to protect any knowledge from being lost, Lorekeepers share information freely with common folk who seek it, often trading facts for monetary donations, or for information to add to their archives.

Itinerant Priests

Libraries do not fill themselves, and new knowledge does not leap up to announce itself to the Lorekeepers. The Itinerant Priests are a holy order charged with the collection of new knowledge for the archives, a task which sets them busily to travel. Chosen for their vast memories, attention to detail, and intrepid spirit, Itinerant Priests travel Marebo in Kath's name, recording all they see in their everpresent grey journals, which more stationary Lorekeepers later copy into the permanent Archives. The path of the Itinerant Priest is arduous, and many leave the order for quiet library positions after only a few years. Those who feel a stronger calling proclaim that the constant discovery the Itinerant Priests are privileged to experience is the truest and purest form of offering to the god of knowledge.

The Daughters of Knowledge

The three children of Kath are the goddesses collectively known as the Sisters: Daeshora, Losh, and Henth. As embodiments of the darker, more human aspects of knowledge, they bear some resemblence to their father, but share a deeper kinship with the mortals whose affairs they complicate. The faithful treat Deception, Secrecy, and Fear sometimes as antagonists, but often as useful if self-serving tools, certainly easier to comprehend than their distant and alien father. Like the concepts they represent, the Sisters could not operate without two conditions: information, and mortal schemes to use that information for personal gain, sometimes (though not always) at the expense of others. For this reason, some sects whisper that Kath must have lain with mortal women to produce his offpring, because the Sisters are of all the gods the most closely-woven into mortal minds and hearts.

Kath's own relation to his daughters is similarly uncertain. In some texts, he is described as pleased by his offspring's manipulations; in others, he regrets their very siring. In most cases, Kath reacts with disinterest, if at all-- even divine mischief holds few surprises for the Scribe.


As a rule, the four endings merely govern the process of death; they do not revel in it. Exejhith is the exception. Depicted as a lame man with a farmer's sickle, the Collector harvests souls as a farmer harvests heads of grain. He takes pleasure in bloodshed and the wasting of mortal lives, working to incite violence and provoke war, tricking mortals into sending their kin and themselves to the slaughter for his amusement. Mortal opinions vary about his three deific rivals, but the Collector is almost universally feared and reviled, and with good reason.

Death Walks Tirelessly

Common depictions of Exejhith place a plain robe about his shoulders and a staff in his hands, a constant reminder of his status as outcast and pariah among the gods. Only two gods suffered wounds at the sieging of Ebras Oun, and of those two, only Exejhith still suffers, walking with a limp due to a painful slash of Rayeb's sword. His walk has become a symbol of his insatiable hunger; he is the only deathgod who travels, always searching for his prey. Because of Exejhith, the solitary traveler is a well-recognized literary symbol heralding misfortune, and the superstitious among the faithful believe that Exejhith himself travels the world in this guise, personally seeking victims, in open defiance of the Covenant.

Some tales credit Exejhith with fearsome sorcerous powers in addition to his status as a god. This version of the Collector wields forbidden knowledge stolen from the Scribe, as well as claiming Kath's daughters as his concubines. (The two are already enemies; Kath perceives Exejhith's beloved undead creations as a violation of death's finality.) This sorcerous Collector is feared as the source of sickness, famine, and other misfortunes, which he calls forth with curses and wicked invocations. His walking staff functions as a mage's scepter, and its surface bears inscribed the impossibly tiny name of every creature killed as his offering.

The Collector's Cultists

Exejhith takes his place in the faith as a villian and antagonist to all mortal life, so his temples and worshippers are rare and well-hidden. Most of the faithful invoke the name of the Collector only out of fear, but rare and deviant priests exist who seek his favor and blessing. Exejhith serves as the patron of murderers and betrayers, and his followers take lives through violent action or crucial inaction, with literal poisons or with poisoned words. Some historians speculate that several of the bloodiest wars in Marebo's history were begun at the urging of the Collector's cultists, who had worked their way into the confidence of influential men.

The single common thread that unifies such cultists is the need for secrecy, since few outsiders tolerate the servants of the Hungering Death. They operate singly or in small cabals, making use of secret signs to identify their own. Not all disciples of the Collector are his Hands, but many display at least a small portion of death-magic gift. They use written records of the lives they have offered to Exejhith as the focii for their spells. Traditionally, such Hands represent the dead with runes carved upon staves in imitation of their lord, but more cautious individuals often use small books, which are easier to conceal.

The Greedy Dead

The Book of Roots contains a story missing in other accounts of the gods and uncorroborated by history, but noteworthy nonetheless. It describes children of Exejhith, naming them only "the greedy dead," and describing nothing of their appearance or creation. According to the story, the greedy dead were corpses of the slain which refused to lie down, and instead sought to choke the life from those they had known and loved in life. They spread their curse with each killing, and victims slain by the greedy dead went on to find prey of their own. Exejhith had created the greedy dead indirectly, through the actions of his mortal servants, and the Covenant bound the hands of any gods who would have chosen to intervene on behalf of the dwarven nations.

The gods conferred, but were at a loss about how to stop the growing crisis. Exejhith had been clever, and had neutralized the most powerful of their followers, any with a chance to halt the greedy dead. Jatta could sweep them into the sea with a mighty storm, Betha could halt their still-beating hearts and freeze the ichor in their veins, but all were bound by the Covenant and prevented from taking direct action.

But there was one god who had not signed the Covenant, yet who was chafed eternally by its bonds. Suspicious of his eagerness to help but with no other choice, the gods agreed to grant Jalsilvi a reprieve from his eternal imprisonment for just one night, to touch his feet to Marebo's soil and destroy all that he pleased, on the condition that he burn every last one of the greedy dead. Jalsilvi, who knew only fire and craved only ruin, leapt from his prison with a mad smile, alighting among Exejhith's unnatural children in an instant. They were reduced to ash before they could react, and Jalsilvi lapped up the ashes and breathed in the smoke of their destruction, but was not satisfied. He ran free upon the face of the world, gleefully burning as he went, until the Skyfather's first rays of dawn crested the edge of the world, heralding the end of the gods' agreement and restoring the bonds of the Hunger's prison.

Jalsilvi had destroyed a great many things during his single night of freedom, and Marebo still bears the scars of his handiwork. The Hunger and the Collector were united in resentment of their fellows, the latter for the destruction of his children, the former for his renewed imprisonment, felt all the more acutely after his brief reprieve. Kath perceived that the bonds holding Jalsilvi to the Covenant against his will had been weakened by their temporary undoing, and he counseled his brother in secret, so that the Hunger might not escape. Then Jatta reached into his own chest and brought forth his heart, setting it in the sky as a bright lantern. This wandering star Siert, red as the Skyfather's heart-blood, bright as the gleam in the Hunger's eye, keeps watch over Jalsilvi at night when his bonds are weakest, a vigilant warden at the prison of the gods.

Hands of Exejhith have sought the secret of the greedy dead for centuries, coveting the unending army their creation represents. Many scholars dismiss the story as pure fiction and the greedy dead as patently impossible, but some implicate the greedy dead in the catastrophe of Damira Clan and the unexplained vanishing of the inhabitants of the city of Dara.

LC, I simultaneously despise and admire you for the work you do.  The take on death you have provided is truly amazing, especially in the way you combined so many different aspects of the phenomenon in a single faith.  Unfortunately, I have little useful criticism, but all my encouragement is yours to keep.  Amazing stuff, my friend.

BICKERING DWARVEN GODS.  
I love this already.

[blockquote-LC]Typical of all things fundamentally Cardan, the Bethan Healers' order integrates scientific advances readily into its daily practice. Treatments employed in Bethan hospitals vary according to the capabilities of the specific Healers who work there, and simple folk remedies are often juxtaposed with restorative magic and surgical techniques. All Healers know simple techniques to deaden pain, induce sleep, and give death painlessly when other options are exhausted.[/blockquote]  what tech level are we talking here?  And how magic rich is the campaign?  

Love the Curani Codex.  And love that death is actually seen as an end...very rare in gaming worlds.

Corshall comes across as a mix of a Patron of Grim Fate and the patron of the 'Virtuous Pagans' (to borrow from Dante).  I like the aspect, however.


I love the Daughter's of Kath.  What a great mechanism!  There is a whole set of adventures just in that little faith subset.  Even just in the finding of the real relationships.  


I will betray my prejudices.  I despise simplified religions.  Any student of history understands the incredible passion religions and their interpretations evoke.  So I have many different sects and churches within the belief systems of my setting; i.e. the Church of the Lawful Triumverate (Nebler the defender, Abradaxus the Harsh, and Rakastra the Just) competes with the Messianic Church of the Theocracy of the Shield (Nebler) for worshipprs of Igbar, especially since the recent fall of the Theocracy of Nebler!  
I guess what I am getting at is that I am well pleased with this thread, as it focuses on the imperfect understanding of mortal beings in their understanding of more complex and powerful beings.  When you say 'it ain't just for dwarves anymore', you speak to the constant, flowing change that happens to a faith as it ebbs and flows and changes.  And this is what lends the versimilatude that immerses players into your world.
Kudos.

Dude, like... awesome.

Quote from: Rose Of MontagueLC, I simultaneously despise and admire you for the work you do.  The take on death you have provided is truly amazing, especially in the way you combined so many different aspects of the phenomenon in a single faith.  Unfortunately, I have little useful criticism, but all my encouragement is yours to keep.  Amazing stuff, my friend.

Quote from: TrollDude, like... awesome.

Muchas gracias. This means a great deal, coming from the two of you.

This thread is not finished. I'll be posting some more stuff within the next few days, hopefully. Thank you for reading.

Cordially,
-LC

I hate you, Luminous. D'you know why? BECAUSE EVERYTHING YOU WRITE I WISH I THOUGHT OF FIRST. :P

Good job. This is awesomeness in deific form (rather literally). I like the way you take death as... real death, really, unlike many fantasy worlds, where gods of death are all evil necromancers (or in one case I can think of, a strange, neutral fellow who still builds a wall out of atheists' souls... strange, that) and death is seen as an evil, yet procrastinatible thing. I also like the way you've dealt with gods as being mysterious, yet believable, and also - and this is the part I both loathe and admire you for - DYNAMIC. Something I always try to (and I think sometimes fail at) is truly making gods that DO change, and DO influence others - as real-world religions do. Happily, DnD also fails at this. I love the way that, unlike Moradin and co, your Cardan gods DO influence those who are brought under the span of the Empire. If dwarves conquered a place for hundreds of years in your generic DnD setting, I'd bet you anything that by the end of it, the human population would still be mysteriously speaking Common and worshiping Pelor/the Triad/insert other goodish god here.

So, yeah. I liked muchly.

LC,
Unfortunately, I've found that I can no longer read your threads. :(  The reason is quite simple.  Everytime you write something, it gets stuck in my head, and then all of a sudden, my Shadowfell page gets updated with Jade Stage information.  I've tried therapy, drugs, and memory-inhibitors, and nothing seems to work!  My pen quite literally begins writing Jade Stage facts in my "Shadowfell facts" file on my desk.  Sometimes while I'm not even there!

So yeah, on a more serious note...

