The Deities of Ashirion

The Gods have always called themselves: Incarnations, very few call themselves Gods openly but they are known to wander the mortal realms disguised as mortals, much more inclined to interfere and tip the scales of balance in the world. They do not require worshippers to increase their power but some of them actively seek to recruit mortals into their orders. It is also important to note that in old legends and texts Gods and Incarnations are often also referred to as Ashirions but this is not a widely known fact.

This is not an exhaustive list of the Incarnations of the Broken Sphere.

The Great Wolf

The very creator of the world and he who brought life to it, the Great Wolf is the natural choice for anyone who follows the path of light, who walks with hope and joy in their hearts. Legend has it that it was from the burning embers of a dying star that he created Ashirion, setting his children - the wolves, as the first beings upon the ground of the world. He often takes mortals of surprising skill and potential and makes them into his 'Chosen' they enjoy an extended lifespan and other gifts at his will - he is also known as the founder of the order of the Wayfarers. And later on in Ashirion's new history he took the powers of spring, summer, autumn and winter into his portfolio so that those who followed the path of those Incarnations would not lose their power, even though all but Lady Summer was now dead.

He governs the power of Spirit in the order of the Wayfarers and often appears to mortals as a Grey hooded and robed figure, even though he has nothing to do with that colour as part of his religion. The association with the Great Wolf comes from the inevitable whispers that flowed around the world when it was younger, some said he was the Great Wolf, some said they saw a Great Grey Wolf and some later on said they had spoken to the Grey Wolf himself. When he manifests in his wolf form he always appears as a towering shimmering white wolf, with an aura of calm, peace and nobility - his voice can be heard through the raging wail of a storm or the chattering gabble of a packed market square.

Lord Capricious

The Cat Lord, is a troublemaker, a selfish god and often seen as aloof and uncaring. He embodies all that is savage, maelific and downright nasty about cats. He came onto Ashirion's world as an outsider deity and tricked the Great Wolf into allowing him to remain, opening up the door for a plethora of other deities to enter the Wolf's world. Capricious really cares for nothing and shows no favouritism to those who follow him, he delights in those who are lazy and selfish - those who have a flagrant disregard for authority and those who ignore someone's cries for help. He prizes self amongst all other things, and personal self-being is key to a happy cat.

Over time he became involved with the darker antics of the broken sphere and used to serve as the god of all miscreants, troublemakers and thieves. He was not officially given these portfolios, rumour is that he stole them as no one else stepped forwards to take them up. After a while the Great Wolf gave them to him officially, but as he is a typical cat, he played with these new toys until he tired of them. Now others serve as the gods of chaos, thieves and so forth.

He is the god of the Eldrin and claims to be the god of the felin and cattan as well, these are blatant lies and due to the recent ructions, his so-called people have not felt his help, nor has he lifted a paw to save the cattan and others. He would rather bask in eternal sunshine and preen before a mirror, than do anything too stressful. He now pretty much serves himself and turns his back on all others, there are rumours that the Great Wolf will eventually cast him from the pantheon and force him from the world.

The Goddess of Life: Ch'marr'on

Ch'marr'on is a most unearthly creature indeed, a woman of such beauty and light that many mortals find it hard to look upon her for even a few seconds. When she appears to them she does so in two forms, a pure white Unicorn with a single silver horn spiralled and perfect. Or a tall robed woman with pale skin and jet-black hair, the hair split from crown to base with a tail of white locks. She is the sister of the goddess of Death, Lady Pale and they are almost alike apart from the trail of white in Ch'marr'on's hair. Ch'marr'on is the goddess that nurtured and allowed the felin people to grow, when they saw how unlike them the Cat Lord was, she is known as the mother of the felin and they are her most devout followers.

Ch'marr'on embodies all that is life, love and nature, and is often invoked at weddings and births. She is closely entwined with the Great Wolf and the whispers that travel the ethereal planes are that she and he are closer than simply friends. She is also the sister to Rhy'a'don who shall be described in his own entry. She is also the Goddess that many flock to for the powers of healing and protection against the dark powers. Her followers are mainly the felin of Ch'marr and her biggest advocate is T'challa the Lord of Ch'marr - ruler of the felin there.

