Ages of Lingusia: The Eastern Gods of Zued

This is the last entry on the many gods of Lingusia! There are more, but these suffice for the purposes of the Ages of Lingusia series.

Gods of the Eastern Kingdoms

   While many gods of the Middle Kingdoms can be gound in the Eastern Kingdoms, there are a few additional deities found exclusively in that domain, Including:

Bashtron               

Profile: guardianship, civic duty, culture, veneration of the dead

Alignment: Lawful

   In the great eastern city of Zued, a cult venerating the founding king of the city, Bashtron, has thrived as the civic religion of all kings since. Bashtron was revered in life as the first man to bring true civilization to the east, and as the stabilizing force which united the ancient tribes of Zued in to a powerful kingdom. His priesthood claims he was elevated to demiurge status by the gods, and as such, he has kept vigilant watch over the people of Zued and its environs ever since.

      The priesthood is small but dedicated. Usually, last-born sons of lesser nobles and wealthy merchants are given to the temple at an early age. They are raised in the temple and taught the secrets of the order. The priests of Basthron maintain the Necropolis and catacombs of the city, as well as the Library and the Hall of Rulers, where more than two hundred great statues have been erected to venerate the great line of kings going back to Bashtron.

Appearance: Bashtron’s idols depict him as a great, bearded warrior riding a sphinx, his legendary mount and companion called Eygilias. The beast was said to have been a terror to the coast lands where Zued was founded, and one of the many tasks Bashtron had to complete was the taming of this wild beast.

Jannos

Profile: winds, the sacred oasis, fire, life, called Lord of the Sacred Oasis

Alignment: neutrality

Favored Weapons: The scimitar, bow, and dagger.

    The Ny’koddin Wastes are a land of desert genies, spirits, djinn, and other elemental beings feared by the rough nomads of the region. Jannos is their queen, a sorcerous demigod and mistress of spirits, as well as the entity which protects the nomads from such beings.

   Jannos is seen as the counterbalance to the dreadful lord of the sand, Ravanos, and the merciless lord of the sun, Naq’ril. Jannos is the spirit of air and fire, the guardian of the precious resources of the land, and the spirit which takes pity on man.

   A dedicated cult to Jannos can be found among the Ny’koddin nomads. These shamans are potent summoners and diviners.

   Jannos appears as a whirlwind of desert sand and wind, with a vaguely humanoid appearance, which can change in to a monstrous dragon of sand when enraged.

Naq’ril                   

See the Middle Kingdoms Pantheon

   Naq’ril is the Eastron Kingdoms’ name for Naril, the god of the sun and man. His worship in this land is similar, and more can be read of this god in Naril’s entry in the section on the Middle Kingdoms Pantheon.

Ravanos

The Reaver

Profile: The Death Dealer, Reaver of the Desert Sands, Old God of Kadantania, Patron of Hotepsala

Alignment: chaos

   Ravanos, the devil of the desert, reaver of the winds, is a terrible demiurge who dominates the lands of the Ny’Koddin wastes and Hotepsala. Within the desert lands he is feared and his haggard cult serves to appease and control him. Within the lands of the Hotepsalans, a controlling priesthood sacrifices to him regularly in exchange for power and the control of their people.

   Ravanos is believed to have been a principle god of the old Kadantanians, and evidence for such can be found in their ancient ruins. Ravanos may have been driven out by the god Amech, and forced to exist on the fringes of his native territory, with no choice but to bond to the eastern pantheon. Many suspect that Ravanos would dearly love to return to being worshipped in Amech, and that the Hadrosian expansion is part of just such an effort.

   Ravanos appears as a demonic dust storm with the guise of a hideous entity swirling within. Ravanos seems to be as much a elemental being as a demiurge, and many travelers in the Ny’Koddin Wastes can speak of actually seeing him appear.

Ages of Lingusia: The Elvish and Dwarven Pantheons and the Lost Gods

The Elvish Gods:

Selene

(See main entry)

Ailyenarion

Profile: pyromancy, fire, strong tempers

Alignment: neutrality

   The oldest tales found say that Ailyenarion was the first man to steal fire from he heavens, and bring it to fellow men. In later times Ailyenarion was known to be a powerful demiurge of fire in the realms of Old Galonia. His power was great, and his worship spread to the suetheinurian elves, among which the members of house Ilmatar took to his worship, learning their ways of pyromancy. He was a god who walked always in mortal form, said to have once been an Avatar of Naril, who sought to learn the edicts of the sun god, and follow in his ways. He was still a demiurge, however, a force of the land, the physical embodiment of fire. He had not yet achieved his divine form.

   Alas, the ancient Galonian pantheon fell in to ruin, as too many of its gods were said to have been slain in the great War, when the heavens were ripped asunder, and the Lords of Chaos fought against Order. Twelve gods among the Galonians fell in mortal form, and when Ailyenarion fell, it is said his body ignited in a great burning flame, like a sun fallen upon the earth, and he immolated ten thousand devonin warriors sieging his citadel in the Valley of the Gods in Galvonar.

   Ailyenarion’s citadel was blasted into slag by his passing, but a fragment of his essence and spirit still rests in the flames of every camp fire, candle, and dancing ember in the world. The elves of house Ilmatar claim they can still commune with him through his fiery being, and that his true spirit passed on to the divine realm of Naril upon his death.