I love this statement:

QuoteIn her hands, the power of death is a gift, given to ease the suffering of mortals,

on Betha.  It seems to have a nice little ring to our current "real world" politics, without blatantly stating such as obvious.  When you say that Bethan priests operate in all parts of the world, "blind to boundaries," does that mean they simply ignore boundaries, even if such are imposed upon them, or that all parts of the world generally accept the healing of Betha's followers, knowing that it is the best healing available?

Do Bethan priests (and followers) not believe in an afterlife?

And what an excellent story Harat and Aneja offer us.  A dwarven Cain and Abel, if looked upon in the right light.  We can be pleased when a God looks upon us and smiles, but more often, we must worry about when a God looks upon us and is frowning.

I love the different approach each of the deities (and their subsequent religions) use to look at death (or the reprieve from).  It's nice to see that death in the Jade Stage as represented as more than just simply an evil thing, or even just as an end to good things.  

When speaking of Kath's views of (and his relationship with) his daughters, I was somewhat surprised that I didn't see a more obvious view of how Kath would regard his offspring: an inevitability.  Someone whose core ethos and being reverberates around the idea of fate surely doesn't question what is given him.

You said in your introduction, regarding dwarven deities, "they ain't just for dwarves anymore," but I'm curious about something.  You describe Exejhith as an old lame man, but seeing as it started as a dwarven god, does that mean that the "old lame man" is just a current and modern representation of the deity, or that dwarves originally believed that not all the gods were inherently dwarven?

And how is Exejhith pronounced, anyway?  I'm imagining  ek-SAY-zhÉth.

Great Stuff!  

Quote from: IshmaylLC,
Unfortunately, I've found that I can no longer read your threads. :(  

I love this statement:

QuoteIn her hands, the power of death is a gift, given to ease the suffering of mortals,

Any real-world political commentary there is unintentional. I'm not even sure what you're referring to, honestly.

QuoteWhen you say that Bethan priests operate in all parts of the world, "blind to boundaries," does that mean they simply ignore boundaries, even if such are imposed upon them, or that all parts of the world generally accept the healing of Betha's followers, knowing that it is the best healing available?

Do Bethan priests (and followers) not believe in an afterlife?[/quote]And what an excellent story Harat and Aneja offer us.  A dwarven Cain and Abel, if looked upon in the right light.  We can be pleased when a God looks upon us and smiles, but more often, we must worry about when a God looks upon us and is frowning.[/quote]I love the different approach each of the deities (and their subsequent religions) use to look at death (or the reprieve from).  It's nice to see that death in the Jade Stage as represented as more than just simply an evil thing, or even just as an end to good things.[/quote]When speaking of Kath's views of (and his relationship with) his daughters, I was somewhat surprised that I didn't see a more obvious view of how Kath would regard his offspring: an inevitability.  Someone whose core ethos and being reverberates around the idea of fate surely doesn't question what is given him.[/quote]You said in your introduction, regarding dwarven deities, "they ain't just for dwarves anymore," but I'm curious about something.  You describe Exejhith as an old lame man, but seeing as it started as a dwarven god, does that mean that the "old lame man" is just a current and modern representation of the deity, or that dwarves originally believed that not all the gods were inherently dwarven?[/quote]And how is Exejhith pronounced, anyway?  I'm imagining  ek-SAY-zhÉth.[/quote]Next Post: The Sisters![/b]
(Note: This topic is tough, and needs a little polishing, so feel free to poke as many holes in it as you like.)

[ic=The Bright Eye Pierced, Act II, Scene III][/ic]


Daeshora, Losh, and Henth are the names of Kath's daughters, and deception, secrecy, and fear are their gifts and their delight. They are the product of knowledge steeped within mortal minds; so comfortable are they with the mind's workings that their whispers masquerade as mortals' own thoughts. Their songs and promises are seductive, and have led many to success-- and many, many more to catastrophe.

The Sisters, as they are collectively known, are sometimes called the "mortals' goddesses," because their kinship with mortals is closer than that of any other gods. They are often understood to be a natural consequence of the existence of intelligent mortals with self-serving natures, the avatars and advocates of the selfish drives that keep mortal creatures alive. It is the Sisters that spur mortals to flee from danger, to conceal their true motives, and to cover their crimes. Everyone hears their voices whispering soft and low, and now and then, everybody acts on their advice.

Some say the Sisters can speak to mortals in ways other gods cannot, because their unique relationship with mortals allows them more freedom to stretch the bonds of the Covenant. Others theorize that no such prompting is even necessary-- that the voice of temptation in mortal minds is simply an innate aspect of their condition with which the Sisters happen to agree.

Anonymity and Ubiquity

In most depictions, the Sisters are shown to be identical and indistinguishable. Onlookers can never be sure which of the Sisters is which, and the distinction is all but meaningless. The Sisters operate as a unit, and it is as a unit that mortals must regard them; their gifts are too interconnected to be easily extricated. When the Sisters are represented singly, each goddess still represents all three; thus, speaking to any Sister is equivalent to speaking with all of them.

Further, the Sisters are depicted without faces. They see without eyes, hear without ears, and speak without mouths; their heads are blank and featureless orbs, bereft of indentifying features. All mortal faces are the faces of the Sisters; they dwell in all mortal hearts and speak through all mortal mouths. Their facelessness denies mortals the ability to easily recognize the Sisters' influence in their everyday affairs.

Daeshora, Beguiler

Often thought of as the fairest of the Sisters' aspects, Daeshora holds falsehood in one hand and temptation in the other. She presents comforts and beauties which prove to be hollow or unattainable, leading mortal hopes down sidetracks that prove colorful but fruitless. Hers are the irrational hopes, the pipe dreams, the false promise of a desert mirage, the unreachable splendour of a rainbow. It is Daeshora's hand that guides mortals to falsehood, crafting tiny and well-intentioned lies as well as greater and more malicious illusions. Hers too are the pleasant fiction, the insincere compliment that smooths a relationship, the insidious false pretense, and the false foundations of undeserved trust. Writers, actors, grifters, thieves, diplomats, politicians, and spies-- these and many more place trust in Daeshora, as unwise as such a trust may prove to be. Daeshora is often associated with the color green, and the superstitious consider green to represent falseness.

It is with her help that mortals deceive even themselves, protecting themselves from painful truths with an armor of self-delusion. There are many that call such gifts merciful, but any such mercy is doomed to be short-lived and bittersweet.

Losh, Secret-Keeper

The mistress of knowledge kept guarded and unshared, Losh is characterized as taciturn and implacable, most like in character to her stern and distant father. Losh is credited with very few specific actions in the Song of Roots and similar mythologies, and she does not waste words, almost seeming to define herself through absence and silence. Losh teaches that knowledge is an asset only when carefully guarded, and those who walk her path seek advantage thorough becoming sole masters of information. The power of Losh is well known to military strategists, dissidents, inventors, criminals and those who pursue them, and to common folk in all manner of everyday interactions. Her steady hand has safeguarded many enterprises that would otherwise have failed, shielded many mortals from certain death at the hands of their fellows, and lent crucial advatage to those who would change the world, time and again. The color of Losh is blue, and is associated with placidity and silence.

Losh is said to know every secret ever hidden by mortal hearts, but her endorsement of such secrets is fickle. Every thief who hides in the shadows, every soldier moving to outflank an enemy force, every plotter scheming for gain, every liar protesting his sincerity-- all do so with supplications to Losh upon their lips, but she is also said to be behind the discovery of such affairs. All the Sisters keep little faith with those who bargain with them, but to Losh are uttered the bitterest curses.

Henth, Panic-Bearer

Oldest and most mischevious of the Sisters is Henth, she of the vinegar tongue and icy touch, the keeper of fear. With panic in one hand and worry in the other, she delights in humbling mortals, laughing at their inability to master their fears. She is characterized, perhaps unfairly, as among the most petty and cruel of the gods, but her urgings have surely saved countless lives. Fear checks mortals' tendency to get in over their heads, speeds them away from situations that would surely kill them, and prompts them to handle delicate and important tasks with care and caution. Everyone who has jumped at a shadow, fled for his life, or double-checked the lock on his door knows Henth well, though not as well as the paranoid, the phobic, and the insane. Henth's color is violet, the color of the long, evening shadows, where fearful things lurk and linger.

The Knife of Fear

Before the Covenant, before the first breath drawn by mortal lungs, before the Sisters came into being, there was fear. When treachery brought low the enchantments concealing the fortress of Ebras Oun, the warrior-god Kordain stood at the gates with his kin, preparing to defend the tower whose symbol he would later claim as his own. Outside the walls, the Adversaries had gathered, laying siege to the tower with mighty forces: rapid flames, scouring black winds, and hungering stones. Kordain called forth a tree from the ground, tall and straight, and uprooted it and made it into a spear. So armed, he stood at the gate of Ebras Oun, bellowing challenges to his foes. But he hesitated.

The great warrior then felt a spasm of pain and saw that he had been wounded by an unseen weapon. A deep gash had opened in his left shoulder, just beneath the collarbone and above the heart, and the blood flowed out from the wound like a great waterfall, staining his golden garments red. Brought to himself by the pain, Kordain mastered his hesitation; despite his wound, he held the tower inviolate until all the gods save one could agree that the battle served no purpose. Kordain's strength had been diminished by his wound, and even after its healing, his arm held only a shadow of its previous might. He is today know as the wounded champion who persevered despite all difficulties, but he never discovered the source of the injury that gave him pause.

Some scholars believe the true conclusion to this story is found in an isolated passage in the Song of Roots, occurring much later, after the creation of mortals and the appearance of the Sisters. In this strange story, the Sisters give symbolic gifts to the other gods, showing deference to those who came before them and cementing their place in a council of peers. To Kordain, Henth presents a broad dagger carved from a single piece of bone. For this, Kordain has always borne hatred and suspicion for her, though the Covenant prevents him from acting upon it. Neither god has acknowledged the matter since.

The Pure-Thought Order

Most of the faithful do not count the Sisters among the Adversaries, since the common view is that they mean mortals no ill. Despite the often tainted-seeming nature of their gifts, and the tendency of mortals to enact their natures to an extreme and bring themselves to ruins, the Sisters are generally considered to be as helpful to mortals as they are harmful, despite the difficult task of understanding their motives and their urgings.

One small sect judges the Sisters' whisperings to be direct manipulations of mortal thoughts, and utterly unacceptable. This Pure-Thought Order strives to maintain the sanctity of their own minds by resisting such influences, labeling the Sisters among the Adversaries and the actions and emotions they represent as forbidden. The Order's strict prohibition of all deceit, all secrecy, and all fear dissuade most of the faithful from attempting to follow that difficult lifestyle, and most outsiders consider dealing with the Order to be far more trouble than it's worth. The Pure-Thought Order exists largely in isolation and seclusion, regarded by others as a curiosity, an annoyance, or a club of sanctimonious fanatics.

[ooc]Stuff below this line was edited into this originally-incomplete post on 8/27.[/ooc]The Sisters' unique role in the Cardan pantheon-- somewhere between protection and temptation, between benevolence and antagonism-- places them on the outskirts of the Faith. They are always tacitly acknowledged for their gifts, and supplicants can often be seen begging for their aid at their altars in large, pantheon-broad temples, but showing too great an interest in the Sisters and their siren call is typically considered cause for alarm.

