Lesser Gods of the Pantheon
While the Pantheon's members are mostly made up of Gods and Elder Gods, with a couple of Entities, there are a small number of less well known deities, collectively termed Lesser or Demi Gods. Unlike the greater powers, who can manifest Avatar's at will without effort, it takes a lot of willpower for one of these lower deities to manifest a permanent Avatar. Those listed below are the current lesser powers who are known to possess the strength to take Avatar form, though there are doubtless many other lower powers that are all but unknown, and do not exist as anything but sentient energy, barely able to interact with reality.
Magnus Catacalcarius - High Priest of Amaranth
Antigon - In his mortal life, Antigon was known as Ralal el-Mond, a traveller from Qazus who was the first to cross the Black Mountains in 773, and discover the large coastal plain there, and the barbarian tribes who dwelt in that land. To this day he feels shame that he sold this information to the Caliph at the time (Harakti), and thus sparked off a series of battles between the Caliphate and the wild tribesmen of the plain that continues in skirmishes to the present day. He vanishes from recorded history after this, but somehow managed to attain immortality two centuries later, having used numerous means to prolong his lifespan. In his life Antigon has seen most of the continent, including areas not on any current map such as Arwenna the City of the Seven Gates, and even the southern tip of the Continent of Arainor where the land ends, and the Sea of Strangers begins. These days he can be found brooding on his throne, travelling mentally, and ignoring his physical body. His holy symbol is of a circle of stars, with a pair of worn and battered boots in the centre. Antigon has no worshippers or temples devoted to him, he draws strength from the prayers of those wishing others a safe journey.
Begone - The Mighty Immortal known as Begone dwells in a temple dedicated to himself in Mithril Valley. He is a minor deity of magic, and seems content to remain as such. He rarely makes any demands of his few followers, save that they give regular praise to him. About the only thing Begone pays much attention to is his feud with King Trent the Zombie Lord, who contests Begone's dominance of the Valley. Neither of the two sides however commits much effort to this feud, so it has continued unresolved for centuries, and looks likely to continue for many more, as neither side is in any hurry to force a resolution, they are after all both immortal after a fashion. Quite how Begone became immortal is a secret lost to the ages. His holy symbol is a fist holding a crossed pair of wands.
Berronar - Berronar is Clangeddins more sensible wife. Less prone to his rages and liking for violence and grudges, she is more concerned with ensuring that the race prospers and thrives. As such dwarven women and merchants offer their praises to her, as her focus is on improving what the Dwarf Race has, though she too realises the importance of always being vigilant, as the enemies of the dwarves will take any sign of weakness by her people as a sign to attack. Like her husband, she sides with the dwarves of Rockby against their evil cousins in Dowinn's Tomb. Her ascension to immortality is unknown, but it is believed that she was elevated to demigod status by one of the orginal Entities, most likely Perial. Her holy symbol is a golden disk, marked with the image of a dwarven male on one side, and a dwarven female on the other symbolising both halves of the race, and also prosperity.
Clangeddin - In life Clangeddin was known as Dowinn, a great hero of the Dwarf Race who fought in the Godswar of ages past, and who founded the dwarven nation of Dowinn's Lode (later changed to Dowinn's Tomb, and corrupted by other races to Downtown). He is the great defender and warrior of the dwarf people, proud, loud and utterly fearless in the face of adversity. A boisterous God who enjoys a good ale (or twenty), and a song, he often takes Avatar form to join in a feast in a Dwarf hall, only to vanish before his identity is known. When the Dwarf people go to war, he will watch, and occassionally the lust for a good fight proves too strong and he will join the conflict, wading into the foes of his people, his great axe "Rhaeskil" hacking through limbs and necks as he leaves a path of red ruin in his wake. It breaks his heart that the Dwarves of Rockby and Dowinn's Tomb fight each other, but of the two sides he prefers those of Rockby, as they have not been corrupted by the evil of the Dark Prince. It is recorded in dwarf legend that he was granted immortality by the Entity Saggi, who he fought alongside during many battles against the Geomancers in the southern parts of the continent. His holy symbol is an ornate miniature battleaxe.
Gurnash - No-one, not even the other gods is entirely sure how Gurnash came to become a God, and his own accounts are very fanciful to say the least, and are probably greatly exagerated from whatever the truth may be. He is the Gnollish God of Murder & Gluttony, and his Avatar appears as a big (9 feet tall) Gnoll, with a bulging gut. He is quite feral, and not terribly bright, though like the race who pays him homage, he is certainly cunning. According to Gurnash he gained his imortality by defeating numerous demons during the invasion of 1427, and absorbing their essence, increasing his own powers until he transcended mortality. It took him another hundred years or so to figure out that he was a lesser god, and he is only now beginning to realise what he is now capable of, which explains why he was unable to intervene when the Amaranth Army smashed the Gnoll tribes lair south of Riversy. He appeared to his poeple and guided them to their new home, and they now revere him as their best chance to strike back at their enemies. His Unholy symbol is a crudely drawn picture of his avatar form, because he couldn't think of anything more imaginative.
