Lore24 Roundup 2
- Aelyrya Payne
- Jan 15, 2024
- 7 min read
Updated: Mar 2, 2024
January 8th-14th (Days 8-14)
Welcome to Lore24 Roundup number 2!
Continuing this month's theme of "Gods and Spirits", I focused on some interesting figures that I particularly like, and introduced another Pantheon. All original posts can be found on my Mastodon.
Remember, all Lore24 posts are initial thoughts - they are not finalised at this stage!
Breakdown of Lore24 Roundup
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08. Aaryav, the Light of Insight
A Lesser Deity of the A'arden Pantheon, Aaryav is the devoted Aide of the Goddess Arcania, the Goddess of Magic, the Weave and Spellcasters. Aaryav is the God of Magical Study, Alchemy and Knowledge, who assists Arcania with her eternal maintenance of the Weave. He and Arcania's other disciple, Duvessa, frequently fight over the latter's lack of participation in maintenance duties.
Aaryav operates in the Domains of Knowledge and Arcana. His symbol is an open book with a key across the pages, his sacred mineral is amethyst and his favoured colours are purple and dark blue. His favoured creatures are owls and ravens, and he shows preference to dedicated scholars and explorers seeking new knowledge.
Generally a quiet God, Aaryav generally sends messages to his followers through dreams or visions. He prefers his followers to figure out problems for themselves, and he is exceptionally fond of puzzles, mysteries and memory games.
Perhaps this is just me being a bit silly, but I loved the idea of there being a total nerd amongst the Pantheon. Aaryav just spends all his time reading books (Mortals write such funny things now...) and he lives for mysteries and new experiences. He totally fanboys over Arcania and gets into fights with Duvessa over who adores her more, and it's just such a silly idea I couldn't help but include it!
09. The Reaper of the Dead
A Supplementary Deity of the A'arden Pantheon, the Reaper is also known by the monikers of "The Grave Watcher", "The Harvester" and "The Ferryman". The Reaper is a psychopomp; their role is simply to escort the souls of the dead to their designated afterlife, and they have no power over death itself. They are not present to judge the deeds of Mortals, only to ensure they reach their final destination.
The Reaper is considered as being of both, none and all genders, and is always referred to by They/Their/Them pronouns. They occasionally go by the name "Ankou" because 'they thought it sounded fun'.
The Reaper is generally considered a gentle and empathetic individual, guiding their charges with easy grace. However, they are also relentless in their task; they will use extreme violence to capture those who attempt to avoid their Fate, and they have an extreme hatred for Undeath.
Psychopomps are interesting figures in world mythologies, and including one was a conscious choice. Could you imagine poor Sychar trying to collect, manage, allocate AND record souls? Nightmare...! Luckily, psychopomps fit the setting very well, so including the Reaper was a good way to build more depth into the flow of souls after death, instead of Sychar being overworked!
10. Dragonët e Lartë, the Draconic Pantheon
Also known as the High Dragons, the Gods of the Draconic Pantheon were the first to respond to the call of the Great Beacons. Having been driven from their original home by Interloper Gods, the Dragons' numbers had been decimated by war, and they were initially cautious of the message received. Ajukna-Tirana, the only remaining original member of the Pantheon, took a small contingent of her strongest dragons to investigate the Beacon's call, and within the Cosmology of A'arde, she met Haul for the first time.
On A'arde, the Pantheon tends to reside on Kupë Qiellore, the Heavenly Dome, located within the Planes of Empyrean. The leader of the Pantheon remains Ajukna-Tirana, though the membership of the Pantheon has developed over the years. The Pantheon was shaken during the Age of Dragons, when the Interloper Dragon, Ythrynaar, attempted to burn and reshape A'arde in his own image.
Dragons were the first to heed the call of the Beacons, and were therefore the first to establish a new culture upon A'arde. Their presence was so influential, that the Second Age of A'arde was named The Age of Dragons. It only ended when Ythrynaar, the Interloper Dragon also known as the Devastator, was prevented from destroying A'arde once more, and the dragons chose to take a step back from guiding the Mortal Races.
11. Silenta, the Cloaked Blade
A Lesser Deity of the A'arden Pantheon, Silenta is the Goddess of Shadows and Thieves. While generally revered by those who walk darker paths, Silenta is known to be a cheerful, carefree Goddess with a playful nature. Some assassins pray to her, putting her at odds with some of the other Deities, and she has a friendly rivalry with the Goddess of Deception and Illusion, Duvessa.
Silenta operates in the Domains of Darkness, Trickery and Knowledge. Her symbol is a black, full-face mask with white eyes, her sacred mineral is smokey quartz and her favoured colours are black and grey. She favours black rats and shows preference to those who do not fear the dark.
