Sothime (soðɪme)

The Mind's Eye; the Golden Recluse

Existence should ever be dwelled upon, and never be forgot.

— Words of Sothime

Sothime, the Mind's Eye, is a true god that has existed since time immemorial. Despite their lengthy presence, they hold little relevance in mortal memory, preferring their isolation; this has long since seen them named the Golden Recluse. They are a deity of minds, emotions, and experiences whose realm, the Qualic Scriptorium, sits upon the endless black sands of the Boneyard - the plane in which mortals meet their ultimate end.
Those who do choose to worship Sothime typically follow the deity's edicts on retaining all they can of their lived experiences through memory or memorabilia, on exploring entirely new scenarios and forging new interactions, and on interpreting and understanding both their own thoughts and those of the others around them.

Dogma

Scriptorium Halls by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Sothime is the epitome of organised chaos. Their methods border on madness on the best of days, and this flows down into every facet of their being and realm; even their melissa servitors communicate via dancing and manage constant small adjustments to their routines.
They retain a claim on the domain of mortal minds and experiences despite rarely interacting with mortals and indeed being one of the most obscure deities known by the very mortals they watch over. Of all the gods that may have some idea about the origin of psychic magic and the ways it may have been released to mortals, Sothime is one of those who is most likely to know - or at least to have recorded the first instances of its appearance in their Scriptorium.
Some assume this topic is why Sothime and Enhedha have recently been spending more time around one another.

History

As long as there has been life and magic, there has been a need for the Scriptorium - so of course, its master must have been there!

— devotee of Sothime

Despite warranting little mention in mortal history books, Sothime is a deity with history spanning eras. They have refrained from interfering in most large-scale deific affairs, maintaining few friendships or rivalries. Their contribution to the Divine Wars was largely to inform the rest of the Outer Planes that they would be accepting donations of qualia only from those who could refrain from fighting upon their doorstep.
It is suspected that their distance from the many pantheons, deities, and demigods of the universe is why they maintain such a strong relationship with Enhedha, the Scribe of Time, despite their moral clashes on the law-chaos axis. Few other deities are able to even contact the deities that dwell in the Dimension of Time, and Sothime has never chosen to reveal why or how their friendship persists.

Appearance

Depictions of Sothime heavily vary in how they portray the alien and isolationist deity. The most common illustrations portray them as a humanoid figure with grey-black skin and with bonelike armour formed from melidea, often integrating the iconic hexagonal motifs of the Qualic Scriptorium. This is indeed how Sothime has chosen to appear on many occasions with ever-increasing amounts of variation.
However, they also enjoy adopting more skeletal figures or entirely inhuman shapes, with a personal favourite form being that of a many-eyed seraphim oozing with melidea.

Depictions of Sothime

Sothime, the Ravenglow by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Sothime, the All-Feeling by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Sothime, the Gilded Guise by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Servitors

Sothime's species of divine servitors are the construct melissa, assumed to be a derivative of the inevitables that inhabit the plane of Law. These winged orblike creatures fly around to observe the planes and record qualia for the Scriptorium, or spend their time otherwise serving Sothime's bizarre wishes. Rarely, some take advanced forms to aid Sothime in defending their realm or destroying perceived threats.

Unique Servants

Sothime's servants are not entirely melissa; many psychopomps choose to serve in their realm, and some few mortals and psychopomps have been awarded some measure of the deity's divine power.

Apithis
Sothime's herald, Apithis, is an unusual memitim psychopomp who retains the memories of her mortal life and has adopted some features of her mistress's melissa, including their iridescent wings in place of her kind's usual black feathers. She stands at approximately 7ft tall and wields a scythe that eternally drips liquid melidea in her wake; it is considered lucky to preserve evidence of her visit.

Melissa Servitor by Hanhula (via Nijijourney)

Meliferos the Golden by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Meliferos
This servant of Sothime is the result of the deity's experiments with melidea, appearing as an amalgamation of golden liquid and metallic shapes. He serves as their messenger to those who have interfered with the workings of the Scriptorium, and has the power to capture violators of Sothime's personal laws by absorbing them into his body.
It is said that Meliferos was formed when Sothime tried to experiment with thoughts of proteans; if this is true, then it would go some way to explaining the eldritch tongues Meliferos is capable of producing.

