Usurpers of the Death's Head Throne

In the realm of the dead, Necronus’s rule was absolute.  His son Oran, born of the Goddess Neela, served his father, shepherding the dead to his father's realm.  As more and more nations worshiped death, the size of the realm expanded forever outward, and soon whole kingdoms rose up within its depths.  The rulers of the kingdoms grew in power, and were soon worshiped of their own.  They warred among themselves endlessly, but over time there came to be four powers within the realms of death.  Three of them rose up against Necronus, usurping the Death’s Head Throne.

Oran embarked on a quest to retake his father’s throne, joined by his half siblings Kor Anar and Helante.  Along their journey, they discovered the existence of Harkonis, a bestial creature born of the ancient god Karnos and a mortal woman.  Once he was defeated, he became loyal to Oran.  They were also joined by a trio of mortals.  together, this group of gods and mortals retook the realm of the dead.

This particular event is so important very specifically because it marks the creation of the very first human deities.  The three usurpers, their kingdoms lost, continued to strive to gain power against the gods that overthrew them.

Koros - god of tyranny, hate, domination

Vesha - goddess of murder and assassination

Desadd - god of pain, torture, lies

While the three mortal warriors, having embodied the most noble of human qualities, also came into godhood.

Artaran - god of healing and endurance

Torell - god of justice, duty and loyalty

Brogun - god of protection

Before these six gods were elevated, Humans exclusively worshiped the deities of the central pantheon.  Afterward, as time went on, other mortal were elevated to godhood as well.  The entire human pantheon is composed of mortal humans that have attained godhood.

Zonolis - god of thieves and shadows

Selenis - goddess of still water, streams and waterfalls

Rutland Bri - god of merchants and wealth

Phaelora - goddess of joy, happiness, dance and festivals

Garun - god of beasts

Aacune - goddess of poetry, art and scribes

Daelun - god of ships and sailing

Oran, in his role as death, has come to be worshiped as a true god of death, all but assuming his father’s mantle.  Harkonis has become the defender of the realms of the dead.

Of the four powers within the realm of the dead, only three rose up against Harkonis.  The fourth power, Charbrak, remained the ruler of his kingdom within the realm of the dead, becoming the God of undeath.

The largest churches among human civilization are all devoted to the Three; Artaran,Torell and Brogun.  while temples to the central gods, and to the wider human pantheon are common, the Churches of the Three are huge and opulent, with influence that rivals even the royal family.  Within the Churches of the Three,  there is a singular entity that is beginning to gain power.  A central figure representing the singular strength of the church referred to as the High Lord of Light has begun to be referenced from within the church, although it’s uncertain exactly what a god created by it’s own church might be.

The Central Pantheon

The Central Pantheon are the gods upon which all other pantheons revolve.  While specific races will have gods that they pray to that represent them, the central pantheon is universal.  The original gods were created by Karnak, the High God of Chaos that was forged with the world.

Originally, he crafted six gods.  With the exception of the Dragon Gods Tiamat & Bahamut, these are considered to be the very first gods in existence.

Ashar - the god of the sky
Ninsara - the goddess of the earth
Karnos - the god of war
Naium - the goddess of water
Ishara - the goddess of sex
Ogun - the god of fire

These six deities are given such a wide domain of power that soon they were collectively stronger even than Karnak.  Ashar, their leader and the strongest of them, led them against their patriarch and Karnak was destroyed.  While the chaos sewn by Karnak into the fabric of reality is felt even to this day, These six deities became the center of all worship in the world.  Ashar ruled over them, dedicating them to protecting his seat of power.

The first new god to join them was Neela, a single elf who discovered how to manipulate the raw, powerful magic that permeated the early world, becoming the first spellcaster.  So strong was her ability that she became the goddess of magic.  As an elevated mortal, she was technically the first demigod, but in truth her power was so great that she even rivaled Ashar.  She became the consort of Obin, the strongest of the Feylords, and their children became the Elven Gods.

The gods began to have children themselves.  Ashar was intensely watchful of the birth of their children, not wanting anything to dilute his own godhead.  He allowed almost no children except his own with the goddess Ninsara.  Their four children were Stratonus, Necronus, Oceadon & Onuva.  The only other new god he allowed to exist was Neires, the daughter of Karnos & Naium, who was meant to be a consort to Stratonus, thereby maintaining Ashar’s line.  All these gods were denied power, as Ashar feared his own downfall. This continued even as Neries bore the children of Stratonus; Kor Anar, Tarrok, Solos, Aluna and Nelem.

