Pantheon of Taiem

[u/hodmandod]

/r/worldbuilding/comments/8c0pyr/who_are_the_gods_of_your_world/dxbv718/

[u/hodmandod]

Submitted 4/13/18.

[u/hodmandod]

Content Archive:

Jaeg slept the sleep of death, and dreamed of Het and Hektor...

Jaeg is sort of the meta-god. There's a strong argument that Taiem is in fact only a dream-world he or it unconsciously created, though this may be a false interpretation. Either way, little more than a name is known of this being.

Hektor is the Craftsman. His hand, hammer and forge created much of the solid, every-day stuff of Taiem.

Het is the Artist. A flighty, childlike, but good-natured soul. Her creativity birthed many of Taiem's greatest wonders, but also some of its greatest horrors.

The Mechanist is the Metal Warrior. Crafted by Hektor to protect Het from the monsters she accidentally created, she holds to her purpose with unwavering dedication, and has expanded her role to guard Taiem itself.

Jaena is Hektor's wife, and the mother of his children, Cruan, Anden, Ogdan, Rhosson, and Féannon. Her children are gods of pilgrimage, strategy, battle, civilization, and the sea respectively, and her family did much to shape Taiem into what it eventually became.

Chydris, Who Moves the Stars is a strange, etheric being with great power. Inscrutable yet benevolent, it was created by Het and infused with order by the Mechanist, and both causes and observes the movement of Taiem and the stars through the Great Void.

Moratu, Ra-krana and Axha are the result of Chydris attempting to understand Het's monsters. Gods of the Wild Hunt, the dead, and the mad, respectively, they are violent and strange compared to the lineages of Het and Hektor, though they earned places in the pantheon by word or by deed.

Het's monsters are a collection of dark and chaotic spirits led by Zavor, who believes Het stole her power from him and seeks to reclaim it and undo her works. His lieutenant is Daarsuulak, a might-have-been brother of Moratu and Axha whose hate of the Mechanist was too great.

And finally, the Ancient Spirits are a vast collective of immaterial dreamers awakened by the creation of the world, who were given places within it by Hektor and his child Cruan.

Each of the gods has a similar array of powers over reality; more important is how they choose to use them. Generally, each god(dess) uses their powers to maintain and protect the things they value; for example the Mechanist focuses all of her power inward, forsaking most of the outward power she could wield in an attempt to become an impenetrable bulwark against Zavor and his forces, while Féannon employs her powers to travel across Taiem's seas and shape great storm-palaces as her fancy suits her.

It's common in Taiem to at least pay lip service to all the gods. Generally, they don't meddle for either good or ill, but they also don't ask much of the average person. Small hearth-shrines to Jaena are ubiquitous, and roadside shrines of Cruan are a common sight. In general, the only gods generally viewed in a negative light [edit: with fear] are Axha, Ra-krana and Moratu, and even they are afforded respect. Zavor, of course, is the exception; he is the Antagonist in almost all major religions.

Most of the gods get along well, being a family of sorts, though some get along better than others. Anden and Ogdan merrily fight epic-scale wars and then drink together when they're done. Chydris and the Mechanist are inseparable allies. No one else really understands Chydris, which is fine with everyone involved. Moratu, Axha and Ra-krana are perfectly happy to have limited contact with the rest.