The Ascended
You'll have to forgive me if I'm less than impressed by so called gods who are younger than my great grandfather. Like most members of the more sensible races, I choose to worship more venerable, deserving gods rather than these infantile upstarts.
Overview
By far the most commonly worshipped gods among the humans of The Shattered Continent, The Ascended were once paragons of humanity, powerful individuals who ascended to godhood due to the spiritual needs of a rising humanity. Today, their worship is spread across most of the The Great Inland Sea region, as well as alboria, in addition to The Shattered Sea.
History
The Ascended are young gods, birthed after The Cataclysm and during the rise of humanity towards their current place as the dominant race on The Shattered Continent. Prior to The Ascendency, the various human tribes practiced various forms of ancestor worship or worshipped older gods, but there was a desire for gods of their own, divine representations of all that defined humanity. As as the tribes merged, populations expanded, and powerful nations formed, unique metaphysical conditions began to form.
The Age of Ascension
As the human population exploded in size and began to move from small kingdoms to the beginnings of proper nations, the unique conditions needed for ascension to occur were brewing. The spiritual void created by the obliteration of the serpentfolk and the lingering chaotic magics from the cataclysm in combination with the gestalt of a rising humanity as it began to form more distinct collective identities began to cause ripples in the metaphysical. By aproximately the early 1200s the unique conditions needed for divine ascension had been met, and would remain so until roughly the early 1300s.
Ascension
Lifted by the collective will of a rising humanity, a number of leaders, heroes, and other renowned individuals were ascended into godhood, leaving their humanity behind to become embodiments of the traits which they were most known and revered for in life. Each of these exceptional individuals gathered followers over the course of their mortal lives, people who recognised that there was something about them that elevated the ascended above the rest of humanity and made them worthy of devotion and eventually worship. By the time of their ascension they had become infused with divine energy, enabling them to perform superhuman acts, even miracles, and giving them a presence that made them stand apart from their fellow man.
Ascension itself occurs under one of two conditions, when the divine energies become too much for their mortal bodies to withstand or upon their deaths, providing that enough divine power has built up within them. Ascension is a dramatic process, as divine energies burn their way out of the mortal shell of the ascended in a dramatic flare of light, dazzling onlookers and causing various spontaneous magical effects as appropriate for the ascended in question. When in close contact with another potential ascended, one ascension will often trigger another as the blast of divine energies from the first ascension hit the second individual.
The Gods
While the gods were once human, their ascendancy left most of that behind, amplifying the traits that they were most known for, washing away aspects of their personalities that were lesser known or in contrast to their divine aspects, and leaving the resulting beings in some ways less complex and nuanced than they may have been in life.
Ambroys - The Saint of the Slums
Ambroys is one of the most beloved gods among the common folk of The Shattered Continent due to his divine mandate that his followers heal anyone in need regardless of their means, influence, or ability to pay ensures. Born in the slums of Nosleton in Bommbergonia, Ambroys ran a clinic in the slums in which he would heal anyone who walked in and only ask them to pay what they could afford. His worshippers are all healers of some sort, and come from all walks of life, although his complete disregard for noble status and wealth has left him unpopular among the upper classes.
Alignment - Neutral Good
Favored Weapon - Quarterstaff
Domains - Healing, Duty, Toil, Repose
Borja - The Librarian
Borja is well known as a god of magic, but she is just as much a god of knowledge and learning. Hoarding knowledge is anathema to her, as she mandates that all knowledge should be shared so it can be built upon and more discoveries can be made. Her crowning achievement in life was the creation of a library which was available to anyone who brought something to contribute to it, and which disappeared along with her during her ascendancy in order to preserve it from attacking warlords. She is worshipped by academically minded spellcasters as well as librarians, archivists, and scribes across the continent.
Alignment - Neutral
Favored Weapon - Staff
Domains - Glyph, Knowledge, Magic, Introspection
Canan - The Conquerer
Fighter/Barb - Chaos, Death?, Destruction, Evil, Strength, War - CE Canan male Born in Alhamland conquered a good chunk of Alhamland and the northern and western coasts of Alboria brutal, believed that anyone who was weak enough to be conquered deserved to be legitimized bandits who had taken over communities as their rulers. foil for Iker? power vs power, ironic rather than some kind of rebuttal of his ideas.