When Oceadon and Ishara had a child, Ashar viewed it as a pollution of his godhead and punished them by destroying Ishara and elevating their daughter Valena to become the new goddess of sex.  The understanding that Ashar would destroy the gods if they had children outside his plan for his own children became truly problematic when Stratonus, his oldest and the father of his grandchildren, fathered a daughter with Neela, consort of Obin of the feylords and mother goddess to the elven pantheon.  For Ashar to attempt to punish Neela for this perceived slight against his godhead would be to challenge Neela, who's expansive power had never been gauged, but also the elven gods and the feylords. Creation couldn't possibly survive such a conflict, and yet Ashar prepared to act.

Instead,  Stratonus led the gods against his father.  Ashar and his brother Karnos were both destroyed, while their wives Ninsara & Naium were permitted to abandon their godheads and become mortal. Ogun chose to abandon his domain and be reborn as Argus, the god of crafting.

Thus, the Central Pantheon came to power:

Stratonus - God of the Heavens
Necronus - God of the Dead & of the Earth
Oceadon - God of the Seas
Onuva - Goddess of Fertility
Argus - God of Crafting
Neela - Goddess of Magic

Neries, the Goddess of Motherhood, notably declined a seat at the Pantheon, choosing to defer to her husband.  Also, the younger gods, having fought alongside their progenitors, also took places within the pantheon.

Valena - Goddess of Sex
Tarrok - God of War
Solos - God of Light
Aluna - Goddess of the Moon
Nelem - God of Youth

Helante, the child of Stratonus and Neela, also took a place as the Goddess of Wisdom.  Only Kor Anar, the God of Storms and the oldest of the children of Stratonus and Neries declined a place.

Interestingly, even though the twelve person counsel of the pantheon seems to have been created haphazardly with Neries & Kor Anar declining seats, that number quickly became fixed.  The pantheon MUST have twelve members on it's counsel. Never more and never less.

The great conflict between the gods that destroyed Ashar and his host that brought about the Pantheon had many names.  It was marked by a series of wars and disasters among the mortals that very nearly destroyed the world.  The gods may never have met victory, had Stratonus not been assisted by the Dwarven Gods.  Fel Dwarf, Barek Undermountain, Bardurn Fel, Arkun Stonehammer, Surdek Brightbeard & Tordurn Stoutforge all came to the aid of the younger gods.

The elven gods had a far greater stake in the outcome of the conflict because Neela was threatened by Ashar, but played a smaller role. Parax of the high elven remained neutral while Kapun of the wood elves fought alongside the younger gods.

Creation Deities

None of the deities of Creation are worshiped normally.  They exist more as points of scholarly interest, facts about the creation of the universe as we know it that modern science is beginning to only faintly understand.  Nonetheless, The beings of creations are incomprehensively powerful, far beyond the scope of Gods as we know them.

Despite not having traditional worshipers, some of these beings do have agents in the mortal world, or are observed by ancient traditions that predate religion.

In the space between creation, there is only the Old Ones, beings whose very existence defies reality & makes a mockery of sanity.  They are ancient and unknowable.  The greatest of these is Geddon, The Slumbering One.  Geddon awakens only to unmake all reality, and to breath it anew.  The Awakening of Geddon marks the end of the world.

When reality as we know it was created the last time Geddon woke, there were only three beings that survived.  The first was Io, the Great Dragon.  Io is the father of the two Dragon Gods that are worshiped by all dragons, Tiamat the god of evil dragons and Bahamut the god of good dragons.  These are the oldest gods in existence, and Dragons are among the oldest creatures in all the world.

The second being to survive the creation of reality was The Great Crafter.  It is unknown what form he took but it was he that forged the sparks of life that took root in the magic of the world and became all the different lifeforms that populate the world.  Notably, it was the castings of the Great Crafter’s forge that took root in the mountains and became the Dwarven Gods.  Because of this, the dwarves still reference the Great Crafter in their worship of the Dwarven Gods, although he is not considered a god himself.

The third survivor is far less knowable.  It has been called the firstspark, the lifespirit, or the Seedling.  It is this being that flooded the new world with raw magic.  At the time, magic was pure, undiluted, and above all else, powerful.  It was this magic that fertilized the lifeseeds of the Great Crafter.  It was this being that created the Feylords, the powerful creatures of raw magic and natural energy that brought about the shape and form of the natural world.  The most powerful Feylord was Obin, who would go on to create the Fey and become the founder of several pantheons of Gods of magical races.  Some of the earliest people, before there was religion, would commune with the Feylords, becoming the earliest Druids. 

