Raspastin
Raspastin was born to Shadowent and Cutalazz, in the time after her liberation from Vaskull. The tale of Raspastin is a sad one, one that even his clerics are torn about millennia later. Yet it begins pleasantly enough, as a young god, with an insatiable curiosity that almost none could sate. He was destined, as seen by Hevren, Dieterra, and Shadowent herself, to be the God of Knowledge, a powerful deity, but perhaps some confluence of the stars had hindered him, and he grew with the impetuous nature of a youth within him. Unlike most gods, who came to life as a babe, before growing rapidly, Raspastin grew slowly. His deep eyes would look about himself, learning with every breath, taking slow joy from every small discovery. He brought light to Shadowent and her comforter, and they took their duties as doting parents seriously.
In particular, his companion, the mystical star-cat, Henry, would always be found curled around his books.
He was similar in this stage of his life, to Saranna, who also was doomed to grow slowly, not coming into her full strength just as Raspastin did not. This shared struggle would bring them both closely together, even after the great tragedy that befell Raspastin.
When he was a boy, perhaps fourteen, Raspastin and Saranna studied together almost constantly, matching magic against knowledge, and competing in a friendly nature. But just as Saranna’s understanding of magic was always greater than his, so his curiosity and need to know ever more, was greater than hers. And so it was, Raspastin approached Shadowent with a request. He wanted to become a mortal, just for a year, to learn what it was to be without immortality. So besotted was Shadowent with her son, she agreed, and she asked Cutalazz, to take hold of Raspatin’s immortality for the period of a year. This first year was a challenge for Raspastin, but he thrived on challenge.
When he returned to the Court of Shadows and Dreams, his mother asked him what he had learned, and he said he had learned to fear death, his own father, but also that there were so many mysteries within the flesh, equal to those beyond the world. He said he wanted his immortality back, so he could begin understanding these mysteries.
Years passed, and Raspastin, still a youthful god, seeking to grow slowly, became the husband of Saranna, and sired Ephras and Larassa. Yet there was always a curiosity within him, which was piqued during a conflict fought against Vaskull, the former husband of his mother. Vaskull had found another gate, and sought to bring the Outside Ones into Torthe once more.
This was stopped, but Raspastin knew that the knowledge of how to defeat them was needed. The gods were fighting to keep them from entering the world, but they knew that if they ever reached the material plane, they could not stand against them. And so Raspastin turned against the Golden Throne, the Moon Rulers, and others, though not in his heart, and sought to work alongside the Dethroned to find the answers to the questions he sought.
Alas, it was Aesa who saw through him, and, although she hates the Outside Ones, she at that time, hated the Golden Throne more. So she whispered to Vaskull, and together they reached into the void, for just a moment, and pulled through a beautiful jewelled mirror.
This was given to Raspastin by the Dethroned as a test, and each god there turned their back to him, gazing into the mirror (but he did not see their blindfolds), before asking him to do the same. Raspastin gazed into the Mirror of the Void, and the darkness took him.
It is said that in the old chambers on the Golden Throne, Henry the star-blessed cat shrieked with sadness, for his old friend was lost to him for an eternity. Yet that single shriek was enough to let just one of Raspastin’s eyes turn from the mirror.
Now, he is a half-god, half-void monster, spending half his life trapped in the Mirror, and the other half trying to undo what his other half has done. Vaskull, to keep him from spilling his secrets against the void, has crafted an armoured seal of scrolls and iron, to keep him mute. If ever Raspastin is whole again, the suit would be nothing to his power, but for the time he is bound – and it has been millenia – and only has half his strength, he is trapped.
The saddest thing about this god is he has never truly grown up, and seems still like an adolescent. Though he cannot speak, nor write much of consequence, he does sometimes scribe the paw of a cat, as if asking where his oldest companion can be found.
Tenets of Faith
- Avoid the glance of a mirror, so that our will is strong when we face the Void;
- Curiosity must be indulged, even if it harms us;
- Freedom is priceless, and must never be exchanged for anything;
- Cats must never be harmed, no matter how many muddy paw prints they leave;
- Seek the Void Mirror, that is the prime direction we can give;
- Knowledge should be given to those in the greatest need, to all others, it must be paid for.
- Love for Shadowent, but can now only stand with her, without talking and she has to keep her distance lest he is the Void, at that moment;
- Love and pride for his children, Ephras and Larassa;
- Hatred for Vaskull, and for Aesa.
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