Divinity of Khadin

A Bit About Faith

• The Gods

First you have the gods faith: those who worship the gods and recognize the churches of the Lance in Kanith as the leaders and center of spirituality. They abhor primordial worship and godless technology, for it is stated in the divine texts that “technology in the hands of mortals will destroy creation” (except for Karas,who preaches that it is only a tool and should be used responsibly - this tenant is very unpopular amongst the clergy, resulting in her church being nigh invisible, often not present at all, amongst most human and elven populations. But she is one of the dwarven patron deities, a fact that the High Commander used liberally to justify eradication of the dwarves). The church condemns anyone who does not recognize their gods as divinity. The gods faith includes most humans, elves and dwarves. The hobbits were converted by the Church to worship of the gods centuries ago. It is documented that they had originally worshiped some now forgotten pagan nature and agricultural god and goddess.

Most of the gods faith, clerics, paladins and inquisitors, are devoted to a single deity above all others, they recognize the others as gods, though they do not worship them and generally each god and his followers are mortal enemies of other gods and their followers. One of the odd exceptions is the small squat, unadorned church built apart from the ring of churches that surround the Lance itself. It sits in the middle of a small lake on a tiny island and is made of grey stone. Within the walls are lined with shrines, one for every god and goddess of the pantheon. This is the pantheon church, its clergy are devoted to all the gods of the pantheon as a whole, not just a single deity. They are recognized as a part of the church, though they have no seat on the council. The pantheon priests are the choice of pilgrims and missionaries for the Church of Kanith as they are neutral and can represent all the gods at once, have received education on all of the different tenants and philosophies, yet are bound and restricted by none. They are seen as very useful and efficient tools, but their lack of “true dedication” and conviction to a god, makes them disliked by most of the Church. They are seen as lazy or too undedicated to make a proper choice. Often they are sent to remote locations to establish a foothold, lay the groundwork and then if that location proves as significant or useful, the individual gods churches will begin to “send in the troops” to establish proper churches. Based on this strategy, you will not be overly surprised if this doesn’t start to happen in Ree very soon. This has caused some conflict in the past. Most of the faithful, while it is true that they worship the gods, they SERVE the Church. The pantheon priests serve the gods. Some individual gods’ followers do not necessarily want what is best for a community, and the pantheon priests have stood against them before. So now, they are generally only sent to places they are less likely to ever be heard from again. The pantheon priests might take offense to this, but in truth - those places are likely to be exactly where they are most needed.

The other two exceptions I noted early is the followers of Corinth who run and operate out of libraries scattered about major cities and Meredith, who has only a small handful of actual priests, one who attends the council, but they refuse to build a temple, stating that every ship, whether it rides on sea, land or air is her temple. The Church has never liked this response, but you cannot win an argument with a follower of Meredith, and pressing too hard will usually result in bloodshed. Many of the gods faith on the council have been trying to remove Corinth and Meredith’s representatives for centuries, claiming that they’re not fit, they’re not actually gods, or at least not one of “their gods”. But Corinth always provides just the necessary secrets to his faithful to blackmail the opposition into dropping the case and most of them are too afraid to directly confront Meredith, she who wrapped their gods up in nets and would not allow them to track their filth upon her deck.

• Primordials

Then you have the primordials. For the most part, they are not actively worshiped. They’re primordials, whether you worship them or not, the sky will continue to be the sky and the sea will continue to be the sea. Worshiping them as one does a god is what caused the problems long ago that resulted in mortals turning the Lance against heaven in the first place. Worship, sending them that power of faith that gods demand, caused the primordials to develop conscious and ego. They manifested terrible avatars and the world was a dark and terrible place. The children of the gods, nations of elves, dwarves and humans came together and built the enigmatic Lance and destroyed the primordial avatars (which is what the shards are remnants of), restoring the balance, though heaven was forever lost. Druids, the denizens of Kuth and witches venerate and respect the primordials, but do not *worship* them. The only groups known to actively worship the primordials are the Drudges and converted kobolds below Nir, the goblins and those trolls who have allied with them, as well as the small, yet very vocal faction of witches living amongst those south of Ree, who recently have taken to standing around the entrance to the District glaring at everyone. Those who worship or honor the primordials also abhor technology.

