He'an

Beauty in life, beauty in death

Our people have a deep, deep respect for the moon. For our He'an. They've always been the most beautiful of all the gods... it's only fitting that they're also seen as the most beautiful object in the night sky.

— Citizen of Moonfal

He'an floats unmoving in space. The God-husk is massive -- largest of all 14 gods. Seen as beautiful above all else, the genderless 6-armed God-husk is curled tightly into a ball, all arms wrapped around knees that are brought up close to their chest. Their marble-like skin appears to be unblemished despite the harsh environment of space -- He'an reflects sunlight, lighting up the nighttime skies.
Before The Seven Day War, He'an was one of the most, if not the most, loved god on all of Cathedris. He'an had a very special relationship with all humans they cared for, and because of that, they were seen as the most caring and loving god. Humankind that lived under He'ans protection were unchanging, free of suffering, danger, or hardships. They had no need for water or food, shelter, or clothing. He'an would provide all of it to them, listen to their problems, and provide solutions. One popular myth states that He'an gave away all of the silver hair off their head, save 6 strands, to clothe all of the humans of Cathedris.

The strength of love for the humans

Before their death, and before Apathae was blasted and split into two separate continents, He'an called the western portion of Apathae home. It was here that, over the millennia-long rule of the gods, He'an cultivated their following. Population grew constantly under the protective hands of He'an, and soon Apathae was the most populated continent of all of Cathedris -- something the other gods envied.
The other gods levels of envy only increased through the ages, as He'an earned special names from their followers, showcasing their devotion. They called them "He'an the Beautiful", "He'an the Great", and occasionally "He'an the Almighty and Kind". These kinds of names showcased a closeness with the humans that the other gods often coveted, or despised.

Of the other gods that also called Apathae home, only Old King Caed had a close relationship with He'an. While not considered overly close with eachother, documents show that the two gods were still friendly with one another, and receptive to requests.

Qur to the south, and the Winter Giants to the north also lived upon ancient Apathae. The Winter Giants cared not for humans, instead focusing on their own personal in-organic projects -- thus the constantly growing population of humans under He'ans care annoyed them. The shining sun-god Qur shared a similar annoyance, believing that the humans were being coddled under He'an's care, and were capable of their own feats of might, so long as they were pushed to do so.

Scraps from The Comprilith

A very roughly written love-letter to He'an, unsigned

A meticulously crafted sketch of He'an's face -- this is the only remaining image of He'an's face, as the god's head faces away from the planet in orbit.

Three large coils of silver twine. The twine exhibits extraordinary strength, and is believed to be coiled strands of He'an's silver hair -- however some propose they are recreations.

Shattering of the Union of Gods

I don't think we'll ever know who killed our beautiful He'an. Not while all the gods are husks, at least. He'an's in space, we can't see how they died, and we can't go asking anyone if they did it either. But between you'n me... Qur did it.

— Moonfal citizen

Meetings between the gods were always momentous events, and most of the time, recorded. In the days leading up to He'an's assassination there were two recorded meetings, one with Old King Caed and one with Qur. The dates on the records are unclear, so it is unknown which one took place closer to He'an's death. Rumors from that time say that He'an was also intending to meet with Xiuthan, but it's unknown if that meeting ever took place. These meetings, among other pieces of evidence, place Qur, Caed, and Xiuthan high upon the list of possible suspects for He'an's assassin.

the moon, he'an by Stormbril

Birth

Born on the 4th day of the 19 Days of Creation.

Kill Count

He'an never killed any other gods.

Death

Was assassinated first, initiating the The Seven Day War

Killed by

Theorized to be either Old King Caed, Xiuthan, or Qur

Present-day Power

---

Movement

He'an is um-moving and unchanging, frozen in stable orbit as they gracefully float around the planet. All 6 of He'an's arms are wrapped tightly around themselves -- in the 3,000 years that people have looked up at He'an in the sky, they've never been seen moving once.

