The 13 Watchers - Etheolish Gods
The 13 Watchers
2 are lovers who can never meet
2 are married from long ago
2 are friends who love the land
2 are foes who hunt each other
2 are siblings fond of games
2 are sages who guard the truth
There is but one who stands alone, for The Pale Lady has no peer.
The Separated Lovers :
Brogar, The Mountain King. (Colour associated : Dark Blue)Breagath, The Sky Queen. (Colour associated : Azure)
Theirs is a tale of tragic lovers. They are perhaps the oldest of the gods since many stories say that they were separated when the world was made, and since that time, they have been unable to be together. Their conversation can be observed during storms. The great wind and storm is caused by Breagath washing her hair, occasionally, one of her hairs will fall, this is the lightning that we see. When it falls to earth, Brogar is so eager to have it that he slaps his hands together to catch it, this is the thunder that we hear afterwards. In an attempt to capture the shine of these dropped hairs, he crafts them into gold, silver and gems and hides them deep underground.
These two are so old and so well known that they are in a way both the most worshipped and the least worshipped. For example, whatever other gods they may pray to, almost every sailor or fisherman who grew up in Etheolish waters will tie an azure ribbon to their wrists or some part of their ship in the hopes that the sky queen will grant them fair weather and fill sails with wind. The tradition does not usually extend to airship crews since very few of them originate in Etheoland although retired sailors travelling by airship tend to carry a pocket full of ribbons and tie them to various places around the ship much to the crews’ annoyance.
Likewise, most blacksmiths will paint their signs or doors a deep blue colour, said to be the Mountain King's preferred shade. A true master craftsman, recognised by their peers as such, will often engrave the Mountain King’s mark, a crown under an inverted V, on the items they are most proud of. This mostly applies to metal workers and jewellers but other crafts have begun to adopt the custom. Occasionally people come across an artefact marked with a crown under two inverted Vs, one on top of the other. These are unerringly incredibly valuable.
The Old Married Couple :
Kethrir, He of the iron fist (Colour associated : Crimson)Gilathril, She of the Gentle touch (Colour associated : Pink)
Kethrir is hot headed, sometimes represented with actual flaming hair and beard but more usually with blood red hair, beard and eyes. One of his hands is made of iron, as it was bitten off by Pinefur after one of the Kethrir's legendary tempers destroyed a forest. But the kind hearted Mountain King made him an iron replacement. His temples are usually decorated with the symbols of an iron first holding a sword and he tends to be associated with bears. Most of his followers are warriors of some sort though it is not unusual for him to be praised by all those who covet power even among the nobility.
Gilathril argues constantly with her husband but there is still tenderness there. She soothes his anger and tends to those who have been the victims of his temper. Her followers usually wear pink and her temples are decorated with the same colour. Most of her followers carry an insignia representing a hand delicately holding a needle and thread made of gold. They can be found in most major settlements but also set up tents near battlefields where they will tend to all wounded, regardless of allegiance. Anyone who starts a fight inside the tent or threatens to harm one of the healers inside is swiftly stopped by any other soldiers who are present. In one notable battle, the entire conflict was decided because one of the generals tried to capture a healer's tent and kill all opposing soldiers who entered it. As a result, his army was denied healing in any of the healers' tents nearby and their defeat followed swiftly after.
The Foes :
The Shaded Owl, Mistress of Darkness (Colour associated : Black)The Burning Raven, Master of Light (Colour associated : Yellow)
The lord of light passes over the disc every day, his blazing wings providing light and warmth for all it’s inhabitants. He flies around the disc again and again, forever chasing, or being chased by the Mistress of Night. While he is readily observed, she is much harder to see, she hides in the darkness between the opening and closing moons never seen by moral eyes.
His children are the crows and ravens, who being less divine than he, are burned black by the force of his radiance. Her children are the owls, silent hunters who follow in her shadow. They have been foes for at least as long as the land and sky have been divided, some say they were friends once. Each one attracts their own flock of worshipers. Followers of the master of light tend to be equally bright in personality, usually very forward and outspoken, a lot of their priests spend time in adventuring groups, travelling around the world, fighting those they perceive as evil, particularly the undead. They aren’t always popular, as they are about as subtle as the fire they tend to spread in their wake. Not all are such fanatics, but the priesthood does seem to inspire a certain evangelistic zeal. Their temples are usually richly decorated with gold and jewels of all colours.