The Sisters have no lavish temples all their own, only scattered, secretive parlors where their darker facets are appealed to directly. They have no dedicated priests, only the generalized priests of the Faith, who do their best to interpret the will of all gods, the Sisters included.

They do have mortal Hands, however, and these most blessed (or cursed) individuals find the Sisters just as inseparable and indistinguishable as all mortals do. There are no hands of Henth or of Losh, only hands of the Sisters, who draw a mingled power from all three. Such Hands, if their nature is known, are distantly respected by the faithful but never trusted-- just as the Sisters themselves. Cunning Hands use their patrons' gifts to keep their power secret. Most Hands of the Sisters exist far removed from the institution of the temple and the Faith, and continue using their powers in the capacity in which they were discovered-- often as liars and bullies, as cheats and swindlers, as thieves and thugs. One clergyman once remarked that the Sisters have more Hands in the streets of Yolek-Ja in the span of one afternoon than ever served the temple throughout all of history, but the flippant remark may have been closer to the literal truth than the speaker had surmised.

Though many Hands of the Sisters use their powers of tracelessness and manipulation for selfish purposes, others turn them to subtly charitable goals. It seems that to gain the favor of the Sisters, the means matter more than the ends. Perhaps as a result, such Hands are arguably the most self-guided and autonomous miracle-workers associated with the Faith (though the Hands of Corshall are a frequently-mentioned counterpoint), and often come into conflict even with one another.

Okay, took me long enough, but I think I've gotten that post finished. If anybody's still reading this, let me know what you think of the Sisters.

There are other gods and groups of gods I plan to add to this thread, and I'll do so as time permits, in the order that fancy strikes me. If you have a preference about which to hear about next, make it known.

Here are the remaining pantheon elements:

The Makers. Jatta Skyfather and Salma Earthmother are not the creators of the world itself, but fashioned many of the things that inhabit it-- including mortal life. They are dominant gods that stand at the center of the Faith in its traditional interpretations, and are the font of honor and wisdom, bounty and mercy. Through their teachings, the faithful prosper and grow strong.

The Tower. Fehn, Rayeb, and Kordain are the martial deities of the Faith. Though they represent self-sacrifice, courage, and tirelessness, respectively, they are often understood as three facets of a single entity, an embodiment of strength employed to shield the weak. They feature actively in the Song of Roots and other tales and myths, although some evidence suggests that Rayeb and Kordain were originally simoc hero-gods who were incorporated into the Cardan Faith as it spread. Concordantly, the Tower replaces the Makers as the central figure of the pantheon in many heavily simoc-influenced varieties of the Faith.

The Twins. The fraternal twins Aureth and Uljas, children of the union of Jatta and Salma, were gifted shapers among the gods-- while their kin toiled to create their works, the Twins' thoughts became real. Their magic protected the fortress of Ebras Oun until Uljas betrayed the defenders, bringing down the wards to allow the Adversaries in. The resulting conflict between his traitorous power and that of his sister tethered the two to each other by an eternal chain of energy. Through this Conduit, the two siblings see into each others' minds, anticipating and countering each others' every hateful move. Though they are powerless to affect the mortal world due to their stalemate, the Twins' imprisoning Conduit provides the source of all mortal magic.

The Adversaries. Gods who care not for the well-being of mortals are termed the Adversaries, and are feared and avoided by the Faithful. Rennan the Bitch Queen, jealous sister of Jatta who corrupted the dwarves before they were formed, is chief among them, as is Taneri the Hunter, who delights in cruel dominance and malicious excess. The most dreaded, perhaps, is Jalsilvi the Red Hunger, whose sole, all-consuming desire is to break free of the prison imposed upon him by his peers, in order to devour the whole of Marebo in flame.

I'm extremely interested in the Makers and the Tower.

I am still reading.
Reading the good stuff creates a wonderful standard.  And this thread has some of 'the good stuff' in it.  Actually a good amount.

I get the feeling that the adversaries are not worshipped, but are feared and stayed away from, or maybe placated at some level.  Does the bitch queen send fair-seeming creatures into the mortal world to taint them?  Just an impression.

Love the twins, and a tangible source of magic other than 'formulae/pseudo-science'  Well pleased with this, and of the solidity it lends to the mythos.  It seems a little simple now, but with the proper fleshing, a winner.

The tower is something that resonates even more for me.  I am a BIG user of the different aspects of a deity, and of the inability of a mortal mind to comprehend the nature and totality of a greater creature.  Your tower triumverate agrees with my sensibilities.

As for the well-written Sisters, even though you speak of them as on the outskirts of the religion, somehow the vibe I get from them is one of intermediary proximation: as if they were between the past, ancient deities and the mortal words.  Almost as if they were the translators of the mortal heart to the divine world, demi-gods, closer to man yet still divine.

However, the fact that your work is evoking a resonance and internal reconstruction speaks well of it.  Kudos.

Quote from: LordVreegI am still reading.
Reading the good stuff creates a wonderful standard.  And this thread has some of 'the good stuff' in it.  Actually a good amount.

...

However, the fact that your work is evoking a resonance and internal reconstruction speaks well of it.  Kudos.

I get the feeling that the adversaries are not worshipped, but are feared and stayed away from, or maybe placated at some level.[/quote]not[/i] mainstream in the Faith; most people avoid the Adversaries, recognizing them as Bad News.

QuoteDoes the bitch queen send fair-seeming creatures into the mortal world to taint them?  Just an impression.

Love the twins, and a tangible source of magic other than 'formulae/pseudo-science'  Well pleased with this, and of the solidity it lends to the mythos.  It seems a little simple now, but with the proper fleshing, a winner.[/quote]The tower is something that resonates even more for me.  I am a BIG user of the different aspects of a deity, and of the inability of a mortal mind to comprehend the nature and totality of a greater creature.  Your tower triumverate agrees with my sensibilities.[/quote]As for the well-written Sisters, even though you speak of them as on the outskirts of the religion, somehow the vibe I get from them is one of intermediary proximation: as if they were between the past, ancient deities and the mortal words.  Almost as if they were the translators of the mortal heart to the divine world, demi-gods, closer to man yet still divine.[/quote]I'm extremely interested in the Makers and the Tower.[/quote]Ask, and ye shall receive. I am pretty sure I am going to tackle the Tower next.

Great name for a book, 'The Two Triads'...sounds familiar, for some reason.  AH, well.

[blockquote=LC]I like the Tower a lot. Probably because my favorite character ever played by somebody else in one of my games was a devotee of the Tower, and played it to the hilt. So amazing.[/blockquote]
Isn't it crazy how a player can take a concept and idea and just run with it?  a few of my religions have done this, Notably the Church of the Autumn Harvest and the Platform of Trade.  I notice that you very carefully avoid making this collection of myths (or pantheonic elements) 'the TRUTH', instead leaving open the door to imperfect human understanding.  So I have to ask now about the practise of faith in the Jade Stage, since it 'ain't just for dwarves anymore'.  Players will deal with people a lot more than gods.  I hope.
I don't see churches of this god or that god, more like bastions to the faith, maybe that have slightly different foci than others.  I also see some strange weird shrines...(I love weird shrines and strange temples....).  Maybe like the Ephors in '300'?


Maybe to the Sisters?

and BTW...
[blockquote=LC]The Codex says a great deal about Betha's priorities, which is why I go out of my way to mention and describe it. Treating death with finality arguably makes for a poorer game (arguably!), but I think it makes for a better narrative, which says a great deal about my priorities.[/blockquote]
Raising and ressurecting in my world are possible, but difficult.  I killed off 1/2 of my Igbar group recently...and it was a lesson well learned.  Death validates risk and character heroism.  

Is the ubiquity of the Sisters mirrored in the Tower?  

 

[ic=Battle-Raiment]Grant that I might walk with courage
Despite the troubles and trials that rush to meet me.
Bless my feet with strength to stand their ground,
With no care for the earthquake's fury beneath me.
Bolster my heart with resolve
And let me be unafraid of hardship and harm, keeping in my sight
The greater need, and likewise the greater triumph.[/ic]

The Spirit's Best Defense

The three valiant siblings Fehn, Kordain, and Rayeb were once the foremost warriors of the Cardan deities, and they remain among the most active of the gods. They work in unity, and their divine partnership is known as the Tower. While the Sisters' three-in-one nature is a result of their faceless indistinctness and their apparent sharing of thoughts, the Tower is thought to be more literally combined-- a single entity with three distinct facets. The three aspects of the Tower correspond to the natures of the three siblings, and represent qualities that the Tower encourages mortals to foster. Fehn the Guardian teaches self-sacrifice, Kordain the Wounded teaches tenacity, and Rayeb the Heart's Star teaches courage.

The Seduction of Betha

In the era before the Covenant and during the forming of the world, as the gods were beginning to wear form and demeanor, each in accord with his own nature, Taneri the Hunter grew in desire for mastery over one of his peers. Betha had been spending the long age in silence and solitude, drifting in the void far from Marebo's creation, for the time of her dominion had not yet come. It was here in her empty sanctuary that the Hunter approached her with false smiles, false courtesy, and even a false face, for he knew that Betha hated him for his cruel and selfish nature. So deceiving her, he seduced her three times during that age, and three times she grew heavy with child. She gave birth to two sons, first to Fehn and then to Kordain, and last to a daughter, Rayeb. And Taneri regarded his offspring with a cruel, secret smile, for they reminded him of his conquest of one who still despises him.

But Taneri did not realize that Betha had never been fooled. She had seen through his deception from the start, and it was because of her desire for children that she had allowed herself to be taken. She foresaw not only that the time of her power would not be at hand until the awakening of mortals, but also that their existence would create problems she would not be able to anticipate on her own. So it was that the warrior-siblings were born, begotten by force of might and raised by death and mercy, destined to become the divine claviger of mortals yet to be shaped.

Some of the mortal faithful, perceiving that Rayeb is different in nature than either of her brothers, contend that there is a missing element from the story of her birth. The controversial text "A Light from Lights," written by an anonymous Age of Building priest, suggests that Rayeb was sired by Jatta Skyfather, with whom Betha had conspired to deceive Taneri yet again. Circulation of "A Light from Lights" is no longer illegal in Cardan lands, and the ideas it presents are more widely received in modern times, due in no small part to the great weight of shared symbolism that Rayeb and Jatta have in common. The two gods are sometimes called the Lesser Beacon and the Greater Beacon, respectively; in so naming them, the speaker implies acceptance of this alternate theory of Rayeb's parentage.

The Battle of Ebras Oun

Betha's foresight proved valuable sooner than she had expected, when her children took upon themselves the task of defending the tower fortress of Ebras Oun from the Adversaries, in order to preserve the still-dormant mortal progenitors.

When it was discovered that Jatta Skyfather and Salma Earthmother had formed the mortal progenitors with intentions of awakening them to life and sapience, the gods were divided. Many demanded that the inert progenitors be surrendered so that all gods might alter or destroy them as they chose. Those who placed their trust in the wisdom of the Makers hid within the walls of the fortress of Ebras Oun, which the power of Aureth and Uljas then removed from the world, so that the progenitors could be allowed to awaken without interference from jealous gods. It was only due to the treachery of Uljas, who reversed his warding, that the Adversaries were able to besiege Ebras Oun in their bid to control the progenitors.

