It is Nicodas, 3rd of the Month of Rain, in the year 96
The Divine Court
Humans are rumoured to have once been unified by their Gods, but now these names are said in far fewer halls. The ambitious nation of Dumanon has forsaken them, and regard them as ‘Old Gods,’ but they continue to reign supreme in Asturias, Gallia and other lesser nations. Their deities are industrious and decisive - encouraging the human tendencies for craftsmanship, war and advancement. This pantheon mimics a complicated court, and the deities seem almost human too, with follies and legends that familiarise them to the short-lived mortals.
The pantheon is broken up into three tiers. The Highest is the Divine Family, the Line from which the world is born. This is composed of a King and Queen, and their three holy children. The next tier is that of Divine Courtiers, the Advisors. Cornerstones of human life that define the most important aspects of the cultures of Men, and provide comfort in a more humble sense. The final tier is that of The Outsiders. Once Divine Courtiers and now banished to the fringes of this celestial retinue; they occupy the darker sides of Man.
"The Divine King blesses King Rodrigo's line! Those who defy, defy the Gods!"
- A fervent supporter of the Asturian royal family
The Divine Family
The Divine King, Lysander
At the heart of their pantheon is Lysander, often represented as a King, though His ethnicity changes depending on what land the likeness was made in. His hair is often greying and He always has a beard, and despite usually being shown as older in age, He has a Herculean build. He’s the God of leadership, diplomacy and firm rule. Humans believe Kings are chosen by Him, and when they fall from favour, that is when a Coup will succeed against them.
His symbol is that of a crown, made in gold, fashioned differently depending on country or even region. In Asturias His symbol is particularly complicated, likely as a way to flout and brag. That kind of audacity suits Lysander, who does not shy from pride and boldness.
The Divine Queen, Corinna
Beside Him is His Queen Consort, known by the name Corinna. She is a great beauty, and of course to the humans She represents motherhood. Her belly and breasts are always depicted as swollen, and Her figure is soft and heavyset. Despite connotations with pregnancy and female health, Her sphere goes beyond that. She, too, is a God of doing- a seamstress and weaver, a Patroness of art. She is looked to by both the tapestry maker and the armorsmith.
Corinna’s symbol is also a crown, but with ribbon woven between its spires. Her sigil is often stitched into breasts of clothes and armour, atop the heart, for love and protection.
The Divine Heir, Dion
The Heir should ever one be needed, this Prince is built for war and strife. He is cut similarly to his Father, large and imposing, always very strong. He is pure strength and physical skill, able to use any weapon - though usually the most culturally significant to any given area - and to rouse all troops. He is the raw ability of soldiers, and they look to Him the most.
His symbol, that of a shield, is perhaps deceptively peaceful. It is prevalent in all military buildings and barracks, along with shrines to Him. His most favoured offering is the weaponry of fallen foe.
The Divine Prince, Cyril
A tall and slender Prince, usually shown as without weapons or strength. He’s a God of literal fortune, the God of the ambitious and of merchants. It is said His touch can turn things to solid gold, and His relics always look like such. He's never represented as married, leading some men to believe that is the secret to great fortune.
His symbol is that of a weighing scale, and simple versions have been stamped on some Asturian coins for generations. Because of Him, gold is considered lucky and its value is exaggerated in regions that keep to the faith - its a popular gift, and many noble houses obsess about using the colour in the heraldry.
The Divine Princess, Sophia
A gorgeous and youthful Princess, shown most often as a dancer. Music and feasting fall into her sphere, and as part of this, regular seasonal events are part of every single human culture. She’s a Goddess of relief and joy, though can be taken to excess. By lower people She is sometimes displayed as a barmaid or raunchier figure, but this is scorned by Her Priestesses, who show Her as more innocent and girlish. They are responsible for any and all celebrations in cities where there is a temple to Sophia, even if it is a festival dedicated to another God.
Her symbol is that of three calla lily blooms. It's extremely common on youthful dresses and jewellery for girls - as well as on instruments. For many musicians the Divine Priestess is a muse and patron.
"Remember.. The Divine Family needs the Courtiers. You cannot do things alone."
