Gods of Foundation

The Gods of Foundation are the primary gods of the Genasi. They were a group of Young Gods, who came to the race after they abandoned their corrupted creators, the Elemental Princes. Having been essentially dependent on the Princes, the Genasi struggled after their rebellion. They had found a purpose in resistance, but lacked the tools to maintain their culture without their gods to guide them. Some assimilated into the cultures of their mortal parents, while others sought new Culture Gods to guide them. The Gods of Foundation were one such group, first worshipped by a large population of genasi in Caino.
The Faith of Foundation then spread, in no small part through the migration of water genasi, to Suto and parts of Yethera. It is arguably the uniting influence of the faith that has allowed the genasi to establish their undoubted influence in the formation and administration of both the Elysian Federation and the Empire of the Southern Sun. The faith is a religion of empires and order; the 'foundation' its name refers to is - according to the sacred texts - 'the rock on which civilisation is built.'
They are seven in number, one for each of the elements, one each for the great lights of the sky - Soraes and Doraes - and the Archon, the embodiment of harmony and order. Their traditions and rituals are threaded throughout the shared culture of The Elysian Federation, and also have influence over the Empire of the Southern Sun and Genasi populations in Suto. The symbol of the Faith is the Heptagram, a seven pointed star with one, continuous side, often contained by a ring or disc.

The Archon

The principal god of the Faith of Foundation has a number of names, but is known in the Federation - and thus to the core of their worshippers - as the Archon. In the Empire, they are called the Imperator. They are the god of harmony and orde, of continuity and conservation, authority and righteous rule, and resistance to the inexorable march of time. They are the god of the mountains, embodied in the stone of both the Skystone Peaks and the Greenwall. They have pride of place in Federation temples, and their primarchs are most often the priests who hold electoral and other high temporal offices. The symbol of the Archon is a coronet of three points, set with a single stone, which could also represent three mountains.

The Four

Second to the Archon are the Four, the Gods of Foundation who represent the planar elements, and thus act as surrogate parents to the four 'families' of Genasi. As a result of this identification, there is a loose and strictly informal association of the different elemental heritage with the social functions represented by 'their' god, and the aspects of the eladrinate soul.
The Sage is the god of fire, intellect and passion. As his name implies, he is a patron of scholars, teachers and students, and encompasses learning, reason, languages, mathematics and philosophies both orthodox and radical within his divine portfolio. To the faith, however, scholarship is no dry study, but a pursuit of passion; likewise, passion should be tempered with thought and reason. As the war god of the Faith, he stands for the art of war, rather than its fury. He is often depicted with spear and shield, the weapons of a soldier, but his symbol is the scroll.
The Builder is the god of water, crafts and change. She represents transformation and the spirit of creativity, storytelling and diplomacy, and the currents of time that lead from history to legacy. The Builder stands for both the course of progress and the mutability of history, and as such is often depicted with two faces; the second, on the back of her head and blindfolded to symbolise that even recent history is more subjecte to interpretation than direct observation. She is a patron of builders, storytellers, historians, artisans and poets, and while sometimes depicted holding a hammer, her prefered symbol is a set of compasses.
The Farmer is the god of earth, of agriculture and also the hearth, stability and defiance. She is the god of both social and legal contracts, and a keeper of vows in whose name oaths are sworn. She is a patron of lawyers and the sanctifier of marriages, the defender of boundaries and the rock on which Foundation rests. She is depicted carrying a mattock, with which she prepares the earth for her sister to build on, although her most common symbol is a single flame rising from a stylised hearth.
The Traveler is the god of the air, of movement and travel, discovery and deception. He is the trickster of the Faith, but also the inquisitive; the questioner and the disruptor. His actions, and sacred actions in his name, chage the world. They lack the intention and scope of effect of the Builder's works, but are often the start of a much greater chain of consequence. His symbol is a traveller's crooked staff.

The Two

The Faith of Foundation is completed by the Two, who stand apart from the Four and represent the Divine Twins. In the mythology of the Faith, where the Four are the Archon's lieutenants, the Two are their counsellors, and patrons of he anbstract and the cosmic.
The Healer is the god of the sun and the day, of life and of new birth. She is also the god of time and of sickness, however, and especially of sunstrokes and fevers, and a patron of judges and jurists as well as doctors, the sponsor of those who tend to the health of the individual or society. Her symbol is a solar disc with four points, like a compass rose, and four rays between them..
The Dreamer is the god of the moon. The dark reflection of his sister, he is the god of night, dreams and endings. He presides over sleep and rest, but also over restlessness and weariness. He stands as the patron and protector of the desperate, and those with no other recourse. His symbol is the moon, in any phase, although most often the crescent, which simultaneously represents revelation and concealment.