Brand

The Butcher, The Herald of War (a.k.a. Brant, Lorcan, Demarcus, Perthonis)

Brand is the god of slaughter, fear, destruction, and disasters. He is typically viewed as the single greatest antagonistic figure in the Imperial Pantheon and, while he may be given offers of placation, is largely shunned and feared. Brand visits disasters such as tornados, earthquakes, famine, and his favorite, fire, especially wildfires. Things such as storms and floods are typically attributed to Anwen, but occasionally especially violent examples are credited to Brand. Brand delights in war and seeks to bring it to all corners of the world. Brand encourages his followers to delight in the slaughter of their enemies. To sow panic and death in the world and to revel in the exhilaration that comes with taking another's life. Brand also delights in the creation and use of the undead. The ability for a warrior to continue fighting even after they have died is often viewed highly among his clergy. This delight often puts him and his followers at odds with Cicely and Celestine.

In the Central Pantheon - Brant

Brant's domain is essentially identical to that of his Imperial counterpart. Brant is said to be the greatest of all the deities in the Central Pantheon, such that none of them might stand against him in single combat. Brant hates the children of Arrigo (often said to be his brother) and seeks to spread misery and suffering among them whenever possible.

In the Western Pantheon - Lorcan

In the Western Pantheon, Lorcan is believed to be the eldest of the ancestor gods and the father to the Orc race. He represents the primal origins of the Orcish race, long before the advent of language and culture. Lorcan is also far less overtly antagonistic than his other incarnations. He is a god of bestial ferocity and feral strength, especially to those in times of desperation. He is believed to be something like the divine manifestation of the "fight" half of the "fight or flight" response; a patron deity who lends ferocity to those backed into a corner. Lorcan is not, however, a god to be treated with lightly. He is cagey, irrational, quick to anger, and devastating in his wrath. He lacks nearly any coherent intelligence and is most beastial than any of the Western Gods except Ossídri.
There is an offshoot of this belief within the Orcs and Goblinoids of Gorgonoth. While they still believe Lorcan to be their progenitor, this version of Lorcan is explicitly violent and hateful. For Orcs and Goblinoids, he advocates unity to each other and hatred toward others. His clerics fuel their belief that the other races of the world abandoned them in the distant past and that they must pay in blood for both their crime and for treating them like the enemies. Many of Gorgonoth's citizens believe the Lord of War to be Lorcan's champion or even his physical avatar.

In the Southern Pantheon - Demarcus

Demarcus is a god of slaughter, hate, rage, and suffering. He hates the other gods, especially Theophane, his brother, for usurping his position as head of the Pantheon and stealing away the worship of the mortal races which he believes are rightfully his. Demarcus is a cruel, merciless warlord. He shares some similarities to Baeldin and Ferregine, but there are some subtle, but key differences of which many with a more passing understanding of the Southern Pantheon are likely to be unaware of. Unlike Baledin, whose ferocity is savage and wild, Demarcus is cunning and calculating. Unlike Ferregine, who desires control and domination, Demarcus cares only for death and destruction. Demarcus is the divine manifestation of war's horrors in the Southern Pantheon and he is tireless in his workings against the other deities. Like his Imperial counterpart, Demarcus is strongly linked with fire, specifically used as a weapon or tool of destruction. He is said to torture the souls of the mortals he captures in great pits of fire and molten metal.

In the Eastern Pantheon - Perthonis

Of all the variations of Brand, Perthonis is perhaps the least antagonistic. While he possesses a cruel streak that emerges at times, he is largely a neutral god. He is the embodiment of destruction, thus he is, in many ways, a bringer of misery, but also a necessary aspect of life. Destruction allows for new creation. Perthonis is typically depicted as being shunned by the other deities, despite bearing them no real ill-will. Among mortals, it is generally considered best to avoid attracting his attention. Soldiers are among the only people who routinely pray to him as he is also the god of those who destroy, regardless of the reason, such as soldiers, hunters, woodcutters, miners, and (sometimes) masons or engineers. The final, and arguably least acknowledged, facet of his domain is that of eating, especially feasting. Unlike other such deities, though, Perthonis's focus is on the destruction of the food itself as a means to symbolize how destruction can fuel creation. Perthonis one half of Zoi, the dual deity of wealth, war, and worldly objects.

In the Northern Pantheon

TBD

In the Wandering Pantheon

TBD

Divine Domains

In the Imperial Pantheon

Slaughter, War, Fear, Disasters, Destruction, Fire

In the Central Pantheon

Slaughter, War, Fear, Disasters, Destruction, Hate

In the Western Pantheon

Ferocity, Desperation, Anger; In Gorgonoth: Goblinoids, Orcs, Hatred, Slaughter

In the Southern Pantheon

Hatred, Slaughter, War, Destruction, Fire

In the Eastern Pantheon

Destruction, Soldiers, Feasting

Divine Symbols & Sigils

Brand's symbol is a jagged crescent, dripping with blood

Physical Description

Identifying Characteristics

In the Imperial Pantheon

Brand appears as a tall, fearsome man. He wears scattered bits of armor, especially gauntlets and boots designed with menacing spikes or blades. His skin is charred and cracked with flames licking out of the cracks. His eyes are balls of fire and his hair, if not absent, is depicted as a plume of fire. He wields a massive flaming sword.

In the Central Pantheon

Brant is a broad, well-muscled figure whose veins glow with an inner fire. His head is that of a lion with a mane of fire. His fingers are tipped with long, vicious claws. Clouds of smoke constantly billow around him.

In the Western Pantheon

Lorcan appears as a particularly large, bestial Orc or Goblin (depending on his audience). He is tall, broad, and savage in appearance. He is marked by numerous scars and wounds and is often covered in blood.

In the Southern Pantheon

Demarcus is a tall, lithe, but menacing figure. His skin is the color of coal and his eyes and mouth are lit from within by a bright flame. His body is encased in plates of metal, chained together, between which are large cracks showing Demarcus's inner fire.

In the Eastern Pantheon

Perthonis is a large, Akki with deep ruddy scales. His shoulders and broad and his arms are thick and muscular. He is stout, with a rotund belly. He has many sets of horns and large, vicious teeth set in a broad jaw. He is virtually always portrayed in his armor which consists of a bronze breastplate, arm and legguards over his black leather surcoat and a tall helmet. He wears a deep violet cape, and a shield and sword made of obsidian. His eyes are typically a dark purple.

Divine Classification

God

Religions

• Central Pantheon
• Eastern Pantheon
• Imperial Pantheon
• Northern Pantheon
• Southern Pantheon
• The Aran Pantheon
• Wandering Pantheon
• Western Pantheon