- High Priestess Elodie, advising King Louis X in his childhood
The Divine Courtiers
Advisor of Strategy, Eulalia
Wife to Dion, but not regarded as a Divine Princess. She is shown as reserved and slender, thinner than both the Queen and the Princess. She is usually depicted in light armour, despite lacking physical strength. She speaks to the Divine Heir and advises His Strategy; keeping Him safe through studious planning. She is looked to by military leaders, and considered immensely wise. Her representation is a book, rather than a weapon or anything explicitly violent; and She is also a Patron of knowledge and frequently has shrines within great colleges.
She reminds that intellect and cunning can out-pace even God-Given strength. She is a support for Her husband, propelling His raw skill at War into a concentrated, terrifying design of glory.
Advisor of Craftsmanship, Nicodemus
A sturdy man, but not so muscular as the Divine King, represented even as a builder and labourer. He is not princely; His hands are calloused and he is shown as sweaty and in more modest clothing. To the people, He lifts their artisanal and ambitious blueprints into reality, shaping their very nation with a chisel and hammer. In the court He is an architect and advisor, imagined as speaking in the ear of every Treasury Lord and planner. Oftentimes represented as a counter to Cyril, a figure who provides balance and structure and respect for the more humble worker.
His symbol is a hammer. He is suited to blacksmiths, carpenters, boatswains and many other professions upon which an empire is built. His hammer is seen in every town, and is used by many businesses and even merchants to convey the sincerity of their profession. It is the most common of all, even usurping the crown of the Divine King Himself in popularity.
Advisor of The Home, Hypatia
A handmaiden to the Divine Queen, represented as soft and humble. It is said that She never speaks, dedicated to Her quiet and background tasks. She is the tending of the home; the hearth. Whilst the Queen may be the Goddess of artistic cuisine, the Handmaiden is the Goddess of cooking and baking, providing for the family. She mends what others create. She is often seen as the Patroness of sisterhood and girlhood, too.
Her symbol is a flame, commonly carved into hearth’s and used as maker’s marks for homebuilders. Most humans will keep a small shrine to Hypatia in their houses, often on their mantlepiece but not always. It’ll include humble offerings like acorns, seeds, ribbons, and a small piece torn from the daily-baked loaf that is discarded into the fire each night.
Advisor of the Fields
Ambrose & Ambrosia
A pair, married, represented together always. Usually flaxen-haired and middle-aged, with their arms linked whilst their other hands hold tools. They are agriculture, crops, livestock, even hunting and gathering to the more rural folk. The world’s stock of food is dependent on them at its core - it is said that they bring famine to their enemies, especially at times of war, and in a sense are a couple to be feared. Every autumn, a portion of yearly feasts is given to them via feeding it to livestock, particularly made of the finest foods of the yield.
Their symbol is a golden bushel of wheat. On harvest days, women wear crowns of straw or wheat and men will keep clippings in their breast pockets or through button loops, as if they were decorative flowers.
"Behave, child! Or the only Gods who see you will be the Outsiders!"
- A scolding mother.
The Outsiders
The Jester, Hilarion
A jester, shown as a spry young man with sharp features and large eyes. He is always represented in bright colours. Though the other Gods do not listen to this figure, His presence is relentless and impossible to ignore. To a degree even the other deities are at the whims of Chance. This is a God to poor thieves and rascals, the disadvantaged folk who must rely on tipping the scales to get what they want. Secretly selfish, arguably sinister, but overtly sanguine and bright. A Court cannot be rid of Him, and it is supposed that the Divine King still likes Him, despite the fringe nature of His position. He brings Chaos, something for Lysander to seize and even out again. An endless chase, underscored by a giggle.
His symbol is that of a round bell. Some people leave them above their door or beneath their pillows in the hope of bringing good luck to themselves - and they’re quite common on charm bracelets. The sound of them jingling and jangling supposedly pleases the God.
The Exile, Pelagia
A veiled and silent woman whose face is never shown, whilst the rest of Her form varies often in presentation. She looks from above, from chapel towers, from the trees and mountains, or from the balcony that observes the throne at court. She listens, and She makes sure all are seen, so no agony goes unwatched, even when the other Gods are paying some poor soul no mind. She is represented in pure, light colours, an absence of darkness in spite of unfortunate circumstances. The lost look to Her.