The children of Betha assumed the role of Ebras Oun's stalwart defenders. The three repelled the attacks of the Adversaries for an interminable age, while the sun and Wandering Stars careened madly across the Celestial Sphere, carving bright slashes of light into its surface, their paths and paces not yet defined. During this battle, Exejhith suffered a wound at the hands of Rayeb, leaving his leg crippled. Likewise, Kordain was stabbed in his moment of hesitation by the bone knife of Henth, who did not yet exist, yet he persevered despite the pain of his injury. The bravery and prowess of Betha's children did not prevent the Adversaries from capturing and razing Ebras Oun, but they provided enough time for Salma Earthmother to remove the progenitors from the fortress and hide them elsewhere in Marebo, to awaken in the wilds. So it was the Fehn, Kordain, and Rayeb were called at first "the Guardians of the Tower," and later simply "the Tower," by mortals grateful to have been given the chance to exist.

Discorporation and Indwelling

The capture of Ebras Oun, and the Adversaries' discover that the progenitors were not inside, marked the closing of the Age of Forging. The drafting of the Covenant of Peace was imminent, and the gods sought to move swiftly before its completion, completing their Last Acts upon Marebo before the Covenant banished their power from that world. While other gods sought to satisfy old grudges with their Last Acts, the children of Betha chose instead to divest themselves of their bodies, rendering themselves discorporate. It is because of this discorporation that the children of Betha lost much of their distinct identities, and that the Tower takes the fortress of Ebras Oun as a symbol as well as a name; it lacks any other shape.

Reactions to this Last Act of the Tower are mixed. Some argue that beings reliant on strength can make no greater mistake than to give up the bodies that held it, and that Betha's children rendered themselves wholly irrelevant. The more common interpretation is that the Tower's state causes the Covenant to bind it in different ways, and that the Tower has managed to retain some degree of interaction with mortals. Many of the faithful with some affinity for the Tower claim that certain mortal acts of exceptional heroism are the result of Indwelling, in which a mortal is temporarily inhabited and bolstered by some aspect of the Tower, and is thereby empowered to exceed mortal limits of courage and determination. Tower Indwelling is rare, and opinions vary about what events were likely to have included instances of it. Many proposed examples of Indwelling do not even involve battle; the single most common unifying feature of proposed Indwellings is that the mortal vessels rarely survive the actions they are empowered to complete. Most Indwelling stories end with a brave hero dying of wounds incurred while defying impossible odds.

Exhortations and Inspirations

The Tower urges mortals to protect those who cannot protect themselves, and to develop certain qualities of character that will enable them to do so. The virtues of Fehn are selflessness and sacrifice; soldiers who lay down their lives for king and country exemplify these virtures, as do passersby who rush to save a neighbor from a burning house. Charities frequently claim Fehn as a patron, since donations and service also contribute to the well-being of others. Kordain's virtues are tenacity and persistence, and he demands that mortals act tirelessly, with no regard for pain, fear, or hardship. Kordain represents the idea that doing the right thing is often difficult, but it must be done nevertheless. Rayeb the Heart's Star is associated with courage and with hope bolstered by actions. Her influence drives mortals to stand fast in the face of insurmountable odds, despite the apparent near-certainty of failure, but she also teaches that optimism without effort is a snare for the weak. It is useless to hope for better days to come unless you are willing to work to bring them about. Although the children of Betha were war gods before their discorporation, it is worth noting that their commands to mortals often require no particular strength or combat skill. Recent generations of the faithful have found more creative ways to apply the ideals of the Tower to their increasingly urbanized lives.

Many sects of the faithful, particularly those dominated by simoc influence, place the Tower, rather than the Makers, in a position of central importance among the gods. In one sense, the Tower can be interpreted as an indirect creator force, since it is only by the intervention of Betha's children that the mortal progenitors were spared subversion or destruction at the hands of the Adversaries.

The Tower Guard

The Tower Guard are a militant sect of the faithful who devote themselves to upholding the teachings and traditions of the Tower. Their power and influence peaked during the Scouring and the Burning Wars, when Tower Guard soldiers provided a strong and well-respected first defense for vulnerable cities and a vanguard for monster-hunting expeditions and anti-ork counterattacks. The Tower Guard have more recently diminished in number, struggling with decreased need for their services and various governmental pressures to violate their oaths by involving themselves in political or nationalistic conflicts. Today, the Tower Guard can be found in the form of small, local militias that serve to defend the temples and towns in which they are stationed against external threats, but the grand days of holy armies holding back tides of orks are long past.

Traditionally, the Tower Guard has divided itself into three complimentary branches, in imitation of the Tower's own three facets. The Shieldguard served the will of Fehn the Guardian in paticular, defending borders and settlements. The Stoneguard of Kordain acted as an advance, mobile branch, dealing aggressively with threats. They are often credited with turning the tide in the Burning Wars, but the Stoneguard voluntarily disbanded in DP 112 in an attempt to defuse growing military unrest between the Cardan Empire and Yolek-Ja. The Heartguard, always the rarest of the three branches, are often employed as ambassadors, leaders, and in other outreach positions. Heartguard members are chosen for their intellect and diplomatic skill as well as for their battle prowess, and are often deployed in situations where dissipation of tension, quelling of public fears, and swaying of opinions are priorities. It is traditional for the Tower Guard to offer Heartguard veterans to the Cardan kings as personal bodyguards. Channelers of the Tower draw a mingled power from all three of its facets, rather than being specifically devoted to any one of the three. Most but not all of the Tower's channelers are active in the Tower Guard.

One of the more barbaric traditions of the Stoneguard is the Rite of Maiming, an initiation that has not died out with the disbanding of Kordain's order. The Rite of Maiming marks an initiate's ascension to full status among the Stoneguard at the completion of years of training and various tests. During the ceremony, a Stoneguard Master wounds the new initiates with a knife coated in bitter ivy sap, ensuring the creation of a painful wound that will scar vividly and remain sore for life. The wound is placed in the left shoulder, below the collarbone and above the heart, in imitation of Kordain's own wound, and Stoneguard warriors cherish the permanent ache as a sign of kinship to their god, as well as a reminder of their obligation to persevere in their duties despite pain. The red sash many Tower Guard members wear from left shoulder to right hip symbolizes a bloodied bandage, and indicates that the wearer has undertaken the Rite of Maiming.

Battle-Raiment and Seven Stars

The Battle-Raiment, often simply called Raiment, is among the oldest and most widely known religious texts associated with the faith; by some accounts, it predates even the Song of Roots. Raiment is a collection of prayers written by a poet identified only as Tyresh, presumed to be one of the Stoneguard, but who appears in no other records. The prayers themselves are supplications to the Tower in which Tyresh asks for strength, courage, and renewal of dedication, and many of them are considered to be among the most beautiful surviving examples of poetry from the Age of Building.

Seven Stars is a later text, which came into widespread popularity around the time of the Cardan Empire's expansion. Though many assert that its authors were divinely inspired by the Tower, no mention of any of the dwarven gods finds its way into the text. The text itself takes the form of seven tales, each presumably by a different anonymous author. The tales are set historically and share nothing in common beyond general themes of valor and larger-than-life heroism. Each of the seven tales features a hero from a different race (excluding humans, since Seven Stars predates their arrival), leading skeptics to conclude that Seven Stars is merely a transparent contrivance to make the Cardan faith more attractive to the indigenous inhabitants of newly-conquered Imperial colonies. The book contains the stories of Hadtram, a dwarf who traveled to the home of Rennan to bargain for the lives of his clan during a terrible famine; Djet Drols, a boru who slew a dragon with her bare hands (but was killed in the process); Uari, a simoc shaman who led her tribe to victory against an army of monsters who built themselves from river-clay; Hatheri, a gnomish painter-turned-warrior who battled a wicked aunt's magic to rescue her encorcelled betrothed; Gortal, a goblin child who discovered a fabled treasure before his coming of age; Sorptas Lisch, a liriss boatwright who escaped an undersea civilization of slavers and cannibals when his ship capsized in a storm; and For-Ahn, an om-beh-ral sailor who sailed through storms to the edge of the world.

Questions and comments that I am finally getting around to:

Quote from: LordVreegIsn't it crazy how a player can take a concept and idea and just run with it?

I notice that you very carefully avoid making this collection of myths (or pantheonic elements) 'the TRUTH', instead leaving open the door to imperfect human understanding.[/quote]So I have to ask now about the practise of faith in the Jade Stage, since it 'ain't just for dwarves anymore'. Players will deal with people a lot more than gods. I hope.
I don't see churches of this god or that god, more like bastions to the faith, maybe that have slightly different foci than others. I also see some strange weird shrines...(I love weird shrines and strange temples....). Maybe like the Ephors in '300'?

Maybe to the Sisters?[/quote]all[/i] the gods, and to be reasonably good at interpreting the will of any of them. If you see a temple dedicated specifically to the Tower, for example, it's not unreasonable to expect the head priest there to be a particular expert on matters having to deal with the Tower.

Hands are an exception, because their magic specializes them. A person who becomes a Hand of a god or gods is somewhat bound up in those gods, and Hands are much more tightly focused than other priests. When someone performs a miracle in the name of the Makers, that person is confirmed as a Hand of the Makers, and is thereafter expected to learn all possible about the will of the Makers (and so, is excused from the expectation of becoming well-studied in all the other gods, though some Hands do so anyway.)

Shrines are pretty commonly-encountered, and tend to be dedicated to a specific deity. Shrines to Corshall are found occasionally along roads, shrines to Jatta Skyfather are often built on hilltops with commanding views, etc. Most of the types of shrines that would strike someone familiar with the faith as "weird" are shrines to the Adversaries, which would tend to be better-hidden from casual discovery.

The Sisters are something of a special case, because they are usually not counted among the Adversaries, but people are cautious about them just the same. Priests at any temple will be able to answer questions about them or handle offerings to them, et cetera, but suspicion gets attached to people who ask way too many questions about the Sisters, or to some priests who make them a special focus of their knowledge.

The faith flourishes in most lands that were once part of the Cardan Empire, and in some places even further-flung. (Liriss and om-beh-ral have no great affinity for it, goblins sneer at it, boru tend to follow their ancestral religion, and it is often slow to catch on in human settlements.) Still, it's widely known, and many people are familiar with the trappings of the faith, whether or not they practice it themselves.

More exotic lands see more exotic treatments of the faith, as well. There are definitely difference in doctrine from place to place, and different interpretations of various gods. Remember that the faith spread across varying different cultures, all of whom already had various different types of traditions and religious rites that got rolled into the mix. A traveler who roams far from home might find that the faith is very unfamiliar there, perhaps even uncomfortable.

QuoteIs the ubiquity of the Sisters mirrored in the Tower?

Now that you've read about the Tower, perhaps you can tell me? It would be more useful to me to hear someone else's interpretation than to type out my own, I think.

