Qingu

"Fox and Fortune" — a prayer said after business transactions among faithful merchants

The Fortune's Dispatch

Qingu is one of the twelve gods of the Heavenly Council and generally considered to be the most junior of those deities that serve on the Council. He is the god of commerce, luck, fate, money, mathematics, chance, learning, and fools. He is also considered the creator or patron of halflings. In mythology, many stories tell of Qingu's indomitable wit and he often acts as a trickster figure.
Though capricious, he also is shown to have a soft spot for mortals and is said to have been the one to steal agriculture, fire, and money for them. This often puts him at odds with some of the more lawful of the Heavenly Council, but he remains popular particularly among the middle and artisan classes of Holos.

Divine Domains

Qingu is the god of of commerce, luck, fate, money, mathematics, chance, learning, and fools. His divine domain is Knowledge, for he is believed to be perhaps the most clever of all the gods.
Followers of the Heavenly Council also believe that Qingu had some hand in creating the halflings, with various stories explaining the extent to which Qingu created them. Others contend that he is merely their patron deity, watching over them and dealing out his luck more frequently to the little people of Holos.

Holy Books & Codes

The Heavenly Codex—specifically the "Book of Qingu"

Divine Symbols & Sigils

Qingu's divine symbol is a locked wheel. His sacred colors are black and copper.

Holidays

Qingu's feast month is Warm Wind, the seventh month of the Auloan Calendar. On the Spring Equinox, he and his mother Lacorré are both invoked and thanked during a celebration called the Day of Fortunes. Weekly services for Qingu are held on Brothersday.

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

Qingu is generally described in two forms: either as a playful male child or a crafty old man. In both forms, he has winking eyes, orange-red hair, an infectious laugh, and a savage grin. Older depictions of Qingu show him with either the head of a red fox or the head of a monkey. It is unclear which animal Qingu was originally associated with, but it seems as though locations with endemic populations of foxes see a fox-headed Qingu, and those with monkeys see a monkey-headed Qingu. Sometimes, he is shown driving a cart pulled by a giant fox.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

It was Qingu who is said to be the god to introduce money to mortals, first as a punishment and then as a boon after the Sundering Arcana. He is frequently invoked during business transactions as merchants say “Fox and Fortune” as a prayer for luck.

