Hey Game Fans, we’re taking a look at some world building ideas and concepts for the home setting i run. If you’ve checked out my other world building articles, this is the setting that focuses on Lakeport and the larger world around it. Today i’m going to take a look at one of the more colorful gods for the setting, Silverhoof, The Lord of Horses. before i get started on Silverhoof himself, let me give you a little background for the gods of this world.
Broadly speaking, the gods divide themselves into a variety of groupings and factions, but the grouping i am concerned about today is the old gods and the new gods. The Old gods predate one of the most important conflicts of the setting, the Fey War. These are the gods that originally found this world and shaped it to their designs and interests. They shaped the great forests and mountains, and populated the world with creatures in their own image. The first Gods to walk the world were the gods of Giantkind, the Fey themselves, and the three Elder Wyrms. A few other gods would appear after this first establishment, most notably Ahrimaius, the God of Creation. These are the Gods of antiquity, and they made the world the way it was, for good or for ill.
The Fey War began as internal issue between a small fey enclave and their neighbors. It spiraled out of control to a level of violence and bloodshed that would haunt the old places of the world forever. At the darkest point of the war, when the Me’Ah’Chin hordes looked ready to take the fight to the Gods themselves, the eldest of the Fey Gods, Grandfather Oak, cast the most powerful magic anyone had ever seen. He summoned heroes and champions from across time and space to the Garden where Oak had planted his first seeds. He made them a simple offer. If they would turn back the tide of darkness and save the world, he would bestow upon the seeds of godhood, and make them the new gods of the world.
Heroes to the end, most of these people died during the war to liberate the world. Heroes from thousands of worlds and cultures fought, bled, and died in a distant land to save it from the most terrible monsters they had ever encountered. When the last battle had been fought, and the dead tallied, less than fifty of the thousands of heroes and champions were still standing. A few would succumb to lingering injuries sustained in the war, and their number would be diminished even further by a tragic incident.
The survivors returned to the Garden, and Grandfather Oak kept his word. Each hero or champion became the living embodiment of an idea or a race. One by one, the new Gods and Goddesses organized themselves, and set about the work of trying to heal the lingering damage the war had caused. Some places were never completely healed, and there are distant parts of the world that still think that ancient war rages….but that’s a story for another time.
Silverhoof, The Horse Lord
History
Before the War, Silverhoof was the bonded companion of a Paladin. Called by his ally’s faith, Silverhoof served ably as a steed, and warhorse for him. As his ally grew in experience and power, Silverhoof became smarter, and started to serve as a councilor for his companion. They rode across their world, bringing good deeds and great victories against the forces of evil. When his companion was called by Grandfather Oak, Silverhoof came with him.
During the War, they were inseparable as always, and they carried several battles. They rallied the horse clans of the Amber Sea to the cause, and swept against strongholds of the horrors of the Me’Ah’Chin in great waves. The cost of those battles was terrible, and in the last battle that Silverhoof fought, his Paladin was killed saving him from one of those horrors. Bereft of his companion, Silverhoof abandoned the war, and retreated into the Amber Sea.
After the War, the remaining heroes finally coaxed Silverhoof out of his malaise, and brought him to the garden. They’d taken a vote, and none doubted his bravery or his concern for the world around him. They offered him the divinity that his companion had been promised. He reluctantly accepted, and became the Horse Lord, and the patron of the clans of the Amber Sea.
Relations with Others
Silverhoof is a deity that is focused almost exclusively on his chosen domain and the mortals he claims as his people. He rarely gets involved in divine politics, but is counted as an ally to Adelia, the Goddess of Nature, and both of the old fey gods. He has no enemies, mostly because he isn’t involved with the wider world.
Relations with Servants
Silverhoof created both pegasi and unicorns after his ascenion, and they are his most common divine servants. Each of the horse clans has taken one of his divine servants as their standard, and it’s very easy to distinguish them by their color choices. The greatest honor that a new clan can be bestowed is a new divine servant created for their banner. In such cases, the newly made divine servant is often personally tasked with overseeing the prosperity of the new clan.
Relations with Mortals
Silverhoof tends to leave his mortal followers alone so long as they take care of the Amber Sea. Wild herds of horses of exceptional quality are often found in the Amber Sea, and Centaur herds are known to roam the less traveled parts of the Amber Sea. He takes a particular dim view of people who abuse animals, especially horses and other beasts of burden, and his clerics are on the lookout for the wellbeing of animals everywhere.
Unusual Sayings
“Neigh” Silverhoof is still a horse at heart, and often voices his displeasure with a neigh that rumbles like thunder. His clerics use this as a call to worship, a closing for ceremonies, and as a vigorous disapproval.
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