I'm stealing your wriiten bit of the Raiment for my Tristonian Knights (Knighthood of Saint Jon of Triston, of the Church of Nebler the Defender)...as long as you are good with that.
BTW, the Church of Nebler the Defender competes heavily with the Lawful Triumverate, which is comprised of Abradxus the Harsh, Rakastra the Just, and Nebler the Shield.  Religions are human institutions...

I love 'A Light from Lights'.  Naming religious texts and creating controversy add veracity to a setting.  Putting both of these concepts into one bit is great.
The 'Seven Stars' is even better. The way you describe the content is really helpful, and does much to create a mood for the belief from the mortal side.

Great minds are again at work.  The Covenant of Peace sounds a lot like my Accords of Presence.  MKore later, as I am at work...

[/b][/u]

[ic=Letters from Long Ago]Commander Kali-Hse,

At such time as this letter finds its way into your hands, you will be preparing to send your troops through the Lower North Ash Pass, in an attempt to outflank your enemy. This would be a grave mistake. Your movements will have been observed, and even now, your enemy will be preparing an ambush for you in the Lower North Ash Pass. Therefore, we urge you to reconsider your battle-plan.

We hope this century finds you well, Commander.

Cordially,
the Cold Spring Drinkers[/ic]

The Eternal Stalemate

Uljas and Aureth stand locked in a battle of wills in which they have been engaged since before the wakening of the progenitors. Inextricably linked by the backlash of their own power, the siblings regard each other with loathing, the most secret corners of their minds laid bare before each others' scornful gaze. No sooner does either have a thought than the other is aware of it; no sooner does either move to act than the other moves to prevent it. They have remained like this through all the ages of mortal history: silent and catatonic, immobilized by mutual enmity.

The Twins as They Once Were

Before the Covenant, the twin siblings Aureth and Uljas were the most gifted of all the gods. The children of Jatta Skyfather and Salma Earthmother, the Twins shared an essential kinship with their divine parents' creations, and their spirits were bound up in the winds and waters of Marebo during its forging. Aureth and Uljas were adept at shaping Marebo according to their will. While all gods, with some effort, could create, destroy, and transform portions of Marebo each according to his own abilities, the substance and energies of Marebo bent themselves freely to the Twins' merest thought. The Twins were the first natural adepts of magic, and it is common for mortal shapers to claim an affinity with them. Some shapers insist that their power comes from direct descent from one of the Twins, but the typically accepted order of events concerning the great betrayal and the wakening of the progenitors makes this problematic.

Aureth, the first-born of the Twins, is depicted and described as a young woman of ethereal beauty. Her gown is white as lily-petals, fastened with a silver sash; her expression is thoughtful and distracted. A brooch of pearl lies in the hollow of her throat. Her power is said to have been broad in spectrum, but especially adept at preservation and strengthening, amplifying the nature of each thing. Statues depict her with both hands gently open at waist height, one with the palm facing up, the other with the palm facing down.

Uljas, the second-born of the Twins, is depicted and described as a handsome young man of imposing character. His robe is red as autumn wine, his expression imperious. Garnet adorns the clasp of his cloak and the hilt of a sword at his hip, for in the Song of Roots, he cuts apart the wards he helped to weave. His power is said to have been potent and versatile, but his truest talent lay in change and metamorphosis, in causing each thing to depart from its nature. He is often depicted with both hands closed in fists, one with the knuckles facing up, the other with the knuckles facing down.

During the Age of Forging, in the unmeasurable era before the shaping of the mortal progenitors, Aureth and Uljas walked side by side in the wilds of Marebo, and together wrought many wonders.

Betrayal and Consequences

When the Adversaries surrounded Ebras Oun to demand access to the dormant progenitors, Aureth and Uljas invoked their power to remove the fortress from the world, surrounding it with layer upon layer of power to repel the besieging force. But Uljas, for reasons of his own, conspired to deliver Ebras Oun into the hands of the the enemy. Reversing the direction of his efforts, he rendered Ebras Oun and its occupants tangible once more, bringing his will into direct contradiction of his sister's as he did so. As understanding of the betrayal dawned upon Aureth and she regarded her treacherous brother with rage and disbelief, the collapsing wards snapped like whips around them both, binding them to each other.

As layer upon layer of misdirected power descended upon the twins, each glimpsed insight into the other's thoughts with startling clarity. Neither had foreseen this consequence, but both understood its implications at once. Neither would exist seperately of the other, nor would either have a secret thought or motive without the other perceiving it. At once shocked and horrified by this new chain, both strove at once to sever it, only to find that they could no more act independantly than think separate thoughts. So they remained there as the battle raged on around them, locked in stalemate, both too stubborn and distrustful to allow the other to act.

The Source of Sorcery

The chain of energies that connects the Twins is known as the Conduit, for thought and power flow along it in both directions. It is the Conduit that connects the minds of Aureth and Uljas, cursing them to see each others' thoughts and allowing them to counter each others' actions, no matter how near or far from one another they may be. Though intangible, the Conduit binds the Twins more securely than any chain, because they can never be free of each others' mental presence.

As the Twins' power flows along the Conduit, traces of it radiate out into the Void, filtering through the ether bubble and to Marebo in the form of raw magic. According to the mainstream teachings of the faith, all mortal magic-- regardless of how directly or indirectly it is accessed-- can be traced back to the Conduit. The Twins' eternal, futile struggle for dominance through the Conduit does them no benefit, but generates the ultimate power source for mortal usage. Were it not for the betrayal at Ebras Oun and its unforeseen consequences, mortals would be bound to mundanity.

The Chained Orders

Aureth and Uljas have neither priests nor Hands, because their stalemate prevents them from communicating with mortals or granting them power. However, mortal channelers utilize the Twins as a power source nevertheless. While the faithful teach that all mortal magic-users draw upon the Conduit in their own ways, whether they are aware of it or not, most do so indirectly. Unlike most Hands, who are given portions of the Conduit's power by other deities, the priests of the Chained Orders draw their own power directly from the Conduit. Without any sort of divine mandate, holy doctrine, or sacred text to guide them, power struggles and differing goals within the Chained Orders beget a great deal of infighting between various groups. The founding ideas of the Chained Orders are twofold: that with proper diligence, mortals can draw pure magical power directly from the Conduit itself; and that this act of drawing can affect the Conduit's equilibrium.

Late in the Age of Building, the first Order of the Chain was founded by several mages who claimed to have discovered the direct path to power represented by the Conduit. These mages are believed to have numbered between one and two dozen, but most of their names are lost to history. Collectively, they are known as the Cold Spring Drinkers, a name which is drawn from an early writing attributed to the group, in which access to Conduit power is compared to drinking pure water from a spring at its source. Though the Cold Spring Drinkers were apparently unable to attain the literal immortality mentioned frequently in their writings, they developed a prescience unmatched by any seers before or since. On rare occasions, the Cold Spring Drinkers continue to affect modern affairs in Marebo though centuries-old letters addressed to meticulously specified individuals, each one kept secret and preserved by Gold Chain acolytes until the date of its intended delivery arrives. It can be inferred from the often-prestigious recipients of such letters that the Cold Spring Drinkers preferred to concern themselves with events on a national or global scale, but many scholars have raised questions about possible blind spots in their divinations, or the legitimacy of their predictions. The Cold Spring Drinkers adopted the chain as the emblem for their order because it symbolizes the binding Conduit. The chain is also said to serve as a reminder of the Order's obligation to further the cause of the temple, but the Order and the temple have grown apart over the centuries nevertheless.

The Cold Spring Drinkers are credited with the origin of the idea that the act of drawing power from the Conduit can affect the strength and direction of the Conduit's flow. Because the equilibrium they perceived in the Conduit was believed to be the force keeping both Aureth and Uljas paralyzed by mutual malice (thus leaving the Cold Spring Drinkers to help themselves to Conduit power free of deific demands), they devised a code of strict ordinances governing when and how their magic could be used, in an effort to preserve the status quo. Chained Magisters who violate these ordinances face censure or expulsion from the Order, because the Order is unwilling to tolerate behavior that may tip the balance of the Conduit toward either twin. This policy leads to conflict with splintered groups of the Order of the Chain, who do not hold themselves to the Cold Spring Drinkers' ordinances. The original Order of the Chain renamed itself the Order of the Gold Chain, in order to distinguish itself from the impure groups which split away from it.

One such group, the Order of the White Chain, identifies itself as Aureth's own scholarly priesthood. Sometimes called the Aurethan Order, the White Chains believe that Aureth is denied the power to be an active and benevolent goddess because Uljas uses the power of the Conduit to hold her in thrall. White Chains practice rituals designed to strengthen the White Current, the direction along the Conduit along which power flows away from Uljas and toward Aureth. They believe that these rituals will diminish the power of Uljas and bolster the power of Aureth, restoring her autonomy. The Order of the White Chain is committed to this long-term goal, but members sustain themselves and the organization day-to-day by working as community mages and teachers, propogating their ideology as well as their practical techniques. The Order of the White Chain is a very small organization, but laymen tend to think of White Chains as benevolent but inscrutable (if they know anything about them at all.)

The Order of the Red Chain, by contrast, favors actions that would tip the flow of power along the Conduit in a direction favorable to Uljas. Remarkably, they believe that a profound enough shift of power along the Conduit could destroy Aureth entirely, freeing the power and will of Uljas by way of the faith's first deicide. Red Chain Magisters hope to be rewarded by their liberated deity with increased power and direction, and are working to position themselves to take maximum advantage of the event when it comes to pass. Deicide is a significant enough taboo that the Order of the Red Chain is forced to work covertly, but many believe that the Red Chains have infiltrated numerous centers of government and higher learning, intent on influencing policy to their advantage.

Quote from: LordVreegI'm stealing your wriiten bit of the Raiment for my Tristonian Knights ...as long as you are good with that.

I love 'A Light from Lights'. Naming religious texts and creating controversy add veracity to a setting. Putting both of these concepts into one bit is great.[/quote]The Covenant of Peace sounds a lot like my Accords of Presence.[/quote]The Covenant of Peace is the faithful's explanation of how the gods can exist despite the lack of evidence of that existence. The Covenant was supposedly drafted by the gods after they almost wrecked the world with the Battle of Ebras Oun, and prevents them from interacting directly with the mortal world. (Hence the existence of Hands, mortals empowered with miraculous power and sent to do the gods' will where the Covenant prevents the gods from doing it themselves.)

Your post on the Twins is fantastic, very visual.



[blockquote=LC]The chain of energies that connects the Twins is known as the Conduit, for thought and power flow along it in both directions. It is the Conduit that connects the minds of Aureth and Uljas, cursing them to see each others' thoughts and allowing them to counter each others' actions, no matter how near or far from one another they may be.
[/blockquote]

So can they actually move away from each other? I got the impression they were stuck in a frozen state, bound to each other. And if that is the case where are they and has anything grown/been constructed around them?

With the Chained Orders (White and Red) what types of magic pushes the energy one way or the other? Magic that is similar to the particular Twin's area of expertise? Do the Cold Spring Drinkers hunt down mages from the other Chained Orders to preserve the balance? I can see a whole section of that Order dedicated to just that.

