Craevan, the Bastard God. He encourages his followers to redeem themselves after Child of Asmodeus and Venarion. God of Redemption, Sacrifice, Forgiveness, Compassion, and Temperance.
Not all beings whom turn to good do so from a place of good, redemption is a difficult and sacrificial act. Many destroy themselves trying to attain it, many more lose their nerve and do not attain it. Craevan is the lord of redemption and guides those that seek to redeem themselves not just in the eyes of their peers but also in their own eyes. To admit weakness is a difficult thing, to truly change even more so. Although Craevan does not speak, he watches and commands plenty from his silent watch over the souls of mortals.
Church of Craevan
Worshippers
Prisoners, the lonely, monks, missionaries. Those seeking redemption, those that have been outcasted - the lame, the poor, the unfortunate, the orphaned, the sickened, the bastardised.
His clergy are known as the
Penitent Ones. They are in tune with the emotions of their people. They help lovers find acceptance, work with artists to help reach their potential, and raise morale during times of disaster and war. They help counsel victims and preach the acceptance of new friendships rather than the nursing of old wounds.
They live simply, using their abilities to help people in need and alleviate their pain.
Temples & Shrines
Craevan holds no great temples and no prominent shrines - rather, he has great nomadic gatherings that travel in caravans, preaching and aiding rural and urban communities - seeking out those in greatest need and those that face hardship. Some call them the
Penitent Processions, some more harshly call them
Bastard Strings - handing out food, medicine and giving blessings and aides to all those that would hear them and accept them. But many distrust the followers of the Half-Fiend, and they have faced dangers in the past - but the clergy of Craevan take this duty regardless.
Even when waylaid by bandits, they shall seek to redeem them and change them of their ways - though still under scrutiny, many believe that these trains of clerics work in tandem with local or new bandit groups.
Realm
Residing in the
Island of Renewal in the Fields of Elysium.
Divine Domains
Life - Light - Peace
Holy Books & Codes
Divine Symbol
A bleeding crown of thorns with roses growing on them, on a crying male face.
Tenets of Faith
- Lead with mercy, patience, and compassion. Inspire others to unite in fellowship.
- Aid those who are without guide. Heal those who are without hope.
- Those who are beyond redemption, who revel in slaughter and remorseless evil, must meet swift justice.
Dogma
His belief is that the corrupt can be redeemed, though this led to a betrayal by the Lord of the Hells that left most of his following decimated in the Calamity. After the Divergence, their influence diminished further, and his temples fell to ruin.
Though his faith has been recently discovered, his holy days long forgotten, and his followers have yet to reach a consensus on how and when to celebrate their festivals.
For followers of Craevan, religious activity and worship is mostly private and passed down through tradition rather than centralised temples and institutionally trained.
He is seemingly the patron of small emotions, both positive and negative. He also represents the forgiveness of wrongs.
Divine Goals & Aspirations
He seeks to offer those redemption where there is none - to offer those who may have been of blackest of heart, and grant them the option, the hope, of a better future. A chance to change, to turn their life around and make the world a better place.
Personal History
He is the child between two lawful deities, Venarion the Platinum Dragon and Asmodeus the Lord of the Nine Hells, during the time of
Honour's Folly. Ever since he has been treated as an outcast and an enigma in the divine pantheon. Though he tends to act alone, he prefers it this way, he does not need the aid of others, as his mission is to redeem those that need it the most.
He was once known as a being of hatred and evil, born late and after the Great Founding - in the time when humanity seemed in bloom, and Asmodeus was plotting his schemes within Baator. He sought his fathers favour, and rival that of his step-sister, Belial, as an Archdevil of one of the Nine Hells. He sought to gain the favour through reckless pursuits in the Material Plane. Known as the
Seven Sufferings. One to seven of the differing Divinities of the Prime Pantheon, the Primordial Green and the Exiled Ones.
He accosted many divinities during this time - seeking to gain souls for bargain to strengthen his father, and weakening the other divinities.
His first and darkest Suffering, was the corruption and the manipulation of the once great guardian that sought to divide the Devils and the Demons from the Prime Material - the being that would soon be known as Bane. He ebbed and toyed and manipulated the great being, and caused doubt to enter his heart - making him question the value of the station he was brought in amongst the Prime Divinities. Making him watch over the evils within Hades, Acheron and Pandemonium constantly - why does he endure in perpetual purgatory, while the others enjoy the prayers and joys of their children. Bane was one of the mightiest beings, should he not share in the joys? Should he not have children of his own of which to be proud of - could he not hold a legion that would bear the fruits of his own burden, those that would fight and be reborn as his stalwart warriors? He defends the whole world, and they owe it to him. He should reign supreme. All the races should bow to him, for he holds back the Abyss and the Hells. He could raise a great army against the Blood War and end it. He just needs the perfect soldiers. With this, Bane was un-phased, but doubt entered his heart - and the being eventually abandoned his post, and the world suffered for it - Bane corrupted the ancient Aethallar, beings that had grown from the Primordial Green, and were transformed by his own making of strife and dead into the goblins. He first attempted with the goblins, breeding well to swell his armies, but they were found to be cowardly and tricky, and were cast aside as fodder. His second attempt was to make great and tall and strong armed warriors, and thus came the Bugbears, but they were lax and brutish, lacking discipline and temperament. Thus, this third attempt, he attempted to fashion after himself - the Hobgoblins. Smart, fearless, and strong. He was satisfied, but the Divine Pantheon was horrified, and cast him out. From there, the Abyss came, and the Cataclysm occurred.