Other than the beings that survived the creation of the universe, there was a single God forged by Geddon meant to serve as the single god overseeing all of existence.  Karnak was a God of Chaos, and his machinations over life, magic & creation forged the world as we’ve come to know it.  He created gods of his own, the earliest of the central pantheon of gods, and ultimately this proved his downfall, as these gods would eventually betray and kill him.  While the influence of the Chaos of Karnak is felt to this day, the deity himself is deceased.

It’s noteworthy that the creation gods are more a function of history than religion.  The druidic observances that communed with the Feylords continue to this day, but they were not considered religious observances, and they were never considered Gods, and were never prayed to.  The Old Ones have no observances in their names in any sense, although their influence is still felt through warlocks.

While none of these creatures have TRUE religions in their name, there are some minor cults that venerate them, although these are perversions of true religion.

The Pantheons of the Magical Races

The faith practiced by Druids isn't a religion in the conventional sense of the world.  They aren't praying to a deity.  Rather, they commune with the ancient energies that exist within the natural world.  These energies are part of the feylords, the ancient beings that predate even elven civilization.  The most powerful of the Feylords is Obin.  He is the God of the Fey, and the Progenitor God of many of the Magical races. 

His consort is Neela, The Goddess of Magic of the Central Pantheon.  Their oldest children are Parax, Kalun & Shaeza, the patron gods of the three elven races, who went on to spawn their own pantheons.  Their younger children, Aleena & Karabrak, are the patron gods of the sea & avian elves.   

The elven gods aren't the only children of Obin, however.  He has had three further children.  Fawn, Hoben Heart & Grun are completely different Gods, each of them patron gods of entirely separate races.  Their only commonality is their origin with the feymagic.

Gods of the Halflings

Fawn -  patron goddess of the Halflings.  Goddess of friendship, trust, home, family, life & happiness

Sharpfoot - God of stealth, thievery, adventure & luck

Greenheart -  Goddess of earth, nature, agriculture, & weather

Deepbelly -  God of ale, feasts, dance, music & naps

Gods of the Gnomes

Baden Burn – Central God of the Gnomes (notably NOT their patriarch deity), God of humor, cunning, wit, &  trickery

Keldin Krex – God of travel & cities

Lonas Loban – Goddess of illusion & magic

Garbek Gerdn – God of invention & luck

Findels Frisk – God of Greed
(Hoben Heart – Deceased patron god of the Gnomes.  God of protection, smithing, earth & combat.  Killed by Shaeza of the Dark Elves)

Gods of the Orc

Grun – patron god of the Orc.  God of conquest, warfare, survival, territory, & fire

Ro – God of strength

Wei – Goddess of fertility, medicine, healing & servitude

Kaas - God of darkness, thieves, death & disease

The connections between the Gods of the Magical Races are buried in their distant past.  The actual worshipers of these gods barely acknowledge those relationships beyond mere historical quandary.  Nonetheless, they exist. 

The death of Hoben Heart at the hands of Shaeza, the goddess of the dark elves, is a major event in the history of the Gnomish people, for it marked the downfall of their great gnomish cities.  The dark elves cast them out, and left them wanderers and nomads.  It was indicative of the disempowerment of their people, but it was the Gnome’s reliance on their cunning and wit that elevated Baden Burn to become the new central god of their pantheon.

it’s also worth pointing out that the children of Obin each represent an alignment. Parax, the patron god of the high elves, is lawful good.  Kalun, the patron god of wood elves, is chaotic neutral.  Shaeza, the patron goddess of dark elves, is neutral evil.  Aleena, the patron goddess of sea elves, is lawful neutral.  Karabrak, the patron god of avian elves, is lawful evil.  Fawn, the patron goddess of halflings, is neutral good.  Hoben Heart, and his successor Baden Burn are chaotic good.  And lastly, Grun, the patron god of the orc, is chaotic evil.  Obin himself is true neutral.  This functions as a hidden pantheon, a truth about these central gods that represents their relationship with each other, despite the fact that, with the exception of the elven deities, all exist in separate, largely unrelated pantheons.

Elven Pantheon

Elven culture predates any recorded history.  Their own history is inseparable from their mythology.  Before any other race had built their own society, the elven cultures were already ancient. 

