Ahrumazd
(a.k.a. The Lord of Light; The Eternal Flame)
Ahrumazd is the chief deity of the Suranid dynasty and the people of that region. He is a fierce if loving god, known for his intervention in mortal affairs.
Divine Domains
Ahrumazd is primarily a god of fire, associated with smiths and cooking. This extends, however, to figurative light; enlightenment, truth, justice, and righteous rule are also part of his core portfolio. He is believed by Nonerians to be part of the Judge and Craftsman, but he shares many traits as well with the Mother and the Gleaming Eyes. The Ax'emai pray to him for all things, however. even those normally outside the domain of a simple god of fire, and several other deities that were once present in the region have become subsumed within Ahrumazd as a result, giving him strange domains such as agriculture and travel.
Tenets of Faith
Ahrumazd holds his followers to strict codes of conduct, divided into pairs of commandments and anathemas. Perhaps the most important is that they are to never knowingly tell a lie. Deceit must be rooted out, and it is the duty of his cultists to always seek the truth. Without truth, the law is meaningless, and knowledge is impossible. Further, once a lie is told and believed it will spread, and can twist the perceptions of countless others. Conversely, it is their duty to always seek knowledge for themselves, to correct lies that others have told, and reveal the truth to those who have been led astray.
Secondly, Ahrumazd demands his followers either create or sponsor things of great merit. This is usually interpreted as a call to strive to better society through the creation of great works: magnificent palaces to display the authority of law; epic poems, great works of art, and moral stories to edify the population and show them truth; well-forged blades and armor with which to defend justice; and all things besides. His followers must wield Ahrumazd's fire like a forge to create great new things and preserve the old. However, they must also be willing to use it as a torch, burning away that which is unsightly. Followers of evil must be opposed regardless of their station in society, for by turning against society they have lost its protection. Their works need not be destroyed unless they themselves bring actual harm (such as a cursed object), but if they propagate lies or falsehoods they must be destroyed.
Thirdly, Ahrumazd demands that his followers destroy the undead wherever they hide. While all are loathsome, Vampires are considered the worst, for not only do they partake in the cursed gifts of the Black Veil they actively leech from the community around them. Least offensive are the liches, who, while still evil in Ahrumazd's eyes, are the closest thing to tolerable; they rarely leave their towers, or harm the community, and serve in some way his own goal of uncovering knowledge. His clerics are instructed to offer them Revitalization, a process in which their soul is drawn from their phylactery and restored to their body. From that point on, they live as mortals rather than undead. If they refuse, however, they are to be destroyed. Obviously, it is heretical for any follower of Ahrumazd to become undead by any means.
Divine Goals & Aspirations
Ahrumazd is primarily concerned not with the order of the world, but with the order of the people in it; the maintenance of society, the creation of great works, the upholding of the right and the casting down of the wicked. For all these things, the Amex'ai pray to him, but the most important gift he provides is hope, the flame that keeps away the monsters lurking in the dark of the mortal psyche. His priests have a subtle effect on those near them, driving despair from their minds and fatigue from their bodies, and his temples are refuges of both the spirit and the body.
It is no surprise, then, that he is locked in an eternal struggle against the Black Veil, mother of undeath, queen of disease, mistress of lies. With fire, he burns away her corruption. With knowledge, he cures her diseases. With light, he exposes her deceptions. As a lower-ranking divinity than her, he himself is unable to defeat her, however. Light may cast away darkness, but it will always return when the fire has lost its fuel. So he must constantly re-engage with the mortal world in order to drive away her influence, or at least keep it at bay; for Ahrumazd, mortals are his main instruments, as he cannot hope to win against the darkness alone. Thusly he arms them with hope and enlightenment, and instructs his priests to teach them just ways and sound morals. He cannot win, but he can help mortals no longer need him. That is his ultimate goal.
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