Quote from: LCThe chain of energies that connects the Twins is known as the Conduit, for thought and power flow along it in both directions. It is the Conduit that connects the minds of Aureth and Uljas, cursing them to see each others' thoughts and allowing them to counter each others' actions, no matter how near or far from one another they may be.
[/blockquote]So can they actually move away from each other? I got the impression they were stuck in a frozen state, bound to each other. And if that is the case where are they and has anything grown/been constructed around them?

With the Chained Orders (White and Red) what types of magic pushes the energy one way or the other? Magic that is similar to the particular Twin's area of expertise?[/quote]Do the Cold Spring Drinkers hunt down mages from the other Chained Orders to preserve the balance? I can see a whole section of that Order dedicated to just that.[/quote]not[/i] possess the prophetic talents of their founders; they merely act as stewards for the Drinkers' letters, in addition to their other functions as a group of academics and magic-wielders.)

I'm not sure whether the Red and White Chains existed during the Drinkers' era, but the Drinkers almost certainly foresaw them regardless. It's not known, but the Cold Spring Drinkers (and the Gold Chains in general) strike me as ruthless enough to consider discrete assassination where necessary to further their ends. Now that you bring it to my attention, a top-secret organization of killers within the most trusted ranks of the Order of the Gold Chain, operating on cryptic directions left behind by the Cold Spring Drinkers, is pretty amazing. Thanks for that gem.

Also, thanks for reading. I hope I addressed your questions adequately?

Oh. Dear. God.

So much awesome in so small a space!

More...than...brain...can...take.....

/heads '˜asplode/

Okay, in all seriousness'¦wow. Just sheer, bloody, wow. I'm going to go through piece by piece and ask questions here and there, but it'll take me awhile to digest this amount of information fully. Still, I'll do my humble best. *cracks knuckles*

[ic=Letters from Long Ago] Commander Kali-Hse,

At such time as this letter finds its way into your hands, you will be preparing to send your troops through the Lower North Ash Pass, in an attempt to outflank your enemy. This would be a grave mistake. Your movements will have been observed, and even now, your enemy will be preparing an ambush for you in the Lower North Ash Pass. Therefore, we urge you to reconsider your battle-plan.

We hope this century finds you well, Commander.

Cordially,
the Cold Spring Drinkers[/ic]

But'¦but '" what happened? Did he get the letter in time? Did he heed their advice? Were they correct? Did it work? I want to know more! :P

I love the idea of the Conduit and the twins. There's a ton of fascinating potential there, and you seem to have explored a great deal of it.

BTW, most of my reviews take the form of lists of questions, since I've always found that's the best way to write. :)

Questions: If the twins know each other's moves, why do they even bother struggling anymore? It seems to me in your chess game analogy, both sides would just stop playing, since they'd know how the entirety of the infinite game would go, since every move would have been made. Also, you get into the predestination problem '" if the twins know what their opponent is going to do, and that opponent then does it, do either of them have free will to act?

[note=By the by]I find the made up words you use to be wonderfully organic. How did you go about making them? Are they just made up words, or is their a system behind them? If so, what is the system? So much fantasy just sounds like random sounds crammed together with apostrophes stuck in, but you've managed to make one that feels like it would actually be speakable.[/note]As for the drinkers, How accurate is the Cold Spring Drinker's precognition? Obviously fairly accurate, since they write these notes, but can one note alter the course of another notes? Do expelled members retain these powers, and, if so, have any meddled with history or existing predictions?
Do White and Red chains have the prescience of the Gold Chains? If so, do they use it to influence the flow of the Conduit?
Would it be possible for one group to significantly tip the balance, or do the two groups balance themselves much like Aureth and Uljas do?
What would happen if the flow of the Conduit was shifted significantly?
Do the Gold chains try to hunt down and eliminate Reds and Whites, in order to maintain the balance, or do they mostly leave them alone? (Just saw you answered that to Ravenspath '" I think a secret order to hunt down the schism groups is a fascinating idea.)
How far does the reds influence really spread?
What caused the Reds and Whites to decide that tipping the balance in favor of one god, which might destroy their power and indeed all magic, be a good thing?
If the Cold Spring drinkers have prescience, and saw the schism, why did they not attempt to prevent it? Did they attempt and fail? How/why did the fail?
If they manipulate history, what is their end goal?

Just my initial questions '" I'll go to other posts and ask other questions at later times, as well as the new questions I'm sure will spawn from your response. :)
 

Quote from: Letters from Long AgoCommander Kali-Hse,

At such time as this letter finds its way into your hands, you will be preparing to send your troops through the Lower North Ash Pass, in an attempt to outflank your enemy. This would be a grave mistake. Your movements will have been observed, and even now, your enemy will be preparing an ambush for you in the Lower North Ash Pass. Therefore, we urge you to reconsider your battle-plan.

We hope this century finds you well, Commander.

Cordially,
the Cold Spring Drinkers[/ic]

But'¦but '" what happened? Did he get the letter in time? Did he heed their advice? Were they correct? Did it work? I want to know more! :P

I find the made up words you use to be wonderfully organic. How did you go about making them? Are they just made up words, or is their a system behind them? If so, what is the system? So much fantasy just sounds like random sounds crammed together with apostrophes stuck in, but you've managed to make one that feels like it would actually be speakable.[/quote]As for the drinkers, How accurate is the Cold Spring Drinker's precognition? Obviously fairly accurate, since they write these notes, but can one note alter the course of another notes? Do expelled members retain these powers, and, if so, have any meddled with history or existing predictions?[/quote]Do White and Red chains have the prescience of the Gold Chains? If so, do they use it to influence the flow of the Conduit? [/quote]Would it be possible for one group to significantly tip the balance, or do the two groups balance themselves much like Aureth and Uljas do?[/quote]What would happen if the flow of the Conduit was shifted significantly? [/quote]Do the Gold chains try to hunt down and eliminate Reds and Whites, in order to maintain the balance, or do they mostly leave them alone? (Just saw you answered that to Ravenspath '" I think a secret order to hunt down the schism groups is a fascinating idea.)[/quote]How far does the reds influence really spread?[/quote]enormous[/i] influence in Ithyrian royal politics. All quite secret.

QuoteWhat caused the Reds and Whites to decide that tipping the balance in favor of one god, which might destroy their power and indeed all magic, be a good thing?

know[/i] what will happen if they can cause the balance to fail, and that the results will be desirable.

QuoteIf the Cold Spring drinkers have prescience, and saw the schism, why did they not attempt to prevent it? Did they attempt and fail? How/why did the fail?

If they manipulate history, what is their end goal?[/quote]historical[/i] events but future events. Their first goal was immortality, but they failed to attain it. Perhaps, having failed to cheat death, they simply sought a long-reaching influence that would outlast their mortal lives. It is not unusual for highly learned people to begin to feel that they know what is best for everyone else, and to try to make decisions they probably have no business making. I imagine that the gift of prophecy only makes this tendency worse.

Of course, it's always possible that the Cold Spring Drinkers had some long-term goal in mind that not even the stewards of their letters ever knew about. But I'm not sure that such a purpose is even necessary to explain their efforts, or if it is, that it ever needs to be detailed beyond "they had a secret plan that nobody knows about."

QuoteJust my initial questions '" I'll go to other posts and ask other questions at later times, as well as the new questions I'm sure will spawn from your response. :)

Thank you most sincerely for reading, and for your questions.

[/b][/u]

Lord of Lights

The realm of Jatta Skyfather is the air and sky; in the starry firmament grow his bright gardens. He sculpts the clouds and commands the winds that send them gliding over the face of Marebo, and all flying creatures submit themselves to his authority. Closest to the heart of his power are all lights in the sky; the sun and Wandering Stars are his lanterns, placed in the heavens to illuminate the mortal world. Jatta's influence also guides mortals in less literal ways-- he is the source not only of light, but also of wisdom, justice, discipline, and self-control. It is the Skyfather who gave the spirit of law to the first dwarven havs, who blessed the broken Clan Damira with the blood of prophecy, and who instills all mortals with patience, insight, and the desire for fairness.

The Skyfather is as harsh and unyielding as he is generous. When mortals fail to live up to his requirements, he torments them with the guilt of a heavy conscience, determined to lead them back to honorable paths. Jatta is particularly concerned with the sanctity of oaths and vows; he drafted the Covenant of Peace personally, and his power binds all the gods to its observance. Therefore, he reviles nothing more completely than an oathbreaker, and much of the work of his mortal followers concerns the redemption of penitent oathbreakers, guiding them to restitution and proper contrition in order to restore their relation to mortals and gods alike.

While his brother Kath governs mortal knowledge, reason, and intelligence, Jatta Skyfather is most commonly revered as the source of intuition, creativity, and sudden insight. The faithful credit the Skyfather for every hunch, premonition, inspiration, and lucid dream; those rare few who watch the lights with great faithfulness and attention may be given insight so pure and so strong that it resembles the gift of prophecy, with all its commensurate burdens.

Jatta Skyfather is typically depicted as an old man, though strong, serene, and unbowed by age. His head is bald, and his skin is leathery and baked by the sun. Although he himself is eyeless, having struck out his eyes upon seeing the damage wrought upon the mortal progenitors, he carries a lantern that holds the sun (or more rarely, a cudgel whose head cages a star.)

Fount of All-Abundance

The wife and equal of Jatta Skyfather is Salma Earthmother, whose hands shaped soil and stone and beckoned the first green stems up from the ground to seek the sun. All living creatures are her children, and all the plants of the earth are her gifts. She creates and sustains all things that grow, and all the earth is in her keeping-- from stern mountains and vast oceans, to secluded valleys and streams, to all the depths of the soil and the hidden caves of stone below the ground. The wild places of the world display her beauty, and through tamed lands and tilled fields she shows her gentle and generous spirit. Salma Earthmother is a nurturing deity, a creature of mercy, bounty, and giving. Farmers beseech her for rich harvests, travelers hope for her blessing of easy roads, and expectant mothers pray that she will grant them healthy children.

The Earthmother is usually considered a moderating influence upon the Skyfather's stern attitudes toward mortals. Though Jatta's nature is unyieldingly just, Salma urges forgiveness, gentleness, and peace toward their mortal creations. Many of the faithful feel a closer kinship to Salma than to any other deity, and though it is quite common to place both of the Makers at the centerpiece of the pantheon, some of the faithful consider Salma Earthmother to be clearly dominant over her distant-seeming husband.

Salma Earthmother is generous with her gifts to mortals, and desires that they be generous to each other as well. She kindles the impulse of charity in the hearts of mortals, inspiring them to share their hospitality with those who need it. Charitable organizations often operate in her name, and in lands where the faith is strong, inns and hostels frequently claim that Salma guides their hospitality (whether the sentiment is genuine or not.) In Salma's name, the faithful share their meals and their hearths; hands of Salma in particular are forbidden to refuse such hospitality to a stranger who requests it.

In most depictions, Salma Earthmother is a beautiful woman with a kindly expression. She walks barefoot upon the earth, and her walking staff is blooming in her hand. Her hair is always shown long and unbound, and is often transformed by the artist into some element of nature, with birds nesting in her ringlets, flowers growing among them, or the locks themselves transforming into rivers that flow in all directions over the ground. In accord with her role as icon of bounty and fertility, Salma Earthmother is often depicted in a state of obvious pregnancy.