• The North

The gnolls, and so far as you know, all of the North, worship nothing - although the way they act, it would seem they worship technology. There are shamans amongst the gnolls, but they do not worship any sort of greater power, but see themselves as peers of the land, as brothers to some sort of totemic animal, a “perfect idea” of an animal that exists and the land and this connection grants them strange powers. Some modern gnoll shamans have even gone so far as to bind their souls to concepts such as iron and steam and call themselves urban shamans. One would think the traditional shamans would take umbrage to this, but oddly they seem to take a stance of “what is right and well for the one is right and well for the one”. Their embrace of godless technology is not the worst of it, they believe that the gods are false. They believe that the gods perished with heaven along with the primordial avatars and that priests are simply tapping into the remnants of the infinite power of heaven itself, not any sort of sentient will. Gnoll commentary: Has anyone ever SEEN a god? Nope. Didn’t think so. Just celestials, which are a dime a dozen. Arak on Fourth Street has a spoiler on his new car that has two celestials bound to it that keep the chrome forever shiny, if those are gods - not impressed.

There are two exceptions to this rule amongst the gnolls, they recognize Meredith and Corinth as cosmic powers, maybe not “gods”, and they certainly do not recognize their church in Kanith as any sort of authority, but they respect and venerate both of these beings. It is common for the seal of Meredith to be present on airships and prayers to her spoken by sailors before a storm. Corinth is respected as the keeper of secrets and mysteries, his name used to invoke the seriousness of a promise of secrecy made. Save for an order of ratfolk priests of Corinth, who are not beholden to the Kanith church (and thus deemed rogue false prophets by the churches of Kanith), neither Meredith nor Corinth has priests in the North.

• Orcs

The orcs, like the gnolls, claim that the gods died. The orcs worship concepts, their shamans may have totemic icons like the gnolls, but this is no more than tribal heraldry, the shamans worship the concepts of order and chaos or some point in between the two extremes of the spectrum. The new orc nation is lead and founded upon the ideal of the balance between the two. The orcs venerate powerful planar beings that represent these concepts, demons, devils, devas, and even stranger powerful planar entities. To the orcs, these are the “new gods”, refusing to accept that these monsters are nothing more than servants themselves to the gods. It’s what they get for taking the word of demons as gospel.

• Nir

The Nir of course were godless heathens as well, quite comfortable with the use and propagation of technology. From what you’ve seen and read of them, it seems pretty clear that in their vanity they worshipped themselves.

• Kaishan

The kaishan “worshiped” a philosophy of balance and tranquility. They had no gods and did not worship any specific beings, but they had specific iconic “guides” to lead them along their philosophical path to tranquility and balance. The elves had tried and failed to convert them some decades ago. It resulted in an unpleasant altercation and the elves were banished from the valley of Kaisha.

• Others

As for the rest of the world beyond Ilren, the North and Ree, you have no idea who, how or what they worship. You’ve heard tales that the fae worship their leaders as living gods, the people of Al-Lorin worshiped powerful elementals, the cyclops worship a big rock, the grippli worship trees and that the centaurs worship...the DEAD.

