Alarand

Also known as: Fate, the Mirror God, the Bright God, all-seeing Fate, all-knowing Fate One of the trio that makes up the Great Gods of Genesis, Alarand is the god of fate, prophecy, visions, and mirrors. He's a light-aligned god, and most consider him the unofficial leader of the Great Gods. Unlike the rest of the true gods, Alarand is referred to almost exclusively as Fate instead of by his true name; only his closest servants and the Reaper call him by name. Neither cruel nor kind, Alarand is seen as the unswayable force that sees all things that were, are, and will be. He's arguably the most inhuman of the gods, and makes very little direct contact with his followers other than granting power and vision to those he favors. It's thought that Alarand determined all paths at the moment of his creation, and the universe has proceeded to follow the course he set ever since; while no specifics are ever set in stone, he's seen as the riverbed through which existence flows and all events inevitably come to pass as he intends. While mortals understand that his decisions were made long ago and can't be changed, they honor him in hopes that those decisions work out in their favor.

Depictions

Of the Great Gods, depictions of Alarand are the most vague and universally similar. He's shown as an athletic man, barechested and with a wrap of cloth draping from his waist down into the water he stands in. Depictions of him show him largely as a silhouette with brilliant light behind him, making it hard to say what the specifics of skintone, haircolor, or his features are, but there's often a glowing void on his chest surrounded by similarly glowing cracks, as though his heart has been torn out. He's frequently shown with the silhouettes of dark birds, likely crows or ravens, circling around him. Though it's hard to tell unless another figure is also shown for comparison, the implication is that he's of enormous stature, a distant and ever-watchful presence in the distance. Alarand is frequently surrounded by brilliant golden lines, indicating the guiding and binding threads of his will that permeate the universe.

Divine Realm

Though he certainly has a divine realm, very few other than the Reaper are ever called to stand before Alarand in person. Those rare few that have describe it as it's shown in depictions of the god; a vast twilight expanse with knee-deep still water extending endlessly out in all directions. It's neither warm nor cold, silent but for the sound of birds' wings, with the sacred, hushed atmosphere of a cathedral.

Followers

As the unofficial leader of the Great Gods, Alarand is universally worshipped within Genesis and the magical communities of the Old World and is always the central figure of household shrines. He's particularly revered by mages, especially those who specialize as seers or illusionists, and is also the patron god of fortunetellers. Fortunetellers in particular foster a special connection with Alarand, petitioning to the god to gain a sense of the direction in which events are likely to flow and visions of the likely future; fortune-telling within Genesis and the magical communities is done via looking for visions on a mirror's surface and involves an offering of blood. Despite requiring the god's favor, they're hybrid users of divine and arcane magic and need a combination of intuition and instruction to learn to utilize their gifts to fullest potential. Despite Alarand's relative impartiality as a god, it's considered extremely unwise to harm his followers; while the god himself might not intervene, the community has great respect for those who deal with him and will punish a wrongdoer accordingly.

Chosen Servant

Alarand has only one official chosen, in the form of the Reaper. The Reaper line was created by the Skinwalker at Alarand's request in the distant past to create a being capable of channeling far more divine power than a normal mortal could contain, and has served as the god's representative on Earth ever since. There's only ever one Reaper at a time, but that's typically more than enough as they're unnaturally powerful and more than capable of meeting most threats. A Reaper is gifted with an ability to sense the flow of fate (often visually in the form of 'fate lines'), an instinctual talent for combat and supernaturally enhanced reflexes, a blade capable of sending a mortal soul instantly to the afterlife, quick healing and pain resistance, and a powerful shapeshifted form. Most crucially, they have a direct connection to Alarand's divine power and can channel it in near limitless capacity; this ability is used sparingly, as even their reinforced bodies can only hold the power of a god for so long, but is enough that they can perform incredible feats. The primary purpose of a Reaper is to hunt down and kill the fate-dead, individuals who escape their predetermined time to die and in so doing upset the flow of fate; if fate's course is a smoothly flowing stream, the fate-dead are misplaced stones that disturb the surface and cause a disproportionately large cascading ripple across the stream. Having escaped their own death, the fate-dead are invisible to Alarand and cannot be properly escorted to the afterlife by the servants of Siarus. They disrupt the events of the world around them, cause disaster, and upon their death have a high likelihood to transform into monstrously powerful ghosts known as Freed Spirits. The Reaper's ability to send a soul directly to the afterlife is the only known solution and gives them a role of crucial importance in the safety and wellbeing of the world. In addition to their god-granted purpose, the Reaper also exists as a reminder of the presence and power of the gods in the mortal world. They're seen as protector, arbiter, and peacekeeper of Genesis and its people, and treated with enormous respect accordingly. Within Genesis, the Reaper answers to no mortal authority.

Worship Practices and Holy Days

Despite being one of the Great Gods, Alarand is seen as neither requiring nor desiring specific prayer; his decisions were all made long ago, and mortal entreaty won't sway him one way or another. Nonetheless, most people will include him as a part of their general honoring of the gods and make offerings before events they're anticipating and as thanks for events that went their way. Alarand has no temples, but has shrines maintained by the community that are a place to offer lit candles as well as reflective objects like shards of mirror, glass, bright gold coins, or iridescent shell; serious offerings will often include a drop or two of the petitioner's own blood. A shrine to Alarand will be covered but otherwise open to the air, and will typically include a representation of the god and his crows surmounting a mirrored surface that reflects someone standing in front of it. Alarand's official festival is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year and the day that the sun reigns supreme. It's also seen as an unofficial omen of the year to come, with a clear, sunny day boding well and an overcast or rainy day a potential warning of trouble to come. Generally it's a day of no work, where all gods are honored in Alarand's name and offered prayers in his stead, followed by a night of celebration and lighting the night with great bonfires.