Appearance: Ailyenarion was a great warrior of human and elvish traits, wreathed in limnal flame

Cerybane

Profile: fae lands, the courts of the faerie queen, fae magic          

Alignment: neutrality

Not a weak or forgotten goddess, Cerybane is highly esoteric nonetheless. Cerybane is the demiurge of the fae realms, the keeper of the Weirding. In Lingusia, her followers number mostly among fae folk, Kythians, and faerie kin. She is cared for and worshipped by the Siviante elves of Amech.

   In legend, Cerybane was said to be the daughter of the first King and Queen of the faerie, and was touched with the divine gift by Amech, who became enraptured with her beauty. She eventually left the fae realms to join Amech in his jungle citadel, where they ruled for eons before the War of the Gods. They fell together in battle, and now exist in the celestial heavens, presiding over their demiplanes.

 Appearance: Cerybane is petite, of the smaller elvish kin, and indescribably beautiful. Her elvish priests do not even try depict her form, instead using runes and abstract depictions of flowers to symbolize her in art.

Elisin

(see main entry)

Temina

Profile: fae lands, the courts of the faerie queen, fae magic          

Alignment: neutrality

   Temina is a fae being, a daughter of Selene who sought to make her mother happy by creating music and enriching the world with art. Her followers are small in number, but are almost all bards. A few priests favor Temina as well, though they usually follow the training of bards, too.

   Temina appears to be a radiantly attractive young half-elven woman who can play any instrument and sing any song with utter perfection.

The Dwarven Gods:

Ashturak

(See main antry)

   Ashturak is the forger god, and is indeed regarded as  a dwarf in nature even by humans. Ashturak is revered among dwarven architects and craftsmen for the wisdom he imparts in the design of objects, weapons and structures. Any dwarven fortress must be blessed by this god periodically or receive bad luck.

Enoctris

Profile: darkness, the underworld, miners

Alignment: neutrality

   Enoctris is the shadowy patron of the miners in the deeps of the world, and keeper of the lost souls of the dark. Though specifically a goddess of the dwarves, she might also be a member of the death pantheon.

Hargameth

(See main entry)

   The dwarves of Lingusia hold a deep respect for this god of warfare and seek his blessing before any engagement against one or more of their many mountain dwelling or underworld foes.

Kishar

Profile: caretaker, home and hearth, patron of dwarven women

Alignment: lawful

   Kishar is the goddess of dwarven women and the homestead, keeper of children and safety. She has an active priesthood among dwarven women, and is seen as a goddess of good fortune among all.

Sin

(See main entry for Selene)

   Sin is the dwarven name for the moon goddess, who is regarded as something of a protector to the dwarven mountaineers and trail blazers of the world. Among dwarves, unlike elves, men may belong to her priesthood.

The Mysteries:

Ashuar

Profile: protector of secrets, keeper of mysteries

Alignment: neutrality

   Ashuar is a mysterious god who is said to himself embody the nature of mystery as his aspect. An esoteric cult in the Monastery of Senampar, near the legendary Tomblands of the Mountains of Madness are reverent to him, as are some of the older cults descended from the lost Thaygiri of Il’Madhar.

Aurumurvox

Profile: oblivion, guardian of the crumbling and forgotten

Alignment: neutrality

   Aurumurvox is the enigmatic keeper of the Orb of Oblivion, and is said to dwell in physical form within a loating tower in the fabled ruins of Corti’Zahn. Little is known about him, and there are no known cults that worship this entity in the Empire Era.

Damortus

Profile: Lord of the Armageddon Tower, Keeper of the Tree of Life

Alignment: neutrality

   Damortus is described as a keeper and watcher of the divine relics in the form of the legendary Tree of Life and the Armageddon Tower, a vast structure in the Dreamlands few can claim to have visited. Damortus is revered in Il’Madhar by some relic cults, but is otherwise not worshipped. A handful of dream priests of Akuuris eventually become aware of this deity and either learn to fear him or take up his worship, as well.

Eldarath

Profile: lord of magic, keeper of emptiness

Alignment: neutrality

   Eldarath is not worshipped by anyone today, but his temples from the era of the Prehunates can still be found in the remote jungles of Amech. Little is known of this deity other than the fact that his lost temples often contain terrifyingly powerful ancient magic.

Plot Note: It was within a prehunate temple of Eldarath that an ancient amulet was found by the Shadow Gods Phaedra and Unarak, a device which could siphon the divine life energy of a wounded god and channel it in to the device’s bearer. This device was used on Vishannu to great effect. How it is connected to Eldarath is unknown.

Surviving Prehunates

   The Prehunates of old were an entire race of human-like beings that challenged the very gods in a bid to steal divine power and immortality. The ancient civilization of these precocious sorcerers was destroyed by the gods, but even today tens of thousands of years later a few are still known to exist in one form or another. Known living prehunates include Diannysos (who is slumbering deep in an ancient temple in Chigros), Eskandar (whose soul is locked in to seven parts of an ancient amulet), and Zelkarod (about whom little is known). In this era little is known of these lost immortals, and no one worships them.

All text copyright 2011 by Nicholas Bergquist, all rights reserved