Followers of the Mistress of Darkness follow the example of their god and tend to stick to the shadows. Many a thief or spy wears a discreet black owl pendant in the hopes that she will grant her blessing and allow them to go undetected. By her nature she is not openly worshipped and the few ceremonies performed in her honour are done so in secret in the dead of night. While worshipping her isn’t technically illegal, being discovered with an owl pendant is certainly something that will draw the guards’ suspicion. Displaying such a symbol openly is a sure way to get oneself stabbed or beaten, either by “proactive” guards or by followers of the mistress who see such an act as the highest blaspheme possible.
The Friends :
Pinefur, The great green wolf, Mother of Bark and Beast (Colour associated : Dark Green)The Signing Hermit (Colour associated : Lime Green)
Pinefur is widely worshipped, especially by those in rural areas. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, the iconography is somewhat inconsistent, sometimes she is represented as a tree, sometimes a wolf or a bear. The most widespread representation, which gave rise to the name most used, is the image of a great She-wolf with green fur resembling a pine tree. What remains consistent is her identity as a female god and her friendship with the The Singing Hermit, who is also mostly worshipped in rural areas.
They say that the two of them can be seen walking together in the deep forests sometimes, telling stories to each other, singing songs and playing in rivers. The Singing Hermit is usually seen as an old man dressed in plain clothes, a bright green cloak and a big floppy hat. Children who have been lost in the forest sometimes tell stories of hearing a man singing in the distance that led them home. Of the 13, he is the only one considered to be entirely benevolent. While encounters with him always end well, the same cannot be said for the stories told by those who claim to have seen the mighty Pinefur alone. For every child brought home by the Singing Pilgrim there is a tale of a poacher who quickly decided to find a new line of work. And men who mistreat their beasts find that when they look out at forests, they see, among the leaves, a pair of great yellow eyes and branches shift without any breeze to move them. She cares for all beasts but also for the forests themselves. Those who cut more wood than they need and show no respect to the forest quickly find their homes entirely covered in sharp brambles.
The Siblings :
Esynox the Dark, Esynox the Deceitful (Colour associated : Indigo)Esynae the Fair, Esynae the Arcane. (Colour associated : Violet)
The twilight twins of magic and trickery are the youngest of the gods though still older than any of the mortal races by far. There is much debate about the gender of both twins, perhaps appropriately to their tricksy nature. They are usually represented as playful teenagers with long hair and androgynous features as most artists and craftsmen have learned that it is better to keep the matter uncertain. Aside from the colour of their hair and eyes, they are completely identical.
Their origin is equally mysterious, and divisive. There are even some who say they were akin to mortals long ago, perhaps the first mortals to even exist.The story goes that one day, when the Master of light was flying over the then young disc, he saw a child alone on the ground, it had fair hair and deep purple skin. Curious, he flew down but kept his distance, not wanting to burn the child with his brilliant light. It was barely more than a baby and seemed totally defenceless. The child had no clothes and it would surely die from the nightly chill, so he took pity on it and he gave the child a single one of his feathers, to keep it warm and safe. ”Take this it will protect you and if you survive the night, it will help me find you tomorrow” He taught it a few secrets that his light had revealed to him. He gave the child the name of Esynae. Then he flew away, continuing his circuit of the disc.
Later, night came and with it, the Mistress of darkness. She flew by and also saw a child alone and defenceless on the disc, also curious she flew down to watch it, ever cautious, she kept her distance. The child had fair hair and purple skin and seemed to be barely more than a baby. It was sitting by the embers of a fire. It would not keep predators away for long so she took pity on the child and gave it one of her feathers to keep it hidden and safe. ”Take this it will protect you and if you survive the day, it will help me find you tomorrow night” She talked to it some more and taught it secret things that were hidden in darkness. She gave the child the name of Esynox. Then she flew away, continuing her circuit of the disc.
Many years passed, each day the Master of light and the Mistress of darkness descended and taught the child many secret things in turn, both ignorant of the other’s influence. But one day at twilight, The Master of Light and Mistress of Darkness each caught a glimpse of each other over the horizon and at once they both rushed towards their ancient foe. But both stopped in the middle, seeing the child they had cared for, now almost fully grown, except there was not one, but two people standing alone on the disc holding hands and laughing. Two people with fair hair and purple skin. Both were completely identical. Distracted, the two ancient foes began to argue. One of the youths egged them on, while the other took the two feathers gifted by the Master of Light and the Mistress of Darkness and tied them both to a wooden stick creating the first mage's wand on the Disc. They then waved the wand and the power that emanated from it stopped all argument. The twins laughed as they revealed their trick. Of course the two ancient foes were furious to have been tricked, especially since they had been tricked into working together.