The Horizon Circle

Jatta Skyfather and Salma Earthmother are complementary opposites. They have little in common besides a desire to create and a fondness for their mortal children, but their combined dominion includes the whole of Marebo. It is said that together, the Makers represent all things that are whole and good, and that the creations of either are incomplete and inadequate without the contributions of the other. Symbolically, the union of the Makers serves to exploit this combined strength, which is greater than the sum of its components. Together, the Makers bring purpose and completion to each other, just as they bring purpose and completion to each of their creations.

The symbol of the Makers is the Horizon Circle, a circle bisected by a horizontal line. As one perfect shape divided into equal halves, it represents the division of the Makers' dominion, the imperfect halves of which combine to form a perfect unity. The Horizon Circle also resembles a stylized depiction of an observer's field of vision while gazing at a distant horizon, with the sky above and the earth below. Some more ornate temples have beautifully-engraved altarpieces with elaborate Horizon Circle decorations, where the simple horizontal line is replaced by a detailed drawing of the actual surrounding landscape with the temple, viewed from a distance, at its center.

Mending the Broken

Perfection is an unattainable ideal, even for gods. Jatta and Salma take an interest in their creations long after their Making, and the impermanence of all mortal things forces them to act as Menders, when they can. In particular, the Makers are pained by the flaws and problems suffered by the people whose progenitors they created.

According to the Song of Roots, the seven pairs of mortal progenitors of the dwarves were discovered by Rennan in the days before their Awakening. Seeing the marvel of the progenitors, the greatest creation of her brother and his wife, Rennan was filled with an envy that turned to spite within her heart. She lashed out at the sleeping progenitors, though there were many her power could not touch. With a killing frost, she cursed the two progenitors of the Catera dwarves, who were formed of knotted vines. With a befouling of silt and slime, she cursed the two progenitors of the Damira dwarves, who were formed of clear water. The progenitors of the other tribes, being formed of iron, clay, stone, copper, and oaken heartwood, were beyond her power to damage.

When Jatta Skyfather and Salma Earthmother saw the damage that had been done to their creations, they wept bitterly at the loss, for they knew they could not repair the harm that Rennan had caused. Salma Earthmother chose specks of iron, of clay, of stone, of copper, of oaken heartwood, and of clear water, placing them into the hearts of the two Cateran progenitors. Though she could not spare them from Rennan's curse, she could give them stature above their peers, so that the other tribes would aid and support them. Because of Salma's gift, Catera Tribe claims authority over all dwarven peoples. Though they still suffer Rennan's curse of misfortune, the aid of their peers makes them mighty.

Jatta Skyfather wept over the Damiran progenitors' sleeping forms, and in his great grief, he plucked out both of his eyes. He placed them into the hearts of the Damiran dwarves, his left eye into the male and his right eye into the female, as a gift to counteract the curse of Rennan. Though Damira Tribe would still suffer Rennan's curse of madness, they would possess uncanny perception and the gift of prophecy. Though Damira Tribe bore the eye of Jatta as its emblem, some suspect that Jatta's gift many have ultimately worsened the damage done to the Damiran dwarves. The heretical idea that the fall of Dara was the self-inflicted realization of a fate unintentionally invoked by Jatta before the Awakening, is gaining momentum despite official denial by the priesthood. Many still believe that since the corruption and ruin of the Damiran progenitors were the last sights seen by those eyes before they were added to the very essence of the Damiran dwarves, that they were the source of the terrible, self-destructive impulse that destroyed the city of Dara and ended all but the faintest bloodlines of Damira clan.

Additions to the Myth of Creation

The Song of Roots deals exclusively with the seven tribes of the dwarves, naming seven pairs of dwarven progenitors. Because of the belief that the Makers created all creatures, not only the dwarves, other versions of the creation tale exist to include all races of mortals, though none are usually considered as pleasingly-written or as influential as the original Song of Roots manuscript. Of particular note is the gnomish account, beautifully realized through the techniques of Lam Yesil, although most of the Lam Yesil anchors, as well as the magic used to create them, were destroyed during the assault upon Firreo at the start of the Burning Wars.

Some later accounts describe eight pairs of dwarven progenitors, not seven. This missing "eighth tribe" is sometimes said to have been irredeemably twisted by Rennan (or in other, less probable accounts, by Jalsilvi), and is cited as the origin of the or kutaal. Due to its conflict with the earlier, better established story in the Song of Roots and most dwarves discomfort at an implied kinship with the or kutaal, this "eighth tribe" theory is frequently dismissed.

Toil, Patience, and Ingenuity

The attributes of a successful Maker are the attributes Jatta and Salma desire in their mortal servants. Persistence, hard work, and creativity are prized above all in the priesthood of the Makers, and their Hands unfailingly exemplify these attributes. The belief that dedicated toil, guided by a careful eye, will eventually lead to success is a common axiom believed to have originated in the temple, and these values are often credited with influencing the character of dwarven culture and enabling the Cardan Empire to achieve the successes that it once reached.

I've officially decided that, when I review the Jade Stage, I'm going to go section by section, as opposed to post by post. It makes it easier to do, and less daunting a task.

QuoteLord of Lights

The realm of Jatta Skyfather is the air and sky; in the starry firmament grow his bright gardens. He sculpts the clouds and commands the winds that send them gliding over the face of Marebo, and all flying creatures submit themselves to his authority. Closest to the heart of his power are all lights in the sky; the sun and Wandering Stars are his lanterns, placed in the heavens to illuminate the mortal world. Jatta's influence also guides mortals in less literal ways-- he is the source not only of light, but also of wisdom, justice, discipline, and self-control. It is the Skyfather who gave the spirit of law to the first dwarven havs, who blessed the broken Clan Damira with the blood of prophecy, and who instills all mortals with patience, insight, and the desire for fairness.

The Skyfather is as harsh and unyielding as he is generous. When mortals fail to live up to his requirements, he torments them with the guilt of a heavy conscience, determined to lead them back to honorable paths. Jatta is particularly concerned with the sanctity of oaths and vows; he drafted the Covenant of Peace personally, and his power binds all the gods to its observance. Therefore, he reviles nothing more completely than an oathbreaker, and much of the work of his mortal followers concerns the redemption of penitent oathbreakers, guiding them to restitution and proper contrition in order to restore their relation to mortals and gods alike.[/quote]While his brother Kath governs mortal knowledge, reason, and intelligence, Jatta Skyfather is most commonly revered as the source of intuition, creativity, and sudden insight. The faithful credit the Skyfather for every hunch, premonition, inspiration, and lucid dream; those rare few who watch the lights with great faithfulness and attention may be given insight so pure and so strong that it resembles the gift of prophecy, with all its commensurate burdens.[/quote]

So he's the god of Astrology? I like that element '" it's a nice deviation from the normal female minor goddess for astrology, putting it in the hands of a powerful god who almost seems like he deserves a capital G. Are every hunch, premonition, inspiration, etc sent by Jetta, or do some have more mundane (or even sinister) sources? Does the 'watching the lights' work like astrology, interpreting their movements, or is it more of contemplating stellar bodies and eventually being struck with (or gradually gaining) insight?

[blockquote=LC]Jatta Skyfather is typically depicted as an old man, though strong, serene, and unbowed by age. His head is bald, and his skin is leathery and baked by the sun. Although he himself is eyeless, having struck out his eyes upon seeing the damage wrought upon the mortal progenitors, he carries a lantern that holds the sun (or more rarely, a cudgel whose head cages a star.)[/blockquote]  Extrememly clear and vivid here.  The alternate view screams of versimilatude.  I can really see a statue or representation.

I also find it easy to work with the iconic 'skyfather and earthmother' imprints, as they are part of so many real world mythic systems, and I think players will also automatically relate to them well.


 

[/b][/u]

[ic=The Water's Edge, a traditional song]Come with me to the water's edge,
To the quiet place that my Lady loves,
Where the ice will groan and crack and move,
And we'll wear our envy as her badge.

Come with me now to the water's edge,
Said the pale-haired girl one winter's morning.

Said the bashful lad, you might I love,
But I fear to go to the water's edge
For we may be seen and our tryst begrudged
By your Lady that I know naught of.

So I fear to go to the water's edge,
Said the bashful lad one winter's morning.[/ic]

Our Best Interests In Mind

The Adversaries are those gods most feared by mortals, for they claim no interest in mortal well-being. They are the ancient enemies of the Makers, the Tower, and various other gods besides. They are the hidden antagonists in stories and myths, and their mortal servants are the enemies of many brave heroes. Fortunately for innocent mortals, the Covenant of Peace binds the Adversaries as it binds all gods, preventing them from directly meddling in Marebo's affairs. Moreover, the Adversaries do not present a united front, and war among themselves as frequently as not.

Rennan, the Hag

Rennan is a deity of formidable power, the sister of Kath and of Jatta Skyfather. Like Jatta, she holds certain power over weather and air; she is a spirit of storm and frost, and winter is the season of her power. Her role as a force of nature is overshadowed by her greater aspect, her jealous cruelty. Rennan has always envied the Makers' ability to create, and takes a shallow half-pleasure in subverting their creations, forming half-new things from an existing model, rather than creating original work of her own. Her meddling is blamed for much of Marebo's suffering; for example, her spiteful tampering with the slumbering Progenitors is believed to be the source of every mortal defect and flaw. Individuals with obvious physical deformities are sometimes said to bear "the Hag's mark," although this is considered mildly offensive. Ironically, Rennan's own features are almost always described as pristine and flawless, with the potential for great beauty ruined only by her everpresent sneer.

The cycle of the seasons is also the result of Rennan's efforts to corrupt the works of the Makers. The yearly arrival and departure of winter is believed to correspond to power struggles between Rennan and Salma Earthmother. During the winter months, Rennan's influence taints the natural world with barrenness and frost, choking out Salma's gifts of bounty. Especially sweet to the Hag's ears are the shivering gasps of those who fall victim to famine or exposure during her annual dominion.

Taneri, the Hunter

The Hunter's philosophy is quite simple: power is its own justification, and the strong are right to exploit the weak as they see fit. The benefits the strong gain from exercising their power are less important than the reinforcing of the relationship between predator and prey. Such reinforcement either reminds the weak that they are powerless or provokes them to revolt, and if such a revolt is successful, the victors are more deserving of their new-won power than the tyrant they deposed could be. Taneri is associated with the metaphor of the hunt because the conclusion of the hunt is foregone. The prey does not stand and face the predator with any hope of victory. Even a successful escape only postpones the inevitable fate of the prey until another day, perhaps at the hands of a different hunter. The chase itself reinforces feelings of panic and hopelessness in the mind of the prey and nurtures feelings of mastery and authority in the mind of the predator-- in each case, the ideal role for both the strong and the weak.

Taneri is sometimes called the Adversary most similar to mortals in his behavior, though much theological dispute has grown up around this subject. Regardless, he is the Adversary most likely to be openly revered by mortal worshippers. Some tyrants, criminals, mercenaries, and even politicians have been known to worship the Hunter out of a belief that they deserve to exert power upon those less worthy. Taneri's Hands are frequently intimidators and manipulators, reminding those in power that if the weak must serve the strong, even the mightiest of mortal rulers is subservient to a god. The relationship between Taneri and mortals is unique; other gods view mortals variously as companions, resources, playthings, or even nuisances, but only Taneri considers them servants-- a role that assigns them a specific purpose. Ironically, they are taskless servants, and their purpose is mere subservience without direction towards any other particular goal.

