Prime Deities
In the forming of Aethér, seven deities were pulled from the roiling wild of Chaos and given shape. Their existence in the world remains self-evident, as their gifts of magics, or their fateful or guiding hands affect and shift the cosmos. They have no fixed form or being comprehensible to mortals, but across regions and countries, their depictions follow certain trends as those who are visited by their aspects tell of or create art of their appearances. This summary records the modern Angorian depictions of the gods of Aethér, shown in main halls and temples as humans. However, individual shrines, smaller temples, personal art and altars vary greatly in their depictions.
Aleadra – (Head) Life
Radar-Riel – War
Iov – Grave
Kasya – Nature
Einar – Twilight
Anmok – Death
Selk – Trickery
Aleadra (ʌ-le’-drə)
Head of the Pantheon
Archetype: The Empress
Domains: Forge, Arcana, Life, Order
Titles: Creator, Architect of Creation
Depiction: A dark skinned woman resplendent in a silken white stola. In one hand, she holds Aether’s light; in the other, a worn and battered adze.
Holy Symbol: A simple copper adze
Temples: Long, magnificent Greek-styled halls filled with high art and artists
Followers: Artists, leaders, tradesmen
Conflict: Civilization/immortality
Origin: From where fire meets earth and gives life to new things, so stepped a woman: skin as dark as the obsidian stone around her, who took her axe and gave form to the world. And so shaped chaos.
Ally: Radar-Riel
Friends: Iov, Einar
Against: Selk, Kasya
Enemy: Anmok
Notes: As the Goddess of Civilization, cities are hers. Aleadra in enmity with Anmok is a major conflict; civilization vs. wilderness, death vs. immortality.
Radar-Riel (‘rʌ-dɑr ‘raɪ-ɛl)
Archetype: The High Judge
Domains: War, Order, Knowledge
Titles: Divine Strategist, Architect of War
Depiction: Most often shown as a powerfully built man with burnished skin draped in fine silk robes, a book in one hand and a sword in the other. He has been known to his followers to appear as a humble old man imparting a wise lesson, or as a raging warrior drenched in blood tearing his way through a battle.
Holy Symbol: Blood lotus, oftentimes inscribed with the personal philosophy of the bearer
Temples: Open air gardens meant for reflection and training, filled with debating philosophers, scholars, scribes and teachers
Followers: Philosophers, warriors, scribes
Conflict: mindfulness/justice
Origin: When first order was given to chaos, so too was the first blood spilled. From this red earth rose Radar-Riel who forged weapons from the blood of gods and bent battles to his will. And so shaped chaos.
Ally to: Aleadra
Friendly to: Selk, Iov
Against: Anmok, Einar
Enemy of: Kasya
Iov (ɔv)
Archetype: The Oracle
Domains: Knowledge, Grave, Arcana
Titles: The Lady of Mysteries, Architect of Fate
Depiction: A pale young woman draped in a cloak, the left half of her face obscured by a hood. A cosmic serpent bound and entangled by her twin sister Kasya.
Holy Symbol: entwined black serpents
Temples: Her places of worship are often underground and on the outskirts of cities, home to healers, sages, alchemists, and arcanists. She shares temples with her twin Kasya.
Followers: Sages, wizards, and grave keepers
Conflict: safety/fate
Origins: As the threads of Aethér spread, they began to form patterns and spirals of fate. So Iov was formed from these threads. She ordered them, gave shape to them, weaved them. In time, she learned to read their secrets, and in knowing the unknowable, bound all of creation in Aethér’s web. And so shaped chaos.
Codex Doctrina, the prophecy of the world: a living prophecy written across the world in sky and stone, in omens and events. It is a vast thing and an ever-changing thing. One prophecy may tell of the death of a king while another will tell of that king’s victory over his enemies. They are branches of fate. Normally only immortal or very long-lived creatures dedicate themselves to learning to read the signs or piece together the many strands of prophecies.
Ally: Kasya
Friends: Einar, Aleadra, Radar-Riel
Against: Anmok
Enemy: Selk
Notes: As Aethér’s psychopomp, Iov shepherds the dead on their final journey. In exchange, they whisper to her their secrets.
Kasya (‘kɑs-yə)
Archetype: The Witch
Domains: Life, Nature, Tempest
Titles: Lady of the Unbound Path, Architect of Freedom
Depiction: A pale young woman shrouded in a cloak, the right half of her face hidden by a hood. A cosmic serpent made of living storm entwined with her twin sister Iov.
Holy Symbol: Entwined bone-white snakes
Temples: Her places of worship are often underground and on the outskirts of cities, home to healers, sages, alchemists, and arcanists. She shares temples with her twin Iov.