In his second Suffering, it was Craevan that led the Spring Maiden astray and aided Bane in his kidnapping of her, hoping to appease his anger after being cast out of the Divine Pantheon. He sought to send the world into disarray and break the seasons cycle, but grant him the 'wife' of his desires - earning the ire of Pelor and the other gods. Leading to her eventual corruption as Persephone of the Underworld. Bane was satisfied with this. But he failed in his task of keeping his souls, but weakened the power of Pelor in the process - he did not succeed in gaining his fathers favour.
In his third Suffering, Craevan had meddled with one of the Exiled Ones - Quorlinn. He wished to 'aid' him, in bringing his own children to the world to do his bidding in aid of a greater sky god (potentially Pelor). But through his twisting machinations, he tricked Quorlinn into his fall - and his children suffered for it, and he in turn had to hear their voices for eternity. They lost their wings, their ability to speak and their ability to learn new skills. Craevan had tried to gift his father these things, but Asmodeus was not pleased - but furious, unappeased by this lowly god that now attained powers over criminals - though it did create a rivalry between Erathis and Quorlinn.
In his fourth and fifth Suffering, Craevan sought the souls of the beasts of the world - seeing the potential to turn these into beasts of war for his father. And thus, set out to raise the ire of Hyana the Surrogate Huntress and the Horned King Asterion. He pitted the two into a rivalry, satiating Hyana's inherent bloodlust and Asterions pride over nature and his spite against the spread of civilisation. But in his ploys, he had incidentally trapped them in the Abyss, and they rose to power as great Demon Lords, empowering the Abyss with greater demons. In response, the Spirit Tree and the Duke of Decay harboured over the lost Gnolls and Minotaur, and the souls of beasts that were under Asterion's sway, and interlinked them with Gwynngilliad... causing a split divide between the Feywild and the Material Plane. The Spirit Tree would ensure that the souls of beasts and animals, aided by Melora, would be sent properly to their resting place in the Beastlands - but held a constant vigil within the two realms, dividing himself.
In his sixth Suffering, Craevan then attempted to oust Maevericki, the Humble Friend, to try and break his unbreakable promises and defer him down to the wrath of his terrible aunt, Sincainea, the Vice Maiden. Though the constant tries and attempts were met by infuriating bellowing laughter and joy as so many miseries and mischief was taken with joy and humility. He could not conceive of how this being continued this merry charade, for surely none could feel this way. Craevan contemplated this for a long time, his mind fraught with indecision and a strange sensation.
In the seventh Suffering, his last pursuit, he challenged Romeus, hoping that he could take the overwhelming power of grief and sorrow and consume the world in these feelings in place of love. But Craevan did not anticipate the beauty and the charm of the Lord of Love or the Sovereign of Sorrow. When he confronted the loveliness of Romeus, he paused in amazement. Craevan realised that even he, a personification of all hatred, could not hate such a beautiful creature, and threw himself at Romeus' feet, offering to kill himself to atone for his unworthy emotions. Romeus took pity upon the half-fiend, and gave him a heart of glass. This heart transformed Craevan from a spirit of dark passion to one that represented all powerful emotions, as well as the emotion of forgiveness. It took a long and arduous time, and many labours to atone for his sins, but the heart slowly held less cracks as he found his way into forgiving himself.
This led to his Path of Redemption. To which, he visited two powerful deities to answer for his sins and request punishment, and forgiveness. His two divine parents - Asmodeus & Venarion.
The legends are unsure to whom he visited first, and stories tell it differently - the version to which the Penitent Ones tell, and the ones that despise Craevan tell.
In the former, he saw his past misdeeds and sought after Venarion - he gave himself to his father, and fell to the floor, begging for forgiveness. But Venarion does not take kindly to words or promises, he is concerned with action - and the only means that he can repent is the spread of good. He was appalled by the actions of his child, and cast him out, never to return to his domain.
Then he went to Asmodeus, and made his oath to dissuade his powers over those that have committed great evils - and offered peace and redemption. Just as he sought after it. He accepted the burdens of the bloodline of Asmodeus, the Tiefling's, and sought to grant them peace and not the infernal lineage that cast shadows over their form. From this he was cast out.
In the latter myth, it is believed that he is secretly plotting with Asmodeus to further his powers by attempting to redeem others, only to make their fall from grace even greater and sweeter - to inform those seeking redemption and be further tempted towards evil. He swore an oath to Venarion to uphold the law and promise to watch over the weak and weary and the ostracized.
His following was lax and took long to build up, as none believed in the deity that was the spawn of Asmodeus. His actions proved to be worthy, and they eventually gained more favourable reputations between the Arcane Era and the Divergence.
However, as the Divine War came once again - his following fell further and was broken.
His Church remained broken, and was presided over as more of a sect in the aftermath of the Divergence. Gaining momentum after 600 years, and rose to prominence even further after the Rift Schism.
Physical Appearance
He is neither jealous nor territorial. He could expand his influence by taking a more interventionist role in mortal affairs, thereby accumulating more followers, but he remains somewhat aloof from the world. He could have chosen another worshipper that could have praised him before the masses and encouraged the building of temples, but he did not. He is also willing to forgive and redeem transgressions of their followers.