Elves do not have a familial structure within their society.  There is no marriage, and no notion of parenthood.  Children are raised by all the adults in their lives, and become individuals and adults when they decide to. 

Their Gods, therefore, have no extended familial connections.  There are three central elven deities that are related to the three central offshoots of the Elven people, and each of the Gods is related in some way to those three.

The Gods of the High Elves:

Parax- paragon god of High Elves, light & peace.

Naiume- goddess of beauty, poetry, romance & music

Garelas Forel- god of learning & magic

Carkenin- god of harvest, gardens, crafting & building

Koldenaine- god of time & life

The Gods of the Wood Elves:

Kalun- paragon god of the Wood Elves, nature & storms

Eolwyn- goddess of martial prowess, dance, archery & hunting

Alon Harlen- god of rogues, change & animals

Dondona- goddess of healing, the sun & home

Pelinome- goddess of the moon, dreams, long journeys & death

The Gods of the Dark Elves

Shaeza- paragon goddess of the Dark Elves, sadness, assassins, death

Cyrokilix- goddess of battle &bloodlust

Vondalis Kurn – goddess of slavery, vengeance & poision

Kelgabrim – god of thieves & male subservience

There are two more Elven paragon gods that represent two far less ancient Elven races.

Aleena- patron goddess of Sea Elves, knowledge, memory & water.

Karabrak- patron god of Avian Elves, anger, law, war, honor, pride & territory.

Of these two, only Karabrak has an undergod, although she is only an infant deity and as such has no clerics or worshipers yet.

Lorileen – infant goddess of song.

The Elven Gods are part of a larger tapestry of magical races.  Gnomes, Halfling, Fey & Orc all worship gods born of the same circumstances, although they are totally separate pantheons.  In understanding all their separate origins, the nature of their cosmology begins to take a more concrete form.  Still, it all seems very loosely organized as the Gods have very little to do with each other, unlike the Dwarven Gods who are locked tightly into their familial units. This is perhaps the key difference between Elves & Dwarves from which all other differences stem; that for one race, family is the cornerstone of their culture, while the other rejects the notion entirely.

Dwarven Pantheon

Dwarf families are the center of their culture, and clans the center of their families.  Clans are largely made up of family groups, although women will leave their clan to join their husbands.  Men will almost never leave their clans, unless it is to begin a clan all their own.  This is rare, and yet there are hundreds, perhaps thousands of Dwarf clans of various sizes.  All of them are connected to each other through an intricate tapestry of marriages and blood.

Virtually every Dwarven clan can trace itself to one of the nine great clans.  Each of them holds a unique role within the history of the Dwarves.  The great clans all have patron deities, and the relationships between those deities mirror the ancient relationships between those clans.

Clan Dwarf

The oldest & richest clan.  Its halls are long lost, and the stuff of legend, as are the lost riches hidden within. 

Patron Gods:

Fel Dwarf (patriarch), the god of wealth & grandfathers

Aleena Dwarf (matriarch), the goddess of the clans & of grandmothers

(Their children are Bardun Fel & Barek Undermountain)

Clan Undermountain

Home to the deepest, furthest reaching & most ancient of all the Dwarven Mines.

Patron Gods:

Barek Undermountain (patriarch), God of Mining & Uncles, son of Fel Dwarf

Saeshine Undermountain (matriarch), Goddess of Gemstones & Aunts. 

Kaebrim Undermountain, God of Exploration & Cousins. Son of Barek Undermountain

Clan Fel

Among the smallest of the great clans, it is renowned for producing the greatest of Dwarven warriors, and for brewing the finest Dwarven Ale. 

Patron Gods:

Bardun Fel (patriarch), God of Battle & Fathers, son of Fel Dwarf

Miyra Fell (matriarch), Goddess of Home, Hearth & Mothers

Arkun Stonehammer, God of War, Son of Bardun Fel

Surdek Brightbeard, God of Brawling, Joy, Alcohol & Beards, Son of Bardun Fel

(Their additional children are Tordurn Stoutforge, Goldheart Sunderin &their daughter Ione Halbert)

Clan Strakenhold

Within the cracked mountain, the Halls of Strakenhold are open, and have become a trading city.

Patron Gods:

Coven Strakenhold (patriarch), God of Greed

Brightheart Strakenhold (matriarch), Goddess of trickery & thieves. 