Alignment - Chaotic Evil
Favored Weapon - Battle Axe
Domains - Destruction, Might, Tyranny, Zeal
Galterus - The Sailor
Galterus is the patron god of sailors, explorers, and navigators, his adherents are encouraged to push the boundaries of known navigation routes, map new routes, and to share any new routes they discover. An unparallelled navigator and explored in life, Galterus was the first to map routes through The Shattered Sea and spent much of his life making trips into those deadly waters. His final resting place and the nature of his ascension remain unknown, as he was last seen sailing back out to into the Shattered sea, and his followers search for the site of his ascension, the remains of his ship, or some other sign of his resting place to this day.
Alignment - Chaotic Good
Favored Weapon - Boarding Axe
Domains - Freedom, Luck, Travel, Water
Iker - The Blazing Sun
Iker may be a god of magic, but unlike most such gods who focus on the acquisition and development of arcane knowledge, Iker is soley focused on the power of magic, and how it can serve in building and maintaining law and order. A powerful warmage and king in life, Iker was responsible for uniting the majority of what would one day become known as The Alborian Empire. He has a strong rivalry with Canan the Conquerer, as they fought one another in life, ascending on the battlefield after dealing each other mortal wounds.
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Favored Weapon: Morningstar
Domains: Magic, Zeal, Sun, Fire
Ingaret - The Queen of Thieves
Ingaret is the goddess of Thieves, Charity, and the poor, particularly those who reside and operate in urban areas. An orphan who grew up in the slums of Watfordford, she started stealing in order to feed herself and her fellow street children, but it quickly became a way for them to get back at the nobility who regarded them as nothing but street trash. By the time of her ascension, she had more than earned the title of 'Queen of Thieves', and her crowning achievement was the theft of the Bommbergonian crown jewels. One would think that most of her followers would be thieves, and while thieves who are more "community minded" certainly do worship her, she is extremely popular among the poorest residents of the Shattered Continent. Slum dwellers, street children, and beggars all offer regular prayers to The Queen of Thieves in the hope that charity and good fortune are headed their way.
Alignment - Chaotic Good
Favored Weapon - Dagger
Domains: Family, Trickery, Cities, Luck
Lord Negutesco - The Lich Lord
In life, Lord Negutesco was the dread lord of Tavelia who ruled that dark nation with an iron fist, uniting its assorted counts under his banner and threatening to engulf his neighbors in an endless horde of the undead. Post Ascension, he has become the god of undeath, tyranny, decay, and nightmares, dictating that the dead must not be left undisturbed and people must accept their place under their betters and above their lessers. He is worshipped by necromancers of all sorts, both arcane and divine, and deeply opposed by the followers of Sigune, who have never abandoned their mistress' crusade against The Lich Lord.
Alignment - Lawful Evil
Favored Weapon - mace
Domains - Undeath, Decay, Tyranny, Ambition
Siegmund - The Lawbringer
Siegmund is the God of Law, Order, Justice, and Good in that order; teaching that justice cannot exist without law and good cannot exist without order. Born in the lands that would one day become Fruchtbarland, he began a campaign to end the chaos and bring order to the region nearly the moment that he ascended to his father's throne. Siegmund would end up uniting much of modern day Fruchtbarland under his banner, creating and enforcing a strict system of laws with an iron fist, and establishing a judicial system, all of which formed the basis for the modern states of Fruchtbarland and The Valorous Dominion.
Alignment - Lawful Good
Favored Weapon - bastard sword
Domains: Duty, Might, Zeal, Truth
Sigune - The Defender
Sigune is a god dedicated to the defense of the weak and the destruction of evil, preaching that the strong have an obligation to the weak and the defenseless. A powerful warrior from the Lechian Peninsula at a time when the region was filled with warring kingdoms, Sigune is credited with uniting the peninsula against an invasion by The Lich Lord. Following her ascendance, the forces that she had brought together sat down and formed the modern Republic of Lechia, where she is worshipped by the majority of the population.
Alignment - Lawful Good
Favored Weapon - Longsword
Domains - Zeal, Duty, Might, Protection
Castel Dorogheni Zapek Ulrich Leopold Roland Rahel Adela Ebba Nortrud Bellus Aimar Calum Mungan
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