Fulvalin
Functioning as the diplomat where the rest cannot, Fulvalin is a modified angel who departed from their home in Elysium to serve as the Scriptorium's moral guide, though their purpose has since changed. With their counterpart, they are tasked with learning from the Scriptorium and devising new ways to use the unique properties of emotions, sensations, and feelings.
They are responsible for a number of medical inventions using melidea as a base, and some attribute particularly good honey to Fulvalin's interference on the Material Plane. They are also a contributor to a number of meads throughout celestial homes, and retain strong connections to Elysium despite their milennia of service to Sothime.

Fulvalin, the Sweet Ambrosia by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Varrona, the Honeyed Smile by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Varrona
Where there is good, there must also be evil: Varrona was a devil sent from Hell when the forces of Hell realised an angel had settled into Sothime's court. Upon arriving, Sothime crafted them into something new, maintaining their evil nature but infusing them with pure chaotic energy.
The former devil now acts as Fulvalin's counterpart, harnessing the Scriptorium's knowledge for evil purposes and devising strange new poisons and weapons, and countering the good acts Fulvalin performs by enacting their long-standing schemes upon the Material Plane.
If they have retained any links to Hell, that information belongs to only Varrona and Sothime; even Fulvalin has no idea what the truth is, though the angel has their own thoughts on the matter.

It is rumoured that Sothime intends to ascend some of their servitors to the rank of demigod in the near future. If this occurs, they are likely to draw the attention of existing deities and of mortals, increasing their prominence throughout the planes. What would motivate this is currently unknown.

Mental characteristics

Divine Classification

True God

Alignment

Chaotic Neutral

Current Location

The Qualic Scriptorium

Realm

The Qualic Scriptorium

Pronouns

They/them

Ruled Locations

• The Qualic Scriptorium

Domains

Chaos Death Madness Rune Artifice

Subdomains

Entropy Psychopomp Truth Language Construct

Deific Obedience

Evangelist

1. Extraordinary Empathy Comprehend Languages 3/day, Honeyed Tongue 2/day, Akashic Communion 1/day
2. Information Overload You have spent so much time contemplating the nature of qualia that you can force revelations and experiences on others.
   Once per day, you can cast Synapse Overload as a spell-like ability to unleash the emotions and thoughts inside a target's mind, absorbing the experience for your deity as you do so. The saving throw DC is Charisma-based.
3. Copyright Protection Your devotion to Sothime's chaotic understandings of mortal minds has made yours more alien to those around you.
   You gain a +4 sacred or profane bonus (of the same type as that provided by your obedience) against compulsion or charm effects, and if you willingly fail these saves, you gain a +6 sacred or profane bonus to the next Will save you make.

Melidea River by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Paladin Code

Despite being a deity of chaos, Sothime grants occasional worshippers the ability to serve as their paladin. In these cases, Sothime is treated as True Neutral, and the paladins must be of Lawful Neutral, Lawful Good, or Neutral Good alignment.

Paladins of Sothime are just, fair soldiers who serve as protectors and empaths to their local communities, learning from them and protecting them from mental invasion or extraplanar threats.
Unlike paladins of other deities, paladins of Sothime are not sworn to destroy evil at all costs - instead, they are advised to learn from the evils of the world to better protect their communities before a threat can arise.
Their tenets usually include the following affirmations:

1. I will protect the knowledge of those that have come before me.
2. I will use the power granted to me to learn from others, not to force them to kneel.
3. I will seek to understand those I am sworn to protect, even if I do not agree with them.
4. I will disobey rules and laws if they defy the greater knowledge and wisdoms of our world.
5. I will hear the challenges and emotions of my friends and foe alike, and learn the motivation behind their words.
6. I will strive to destroy the greater evils that underpin the lesser, rather than hurting those who could change.
7. I will resist mental corruption and remain true to my own feelings, even if I dislike them.
8. I will at all times seek new experiences; I will never be lulled to complacency or laziness.
9. I will challenge those more powerful than me if I disagree with them, so long as it is wise to do so.
10. I will purge manipulation and mental corruption where I find it, and allow people's minds to be free.