Bellatan
God of war, strategy, and honor
Should I die this morn, I pray that it is with my steel in hand and ivory on my breast. May I fight for honor and glory, lest Bellatan's blade cut me down.
War is not nice, nor is it good. But it can be fought with honor, and Bellatan (bell-ah-TAHN) is the embodiment of that principle. He does not concern himself with whether or not a cause for battle is righteous, but he does very much care that it is fought with dignity and fairness. Trickery and cheap ploys incense him, and he will not suffer his favor on such a warrior or army.
His followers are disciplined, principled people. Again, as Bellatan is not concerned so much for the reason that one must fight, they are often times a warmongering group, seeking to prove themselves to him at every turn. If you are ever in a battle against Bellatan's faithful, you can breathe easy that they will not target your healers or women and children in order to win (even if they are attempting to invade and overtake your citadel).
Divine Domains
War, Knowledge
Divine Symbols & Sigils
A glaive and hazel branch crossed over a red shield; elephants; ivory; gold
Physical Description
Body Features
Bellatan is generally depicted as an olive-skinned man with black eyes and blacker hair, pulled back from an angular and sharp face. His nose crooked and bent, and a dark beard and mustache just long enough that it can't be considered a goatee, braided with gold.
Apparel & Accessories
Bellatan's armor is always depicted as white with yellow accents (ivory with gold inlay), and he carries with him a glaive of sharpened steel, engraved with his code of honor. The shield he carries is also inlaid with ivory, depicting an elephant's head.
Relationships
Commonalities & Shared Interests
Suffering is unavoidable in war - that much is true. But Angoi'suppice's revelry in the pain and torture of others turns Bellatan's stomach. He must allow Angoi'suppice to take his piece from the battlefield, but he takes no joy from it, and often times directs his daughter, Syria, to release those who would suffer in agony under Angoi'suppice's hand for days and weeks in a quiet, serene death.
Commonalities & Shared Interests
Always in step with one another, Syria is the one who takes Bellatan's faithful to the afterlife. She has her own devotees, of course, but her first priority is taking those who have died with honor upon the battlefield and giving them to Zelentium for their transition into what is beyond. Her devotion to her father is absolute, and she will do what he says in all things.
Commonalities & Shared Interests
To Bellatan, Iros-est is like the puppy playing at war dog. To Iros-est, Bellatan is the old man with one foot in the ground.
It is rather unfortunate for Iros-est, then, that he cannot beat Bellatan in a fight. He has tried - often, in fact - to kill the man that stands between him and a major slot in the pantheon. But Bellatan can end the fight in less than three minutes. And Iros-est is always the one with his face in the mud and a sandal on his back.
His pride suffers greatly from these offenses, but Iros-est knows no other way to get what he wants.
Bellatan is well aware of Iros-est's attempts to recruit his daughter, Syria, to his cause, but their trust in one another is without reproach.
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