The Strand of Worlds and the Divine Filament
The degree of involvement of the gods in Rhyshar is is flexible and can be calibrated for different campaigns that use this setting. On one end of the spectrum, the gods may choose to actively intervene in the final stages of Rhyshar's confrontation with the Unmaking, on the other extreme they may be completely absent or detached. This interaction can be calibrated for the tone of the campaign which you and your players wish to experience.
There are many worlds, this much is known. These worlds were shaped and formed into a continuous strand encircling the heavens. Rhyshar was a member of this circumference - a luminous pearl in a great celestial necklace. Woven around this circuit of worlds was another heavenly filament - a separate chain of moons; the domains of the gods. The great strand of worlds spanned across the cosmos wreathed and blessed by the filament of divine moons. The domains of the gods orbited the realms of mortals, each in turn visiting upon Rhyshar briefly before cycling onwards in eternal procession.
Blessed by the gods and under their watchful cycle, Rhyshar flourished, her people became great, her societies blossomed, and in that enlightenment magic swelled and many wonders were created. The gods were proud of Rhyshar and her people, and the people of Rhyshar were also proud - not of the gods, but of themselves. Pride led to hubris, hubris to conflict, and conflict led to The Severing. Its causes are lost to memory - but Rhyshar was wrenched from its celestial creche and set to drift, cast away and orphaned.
As a result of The Severing began to drift, slowly but inexorably towards the great void and the outer planes where the devouring hunger of chaotic and elemental energies will render it asunder in an impending acocalypse known as The Unmaking.
For the mortals of Rhyshar this has been a slow exile, not a hasty execution. Perhaps it is the gods' design that Rhyshar's peoples have time to meditate their plight, or perhaps time is an inconsequential thing to the eternal divines. Whatever the reason, generations passed and Rhyshar watched from afar as her former siblings drift past, each bathed in the blessed light of the divine filament. That divine illumination did not fall upon Rhyshar, only it's reflection in the faces of the other worlds. The heavenly procession of the Divine Filament continues ever onwards and the gods gaze down on Rhyshar., but they do not visit, they do not intervene, and what thoughts they have about our wayward planet are beyond mortal ken or comprehension.
Despite this cold indifference as Rhyshar drifts ever closer towards her entropic demise, many of Rhyshar's peoples still worship the gods - calling out to them with anguished prayer and solemn vows - trusting that their benevolence will restore the world to its former place in the celestial strand. Each revolution of the divine filament gives rise to heightened worship of the god whose turn arrives in procession. Often during such divine perigee the most zealous worshipers become manic in their desire to appease the passing deity.
No-one from Rhyshar has visited the Divine Filament. Legend tells that before the Severing it was possible for mortals who proved themselves as the greatest champions of the gods were invited to visit the divine realms as they passed by in heavenly procession.
The Divine Moons
The divine moons and the domains of the gods are named - each recognizable for its unique size, color, and orientation within the heavens.The following are placeholder names that I am working to iterate upon as I continue building the setting.
- Latheros - Truth and Justice
- War and Song
- Fertility and Fate
- Beasts and the Hunt
- The Sea and Storms
- Wisdom and Sight
- Death and Order
- Dream and Prophecy
- Art and Revelry
- Weather and Motion
- Crafting and Poetry
- Cunning and Guile
Geography
Each of the divine moons is a realm entirely of its own - theology and legend tells that each moon has a landscape, features, and ecology which are a physical embodiment of the god which dwells there and his or her domain.
History
The Divine Filament has existed since the beginning of creation, or if there was anything before it - only the gods may know.
You look up in the night sky and witness the procession of the Divine Filament gleaming against the darkness of the void beyond. The gleaming eye of Latheros gazes ever-watchful upon the doomed face of Rhyshar.
Alternative Name(s)
The Domains of the Gods
Type
Planetary Orbit
Included Organizations
Owning Organization
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