FANEKH:

Fanekh is a god of Justice, Mercy and Light, belonging to the human pantheon. Perhaps the most prominent of gods worshiped today, surpassed only by Vask, Fanekh is known well as the patron god of healers. Fanekh was one of the few gods to survive the complete dissolution of the Unemi Kingdom intact.

Fanekh has cemented themselves an almost permanent and immutable spot as one of the strongest gods to preside over Var Sarlir thanks to the broad access to restorative magic they provided to Var Sarlir. Credited with ‘bringing light to the world’, few methods of truly powerful magical healing existed prior to Fanekh’s conception. While initially available only to humans, Fanekh was displeased with this and forced their adherents to spread their gifts to others throughout Var Sarlir. As cognizance and appreciation of Fanekh grew, so too did easy access to healing magics.

Fanekh is the main source of ‘good’-aligned magic in the world. Like most of the largest gods, little worship is required to access basic healing magics, and their divine magic can be distilled into potions, scrolls and wands. Fanekh is considered Lawful Good. Fanekh is usually represented with the symbol of a willow tree.

VASK:

Seen as the primary moon of Var Sarlir, Vask’s afterlife looms at night, its surface shimmering brilliant colors like mother pearl. Vask is a god that largely originated with the Ghazka, and treats them as its children, but has long since spread throughout the world. Vask’s dominion is said to be compassion, love, guidance, and knowledge. Vask, as such, is a gentle god known to be particularly open with its adherents, willing to answer prayers directly if the need is great enough and offering the Ghazka specifically direct guidance through its Judges.

Vask’s magic is mostly related to scrying. Vask is the patron god of scientists, investigators, alchemists, and other similar individuals that hungrily seek knowledge. It is known for bringing alchemy to the world, particularly, its power contributing the means by which magical effects can be distilled into solutions and compounds, and conceptual magic can be extracted from ingredients. Much of Vask’s magic is subtle, offering inspiration, guidance and awareness to its adherents, but some of the most deserving can receive gifts of visions and clairvoyance from it.

Vask is Neutral Good. It is usually represented with a bright golden eye, with three lines beneath and two short lines at either corner.

SOVEN:

Soven is the god of the godless and the lawless, the patron of adventurers. She is not known to originate with any particular species, and is likely one of the first gods to have existed, born of explorers and pioneers. Although many intentionally worship Soven, many more who fall under her sphere are not intentional adherents to her. She feeds off of the wonder and curiosity in the world, and encourages reckless do-gooding, honesty, and the pursuit of pleasure and happiness, for oneself and for others. In turn, she offers courage, power and a watchful eye to those who honor her values.

Soven is especially present in and worshiped by anarchic communities and revolutions, who are some of her most beloved followers. She adores both change and personal agency. Law enforcement in some areas, especially those belonging to the Anz Vaskhul and Unemi-descended humans, tend to dislike Soven and may even attempt to suppress worship of her.

Soven is the main source of supernatural prowess related to strength and bravery. Her magic is ubiquitous enough that she has little agency over those who use it, like most of the large gods, but following her path and giving oneself to her often yields additional benefits in this regard.

Soven is Chaotic Good. She is usually represented by a raised fist.

VEKHEN:

Vekhen is a god whose source is poorly understood and likely too ancient for anyone but Vekhen themselves to remember. They are the patron god of disciplined warriors and strategists, and most of their adherents are members of militaries, martial orders or simply guards. Whether defending a small town or marching on an enemy, Vekhen rewards those who display discipline, civility and honor in combat, and punishes those that dare to fight dirty.

Vekhen’s sphere relates primarily to martial prowess; many martial orders draw their powers from the kinds of magic that Vekhen provides, and lone warriors, duelists and mercenaries benefit from Vekhen just as well. Vekhen seems to care little for the causes of mortals, and instead represents a sort of binding ‘pact’ between members of a wide range of groups to battle with honor and discipline, and as such Vekhen is considered Lawful Neutral. Their symbol is a simple crosshairs.

KHESTAL:

Khestal is almost certainly the first god to have ever come into being. Khestal has perhaps the largest following on the planet, although most of its following is unwitting, and little direct worship of Khestal is ever undertaken. This is because Khestal is the god of solitude and self-sufficience; they have coalesced from the behaviors and beliefs of very small settlements and those who choose to live alone, away from society and the problems of others.

Khestal values little more than simply being alone. Even its afterlife consists of vast, idyllic plains, jungles, forests and deserts where little interaction exists between those who live there, and where its ‘adherents’, witting or not, are allowed to live a peaceful and self-sufficient existence. Small communities organize there, but they are often insular, like those communities that either worship or exemplify Khestal’s views.

Khestal is often referred to as the ‘god of atheists’. They have little interaction even with those who worship them, but they are known to intervene in small but important ways, granting faithful adherents luck and fortune. Those who do not fall under the sphere of other gods tend to end up in Khestal’s afterlife, unless they choose to be reincarnated or simply allowed to rest in oblivion.