The God of Magic: Rhy'a'don

Brother of Ch'marr'on and appearing as a male version of his sister, again with the streak of white in his hair or a towering black unicorn with a silver horn and a white mane. Rhy'a'don is the 'all father' of magic on Ashirion and it is he who grants it to the very gods themselves, all barring the Great Wolf who in turn gives this mantle to the black unicorn, for that is the way of the laws of the broken sphere. Rhy'a'don can also grant magic to priests and mages alike and cares not for the purpose for which it is used, for as the 'all father' of the craft he cannot be biased and must give power to those of a dark heart as much as those of a light soul.

The black unicorn guards the weave however and makes sure that when magic is granted, it cannot be overused. He will allow no action to take place that could destroy the very nature of magic in the world through a spell, nor a spell that would disrupt the flow of magic on Ashirion. He grants no special powers to those who invoke him and gives no great rewards to his followers, although he is known to often disguise himself as a humble mage and walk the lands to determine how magic is being used, especially appearing as a teacher or student of the art at a nearby Magic School.

The Goddess of Death: The Pale Raven

The Lady Pale, the Goddess of Death on Ashirion is not a taker of souls but a guardian of the gate that leads unto her realm. Hers is an old religion and stretches back into the planet's history almost as much as the Shakari of aeons past. She is not the first to have held the mantle of Death however and before her came two others, the first Death was known as 'The Reaver' and the second took the name Oblivion. Pale is the first female Incarnation of Death however and is also the most compassionate of those who draw souls into the realms of beyond.

She is a force that guides and guards souls on their journey from the mortal realms to the lands of the dead. She is not a destructive force but a protective one and thusly she stands against those undead that would cause chaos, destruction and bring misery to others. She recognises that some of those we would call Risen are creatures that still remember who they were in life, clinging to the morals and souls that they once had. Still attempting to protect those they were sworn to protect, now in death as they once did in life. She is known to walk the mortal realms as a tall, commanding and beautiful dark haired fae woman, recognisable by her raven feather motifs.

The God Obsidian: Holder of Mysteries and Guardian of Secrets.

He is the father of the Iltyr, Ashirion's 'dark elves' and he is one of the most manipulative, secretive and uncaring beings that have ever been known to walk the worlds incarnate. Obsidian is a god who sought for aeons to create life and his own people, but every time he tried to do this he was met with failure. Eventually elves from the surface came to his cave and found the god on the brink of tearing down his mountain, a strange thing happened. The surface elves were tired of their lives above and had come to found a new home under the dark earth. Obsidian seized his chance and transformed them into the dark elves, his Iltyr, Techno magicians and secretive beings.

Obsidian will occasionally send portents and dreams to his followers but only when the mood strikes him, over time he became bored with his creations and now simply refuses to aid them. He lets his people rot as someone might a bowl of fruit until only the oranges are left, and then after all that time only to take one and throw it callously aside. He only once stepped forth to send terrible portents to one of his kind when he recognised that a union between the Iltyr and Human would result in his pure blooded race being weakened. No one has seen or spoken to this being outside of a dream and in a dream he often appears as an androgynous figure who shifts face from a child, to a woman and then a man as he speaks. His body is always wrapped in shadow and a pair of massive black wings sprout from his back.

The 13th One: Zodiac/Fate/Vanaros

Gather close and listen to this ones tale for it is a sad one indeed, when the gods themselves are revealed to have frailties as a mortal they can no longer call themselves gods, they must give up their power and pass it on to another who is more suited to that mantle than they. Zodiac created the very universe according to the legends of Ashirion, he is known as the father of the Great Wolf and sadly he is nothing more than a usurper force that found its way in Ashirion's Incarna and began to live a lie. Zodiac did not create the universe and nor did he create the worlds that hang aside the broken sphere, he took credit for that from the beings who came before him from another force that has never revealed itself to the people of the broken sphere.

