The Gods: Categories and Theories

Foreword

All across Ioral, in almost any sort of education, the topic of deities comes up, due to their importance to the functions of the world, though many half truths and lies have wormed their way into the zeitgeist. In order to remedy this, a series of well renowned scholars from across the world have come together to write this text, in order to set the record straight. The following information will cover the various types of gods, where each currently known gods fits in these categories, as well as discussing some theories surrounding the gods. Before more detail can be given, it must be made clear that we currently do not know just how many variants of gods there are, and that those discussed here covers what we currently understand to be the truth, and that it is most likely going to be subjected to change. In these circumstances this text will be updated and new editions will be released, though these will most have centuries between publications.

Categories

As it currently stands, there are six categories deities can fall into; Primal, Aspect, Outer, Ascended, Living and False, in order of the influence each category has over Ioral. First are the Primal, those that used their physical forms to create the world universe as we know it, ultimately sacrificing their independence to give form and life to the world(s) we know today. Consequently, however, Primal Deities are also the most constrained in their ability to directly manipulate the world, due to the way the world was made, though there are four outliers here; Telsin, Nythrion, Qyhmos and Yazeth. Telsin and Nythrion, while giving much of their strength to the forming of the world, also removed their cores from it directly, becoming the Sun and Moon respectively, in order to provide gateways to and from the afterlife, as well as to serve as watchful guardians. Qhymos gave up most of their divine power in order to experience the world as a mortal, so that they could live amongst those that they had helped create, and offer aid. Yazeth, on the other hand, is an anomaly, as they existed as a well known and insidious Outer God for much of the early history of Ioral, though suddenly was a Primal Deity after the Long Nothing, bound eternally in the Shadowfel. The reasons for this are unknown, as the Primal Deities are not very forth coming with this knowledge, though it is well known that this prison is not flawless, as the Fetchlings entered and then fled from it at some point, while also two other recorded incursions from the Chain Lord’s minions have occurred.

Then there are the Aspects, so called for the fact that they embody and aspect of a Primal God, though as with the Primal Gods, there are exceptions, this time it is the Gods of the Amrish. The various deities of the Amrish are formed out of collective experiences and combinations of souls, leading to them being named the Ancestor Gods. Due to the odd way the form and function, the Ancestor Gods are often considered to be an Aspect not of a Primal, but of the Amrish themselves, hence the classification. Aspects are able to manifest themselves physically on Ioral, though generally adhere to an ancient agreement where they would remain in their own domains, planes adjacent to the Soulforge. Again, however, there are exceptions, in this case Aion, the Ashbringer, mostly due to the fact that Aion seemed to be originally created during the forming of Ioral, and only awoke in recent millennia. Due to this, Aion’s domain is not some other plane but the Ashlands themselves, however, Aion observes his own version of the agreement, oft restricting his movements to within Mount Nouripo, lest another Aspect break the treaty (see: Kimaris). Outer Gods are of the same stock as Primals, esoteric entities that seek nourishment from the energy feedback of proto-planes, though they were not involved in the creation of the plane. These late comers reach into the plane via faint tendrils of power, in order to influence mortals and gain nourishment through various actions. The first recorded Outer God, Riraq, is a great example of this, as they feed upon the energy desires and dreams of mortals give off, encouraging mortals in subtle ways towards their goals. So strange is their existence that Outer Gods were a hard discovery to come by, though since the discovery and naming of Riraq many others have been discovered, including Yazeth, once the most vocal of the Outer Gods, though somehow they managed to become a Primal.

Sometimes mortals are able to transcend their limitations and become something more, an entity of pure energy capable of grand things, though unable to sustain themselves on the physical plane. These Ascended have been granted domains within the Soulforge, living amongst the souls of the deceased and those on their way back to the material plane, though they do not have any control over the Soulforge itself. To become an Ascended is something only a handful of mortals have achieved in their lives, though through the guidance of another Ascended the processes is much easier, however in order to prevent bloating their ranks the Ascended have agreed to a non-interference policy much like the treaty the Aspects adhere to.

When Qhymos gave up most of their divine power to walk the world as the Travelling God, many fragments of their power were thrown into the Soulforge which have become bound to various souls as they leave the Forge on their way to reincarnation. These souls have what is called a ‘Divine Spark’, the potential for them to develop into Living Gods, given enough worship, though these forms are not invulnerable entities living removed from Ioral, but actual living entities capable of death, under the right circumstances. What classifies these entities as Gods is the fact that they create a ‘Domain’ around them upon reaching Godhood, a sphere of influence that they have complete control over, though the radius of this area is directly tied to how many worshippers they have. It is incredibly difficult for a mortal to kill a Living God, nearly impossible without divine intervention or incredibly powerful tools, though it has been known for Living Gods to kill each other. While within the bounds of any Living God’s Domain, a Living God is effectively invulnerable, save to other Living Gods, though outside of a Living God’s Domain any Living God is weakened significantly. Lastly there are the False Gods, outsider creatures that pretend to be gods to gain power from mortal worship. Most often Fey and Fiends these False Gods are not all malicious, with some even going to great lengths for their worshippers, though they can almost never grant divine gifts. Whatever the Gnarled Guardian is today, man or myth, there is divine power that can be sourced from its worship, despite the fact that there is no evidence of them being a Living God or even Ascended. Theories abound on whether or not the Gnarled Guardian is perhaps a new Seventh kind of God, though others also theorize that it is more like the Amrish Ancestor Gods, and therefore an Aspect of the Siraen people.

Known Gods per category

Primal

• Ylros, The Tormented
• Telsin, The Bright Mother
• Nythrion, The Pale Father
• Stormfather
• Qhymos, The Travelling God
• Yemar, The World Breather
• Mirukar, Lord of the Flame
• Yazeth, The Chained Lord

Aspect

• Tirsloch, The Great Binder (Yemar)
• Kurvidar, The Crimson Lord (Ylros)
• Aion, The Ashbringer (Mirukar)
• Aaris, The Ancestor of Light (Amrish)

Outer

• Riraq, Aspect of Potential
• Yazeth, The Chained Lord (formerly)

Ascended

Living

False

• Mosfrin, the Ancient Watcher
• The Gnarled Guardian (potentially)

Theories

The Gnarled Guardian

When rumours of a protector spirit of the Siraen people began to be heard outside of their settlements, a handful of scholars decided to investigate the existence of such an entity. After half a decade of research it became known to them that the Gnarled Guardian’s tales were that of an old half-Ohruk who had continuously defended the Siraens from threats over decades. When they finally discovered that this individual was Gnarl Elaris, one of the Elaris Seven, the entire case was almost closed as a Legend doing what they do. However, when the scholars witnessed prayers to this Gnarled Guardian being answered with divine gifts, they decided to delve even deeper into their research and even attempt to contact the Guardian themselves, to no avail.

When this research was presented at the Ioral Scholar’s Diet, it sparked dozens of other research endeavours, which have all culminated into three primary theories: The Guardian is a new Living God, The Guardian is a new form of god/an Aspect of the Siraen People and finally, that perhaps the current understanding of Legends is not complete. Without the ability to directly communicate with the Guardian these theories have remained just that, theories, however with the increasing numbers of ‘Emissaries’ of the Gnarled Guardian, greater understanding has been achieved. Currently there is a major research program around this, with around ten Emissaries of the Guardian taking part.