Khestal is one of few gods to provide almost no magic or benefit to any adherents; all they provide are small blessings silently offered from above, gently skewing luck in the favor of those who dare to tough it out on their own. Their symbol, that of a lock, is rarely seen as anything more than a warning to ward off unwanted guests or as a signal for the desire for solitude. They are considered True Neutral.

ASKOL:

Askol is the god of ‘exotic magics’ and forbidden knowledge. Belonging first to the Vos, Askol is the primary source for necromantic and ‘dark’ magics. While many see Askol as an evil god, they are in truth merely an eccentric one; their whims are strange and their curiosities are apparently boundless, and they deeply revere and love those who would satisfy their interest in the universe. Askol encourages tampering with the boundaries of reality, and with things many would consider ‘unnatural’ like the line between life and death. Although Fanekh provides the magic needed to resurrect someone through prayer and deep devotion, Askol freely gives this power to those who please them and loves to see mortals taking power over the ebb and flow of the universe into their own hands.

Askol is considered Chaotic Neutral. The ‘dark’ machinations they encourage often appear grim and macabre, but are never inherently evil. Askol’s symbol is a broken shackle. Askol generally reviles those who use their magics for evil ends, but they are merely neutral because it is quite easy to distract them from one’s evil deeds with tributes of information, and they can overlook the evil of an individual as long as their means and goals are intriguing to Askol or push and warp the boundaries of reality in a way that entertains them.

VOSENTH:

Vosenth is the god of avarice, cunning and brutality. Like many large gods, it does not originate with any particular species, but instead from the long-standing behaviors of many. It is the unfortunate consequence of tyrants and the wealthy.

Those who willingly associate with Vosenth tend to desire power and fortune attained through ‘legal means’. They adhere to the codes of whatever society they belong to, but seek to bend or corrupt them in ways that favor them. The most prominent adherents to Vosenth, whether they want to be considered such or not, tend to be capitalists and others who see merit and personal gain as a measure of worthiness. Unlike Thanvar, adherents to Vosenth tend to believe in law and order rather than blind meritocracy, but only insofar as it aids them in protecting the wealth or power they “earn”.

Vosenth, from a practical standpoint, is the patron god of manipulators, tyrants, liars and charlatans. Their sphere of magic is primarily mind-affecting abilities, however, like most large gods Vosenth does not have sufficient control over the distribution of their magic to decide who does and does not get to use it. It is considered Lawful Evil, and it is represented by a coin bound in chains.

UGHAX:

Ughax is… well, Ughax is horrible.

Ughax is one of the gods with the smallest faithful following, but nonetheless a large base of adherents. Ughax represents almost all forms of evil simultaneously; in its purest form, Ughax represents many of the vices that almost any species can fall into. It represents the most basic, raw forms of evil, the impulses and instincts that drive others to do horrible things, particularly in their own self interests. Few are even willing to confront the existence of Ughax for its form is so capriciously horrible, and its afterlife is uniquely empty, spattered only with a few small settlements constructed by the small amounts of faithful that it has ever had.

Ughax exists as the siren’s call of an addiction, in the glimmer of jewels worn by the elite, in the spilled blood of the innocent, Ughax festers beneath the thrones of tyrants and in the minds of everyone. Where Vosenth and Thanvar represent two sides of the coin, Ughax IS the coin. It is the concept of all things that most societies have come to accept as evil, big and small.

There is no widely accepted symbol for Ughax. It is Neutral Evil.

THANVAR:

Thanvar is the god of territory, control and power. Belonging first to the Anz Vaskhul and the colorless lands they’ve invaded, worship of Thanvar has steadily increased over the decades as warlords and tyrants across the planet revere him. He is said to deeply respect strength and power, and believes only in meritocracy and cunning; there is nothing off limits in the pursuit of power, and the more power one attains, the closer they become with the gods.

Those who reject his teachings, however, believe that Thanvar is a power-hungry warlord at heart, cloaking his justifications for avarice in fake wisdom and deceiving his adherents into believing he feels for them. He seeks to expand his own power as much as that of his adherents, and ultimately desires to rid the world of those who worship any god but himself. His values are a source of major conflict throughout the world; as some move towards peace, unity and democracy, others choose Thanvar’s way: taking what they want by force, and demanding that others do the same if they want to survive.

Thanvar is the patron of the Anz Vaskhul, and is aligned with Chaotic Evil. He is associated with many different kinds of magic that are considered ‘dirty’ or ‘monstrous’, and is especially fond of sorcerers and warriors that recklessly attempt to expand their own power at the expense of others. Despite his desire for control, his influence is too far reaching for him to hold agency over who gets to use his magic; as such, it’s possible to use the magics he provides to good ends. His symbol is a fan of blades, starting at the left with a dagger and ending in a greatsword at the right.