His whole existence had been a lie and when that lie was found out, he used his power to blind the Great Wolf and remove that part of the god's memory. The Great Wolf truly believes that Zodiac is his father and that he created the universe, or we should say that he used to believe it. As the magic on the Great Wolf waned Zodiac realised that he could never hold him in his thrall for long so the mad old god set about the task to bring the destruction of Ashirion and all the Wolf's work to hand. He murdered Fate and stole his form and position, after creating the Void and also allowing the events that turned the Shadoen from peaceful ethereal creatures into a true nightmare that took thousands of years to finally end.

Now the whispers in the long night speak that Zodiac has been cast from his role of Fate and thrown into the mortal world as a weak, but still powerful Incarnation of chaos. Whether this was at the Great Wolf's hand none know, but the sages have speculated that Zodiac's new name might now be Vanaros and reports have come to the various population centres that a dangerous madman proclaiming that name was responsible for giving the King of Sudelar information that caused over two hundred Iltyr deaths. Zodiac/Fate/Vanaros only gives one thing to those who dare invoke him - chaos.

The Goddess of Fire: Summer

At the end of the third War of Shadows the Shadow Lord himself was destroyed, but during his reign of terror he was able to gather almost all the ancient ringblades and destroy every seasonal pair of Incarnations, all but one of them now lives. Out of the original eight Fae who took Zodiac's ringblades and became the Seasons themselves only Summer remains and only the Lady Summer at that. Her brother gave his life to power the last ancient stone at the same time the magical protections of Ruatha were raised again. The Seasons were no more and their powers were passed to the Great Wolf, the ringblades presumed lost or perhaps they have found new masters.

Summer now serves the Wolf as the Goddess of Fire and she is both the nurturing heat of the aspect, and the blazing wrath of destruction. Her following is now small since all of her followers now call the Great Wolf for aid in performing her magic's. But this is as Summer willed it, she wished to begin again and rise like the proverbial Phoenix from the ashes. When she walks abroad, she still wears the mortal shell of a woman, albeit with golden skin and flame red hair. She offers fire-based magic to those who call her name and can also be considered a Goddess of crops and deserts.

Goddess of Blood, Lust and Passion: Crimson

Crimson is a young Goddess who came into her powers at the end of the third War of Shadows, when her mentor and master, Sanguine combined with another known as Bloodwolf, two parts of the same whole. He passed his Incarnation onto Crimson and then used the last of his life's energy to aid Summer's brother in the spell to protect Ruatha. Now Crimson is thrust into the role of the Blood Goddess and has inherited Sanguine's lands, church and followers. She is young and powerful, one of the few mortals who was granted deific power by a patron Incarnation - she faithfully served Sanguine as his high Bloodwitch.

She serves as the Goddess of blood, passion, lust and all things to do with the blood. She also grants magic that can heal poisons and purge sicknesses of the body, as long as the sickness is of the blood or related in some way. She can also heighten a moment of passion to indescribable levels and is a jealous goddess. The fearful amongst the people of the broken sphere, speak that she has set her eye on the Lord Kayne, if this is so then change is afoot and she is a Goddess to be carefully watched. She manifests as a woman in every sense of the word and openly flaunts her power, often appearing from a large pool of blood or turning into a bloody mess at the end of her visit.

The Goddess of Good Luck: Fortune (Chance)

A long time ago due to a trick played upon her by Fate who was also Zodiac, Fortune - the Goddess of Luck, foolishly agreed to a wager. If she lost at a game of cards she was to walk the lands of the mortals trapped in a mortal's shell until Fate decreed that she could be free or that he was somehow undone. Fortune always was one for taking risks and chances, so she agreed rather foolishly. She forgot that while she was Luck - he was Fate and it was in her fate to lose. She was bound into the body of an elven woman and took the very name of the Goddess, when asked she would reply that she could neither confirm nor deny it. Somewhere in her being you see, she knew who she was and at certain moments remembered exactly, only to forget again.