The Gods of Khadin

• Tol, guardian & protector, patron of guards and one of the major patrons of the Olmon dwarves alongside his sister Karas.
• Karas, the smith, goddess of the forge & metal crafting, artifice, she is a patron goddess of the dwarves of Olmon beside her brother Tol.
• Rhys, the patron goddess of the elves, she is the queen of life, birth & the sun and all light that shines & first shown upon the world to rip it out of the grasp of the primordial, the Mother Night Eternal. Rhys is also the patron of midwives & many healers. Rhys & her brother Alrin shed nine tears of sadness & joy together after the destruction of Heaven. These nine stars shine brighter than all of the stars in the sky and represent the principles of the Order of the Nine Stars.
• Alrin, Rhys' twin brother, another important deity of the elves, the lord of death & the dead. Protector & guide to all who die mortal deaths, he then leads them to their final resting place or else back to his beloved sister so that she may return them to the world. He is lord of the city of the lost, where dwell those souls who are not claimed by other gods to live in their realms or returned to the world to live again.
• The Hagen Rul, Rul is recognized as a god, though he does not have clerics & does not grant powers to any followers, there is an order of holy paladins who embrace him as their patron. These paladins gain their powers from the other gods as a means of honoring Rul for his sacrifice. His church in Kanith is tended by all other churches out of similar respect. He is recognized as a god of honor, duty & sacrafice. He is the guardian of the Gate between Heaven & Creation. His heart is pierced by the tip of the Lance of Kanith from when he cast himself upon it to stop the surge of destruction from spreading to the planes where the other gods sought refuge from the razing of Heaven & Creation as a whole. He holds the tip of the Lance in place as he eternally stands guard at the Gate. It is known that if the Lance is ever pulled free from his heart or if he were to ever perish that the power of the Lance would then consume all of Creation.
• Sahara the Healer, the goddess of healing, both magical & non-magical. Sahara is Rul's lover. Every day she returns to where he bleeds upon the Lance to clean, heal & rebind his wounds. She is the patron of healers, doctors & surgeons. She is also a favorite goddess amongst widows who have lost their mates.
• ????, it's unclear whether or not this god is male, female, both or neither. Most often referred to as a she, this deity of rogues, thieves & cleverness is always hidden in the shadows of Creation. It has no church in Kanith, but has invisible shrines in nearly every city large enough for a thieves guild. It is said to choose it's priests and raise them to her faith. It has no known holy symbols or iconography as the other gods do. Some debate whether or not there is such a god at all, believing that this intangible faith is little more than a ruse amongst thieves.
• Shall, the inventor of murder. Shall is a vain & narcissistic god who likes to dress in the finest of current mortal fashions, but always in black & red. He states that he invented the first murder long ago when he murdered his wife & children. He loved them dearly, but they were slowing him down as he fled the destruction of Heaven. In order to spare them the tragedy they were doomed to & in order to free himself this same fate, because he would perish with them if they lived, he had a fantastic new idea. So he invented murder & used it to destroy them all, allowing him to flee the destruction. Sociopaths & murderers are said to have had been touched by Shall, forever darkening their hearts.
• Arah, the goddess of love, romance, sex & lust. She is the goddess of both romantic love and marriage as well as carnal lust and casual sexual encounters.
• Ilnevar, commerce, wealth, merchants, currency. Ilnevar appears as a splendid man with a silver voice, an endearing smile & charming manner that dresses in clothes heavily embroidered & trimmed in all the metals used in minting coins. He is always interested in buying and/or selling things, but only so long as there is a profit to be made.
• Varron, battle, war, strategy, martial & siege weaponry. Varron is calm & calculating. He is not a god of berserkers or fury, he is cold. He fights with strategy & he fights to win.
• Ilone, agriculture, horticulture, farmers, harvest
• Alessa, music, poetry, literature, literacy & language
• Raullis, wizards, arcane research & lore, alchemy. Raullis appears as an old bearded man wearing blue robes with a staff. He is obsessive with all things related to his realm of influence & rarely ever leaves his domain, much less voyage into the mortal world.
• Ereval, excessive drinking & eating, festivals, debauchery, gluttony. Ereval wears many guises based on the region he is or was most recently in, but is typically disheveled in appearance and in various stages of partial dress. He is fond of attending parties & festivals, his mere presence often sending them well out of control. He is also keen on crashing more somber events & lightening them up (or turning them into orgies).
• Tobrum, mines, miners, excavators, archaeologists, delving below ground - another dwarven patron deity. Short, even for a dwarf, dour & dirty, Tobrum dwells in the deep places underneath the world & the planes. He digs & delves deeper & deeper, often uncovering lost & forgotten secrets.
• Jal, stone cutting, stone masonry, gem cutters - another dwarven patron deity.
• Reeshan, hunters, archery, the hunt
• Avande, wilderness, animals,
• Milsala, marriage, leadership, rulers, heirs, government.
• Faregest, law, legal systems, lawyers. Mr. Faregest is a tall & rigid man dressed in stiff, black formal clothing & hat. He never smiles, save for when he has won a conversation, debate or case - and then it's a discomforting smile to any who witness it. He does not represent any sort of justice or truth. He represents the cold letter of the law, including any loop holes that it leaves for him to weave a noose around the neck of his rivals. Sometimes he is allied with the Justicar and sometimes he is allied with Nerio, whichever he deems most useful to him in winning his current case.
• The Justicar, truth & justice, judges, justicars & righteous punishment. If this god has a name, it's unknown amongst mortals - he only goes by The Justicar. He is a strict judge & believes in truth above & beyond all things. He is always prepared to discern truth, pass judgement & carry out punishment, whether it be imprisonment or execution. He appears as a towering figure in a hooded black robes with chains & shackles wrapped around his waist, wielding an impossibly large hammer.
• Ulina, baking, cooking, brewing, food, drink - a hobbit patron deity. Appearing as a smiling & plump hobbit woman in an apron, Ulina is always preparing food & drink to share with others.
• Kalshek, bloodlust, berserkers, rage.
• Nerio, hatred, strife, lies & deceit.
• Huren, carpentry, wood working, bowyers & fletchers
• Meredith, ships, sailing, rowing, sailors, navigation at sea. Meredith is a strange deity. She was not part of the children that fled Heaven. When the gods fled Heaven they found themselves in an endless sea of chaos, for the planes had yet to be formed. A massive ship came upon them & Meredith was it's captain. She scooped the gods up in her nets, but would not allow them on the deck. She sailed them all over the planes, dropping each of them off on small islands that would become the seed that each of the gods domains would grow & spread from. Meredith appears to be a human with dark, almost black, skin and impossibly bright blue eyes. She is very practical & her mood is quick to change depending on the situation. Her enemy nemesis is the storm primordial who's dreams manifest in a variety of terrible storms to try & drown her.
• Corinth, rodents, secrets & mysteries. Like Meredith, Corinth is not one of the children of Heaven. He was already crawling around within Creation when they began to play with it. He is a rat, or many rats, sometimes he's a squirrel or a beaver. He watches & listens to the world & the planes. He is the keeper of secrets and hoarder of mysteries. He is known to trade secrets for secrets, but the mysteries are for him alone until another unfolds the truth - and in that moment, he is there, probably unnoticed to them, smiling his ratty grin.
• ????,