It is believed that She was once sister to the Divine King, who lost Her place at His side when She fell in love with a mortal man who distracted Her from Holy Duties in the Court. Lysander was forced to take the human’s life, and turn His sister over to the shadows. She forever mourns, a warning for those who challenge the status quo.
Her symbol is often a string of white pearls, or a mimic of such as prayer breads. It’s a discreet but common element in widow’s dress.
The Envious, Kallisto
A Female God, sometimes lavishly dressed, and sometimes dressed in rags, depending on how the artist regards Her. She covets and desires to extremes, and is greatly dishonourable. At the Court She is a jealous cousin, too far from the throne to ever claim it. Poison, adultery and pointless theft are Her realm. People turn to Her when scorned and aching, those who are too angry for the sadness of Pelagia instead become nurtured by Kallisto’s rage.
Her symbol is a slender dagger, with a rose at the hilt. Feminine, sly, and nefarious. It is commonly replicated by assassins and has even become a satirical gift given to mistresses to keep in their garters.
The Vengeful, Myron
Husband to Kallisto, His appearance will flip based on Hers to either rags or riches. He is a scorned enemy, a darkly clad warrior with a very scarred visage - though his wounds vary based on region. In Gallia He has typically been wounded by a lance, and in Asturias sword-slashes. Usually His anger comes from a culturally important slight or loss, depending on the Kingdom. In Asturias for insistence, this is usually something to do with His divine wife, and in Katpaluka its often related to His horses. He is turned to by those who have been wronged, and who are willing to gain satisfaction through any means necessary.
His symbol is that of a shattered sword. Occasionally it is used by Mercenary groups or bounty hunters, but it is an admittance of dubious intention and great emotion.
"-And as his eyes shut for a final time, he may see upon the rise, the glimmering white gold of Lysander's Kingdom,"
- Priest Nicholas Dumont, known for droning sermons.
The Afterlife
The Divine Court is believed to host itself within an idyllic beyond. This afterlife imagines that the followers join Lysander in heaven; where they serve only through joy, and go without wanting anything at all. It is seen as a place of reunion for families and friends, where the old feel young and those who died too soon are able to live a life of peace.
Some believe that the titles and inherited glory of the mortal plane continue on in death; whilst others, mostly the peasantry, believe death is a great equaliser - that all are equal beneath the hierarchy of the Gods, and no one goes without nor with more abundance than their peers. The human religion has always been malleable and varied, as much as the worshippers themselves.
Ambrose and Ambrosia are, perhaps surprisingly, the credited Gods of Death; but only in the sense that they are Guardians of the Golden Fields, guiding all those who have passed into tranquillity and the abundance of their divine harvest. They reap the souls of the living when they are ready to depart the mortal world, and are bought unto the afterlife as the great crop of the God's toil. Wreaths of golden hay, flax, wheat, and other common crops are often made for funerals or laid with the dying, made bedside in final prayer. The incredibly rich may smith these out of literal gold.
Funereal ceremony generally involes prayer and poem about the heavens, about what glory the dead may receive there, and of course the good done in life. Headstones and burial carvings often have a particular Patron's symbol on them, particularly if the person buried there had a strong connection to a specific member of the pantheon.
The afterlife is often imagined as a place of gold-silver mist and feats of architectural brilliance rendered at the hands of Nicodemus. Of course, such visions vary, as an Asturian’s ideal is different to someone from Shenzhou - meaning two paintings depicting the ethereal plane may be completely unrelated to one another depending on their country of origin. There is an agreement that it is hand crafted by the Gods and as such they have their own domains within; which becomes complicated when one dwells on the presence of the Outsiders.
As in the Court itself, they meddle, seethe and lament from the edges. They occupy shadowy borders of exile, where the ill-behaved in life must suffer in death. From there, spirits watch the joy of others and the golden light of heaven, bathed on the fringes in blue and darkness. It is said that Pelagia observes these exiles, and may redeem those who are worthy and rejoin them with the glimmering souls of the Good Dead - though it is not advised to rely on Her charity and care, but instead to avoid ending up in that purgatory altogether. Generally, the way one might end up in immortal exile, is by living more to the Outsiders than to the Courtiers and Divine Family. All might turn to the Outsiders here and there in life, but committing wholeheartedly would deny oneself the chance to enter the mists of the brighter Gods.
Author: Oakbug
Contributions: Hokan
Page Created by: Hokan & Oakbug