Fortune however kept the power of Luck with her at all times and could be described as the luckiest adventurer alive. She crossed the path of Moonshadow and he hired her to protect him as a bodyguard, those others who guarded him either vanished or simply got put off by this woman. Fortune was not a woman who would stand by and watch her Lord be simpered at by others. Over time they fell in love and this began a long series of events that would lead to the Goddess's freedom and a new chapter in her own Fate. Due to events that will remain in the shroud of rumour only, both Lord Moonshadow and Lady Fortune met their deaths at the hands of a powerful Assassin, but this was no ordinary death - it freed the Goddess and she would not allow her Moonshadow to simply die, she petitioned the Gods to allow him to take part of her portfolio and power.

She is now known as Chance and is a truly capricious being of mirth and merriment -she governs all kinds of things you would expect that involve Luck and the pursuit of such gains. She is also the Goddess of bards, music, singing and joy - the simple pleasures of life that she experienced as Fortune and is one of the most jovial Goddess's known to Ashirion. When she appears, no one knows exactly how she'll appear next but usually it is in the form of her attractive one time elven form, that which she has fond memories of. She grants Luck and her boon is exactly that, she really has only positive things to give.

The God of Bad Luck: Darkshadow (Shadow)

Little is now known of the fate of such a being, all that is known is that no prayers are answered to his Priests and no sight or sound of him has been heard for a while.

Missiva: Goddess of Tricksters, shadows, Rogues (Minor Goddess of Chaos)...

She is but a whisper of shadows herself, appearing as a deeply robed and cowled female figure. Trails of white mist curling about her like a belt, sometimes one can see her eyes, heavy laden with kohl makeup - an almost Egyptian look to her, as many of the deity's of Ashirion seem to prefer. Apart from that it is hard to actually get a gist of what she looks like, under the hood, what she has is well hidden and kept from mortal eyes. Missiva is the goddess of those who partake in the shadowy arts, a patron of Thieves and Rogues, of Tricksters and all those who follow a slightly darker path.

Missiva is not known for granting favours to those who worship her, but those who take time to call her name before embarking on a shadowy venture may find that the moon remains behind the clouds, or an erstwhile vigilant guard suffers from a sudden bout of stupidity. Some have said that she has a special vested interest in the organisation known as the Hand, an interest in one of the people who dwells deep in the depths of those particular shadows. Those who often speak such a rumour of course, run the risk of incurring the goddess' ire - which manifests often as a lack of safe places to hide, patrols turning up at the most inopportune moments and just general harassment of the offender. Since the events involving Vaneros, the Great Wolf held the god's power over Chaos in trust, finally it was decided to pass the mantle to Missiva to see if she could at least do a better job of it.

Lord Shakarovar (War and Destruction)

There is no better being suited to become the God of War and Destruction as this force of nature, he has been responsible for so many brutal and senseless things upon Ashirion and even though he claimed to have been redeemed his rampage across the lives of others remained unchecked, until the Great Wolf hit upon the simple idea to bring him into line, tricking the Lord into accepting the position that he had created for him, sweet and flattering words to the ears of a vain and arrogant being. Shakarovar is now bound by the laws of the cosmos and his life-force linked to that of the planet he so desperately sought to sunder - Ashirion needs Shakarovar to thrive and Shakarovar needs the Broken Sphere to exist. Some have said that this is a fitting punishment and lesson for the destroyer at long last while certain Foxlin probably are running in fear and terror right now. One thing is certain, Shakarovar knows both War and Destruction well and the application of such on a global scale, while it might mean a rise in conflict as he plays chess with the lives of mortals and a few more unexplained quakes and the like, it means that he can no longer destroy upon a whim and must suffer the wrath of his fellow Gods and Goddesses should he step across the line and for the man that destroyed Vaneros, he knows the true fate of a renegade God.