The Primordials

The Primordials existed before Creation. They do not have names, though many cultures & civilizations through time have labeled them & called them by many names. They had created a place referred to as Heaven within Chaos where they could dwell. When the Lance of Kanith pierced Heaven and set it aflame, the Primordials were right atop the rupture between Heaven and Creation and their forms were shattered and the flaming shards rained down upon Creation. The will of a Primordial cannot be destroyed, thus they continue to have power & influence in the world, but they cannot directly influence Creation, forcing them to rely upon the pathetic mortal creatures they loathe. The Primordials dream of revenge against Creation and their children, the gods.

• The Hunger, destruction, oblivion - seen as an eternally hungry & devouring force. A symbol of cannibalism and other unwholesome aspects of carnal appetite. The Hunger seeks to consume & end all things, including Time & Inevitability. Only then can it cease to be as well. This is the patron of the Grangou kobolds that inhabit Nir.
• Maiden of the Night Eternal, she is the absence of that which never was (not destruction or oblivion, that is the Hunger), associated with wasted potential, loss, fear & unseen terrors of the psyche. She is often confused as a power of the dark rather than as the absence of light, but she is also the absence of darkness. She is the virgin mother who gave birth to both Rhys & Alrin, the first who be counted amongst the gods, who are light and darkness. She is the Tenth Star, which is the sun - for only the sun gives birth to light and dark (that the Maiden of Night that is nothing IS also the sun confuses many, who just shrug it off as crazy primordial nonsense). Many hags honor the Maiden.
• The Horizon, void, air, wind, the sky above & the space beyond it
• The Mother of the World, the earth, mountains, the world as a whole. She is revered by many druids & witches as well as The Horizon & The Deep.
• The Deep, the ocean is his body and the rivers & lakes his flowing blood.
• Time, the enigmatic primordial of time
• The Binding, inevitability
• The Mystic, magic, spells
• Cataclysm, storms, earthquakes, cataclysms