Accomplishments & Achievements

This is one of several myths told about the gods Elenea, Nyphros, and Qingu.
One day long ago, Qingu the Fox was wandering around the forest, looking for something to eat. It was winter, and there was scarcely a creature to be found outside of their den. Qingu could have looked for them but he was feeling slothful. He came upon a group of mortals huddled together for warmth. They looked even colder than he did and their faces were nearly blue from frost.
"Do you have anything to eat?" asked Qingu. "I am so very hungry."
Some of the mortals tried to shoo Qingu away, fearing that he was feral. But the elder of the group stopped them. He went over to Qingu and said, "I am sorry, Fox, but we have nothing to eat ourselves. The game is thin and we have nothing but last season's furs to warm ourselves. Our youngest has even passed away from the frost. Here, take her coat. It will warm you more than it will warm her corpse."
Qingu took the small coat. It was made of white rabbit skin and very soft. He was sad and still so very hungry, but the mortals had no food so he went away wearing the small coat. This is why foxes turn white in the winter and red in the summer.
Qingu kept wandering through the snow when he came upon the sound of laughter. Through the trees, Qingu spotted Elenea the Swan and Nyphros the Rooster playing in the snow. Elenea had returned from the warmth and wilds of the Feywild and brought winter with her, for all the Seelie Court wept and wilted the Material Plane without her and her darling husband in their presence.
Qingu watched them sing and dance and his mouth began to water. Nyphros was plump from his mother's palace. An idea jumped from Qingu's head. He walked out of his hiding place and told Elenea that her mother, Porcia, had a present for her back up in the Celestial Mountains. Elenea frowned but then flew off to see what her mother had for her.
With Elenea gone, Nyphros grew wary. "Back beast! I am no fool! I know you'd like nothing more than to feast on proud fowl."
But Qingu smiled sadly and said "I would never dream of it. For you truly are the Heir of the Fey! I'd heard your father, the Scarlet Prince, sing long ago and you are nearly as good as him!"
The Rooster blushed but then he snarled and puffed out his chest. "Nearly as good? My dear Fox your ears have withered in this drab place. I am my father's equal—nay, I am even greater than he! He never had the crooning quite right and his pitch was ever so a-kilter! My cock crow is louder and sweeter than any in all the Realms! I pray you remember that!"
"Perhaps I was mistaken," said the sly Fox. "But you have been away from the Fey for several weeks and your powers must be drained. I would not wish to force you to don the rooster's cowl, for I know you would be unable to take it off for quite a while."
"See here!" squawked the Rooster. "I have more power in a single one of my glorious feathers than you have in your whole pelt! I shall show you just what a cock I can be!"
Nyphros donned his animal form and transformed into a large rooster. He was indeed a handsome cock, with green and gold and red feathers, a crimson beard, and flashing amber eyes. He closed his eyes and began to crow, a long and dramatic poem. He sang of how many fey he had bedded before he spied his wife and how many wept when they saw him married away. He sang that winter came, not because of his wife the Maiden Spring, but because of all those who wailed in the Feywild when he was not there.
All the while, Qingu the Fox crept closer and closer to Nyphros the Rooster until he was upon him. Then a shout was heard from the edge of their clearing. "RUN NYPHROS! MY BROTHER IS UPON YOU!" said Elenea, the Swan. The Rooster opened his eyes to see the gleaming teeth of the Fox. Qingu grabbed Nyphros and dashed into the forest, laughing all the way as the Rooster in his arms cawed and wailed, for he could not change back to his divine form so drained.
Elenea the Swan gave chase and the two dashed between the trees of the forest. Elenea cried out, "Stop brother! Ask of me anything, anything at all and I shall give it to you! My price is but my fowl husband, my foolish bird! Please, dear brother hear my plea!"
When Qingu heard this, he was reminded of the mortals in the forest, so cold and alone. He remembered the little child who's white coat he now wore. He stopped and turned to his sister Elenea. "I will give you this boastful bird back to you for only one price: teach the mortals to grow things as you grow them, O Maiden of Spring."
Elenea scoffed, for her powers were the same as her mother's and they had held them in secret with great jealousy. But she then looked to her trembling husband and sighed and said, "Very well. I will teach them the Green." Qingu released the Rooster. For a moment, the snow cleared and the sun returned, happy that in spite of winter's harshness, some joy had been brought about this day.
Today, winter still comes each year, hard and cruel. But mortals now know how to harness the Green so when the cold winds blow, the wise have something stored away to share with one another.

Taboos

Many market places have fox trappers or breeders placed along the outside hoping that Qingu will smile upon his chosen harbinger. Some wealthy families in Auloa will go so far as to invest in buying a fox so as to have a constant source of “luck” in the house. More reasonable, foxes are often hunted for their tails, which are worn around the necks of the superstitious.
In Iroa, Nioa, and Hakoa, feral monkeys naturally gravitate towards market stalls. However, unlike in Auloa, where foxes are butchered and sold in markets for good luck, in Iroa, Nioa, and Hakoa it is believed that harming a monkey in a market or bazaar brings bad luck.

Personality Characteristics

Motivation

Though he is aligned as a True Neutral deity, some argue that he is in fact either more Chaotic or more Good than the Heavenly Codex's teachings espouse.

Social

Family Ties

Qingu is a younger deity, born from the union of Zwakhasis and Lacorré. However, it was Zwakhasis, Lacorré that carried and bore Qingu from a womb he carved from his thigh. He is also related to other divinities including Uriah⁣, Porcia, Rashi, Balan, Calorba, and Acien Tali.

Divine Classification

Deity

Alignment

True Neutral

Realm

Celestial Mountains

Church/Cult

Heavenly Council

Honorary & Occupational Titles

Fortune's Dispatch; the Chancekeeper;

Current Residence

The Celestial Mountains

Quotes & Catchphrases

"Fox and Fortune" —a prayer among faithful merchants after business transactions

Aligned Organization

Heavenly Council

Related Myths

• "Lacorré Steals The Heart of the Sea"
• "The Fox and the Maiden's Cock"

Hallowed Arms

The Fated Lock: a magic lock that only opens upon Qingu's command and cannot be broken by any means.

Holy Orders:

• Acolyte: Teller

• Cleric: Keeper (Knowledge)

• Leader: Chancellor

• Temple: Mint or Keep

Animal Harbinger(s):

Fox; Monkey