Silenta believes that Luck and natural-born talent can only take a person so far, and thus values hard work and dedication to improving personal skills. She greatly enjoys complex games of strategy and wit, and loves to listen to gossip.
Silenta is more of a neutral trickster Goddess than an outright evil one. While she does answer the calls of assassins, she is one of several Gods that do, and each for different reasons. She is more likely to intervene on behalf of assassins who operate for long-term plans, rather than simply for personal gain, and even then she does not always guarantee her favour on success. Silenta is also prayed to by those in hiding or running away; people who have broken free of their chains and escaped bad situations.
12. Arawn Farchognos, the Rider in the Night
Beautiful yet imposing, Arawn is the Ellynreiced (Elven) God of Death and the Hunt, and garners the greatest fear and awe from Elves after Gwynrhi himself. Fair and just, despite his intimidating presence, Arawn is an honourable man who always keeps his promises. He is known to have close relationships with the members of the Wild Hunt, but otherwise keeps to himself unless called to Council with Sychar, who he deeply respects.
Arawn is generally associated with the Domains of Death and Grave, but also has toes to the Domain of Justice. His symbol is a white raven with wings outstretched, while his favoured mineral is obsidian. His favoured animals are ravens and horses, his colours are black, grey and red, and he favours those who hunt injustice.
Arawn punishes roguery and betrayal with a heavy hand and severely dislikes those that are disloyal or deceptive. He represents loyalty, hunting, guidance, war, revenge, terror and death, and is known as The Provider, The Virtuous, and the Guardian of the Lost Souls. He operates as part of the Wild Hunt, seeking evil spirits and terrorising wrongdoers with his hounds, the Cwn Annwn.
Arawn is one of my favourite Elven Gods, in part because his is such a sad story I can't help but feel bad for him. He is quite a lonely God; he knows his existence in necessary, but that doesn't mean he likes himself all that much. It is said that Arawn was good friends with the Green Lord, Euane, right up until his death. They were polar opposites, one a being of life and rebirth, the other of death and the end, but Arawn would always make time to visit Euane's Realm in the forest, even after he died.
13. Aegis, the Sleeping Shield
Aegis is a being that all A'arden souls know and respect, but very few actively worship and send prayers to him. Also known as the Great Shield, Aegis' position as the Great Lord of Gods is undeniable, and his presence vital to the survival of A'arde. However, it is considered taboo to petition Aegis for anything, and prayers to him are often simply words of respect and thanks.
This is because Aegis actively maintains the power of the Great Prison, his state of hibernation a means to protect A'arde from the power of the Primeval Titans, who sought to return the Realm to the Primordial Origin. Petitions and excessive prayers are considered a distraction to Aegis' endeavours; as a God it is his Duty to hear them. However, distracting Aegis from his task, waking him, could bring cataclysm to A'arde, releasing the Titans upon the Realm once more.
Therefore, prayers to Aegis are kept short and thankful. Many keep a small shield, usually round and made of silvery metal, within their homes in honour of him.
There is a trope or theme in fantasy that Gods lose their power if people don't pray to them. Aegis subverts that theme by having it so that praying to him could distract him and lead to world destruction. Imagine you're trying to concentrate on something, yet thousands of people keep asking you questions or begging for your help. How distracting would that be, eh?!
14. Kholkaeryn, the Spirit of Deadwinter
While the Spirit of Deadwinter is not a God, it holds significant status amongst Mortals as a warning; a reminder that shadows walk and creatures live in the strangest of places. It is a warning against harbouring negativity, especially in bleak moments, and serves as a reminder that such thoughts can hold you back in trying times.
Kholkaeryn, or Winterclaw, is a horned Spirit with the legs of a goat. It wears chains on its ankles and wrists, travelling the land on the night of Deadwinter and seeking those surrounded by negative energies. It rattles its chains to cause fear in those surrounded by negativity, resulting in them running off alone, and allowing Kholkaeryn to drag them off to a wintery doom. It is said to feed on the life essences of these victims, leaving nothing but a frozen husk.
Purification rituals which burn incense made of sweetgrass, sage and mistletoe are commonly used to keep Kholkaeryn away, while richer families may also burn frankincense to cleanse the mind, as well as the body.
Not gonna lie... Krampus was absolutely the inspiration behind Kholkaeryn! I wanted midwinter to feel more dangerous and dark than it does in our world these days; the idea of creatures slinking about in the snow, just waiting for those surrounded by negative energies, felt suitably creepy! What's worse, there is no definitive definition for what classifies as "negative energy" - is it evil deeds, or is it just feeling shitty?! Nobody's sure, so nobody wants to take that chance!
Lore24 continues over on Socials, so check in to see what's what!
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