The Flame Raven unleashed a burst of fiery wrath, but the one with the waved it again and it passed harmlessly over the twins, only managing to burn the wandless twin’s hair, turning it black. The Shadow Owl unleashed a wave of darkness, but the now dark haired twin pretended to be mortally wounded and out of pity, she relented only succeeding in turning the wand maker's eye's black.
In dismay and outrage, the two ancient foes departed. Out of thanks, or perhaps out of mischief, the two decided to keep the names they had been given, especially since they were no longer identical.
The dark haired twin took the name Esynox, given to them by the Mistress of the Darkness.
The black eyed twin took on the name Esynae, given to them by the Master of Light.
The Sages :
The Steel Tome (Colour associated : Grey)The Rainbow Ledger (Colour associated : All)
Some people are unsure whether the Steel Tome and Rainbow Ledger should be counted among the 13 watchers. They are by all accounts extremely powerful, far beyond what anyone could reasonably call artefacts. They are the embodiment of forces. It is said that both contain absolute truth in their own way. But they are certainly less alive than the others who all seem to have some semblance of emotion. The tomes are clearly sentient, and even perform miracles occasionally.
The Steel Tome, the ultimate record of law, the compendium of crime.
The laws of men, the laws of nature, spoken or unspoken, it is said to contain them all. They say that every agreement or deal ever made is written down somewhere in it’s pages. Every crime, every sin, every betrayal... carefully and precisely recorded. The absolute final court of appeal, there is no higher authority in matters of law. People have, misguidedly, attempted to falsify it’s testimony, claiming their word to be the word of the Steel Tome. It is common knowledge that such a thing is quite simply impossible. And yet fools faced with the noose attempt it. The lucky ones find that their tongue simply refuses to form the words or that their quill refuses to write them. Swearing on the steel time is the strongest vow one can possibly take. If anyone should say “By the steel tome, I swear it to be true” then all educated, or at least well travelled, people will believe their words without question. The only alternative would be someone powerful enough to defy a god, a terrifying and likely heretical possibility. In such circumstances it would probably not be wise to challenge a person.
The Rainbow Ledger, the sage of sages, the final library.
It is at once the most feared and most sought after of the gods. For in it’s pages are the answers to every question you have ever asked. Even those questions you have only asked yourself in the dead of night. You wish for the name of the man who wronged you and ruined your life. The answer is here. You wish for a way to become fabulously wealthy in less than a week. The answer is here. You wish for the secrets of returning the dead to life. The answer is here. Knowledge is seemingly such an innocent thing but in the wrong hands, knowledge can destroy the world. It almost happened many years ago. Worship of the Rainbow Ledger is strictly forbidden to the common folk. Reserved only to a few select scholars who are carefully watched for any signs of madness. You see, the book contains all knowledge and that includes the secrets of true love, the truth behind art and beauty but it also includes other things. Things that mortal minds were never meant to know. Some truths are perhaps simply too big or too terrible to be understood properly. Or perhaps some things simply change one's understanding of the world so much that it appears as madness to others. Madness, that is the sad fate of any who worship the Rainbow Ledger. Eventually their minds degrade and they sink into delirium or worse. For some it takes many years, and they only show signs of insanity when they reach old age. Others are not so fortunate. Most die soon after. It is difficult to live when you forget to eat or drink, when you brush your teeth with a butcher’s knife. There is a hospital in Whitemount that tries to take care of those careless or unfortunate enough to have succumbed to it, some patients manage to make at least a partial recovery and can return to their families, but total recovery is often deemed impossible. When a scholar takes on the Rainbow robe, often their family and friends will speak of them as of the dead.
The Pale Lady :
(Colour associated : White)The pale lady walks alone, she is everywhere and nowhere. Those who act the fool and head recklessly into danger, she punishes. Those whose suffering is too great to bear, she comforts. She takes all into her embrace. Some people say that they glimpse her, at the edge of sight, when their life hangs in the balance. They say she wears a long white dress, with a white cloak, white hair and white skin. She looks neither young nor old. Her eyes, in contrast to everything else, are said to be of the blackest black, it is said that if you should glimpse her and look into her eyes directly, she will take you away.
Sometimes she is represented as sad, with dark tears flowing down her face, not openly weeping but simply wearing a sad little smile, the look of someone who has long since accepted their fate. Other times she is represented as comforting, almost motherly.
Many fear her, some worship her, and a few tragic people beg for her to take them away.
The followers she has tend to be quiet, offering funeral rites to those who have died recently and comforting the grieving. It is customary to help her followers or otherwise make a small offering upon meeting one. The order remembers and when your time of need comes around, perhaps one of them will be there to help, sometimes by healing wounds if it is not too late but more often helping those left behind to move on, supporting them through their grief.
Type
Religious, Pantheon
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