Ka'ahupahau - The twin sister of Kahi'uka, she was born a human child, and raised by her immortal parents. Upon reaching maturity she took over her mothers role as the Goddess of the Shark People, her form shifting to gain some sharklike traits, such as the ability to breathe and move underwater at will, though she retains her outwardly human appearance. For several hundred years now, after her parents returned to their mortal lives, and perished, she and her brother have ruled over their underwater realm, scarely bothering with matters beyond their aquatic kingdom. Her Avatar form is of a beautiful woman. She is quite tall with pale skin, black eyes, and long flowing red curly hair. Intertwined through her long fiery curls you see strings of pearls. Around her neck is a rather large dark blue sapphire stone that seems to have a glow all to itself, as if it was magical. She wears dark blue flowing robes, golden sandals and lots and lots of jewels adorn her neck, ears and fingers. Ka'ahupahau's holy symbol is a piece of coral, studded with one each of four precious stones, a ruby, an emerald, a blue sapphire and a pearl.
Kahi'uka - The twin brother of Ka'ahupahau, he was also born a human child, and raised by his immortal parents, whose names have vanished from recorded history. When he reached maturity, he assumed the role of the defender of the kingdom from his father, who returned to a mortal life, and eventually died of old age. When he became immortal, he took on some of the traist of the shark people, gaining their strength, swiftness, and ability to breathe underwater. Kahi'uka's Avatar appears as a very handsome human man, with blonde hair and black eyes. He typically wears black trousers and a long black coat, both trimmed in gold. He wears around his neck a stunning emerald set in gold. His holy symbol is a set of sharks jaw bones, that are opened and form a hollow circle.
Lehesa - Probably the best known of the lesser powers, and one of the strongest amongst their number is Lehesa. Once once of the 12 Goltari created by the Dark Prince, she betrayed her maker, and set out to seek power for her own ends. Ironically she ended up in Nengtaroth, home to the Drow, who were created by one of the Dark Princes minions, the sorceress Morathi. Appearing to them as a demon and promising power in return for worship, the bitter dark elves embraced her as their patron goddess and soon the strength of their devotion to her gave her the power to acheive the status of a Lesser God. Lehesa lairs in the vile Demonweb Pit, a large chasm in the Abyss filled with strands of webbing, on which live all manner of demonic arachnids. She is a cruel and capricious deity, and though the bulk of her priesthood is made up of females from House Dal'tanna, she shows no favouritism towards any faction, enjoying the strife and politics of the dark elven nation.Her unholy symbol is that of a Black Widow Spider, with the head of a female dark elf.
Thrakish - Better known as the Horned Rat, and then only to scholars and his vile worshippers, Thrakish is the Lesser God who is feared and revered by the Skaven. His Avatar form is of a ten foot tall ratman, with curled rams horns sprouting from the sides of his head. He has jet black fur, and beady red eyes. Thrakish's domain is the Putrid Sump, a vast swampland somewhere in the Abyss, where he is attended by the Lords of Decay, twelve Verminlord Daemons, that are the reincarnated forms of past Skaven clan leaders, recreated to serve as his guards and agents of vengeance. Thrakish has been known to send a Verminlord to punish those who would attack his followers. Once one of the Goltari, Thrakish betrayed his creator and sought power for himself, appearing to the Skaven after they had been driven from Riversy at the end of the Dark Twin's rein. He nurses a bitter hatred of the Lich Redin, who sent the Skaven of Clan Skerrit to their annihilation, thus weakening his own power base. Thrakish's unholy symbol is of a rat claw gripping a chunk of warpstone that is engraved with a map of the World of Austin.
Zeth - Zeth is the Serpent God, deity of all that slithers. He is worshipped by cultists descended from a seafaring barbarian tribe that sacked the Kingdom of Elwyn centuries ago, and settled in the forested North-East of the Isle of Tiraca. Here they built a great temple to him, and eventually their prayers (and sacrifices offered to him) allowed him to gather enough power to take on a permanent Avatar form. Zeth's Avatar is very impressive, as his form is that of a half-human/half-serpent snakeman, over forty foot in length! He has a human torso, with a snake tail from the waist down, and his whole body is covered in patterned scales. Zeth is another Goltari who turned traitor, and abandoned the Dark Prince to seek power for his own ends, eventually corrupting a tribe of barbarian pirates into worshipping him. Zeth is a fairly quiet deity, especially for an evil god, which leads many scholars to wonder exactly what he is up to in his hidden lair. The people of Elwyn village whisper of weird crossbreeds of snake and man glimpsed through the trees, but there is no proof of such creatures existence. Zeth's unholy symbol is of a serpent forming a circle by biting it's own tail.
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