Kaeliee Strakenhold, Goddess of Lust & Romantic Love, daughter of Coven Strakenhold

Ubarun Shade, God of Death & Exiles (no longer with his family clan)

(Their additional child is their daughter Helja Stoutforge)

Clan Stoutforge

The single largest Dwarven Clan, home to the greatest Dwarven crafters.  Acknowledged as the center of Dwarven Culture.

Patron Gods:

Tordurn Stoutforge (patriarch), God of Smithing & Heroes, son of Bardun Fel

Helja Stoutforge (matriarch), Goddess of Marriage & Wives, daughter of Coven Strakenhold

Farek Flamebeard, God of Fire & Forge, son of Tordurn Stortforge

(Their additional children are Baergrin Brawnkeln & their daughter Naelis Goldheim)

Clan Sunderin

The Wandering Clan.  With the smallest & most shallow of the great clans, They are noted for their wanderlust, often serving as traders between the other great clans.  Overlanders most often meet Dwarves of Clan Sunderin, or it’s Underclans.

Patron Gods:

Goldheart Sunderin (patriarch), God of Travel, Lightening & Brothers, son of Bardun Fel

Lysria Sunderin (matriarch), Goddess of Healing & the Moon

Harkin Wildax, God of Hunting, Surivial & Nephews, son of Goldheart Sunderin

Flagon Goldscales, God of Law & Merchants, son of Goldheart Sunderin

Clan Halbert

Home of the Great Libraries, the Ancient School of Learning, & the Grand Workshops.

Patron Gods:

Durnden Halbert (patriarch), God of Teaching

Ione Halbert (matriarch), Goddess of Learning & Sisters, daughter of Bardun Fel

Brakenburn Truespark, God of Invention, Son of Durnden Halbert

Shanee Halbert, Goddess of Chaste Courtship & Nieces, Daughter of Durnden Halbert

Clan Brawnkeln

The most fortified & impregnable of the Great Halls, also called the Last Fortress.  It’s warriors are famously unmovable.

Patron Gods:

Baergrin Brawnkeln (patriarch), God of Protection, Watchfulness & Sons, son of Tordurn Stoutforge

Yalune Brawnkeln (matriarch), Goddess of Midwives & Childbirth

Fabrin Brawnkeln, Goddess of Familial Duty & Granddaughters, daughter of Baergrin Brawnkeln

Xaznie Brawnkeln, Infant Goddess of Rebellion, daughter of Baergrin Brawnkeln

Clan Goldheim

Home to the Enchanters Guild, the Dwarven equivalent of a mages guild.

Patron Gods:

Osrik Goldheim (patriarch), God of Oaths & Darkness

Naelis Goldheim (matriarch), Goddess of Enchanting & Daughters, daughter of Tordurn Stoutforge

Vandal Goldheim, God of Youth, Adventure & Grandsons, son of Osrik Goldheim

Kargen Goldheim, Infant God of Light, son of Osrik Goldheim

The Dwarven faith also acknowledges The Great Crafter, one of the only beings to survive the becoming of all.  The great crafter forged life into existence from within the mountains, seeding all creation.  The castings of his forge became the Dwarven Gods, who in turn forged the Dwarves themselves.

It’s worth pointing out that all the Dwarven Gods are structured around a central extended family, all branching from Tordurn Stoutforge.  Unlike other races where the patriarch among the gods is the most honored, The Dwarves honor all the familial roles, acknowledging Gods of Fatherhood, Motherhood, Son and Daughter, Grandfather and Grandsons, Aunts, Cousins… Even In-Laws are acknowledged within their Pantheon.

This of course means that all of Tordurn’s relationships are reflected with the Dwarven People, who cast themselves as him.  Tordurn becomes unique among Gods, then, because he is “I”, he is the Hero Dwarves most identify with.  Despite not being the Father of all Dwarves, Tordurn effectively leads the Pantheon.

Also, you might notice that the roles of women within the Pantheon are notably limited.  Even Kaeliee Strakenhold, goddess of romantic love, is vilified, as romantic love is seen as the antithesis of familial duty, the driving force behind Dwarven marriages. The Dwarven people are rigorously bound to their traditions of home and family, and Dwarven women are expected to serve their family and clan in traditional roles of mother, wife, and caretaker of the home.  This isn’t always the case, of course, and the infant goddess Xaznie Brawnkeln is growning to represent that deviation from tradition.  She is far too young to be truly worshiped, and as yet has no clerics, but as her influence grows perhaps more Dwarven maidens will rebel against the rigid cultural traditions that bind them to the hearth.