Taneri is believed by most of the faithful to have fathered the deities Fehn, Kordain, and Rayeb in the womb of Betha, who he mistakenly believed he had taken by force. As Betha foresaw, her children turned Taneri's own seed against him, becoming his most powerful foes. Trickery such as this has always been the Hunter's weakness; his overwhelming reliance on brute force blinds him to his own peril in situations where that same force is being turned against him.

The Hunter is described as a tall, lean man in armor, his face concealed by a visor. He carries a longbow inlaid with silver, and at his belt is a flanged iron cudgel encrusted with garnets that sparkle like droplets of blood. His emblem is an upraised mailed fist, clutching three arrows. Unlike the Hands of many deities, the Hunter's Hands work in close concert with one another. Little is known about their organization, but they maintain a subtle presence in all parts of the world, and have forged ties with numerous individuals in positions of political and military strength.

Jalsilvi, the Hunger

Of all the gods, the Hunger is most noted for his savagery. His single-minded obsession is destruction for destruction's sake, and he takes his glee in tearing down the creations of others. His weapon is the axe, but his favorite tool is fire, for it consumes all it touches with an appetite for destruction as insatiable as his own.

Before the Awakening, the gods set aside various squabbles, drafting the Covenant to prevent their battles from destroying the world they all sought to claim. Since that destruction had always been his goal, Jalsilvi was the sole dissenter, the only god who refused to sign the Covenant that would keep him from Marebo. However, the combined influence of his peers bound Jalsilvi to the Covenant's power nevertheless, despite his protests. He exists now in a prison in the Void away from the world, with Jatta Skyfather's own heart set in the sky above him as a bright warden. It is said that in chaining the insatiable god of fire, Jatta Skyfather showed mortals how to confine fire for their own use, safe from the worst of its destructive potential as long as they are careful.

Jalsilvi was ever a god of fire, but his confinement has made him a god of rage. Mortal servants of the Hunger often identify with this perceived oppression by authority, and lash out destructively as a form of vengeance. Others merely share Jalsilvi's purposelessly destructive tendencies. Though they keep themselves secret and seldom organize into groups, devotees of the Hunger are surprisingly common. Fortunately, fully-empowered Hands of Jalsilvi are quite rare.

Other Adversaries

Exejhith is considered to be an Adversary as well as an Ending. Certain minor sects of the faith consider Corshall or the Sisters to be Adversaries as well, though most of the faithful consider them merely inscrutable or indifferent to mortals, rather than hostile.

[ooc]That is the last of the dwarven gods. All seventeen are written up and posted in this thread. This has been a useful exercise for me!

I'll continue answering questions about them (Eclipse and LordVreeg, I'll get to your posts tomorrow, in all likelihood), and will continue using this thread to post content about other religions in this setting.

The Cardan Faith which I have been describing is a dominant religion, but it is certainly not the only one. I will probably continue next with the goblin-wrought religion of Farras, which hinges upon the idea that souls can flow like water because that is exactly what they are made of.

Thanks again for reading, and I hope you're enjoying it. You guys are the best.
-LC[/ooc]

This post is for answering questions and responding to comments.

Quote from: EclipseI like the all-encompassing nature of Jatta. He's not fully omnipotent, from what I can gather, but he does seem to influence a large number of elements of the world. Question: How widely revered is he? What races revere him most prominently, or is there instead a large, multi-racial church of his worship? Do different churches have different interpretations of him?

How directly does he interact with the world? Does he appear to mortals in visions, grant them powers?[/quote]He seems to be behind major elements of two races '" how directly did he actually do those? What is the spirit of law he gave to the dwarves? What is the blood of prophecy mean?[/quote]I'm getting a really strong, Old Testement Judeo-Christian God from this paragraph. Loving but stern, making contracts with peoples and makes sure they obey it. The focus on oaths is interesting '" for a being so focused on intuition and creativity, why does he also focus so heavily on the sanctity of oaths and vows? Does he operate more on a letter of the law or spirit of the law basis for oaths? Do lawmakers worship him? How does his revilement of oathbreakers manifest in the world? Do his followers enforce it? I could see a really cool bounty-hunter-esque group devoted to Jatta that takes out contracts against people that violate them and make sure they fulfill it. Not hunt down and kill, but find them, and watch over them, making sure they work to fill the contract until the contract is complete.[/quote]So he's the god of Astrology? I like that element '" it's a nice deviation from the normal female minor goddess for astrology, putting it in the hands of a powerful god who almost seems like he deserves a capital G. Are every hunch, premonition, inspiration, etc sent by Jetta, or do some have more mundane (or even sinister) sources? Does the 'watching the lights' work like astrology, interpreting their movements, or is it more of contemplating stellar bodies and eventually being struck with (or gradually gaining) insight?[/quote]Honestly, I had not even thought about it in terms of astrology, which is an interesting angle that I'm glad you mentioned.

Though Jatta is the god of inspiration and intuition, and many people recognize dreams and "gut feelings" to be his preferred modes of communication, it's commonly believed that they aren't all of his sending. For example, the Sisters are also closely entwined in the hearts and heads of mortals, and their whispers are easily mistaken for our own. And of course, there's the everpresent fear of mages who tamper with thoughts (whether they actually can or not, that's another issue.)

As for the actual nature of watching the sky, it varies. Some people are going to get charts and sidereal maps and are going to try to cross-reference the significance of every comet and eclipse and goodness knows what else. Other people are just going to wake up early to watch the sun rise, and maybe get inspired. What could I possibly do to stop them?

[ooc]Lesser than (but comparable to) the Cardan Faith in size and scope is Farras, an ancient goblin religion that revolves around water and the soul. The goblins never had an empire like the dwarves did, so their spreading of their religion lacked that crushing cultural momentum, but goblins have always tended toward wanderlust, and spread their strange faith over the course of their travels.

Unlike the dwarven faith, Farras has no gods, no sentient higher powers. Its authorities are the spirit-drinkers, sorcerors who call upon the spiritual power of water. Farras is founded upon the idea that souls are made of water (and water is made of souls), and that all living creatures are ruled by the phenomena that result from this relationship.[/ooc]


Draw water from the ocean and use it to fill a jar. Within the jar, the water takes on a certain shape, and a certain identity-- for the moment, it's separate from the ocean: an entity of its own.

Smash the jar, or pour out its contents, and the water will eventually flow back to the sea, rejoining the body from which it was taken. Draw more water and fill another jar, and the water you get will never be the same water as you got before, though it will share the kinship of a common source.

We are all water-jars; our souls are drawn from one great repository of spirit-material, to which we return when we die. There is comfort in such a belief. Although an individual personality is wiped away when it rejoins the source, the dead live on in all things that live, drops of their essences intermingled and re-drawn, poured into jars both new and strange.

Water and the Soul

There is a fundamental sameness between the two concepts. A living soul is merely water infused with life; a drop of water is simply a fragment of soul-stuff resting in the interval between death and eventual rebirth. There is a fundamental sameness between all living things, since all souls flow into the same ocean when they die, whether they belonged to oaks or wasps or people. The water that forms your own soul has been reused throughout the millenia, and once belonged to the souls of mighty dragons and strange deep-sea fish, to great goblin warlords and the soldiers their armies crushed. Each life is an unknowable culmination of countless sources, a river fed by myriad tributaries, which will spill one day into the sea.

The Goblin Creation Story

The Sea was a vast and endless expanse, churning and surging with energy beneath a placid surface. The Storm battered the Sea with wind and rain, whipping the water's surface into frenzy, driving the waves to part. When the water parted, the Rock arose from the depths, surfacing dark and rain-slicked, and the storm's winds howled around it. The Rock is fated one day to sink back beneath the surface, returning to the depths that birthed it.

When the rainwater broke itself upon the Rock, each drop cried out with life. The Thousand Tribes were born this way, and whipped into frenzy by the winds of the Storm, they met each other in battle, consuming each other as a larger drop of water devours a smaller one. So it was that only the Ten and Three tribes, strongest of all, remained.

The Sea, the Rock, and the Storm

Farras has no deities, but the Sea, the Rock, and the Storm function as important fixtures of that religion. They are not creature with personalities and identities in the manner of the dwarven gods, but are forces of nature with certain properties and momentum.

The Sea is the oldest of all things, the total of all water in existence. All water is a portion of the sea and subservient to it, just as a finger and hand are subservient to the body to which they belong. The Sea contains all dead souls, and therefore contains all knowledge and all power, which lie in a dormant state. The Sea is infinite potential, eternal and unchangeable.

The Storm represents action, unrest, motion, and strife. It is the only force potent enough to break the calm of the Sea, at the start of all things. Goblins believe themselves to be born of the Storm and still tossed by its winds, crediting the Storm for their inescapable wanderlust. Wars, journeys, discoveries, and other strivings are all manifestations of the Storm, to various degrees.

The Rock is vital to life, yet worldly and transient. It is fated to one day sink beneath the waters of the Sea to which it is subservient, yet we all build our lives upon the Rock and its trappings. The Rock and its ephemeral nature remind us that things which seem solid and important can deceive us, and that even our own bodies are merely temporary shells for the souls they house, fragile and breakable jugs filled with eternal water.

Hmm.  From this I would assume ascetic, goblin monks...

I can see this being somewhat useful in creating a fatalistic horde ready to break their jars all over a city wall...one wonders, however, how the goblin priesthood keeps up with the other orders.  SInce it has been SO LONG since I have spoken about the Jade Stage, I need a crunch refresher, in the nature of deivine magic and what powers can be drawn from above or beyond...

[blockquote=LC][blockquote=Vreeg]'¦I also find it easy to work with the iconic 'skyfather and earthmother' imprints, as they are part of so many real world mythic systems, and I think players will also automatically relate to them well.[/blockquote]
Yeah, they're familiar enough to relate to easily, but broad enough to give you room to work easily. I'm a little worried that the Makers are a little too generic: they're the center of this pantheon, but I also think they're the least interesting part of it.[/blockquote]

In terms of conflict, I agree with you, in terms of how I see them affecting the day-to-day life of the world, I think they do well.  Especially Jatta's position as binder of pacts and the giver of insight.  I think that this would make him invoked very readily.  Not to mention as the bringer of Light.  Maybe less 'personal' than the other gods, but this is typical with father figure deities, and this is only enhanced by the 'Mending of the Broken'.    

What i really like about this is that there is easily appreciable internal logic to it all. None of the elements seem to be silly or out of place; they just fit. Nicely done.

Holy crap, guys; I was looking through the archives for some old half-finished project or another (http://www.thecbg.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?61330), and saw that you had bumped this thread during my hiatus. I am flattered and frankly a little amazed that you apparently find this stuff interesting enough to bump the thread a year and a half after my last contribution to it.

I haven't forgotten this stuff, and more on the subject of religion here is coming up, probably for display on the Wiki. In the meantime, thanks for your continued interest.