Ixovaqitetsu

Ixovaqitetsu - literally "spirit-person-animal-joy," also known as Tetsu or by his epithet as 'The Reveler' - is a spirit in Rostran Esotericism associated with revelry, libations, positive reinforcement, and feelings of infectious joy or excitement.

Divine Domains

Chaos, Good, Trickery, Healing; Joy, Pleasure

Divine Symbols & Sigils

Ixovaqitetsu is revered by Esotericists for his qualities of Ingelin (dexterity) and Ixa (spirit), though his wily nature also suggests that his Iloi (intelligence) and Ivonela (charisma) can also be called upon for specific situations. Practitioners believe that Tetsu, of all the spirits, cares the least for how his sigils are drawn. The offering - a libation of strong alcohol (for adult supplicants) or fruit juice (for those too young or infirm for drink) poured into the center of the sigil before being inbibed by the supplicants themselves - is far more important for the ritual to be considered 'good' than the execution of the sigil itself. The association of Tetsu worship with alcoholism has led many hierophants to suggest that this disorder, as a disease with unjoyful consequences for those surrounding the sufferer, constitutes an infirmity for the purpose of requiring a suplicant to make fruit juice libations instead of alcoholic ones.
Household ritual spaces dedicated to The Reveler often feature cabinets (or, in more modern times, ice boxes) full with beverages. These spaces will typically be on the bottom floor of the household, feature a clear space where the floor coverings may be easily cleaned or replaced in the necessary case of spills, and will be clear of obstructions or protrusions so that 'ritual benders' do not result in injury for the participants. College fraternal organizations tend to pick houses with extra-large ritual spaces specifically for this reason.

Tenets of Faith

Ixovaqitetsu is a benevolent spirit that brings those who bind him joy, mirth, and an eye for good-natured pranks. Practitioners who bind the spirit believe that he can also teach the creation of traps and snares, as these tricky devices are adjacent to pranks but serve an important purpose for the continued survival of an omnivorous culture. Suplicants don't generally call upon Tetsu to punish their enemies, both because having such a dour, serious attitude is considered a venal sin within his faith (causing many 'poor' sigils) and because he would serve to merely annoy one's enemies without actually setting them back. When an Esotericist binds Ixaumosana to afflict a rival, for example, she might cause the rival's ships to capsize and their loved ones to drown; when Ixovaquitetsu is so bound, he might just cause the rival to get a little sand in their dessert while celebrating Eurymaxim on the beach.
'Tetsu laughs' is a common Rostran idiom for when someone's vain, officious, or serious attitude is challenged by events beyond their control. The same idiom also applies moments when film or stage actors break character by laughing - a vice taken very much more light-heartedly in Rostran culture than in places like the Voxelian performing arts world.
In contrast to the Knapper of Spirits, Ixovaqitetsu disregards social convensions and has a distaste for formality or stoicism. Despite this, in Knappism lore, he is considered less an 'anti-deity' than an important reminder that, though the Stern Father respects endurance, he does not require his followers to be entirely humorless.

Divine Classification

Conceptual Spirit

Religions

• Rostran Esotericism

Alignment

Chaotic Good

Church/Cult

Rostran Esotericism

Mysterious Origins

Belief in Ixovaqitetsu is believed to predate The Curved Time, as his divine portfolios aren't nearly as unified and coherent as those of any other spirits. Similarly, while most depictions of Tetsu in Esotericist literature are of a squat, very hairy humanoid with broadly animalistic features, it isn't clear that these features derive from any animal native to the native Rostran archipelago in Rostral C, suggesting a 'contaigon' by some as-of-yet undiscovered environment or culture. Believers in Tetsu in the New Cobalt Protectorate believe that this animal was a near-hominid likely called an 'ape' or 'monkey,' by pre-Manifold cultures, but are loathe to elaborate to outsiders with regard to how they came to this conclusion.
In older High Rostran lore, Ixovaqitetsu was associated with primal chaos. In more modern interpretations, the spirit instead holds connotations with change and the creative force of universal entropy. This change in association occurred because the belief that the spirit world is an inherently chaotic place has become defunct. Contact with other sentient species has changed the modern Rostran interpretation of The Curved Time - which the spirit world is believed to be a subset of - to one in which that past (and future) epoch was inherently more orderly and rational than the Manifold Sky (the temporal realm) ever could be.