Aster, the Lost Poet

Aster, also known as the Lost Poet, the Wanderer God or Huan Shen, is the god of passions, arts, and those that stray away from their home. Originally a gnome stranded on the material plane during the Second Demonic Incursion, Aster was elevated to godhood after saving the mortal races by closing the Cursed Gate, a task that cost him his sanity.

Sacred Attributes

Aster's symbol is the Perypylis or Circled Gate, an open door that serves both a reminder of the feat that earned him his godhood and a reminder for his followers that liberty lies just beyond thresholds, both physically and philosophically. His Favoured Animal is the frog, who guided him to the Black Gates and whose kind serves as the favoured source of psychotropic drugs (and the occasional poison) among its followers. His Favoured Colour is light green, the bright colour of his natal Feywild and of his beloved frogs. His Sacred Weapon is the sling, the weapon he carried with him and used to kill an ancient Golothoma demon before the Black Gates, striking it in its only eye.

Description

Aster most often takes the form of his mortal self, a young gnome. Dressed in green, with dishevelled hair and a bright smile on his lips, he is often mistaken as a lost child by those that cross his path. He frequently carries musical instruments, playing them as he sings or declaims poetry, or uses brushes and chalks to draw on walls and bark alike.
Less often, he can appear as a frog or a bird, always small and brightly coloured.

Personality

As can be surmised by his titles, Aster is lost. More precisely his mind is lost, broken by what he saw beyond the Black Gates. But his madness is not obvious, and some of his followers would even go as far as to say that he is not mad at all, only playing the role. Most often, Aster conducts himself like a child, seemingly driven by his impulses and emotions, which can lead to some nonsensical conclusions. He simply wanders aimlessly, playing music or practicing one of the many arts he loves, without a care for the world. But at times, he displays great insight. Times when his words carry great weight and his actions result in marvellous boons for those he cares about.

Worship

The worship of Aster as the hero who saved the world by closing the Black Gate followed almost immediately after his ascendance to godhood, in the last years of the war as the demons were slowly purged from the world. Through his martyrdom, he gained the respect and adoration of many, especially among the romantics, those hoping for a better future. Many bards spread his name across the land, how the simple gnome far from home sacrificed his mind for all the mortal races, his legend serving as inspiration to many other young artists. Soon, his name was synonymous with romanticism, passion and art.
Nowadays, the worship of Aster has spread across the Kaladean Empire and even beyond, to Luangxi where some call him Huan Shen, He Who Was Lost and Sung. His temples are present in every major city, often taking the form of small communal residences where artists gather. Other places dedicated to Aster could also be found in the wild, small clearings or hidden havens where those wandering outside the roads can find refuge and rest momentarily. Those places were indicated by his symbol, often place on an erected stela but sometimes simply engraved in a nearby tree trunk or formed by a bed of flowers.
The clergy of Aster was in great majority informal, the god granting his blessings as wishes from those he deems worthy. Any who catches the attention of the god can be called into his service, from the simple bard to the royal painter, or the loving concubine. The only place where his clergy follows any sort of hierarchy is in Isthos, in his Great Temple. But whether his priests and priestesses reside in a temple or not, their role remain the same. They are to promote art and love, and provide shelter to those that are lost. The temples of Aster are well-known refuges for runaways, elopers and stranded from all walks of life. They are also havens for artists, where they can find inspiration and companionship. Of course, this means that temples dedicated to Aster can gain a reputation as places of little morality, where people live in vice and indolence. This is not untrue. Aster encourages to live life to its fullest and bask in their emotions, and this results yes in incredible artistry, but also in somewhat of an unstable crowd, as this life of passion can result in abuse and depravity. It is not for nothing that the temples of Aster are known to hold among the most potent psychoactive drugs on the planet.

Divine Domains

Love

Madness

Holy Books & Codes

The Hymns of Atropos

Divine Symbols & Sigils

Symbol: The Circled Gate

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Favoured Animal: Frog

Favoured Colour: Light Green

Sacred Weapon: Sling

Tenets of Faith

Do not go against your emotions, but rather cultivate them and express them in any way you deem fit.

Never allow yourself to be a prisoner, be it in body or soul.

Help the lost and wandering.

Holidays

13th of Asteon: The Great Carnival of Isthos (Celebrating the Sacrifice of Aster that day)

Divine Classification

Deity

Alignment

Chaotic Good

Realm

Verdant Glades

Church/Cult

Kaladean Pantheon