Followers: Healers, druids, alchemists, revelers
Conflict: compassion/freewill
Origin: From the moment the threads of fate bound creation, so too the wild will of the world strained against the binding. From this was formed Kasya, who entwined her sister, creating balance. And so shaped chaos.
Ally: Iov
Friends: Anmok, Einar
Against: Aleadra
Enemy: Radar-Riel
Einar (ɪ’nɑr)
Archetype: The Knight
Domains: Light, Twilight, Life
Titles: The Light in the Dark, Architect of Hope
Depiction: Most often, a noble soldier dressed for battle in heavy armor, their helm plumed and visor obscuring their face. A broad shield in one hand, the other holding their lantern high to ward away the darkness. Sometimes as a young masculine figure with hands extended, or as an armored feminine figure bearing a shield.
Holy Symbol: A lantern with an ever-burning flame
Temples: Gateways, lighthouses, and crossroads dedicated to them house ever burning fires. In these places, the poor are always kept warm, the weak are protected, and the needy fed.
Followers: Adventurers, travelers, sailors, guards
Conflict: courage/honesty
Origins: The first light cut through the darkness, taking shape to ward and save. Its warmth expanded, creating courage and a path between the dark places. And so shaped chaos.
Ally: Kasya
Friends: Iov, Aleadra
Against: Selk, Radar-Riel
Enemy: Anmok
Anmok (‘ɑn-mɑk)
Archetype: Death
Domains: Death, Nature, Tempest, War
Titles: Devourer, Architect of Death
Depiction: A towering black wolf with eyes made of fire. Less often, in human form as a pallid, red-headed man draped in bloody furs, wielding a cleaver.
Holy Symbol: A snarling wolf head cast in silver
Temples: There are no temples to Anmok. Sometimes, deep in the wilds, one can find shrines covered in bloody pelts.
Followers: Hunters, rangers, murderers
Conflict: wilderness/death
Origins: See the images of truth: the dead of winter, the first death, the dying man alone in the wilderness, the hunt, the kill. These things are Anmok. And so shaped chaos.
Ally: Selk
Friends: Kasya
Against: Radar-Riel, Iov, Einar
Enemy: Aleadra
Notes: Anmok is said to devour the souls of the dead who die in the darkest reaches of Aether. All of the deepest wilderness is his domain.
Selk (sɛlk)
Archetype: The Trickster
Domains: Trickery, Knowledge, Death
Titles: The Survivor, Architect of Knots
Depiction: He appears as either a weathered old man in patchwork clothing with an ironic smile and six eyes, or as a large spider.
Holy Symbol: Blackened coin
Temples: Shrines in back rooms of shady establishments, a carving above a particularly dark passageway
Followers: Prisoners, criminals, survivors, thieves
Conflict: freedom/deception
Origins: Selk was once a mortal who was fated to die but too clever to let it happen. His antics displeased the Gods so much that each in turn attempted to kill him. He in turn tricked each one until finally tricking the secrets of Godhood from Aleadra.
Ally: Anmok
Friends: Radar-Riel, Kasya
Against: Aleadra, Einar
Enemy: Iov
Notes: Though he is the god of trickery and deception, he is invoked when making compacts, as Selk will know if there is any deception by either party and punish them. A ritual known as Selk’s Cut is used during the making of important deals. The ritual is as follows:
A chawan is placed upon the table, the inside of the bowl coated with Nerium. When the deal is made, both parties place two coins in the bowl – one for them, one for Selk. If either party is intent upon deceiving the other, the poison will kill them as they draw their coin from the bowl. Criminals will often use this ritual symbolically and only place coins in the bowl for Selk to gain his favor.
Primal Powers – Primordials
Name: Ubuden. Element: Earth. Affinity: hunger Ravenous. Symbol: ouroboros. Manifestation: spreading corruption, wildlife goes mad and nature turns to pure violence. Domain: Far beneath the earth.
Name: Maug. Element: Air. Affinity: power Tyranny. Symbol: three pronged lightning. Manifestation: Wild magic storms. Domain: Stratosphere
Name: Otte. Element: Fire. Affinity: cleansing Purification. Symbol: Sun spear. Manifestation: Everburning wildfire. Domain: Wherever the rock burns.
Name: Achuak. Element: water. Affinity: the mysteries. Symbol counterclockwise spiral. Manifestation: great maelstroms and sea beasts. Domain: the crushing depths of the sea.
Name: Fange. Element: Void. Affinity: siphon. Symbol: Radmir constellation. Manifestation: A sickly aurora that drains life from the world. Domain: Beyond Aether.
The first and most powerful children of the primal forces were the dragons who gave names to the world – the Sunless.
A minor manifestation of a primal force is the Valenar. Animals that have been born with a spark of that power.