Payat (he/him/his) is the
Deity of Death. His
Divine Domains include Darkness, Death, Fate, Knowledge, Pain, Perfection, Truth and Undeath. Other aliases include "The Keeper of Fate."
History
Payat's origin is tied directly to
Azazul's. When mortals became aware of their mortality and the inevitability of death, their responses varied from defiance, to acceptance, to fear, to curiosity and more. Their worship of a power over death first created a being as amorphous as their views of the phenomenon. Eventually, however, that being broke into two more concrete entities: Azazul, who represents the defiance of fate and unpredictability of life's path, and Payat, who represents firmness of purpose and knowledge that all things must end.
His dealings with fate led to Payat taking interest in an elf woman who was able to bend the world's magic to her will to reveal the branching paths that fate might take. Knowing the value and influence she could wield, Payat approached the elf and granted her a part of his divinity, aiding in her ascension as
Sinjaani, the goddess of magic.
During the The Divine Wars, Payat initially took no sides, instead watching the battles from afar and sorting the numerous souls who became collateral damage to the gods' fights. Eventually, however, an unknown deity drew his ire by forestalling the proper fates of mortals. Once he entered the wars, death swept the land unlike it had before, drawing the attention of several deities of life and leading to his role as the de facto leader of many evil-aligned deities. He fought without passion and knew that, like anything else, the Wars would eventually end. When Sinjaani approached him with her plan for peace, he was the one who convinced those that followed him to join with their enemies in ending the battles, while still representing their individual needs throughout the peace talks.
Personality
Payat takes a largely unemotional and impartial approach to all of his dealings and is sometimes thought of as dull as a result. He has a keen mind, however, and not even other deities can read his thoughts or plans. The only occasions his emotions slip through have been related to multiple attempts to escape death either through resurrection or undeath. Repeated resurrection he swiftly strikes down while he seems to view undeath with both fascination and hatred.
Appearance & Aspects
Payat shows himself in visions only on incredibly rare occasions. When he has, he appears like a stone monolith with infinite arms projecting about him, always in constant motion as he plucks and shepherds souls across the planes.
He also has the Aspect of the Keeper of Fate: a wizened old man writing in a massive tome, keeping record of the entire history of the world. The Keeper most often appears in the rare instances when someone attempts to alter history through forbidden magics, or if he is asked for insight into what the future may hold. His predictions carry the knowledge of all the patterns of history and current trajectories and so are incredibly reliable, though he doesn't have the specific ability to see future events.
Relationships
The god of change is perhaps more Payat's opposite than any god of life is. Azazul represents the inherent chaos and unpredictability of existence while Payat follows all actions through to their natural conclusions. They never allied themselves during the Divine Wars and the two deities' followers seldom cooperate or interact in any meaningful way.
Because of their shared interest in future events, as the gods of fate and premonition respectively, Payat and Sinjaani once had something akin to a romantic relationship. Since the Divine Wars, they do not seem to have continued their relationship, but their followers are often unlikely allies out of mutual respect of each others' gods.
Followers
Payat's followers are known as Executors while his high priests are called Chief Executors. They take it upon themselves to right the course of fate wherever they see it having been waylaid, and handle the funerary rights for individuals who did not owe allegiance to any other deity.
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