Creation and Destruction

He'an, as far as the world below can tell, is fully and truly dead. They exert no apparent creative or destructive forces -- however, the substantial size of He'an has still managed to affect the world of Cathedris, in the form of tidal forces.

Awareness

He'an exhibits no awareness of anything at all. The god appears to be really and truly dead -- people of Cathedris theorize that He'an is the only god that never fell into a Husk-state, however it is impossible to know for sure. There are some, particularly among the Deathrites, that believe He'an is a God-husk just like the rest, one who's loop is to merely observe from the night sky.

---

Frightful Fauna and Fervent Followers

Hexachord Longbow

Descriptions of He'an's weapon tell of a massive, otherworldly longbow, crafted from the finest celestial wood that has existed since before time began. The longbow was strung with 6 fine strands of silver hair from He'an themselves, all of which could woven into a single strand, or left separated, on a whim of the bow's wielder.
The Hexachord longbow fired no arrows, no physical ammunition -- instead, hyper concentrated sound waves shot forth when the bow was fired.

Maximum Potential

A fully powered Hexachord longbow was able to fire very precise sound waves that circled the entire globe. These waves were often strong enough to knock down any tree in their path, or blow over primitive structures. However, He'an did not use the bow for these purposes. Instead, they would untwist the 6 silver strings of the bow, and refasten them to create a massive 6 stringed musical instrument.
He'an was then able to create the most powerful music, with a calming and healing effect.

Current Power

The Hexachord is gone -- it was destroyed over the course of The Seven Day War. Two days into the war, a day after He'an's assassination, the longbow was found in a mountain range in southern Moonfal. It lay there against a mountain, fiercely smouldering, day after day. As the godly infighting raged on, the flames grew higher, until 6 days later when Qur ended himself and Avartarian, the Hexachord longbow crumbled to ash.

When we say we don't see any movement from He'an, up there in the sky, we're not exactly telling the truth... There are things moving. It's just not our god.

— Follower of He'an

Space Infestation

In the brutal environment of space, He'an moves not a muscle -- they've remained motionless for 3000 years. Yet there is still movement to be observed upon the god's frozen expanse. Small specs can be seen with low-powered optics, frantically scattering across He'an. When using a more powerful optical device, or telescope, one can see the truth of what these specs are: Rendlings -- monsters that have grown out of the presumed dead body of He'an, mixed with the very magic that made them into a god.
These Rendlings somehow manage to survive in this harsh environment. What they are doing up there, and how they are surviving, is entirely unknown. They're occasionally seen scampering about, congregating around spots upon He'ans body for days at a time, before breaking off and retreating to the dark side of He'an.

The two faiths of He'an

Every single God-husk across Cathedris has it's own followers. Many of the modern countries of the world trace their routes back to what their patron God-husk once stood for, before their death. Many countries share worship of a single god-husk, like how Russin, Estana, and Falaradun all worship Sharenskus. In this, followers of He'an are not that different from followers of other God-husks. Most worshippers of He'an live in the two western Apathaen countries, Moonfal and He'a.
However, because He'an does not reside on the planet anymore, their followers have had less to keep them together as one cohesive group -- thus two distinct groups He'an worshipers were formed.

The steadfast Deathrites

The Deathrites, seen as the most popular religion of He'an, mostly reside within the country of Ha'e. The followers of this particular religion believe incredibly strongly that their god was the single most important of all of the 14 gods -- deemed to be the holy sacrifice that would elevate humanity to the next stage of their evolution.
Deathrites consider He'an's death as the positive turning point in the world, the time when all the energy hoarded by the gods was released into humanity as a whole.

The Cryptic Rescuists

Rescuists of He'an have fewer followers than the Deathrites, but are far more fervent. The Rescuists have a similar belief that He'an is the most important of all 14 gods, but believe He'an was wrongly ejected into space. They hypothesize that He'an is the only remaining living god, frozen in the brutal expanse of space. Thus all Rescuists believe it is their life's purpose to bring He'an back to the surface of Cathedris, no matter the cost. Believers of this faith also collect any and all information of He'an before The Seven Day War, viewing it as sacred.

Read Next