Difference between revisions of "The Pantheon"

Latest revision as of 01:00, 22 August 2008

Of Amor, Armor, and Alchemy

The Old Gods

In the Beginning, there was one god, or possibly two, or possibly a force somewhere between the two. It or They created the world and the heavens, the seas and the stars. But alone, all these things were empty. Rather than reign supreme over a vast desolation, It/They split itself into 10 fragments, it's children and successors, to share and enjoy what it had created.

The Young Gods There are 8 young gods plus Amor, who, although technically a young god, holds a significantly higher station. The young gods filled the world of the Old Gods with creatures and plants and art and music and language. Each created his or her domain, and wrought beautiful or terrible creatures to honor them. Amor, the goddess of love, took as her realm the three smallest island continents of the world, and called them Amora. There, she feasted the other gods, whom she loved all equally, and bore each of them offspring with which to people her islands. But so desired was she by all that soon the other gods fell to quarrelling over who should possess her. So they made war on each other, sending their great beasts and creations to lay waste to each others' realms. Amor, who loved them all, refused to participate, asking only that they spare her small islands, and offering that place as a peaceful land where all the gods and their spawn might find refuge.
It is unclear how long the war of the gods lasted, but in the end, the realms of the gods lay in pieces, shattered and charred. One by one, each of them came to Amor and begged refuge in the only land that remained, Amora, for themselves and what remained of their creations. Amor, who saw only the good in each of them, took all in and bade them be welcome, but made them swear that never again would they war on each other. Since this reconciliation, it has been 99 generations.

It is important to note that although the pantheon is the same from race to race, only the highest, wisest, and most insightful religious scholars realize that this is the case, at least fully. It is unclear if lesser gods exist, representing fractions of each god, or whether the forms that each god are worshipped in in each culture are merely facets of each god. Oddly enough, some facets are shared by gods, presenting some religious quandaries.
That is to say: the pantheon of each race appears different: different gods, with different names, with different primacies and so forth. That at their heart they all stem from the same divine beings is metagame knowledge for most characters.

Amor:Amor is the goddess of all Amora, and all the sentient races other than the fae and the elementals are her children. Every race honors her, and her priests and priestesses are held sacred and inviolate no matter where they go. Examples of her facets/lesser dieties are desire/lust, compassion/mercy, companionship/brotherly love, Fire, beauty, etc.

Hate: God of hatred. His facets are vengeance, cruelty, anger, Fire, war etc.

Strength: God of strength, mental, physical, or emotional. Also incorporates the facets of toughness and steadfastness. Other important facets are earth, bravery, indifference, and loyalty.

Death: the goddess of endings. Other facets include entropy/change, decay, disease, corrosion, sleep, wind, and night.

Creation: The goddess/god (there is dispute among different groups) of creation. facets include craftsmanship, birth, order (and by extension political order and justice), water.

Wisdom: Goddess of intelligence, wisdom, and insight. other facets include justice, cunning, knowledge, water and magic.

Creativity: Goddess of originality, creativity, madness, the sky/stars etc.

Truth/Falsehood: a double god, representing two polar opposites. The god of beggars/thieves, of day and night, often overlapping patronage/facets with the goddess of creativity.

Fear: the god of fear, greed, jealousy. Many overlapping facets with Hate.