Southern Pantheon
The Southern Pantheon originated in the ancient elven Empire which predates the Dark Age. As a result, the successor kingdoms are still where the religion is most widely practiced. Such kingdoms are typically among the most devout practitioners of their faith out of any of the Aran Pantheons' adherents. Many other nations near such successor kingdoms, or nations with significant Elven populations, often either worship the Southern Pantheon explicitly or incorporate aspects of it alongside their other beliefs.
As with many of his incarnations, whether or not Bonavento is a benevolent or antagonistic deity in regards to mortals is largely subjective.
In her role as a goddess of dreams, she also offers inspiration and hope for those in need of it. She is credited as being the muse of many great artists and creators.
In the Southern Pantheon Celestine is often seen as the counterpart to Ferrégine and the two are typically linked in opposing roles. This is often through Théophane as wives, rival consorts, or sisters. Details vary from story to story, but some things remain the same. Of special note is Ferrégine's use of undead, which Celestine abhors. Her followers destroy such creatures without hesitation wherever they find them.
Also absent from Eemil is much of Ambrus's characterization as a valorous warrior-protector. Eemil is viewed as weak and cowardly, afraid to move against his enemies openly. He prefers to hide in the shadows and strike like a concealed viper when his enemies least expect it before retreating back into hiding.
Ferrégine abhors disobedience and disloyalty, despite her association with betrayal in most other pantheons. In the Southern Pantheon, she demands absolute obedience of her followers to both her and to their respective leaders. For this reason, this aspect of her domain is obviously more popular with those in power than those who serve them, though her association with ambition appeals to mortals of all social standing.
Ferrégine is often seen as the counterpart to Celestine and the two are typically linked in opposing roles. This is often through Théophane as wives, rival consorts, or sisters. Details vary from story to story, but some things remain the same. Of special note is Ferrégine's use of undead, which Celestine abhors.
Families and Houses
The Southern Pantheon features a relationship between the gods that is more familial than the other pantheons. Southern beliefs organize the gods into various families or houses. While they are not always explicitly familial relationships, members of each group often have similar spheres of power and influence and often work alongside each other to contest the power of the other houses. The specific nature of these groupings vary from culture to culture. Most worshippers offer homage to an entire house, rather than a particular deity, which they feel serve as their patron house. While they will entreat members of other houses for specific things related to their spheres, there is almost alwayd a degree of competition, if not outright hosility, between adherents to different houses.Members
Baledin (Bardolf)
Balendin is viewed as the embodiment of raw, primal strength and feral might. Depending on the culture, this is sometimes a valuable thing and his followers seek to tap into the raw strength that comes from the pure instinctual fighting prowess of the animal, unburdened by complicated training or rigor. Others view it as nothing more than base barbarism and something to be avoided at all costs. Nevertheless, even his most ardent detractors will often agree that there is value in seeking his strength and endurance when circumstances are harshest.Beatrix (Anwen)
The Southern Pantheon, Anwen is known as Beatrix. Her main sphere of influence is naval travel (land-based travel is not in her purview) and wind (but not weather directly). She has clergy in port cities and aboard ships, but is largely absent from inland settlements.Bonavento (Twain)
Bonavento is the god of Luck, Chaos, and Humor. While many of the other Southern Deities advocate for a stable, cautious, and careful lifestyle (to varying degrees), Bonavento is a dynamic, unpredictable force of change. Bonavento exists to disrupt the status quo, to push mortals into taking big risks which may pay off phenomenally or come crashing down around them, whatever Bonavento finds more funny at the time. Bonavento is also characterized by his near-complete disregard for prayers and offerings. He cares nothing for mortals' attempts at influencing his actions. Few temples exist to Bonavento and even the most devout of his followers seldom bother to entreat him for anything. The only time Bonavento may be influenced to do something he wasn't already going to do is if a mortal can offer him a course of action that is both one he had not thought of and one he finds more entertaining than anything he had come up with himself; a difficult task. Bonavento actively vexes the other Southern Deities at every opportunity through seemingly random acts of chance. If Bonavento himself has any larger goals or objectives, none can discern them.As with many of his incarnations, whether or not Bonavento is a benevolent or antagonistic deity in regards to mortals is largely subjective.
Caecillia (Cicely)
In the Southern Pantheon, Caecillia is the goddess of dreams, loss, grief, and mourning. She provides comfort, guidance, and perspective to those who are grieving and those who have lost things. While she is not explicitly the goddess of death as she is in other pantheons, her domains of grief and mourning often associate her with such. She is prayed to for comfort, guidance, and perspective in times of sorrow, especially after the death of a loved one. Some variations believe she acts as a liaison between the living and the dead through dreams, though to what degree and how willing she is to do so on others' terms varies.In her role as a goddess of dreams, she also offers inspiration and hope for those in need of it. She is credited as being the muse of many great artists and creators.
