Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Deities, Divinities and Truly Scary Things Pt. 18

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 oldest gods for the setting, The North Wind. Before i get started on him, 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.  

The North Wind, The Uncrowned King

History

Before the War, there were many children of Oak and Lion.  Most took after one of their two parents, and were either elemental concepts, like the winds or storms, or were great predator beasts that stalked the land.  These were the first of the Archfey and with time, they built a great kingdom of honor, nobility, and grandeur.  They worshipped their parents as gods, and built a great civilization.  The North Wind was the youngest of Grandfather Oak’s disciples, and ruled in his father’s stead.  War came swiftly, and the devastation was massive.  
During the War, The North Wind led his people to war, and saw their strength diminished in the tide.  Time wore away the strength of the Fey, and he was the last of his father’s children.  The rest of the Fey were scattered and broken by the war, and The North Wind carried the weight of his people on his own shoulders.  He fought in every major battle of the war, and was a fierce opponent of the invaders that had destroyed his people.  
After the War, The North Wind spent much of his time gathering the ancient secrets and powers of his lost kin.  Eventually he gathered all of those lost artifacts and treasures in a secret vault, and took his place as the emissary between the Fey and the new Gods.  He spends much of his time at court, but keeps a watchful eye over the grove where his parents spend their time.  

Relations with Others

The North Wind is a cordial god who maintains pleasant relationships with most other deities.  He does not get along well with the Silverback, who decries as a peasant barbarian pretending at being a general.  He has few friends with the other god aside from Bannock, who views as a kindred soul.  

Relations with Servants

All but two of The North Wind’s servants guard the ancient vault where the lost magic of the fey is kept.  They are devoted servants who allow no entry into their vault without the blessing of The North Wind.  His other servants watch over the Grove where Grandfather Oak slumbers.   

Relations with Mortals

The North Wind is virtually forgotten by most mortals and only the most isolated communities of elves and fey maintain his worship.  His clerics are watchmen who guard their groves and sacred places from the intrusions of others, and in many cases are the first line of alert that something is wrong in the forests.  

Unusual Sayings

“I stand in stewardship until the Suns burn brightest.”  The North Wind is at his core, a protector and a watchman.  All of his clerics understand that though the watch may be long, it is not an eternal one, and there will come a time when they can set their blades aside.  














 
 


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