Celestine
Celestine is the goddess of light in the Southern pantheon as well, but it is much more of a metaphorical sense. She is the goddess of truth, honesty, and revelation. In essence, she is "the light of truth" rather than physically associated with literal light (though such imagery is typically associated with her due to this metaphor).In the Southern Pantheon Celestine is often seen as the counterpart to Ferrégine and the two are typically linked in opposing roles. This is often through Théophane as wives, rival consorts, or sisters. Details vary from story to story, but some things remain the same. Of special note is Ferrégine's use of undead, which Celestine abhors. Her followers destroy such creatures without hesitation wherever they find them.
Delicia (Blithe)
Delicia is a goddess of joy, compassion, mercy, the arts, fertility, and, above all, hope. Unlike the Central and Western Pantheon, Delicia's clergy are not exclusively women, nor does she deal specifically with carnal pleasures. While she is often prayed to for couples who seek children, she is more closely related to the outcome than the act itself. In addition to childbirth, she seeks to spread love and compassion, to encourage enjoyment in both creating and appreciating art of all mediums, and to offer mercy to those who are vulnerable. All these things are facets of her primary focus: hope. Delicia encourages her followers to find the beauty in life and find things which make life worth living, both for themselves and future generations. Like her Imperial counterpart, she values personal expression in all things, including worship.Demarcus (Brand)
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.Desiderius (Sims)
Desiderius is the God of Betrayal, Deceit, Cruelty, Greed, Gluttony, and Lust. He is a selfish God who delights in tempting mortals to indulge in excess and to lie and betray others to get what they want. To summarize Didier in a word: entitlement. His victims (and often his own followers) pursue their desires and personal pleasure without any care to moderation or whom they harm along the way, for many harming others along the way is part of the fun.Eemil (Ambrus)
In the Southern Pantheon, Ambrus is known as Eemil. He is a cunning and vindictive god who seeks to undermine the works of Théophane, Celestine, and the heads of the other houses. In some variations, Eemil is the head of his own house, typically one devoted to trickery, treachery, and/or evil. Ambrus's aspect of a healer and his reputation for equal punishment is absent in Eemil. Eemil deals exclusively with venom and disease. While he is said to protect the Akki, he is still fairly indiscriminate in doling out his punishments. Any who have wronged Eemil risk a lifetime of misery at his hands unless they can placate him with copious offerings. Even if such offerings are provided, however, Eemil may simply take such offerings and continue to torment his victims for pleasure. His favorite targets are the Elves as he hates and fears Théophane, Celestine, and their children.Also absent from Eemil is much of Ambrus's characterization as a valorous warrior-protector. Eemil is viewed as weak and cowardly, afraid to move against his enemies openly. He prefers to hide in the shadows and strike like a concealed viper when his enemies least expect it before retreating back into hiding.
Fabrizio (Tolliver)
Fabrizio is the god of craftsmanship, tools, engineering, and construction. Whenever a new building is to be constructed, an offering and prayers are offered to Fabrizio, with larger buildings requiring larger offerings. Those who worship Fabrizio above other Southern Deities are known to ply their crafts for the glory of their god from time to time. They create tools, art, and the like for the explicit purpose of donating to his temples or offering them in ritualistic sacrifices. This is typically done twice a year, but different craftsmen may do it more or less frequently depending on the speed at which they can work. Rushing such an offering or embarking on its creation with anything less than your best craftsmanship is considered sacrilegious. Such works are never to be used by anyone other than his clergy and only if specifically donated to them. To use such things is considered a grave affront to their god.Ferrégine
Ferrégine is the goddess of schemes, ambition, rulers, and command. She is not a forgiving deity as she embodies the belief that a ruler should have a firm, unquestionable authority over those they rule. Ferrégine seeks power and aids those who do likewise. She plots and manipulates events to advance herself and her status. Her followers advance her goals in exchange for a portion of her power and a chance to rule others as her subordinate.Ferrégine abhors disobedience and disloyalty, despite her association with betrayal in most other pantheons. In the Southern Pantheon, she demands absolute obedience of her followers to both her and to their respective leaders. For this reason, this aspect of her domain is obviously more popular with those in power than those who serve them, though her association with ambition appeals to mortals of all social standing.
Ferrégine is often seen as the counterpart to Celestine and the two are typically linked in opposing roles. This is often through Théophane as wives, rival consorts, or sisters. Details vary from story to story, but some things remain the same. Of special note is Ferrégine's use of undead, which Celestine abhors.
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