32 The Albedi Pantheon
The Eidetic Gods of the Albedi Pantheon are enigmatic, ancient and powerful entities of which not much is currently known outside of the folklore and legends of the Albedian people. In older times of the Midnight Age, it was discovered that at least some of these beings are imprisoned, with a few of them even having escaped their prisons.
Following the end of the Creators' Monomachy in 513 of the Midnight Age, most of the Albedi Pantheon are now free to go about Their duties, though some, either too dangerous or too traitorous to be free, remain in chains.
The Pious Wards in Delve are a place of religion and worship for the Albedi Pantheon. Here we will transcribe the names of the known Albedi Gods, their current status if it is known, and who you can talk to in Delve to learn a little bit more about them. More information will be added to individual help files on each God, as they become known.
The Mhun worship seven of these Gods as the great Spirits of the Mhun people. While covering the Mhun's version of worship and knowledge of these Gods is beyond the scope of this help file, you can find out more by reading the book Nhusema Kuy, by Queen Nesvenai of Moghedu.
Unlike the sanctified Divine Orders of Sapience, the worshippers of Albedi Gods are aligned to many different unofficial cults, owing in part due to the eons of their Gods' disappearance. Some Gods will even have multiple cults, each with their own interpretation of that God.
Footnotes
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1) Some individual players may know more of certain Gods than what is covered here. This is intentionally being filled out only with knowledge we consider widespread or accessible enough to be public.
2) Remember that outside of details observed from actual appearances of the Gods, these are details that are narrated by NPCs drawing upon their folklore and legends. As is the nature of such, they are not 100% reliable sources and differences may occur when the Gods are observed.
THE ESCHATON
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Status: Working the loom of Creation.
Info: He above all others. The most revered God of the Albedi Pantheon, known to the Albedian people as the great creator of the Helm, and a watchful observer. Known to have some relation to the moon, which is referred to by the Albedians as 'the Eschaton Moon'. It is considered massive disrespect to refer to the Eschaton by His true name, which was revealed to be "Idaltu" at the very end of the Worldeater Saga. Having spent eons battling Varian in an eternal stalemate, the Creators' Monomachy reached a fatal conclusion at the end of the year 513 and, with Varian having fled Creation, the Eschaton now presides over both Sapience and Aetolia as Supreme Creator.
THE GODS OF THE HELM
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"There is a tale of the Eschaton, looking upon His great creation and furrowing His brow in thought so the Helm might be born of His sweat."
- Scrivener Talas.
"Naught but the Eschaton's will itself could strike down the Helm. In unison, They are the manifest will of Creation. Even the Faceless God of Chaos balks from Their gaze. Were They not so involved with Their own realms and vigils, they would be terrifying."
- Bruut, Hand of the Helm.
The Helm are a trio of Gods directly created by the Eschaton to oversee and maintain critical functions of reality. Bruut, Hand of the Helm, in Delve talks a little about each of Them.
+ Odravh, the Abyssal
Status: Freed from His prison, details in EVENTS 160.
Info: God of the Arcane. Singlehandedly repelled almost the entire Sapience Pantheon after being freed. After His freedom, He started work on repairing the planes which caused tremors in the ley responsible for the madness that caused the dissolution of the Shapeshifter guilds. Throughout the tumult of the Creators' Monomachy, Odravh appeared on two occasions to hold reality together by sheer force of will when, by consequence of the duelling Makers, ylemnic and planar instability all but threatened to tear the worlds apart.
+ Ilimos, the Rampant
Status: Unknown.
Info: They are the heartbeat of world, the ticking of life. Little else is currently known about It, save for what Bruut talks about. Notably, the Eschaton left Ilimos imprisoned at the very end of the Monomachy, deigning It too dangerous and too mad to be set loose.
+ Aechros, the Endless
Status: Unknown.
Info: God of Time and Constructs. Little else is known about this God, save for what Bruut talks about.
"Aechros. He is the eldest, for before Him there was no time. At the Dawn, it was Aechros who was cast from the Eschaton and spake the First Word. Favoured of machinists, those for whom precision and space are vital."
- Bruut, Hand of the Helm.
THE FUNDAMENTALS
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Not directly created by the Eschaton* or the Helm, the Fundamentals are born from and otherwise govern core concepts of existence.
+ Ohlsana, the Shadow Mother.
Status: Freed during the Second War of Night, locked in battle with Dejaani.
Info: Considered one of the greatest threats known to Sapience. All those who draw upon the power of the Shadow Plane are susceptible to Her influence and risk becoming Shadowbound. This risk became terrifyingly apparent during the final battle of the Second War of Night when Ohlsana, freed from Her prison, effortlessly subsumed the wills of all but a handful of mortals across Sapience.
+ Dejaani, the Guardian of the First Flame
Status: Freed during the Second War of Night, locked in battle with Ohlsana.
Info: Goddess of the Sun and of Battle. Born of the Spirit Plane, She finds a natural enemy in Ohlsana and there are many legends of the two coming together in calamitous clashes. A temple to Her is maintained by the Auric Guard in the Pious Wards. Grand Master Tovak referred to Aban, the Duamvi, as a Herald of Dejaani, though Aban himself was confused by this. Commonly known as the Merciless Light, Dejaani's arrival upon the Prime during the denouement of the Second War of Night brought with it untold devastation, Her flames igniting the whole world as She battled with Her forever nemesis.
+ The Faceless One
Status: Awakened, freed by the Eschaton at the end of the Monomachy.
Info: God of Chaos. Infamously known as Lanu Du amongst the Nazedha and fervently worshipped by them, His true name is unknown. He is feared by many, and is one of the few Albedi Gods not represented in the Pious Wards - worship of Him in Delve is punishable by death. Responsible for the destruction of Enorian during the War of Night simply by stirring in His sleep (READNEWS EVENTS 193).
* It must be noted that while the Fundamentals were not directly created, all Creation is divested from the will and mind of the Eschaton, and His Pantheon acts under His grand, unknowable design.
+ Muadi, the Gatekeeper
Status: Freed, details in READNEWS EVENTS 203-206.
Info: God of Death. Original maintainer of the Plane of Death. Sundered the Abyss upon His release, where Dhar imprisoned souls He considered to be reprehensible. It is currently unknown what He is doing since His release. There is a temple to Muadi in the Pious Wards, where Ibram Nasser will talk about Him in more detail.
THE ELEMENTAL GODS OF TUMULT
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According to Albedi legend, the Gods of Tumult and Accord were formed during an ancient clash between Dejaani and Ohlsana. Those of the Tumult are the Gods who were imbued with the essence of Ohlsana, and the God of each element is considered a 'twin' to their Accord counterpart. Tithyen, in the Pious Wards of Delve, talks about the Gods of Tumult.
+ Yvalamon, the Fury
Status: Freed, details in EVENTS 210.
Info: A bloodthirsty God of Fire well-known for its battlelust. Its current whereabouts are unknown since its attempt to destroy the aeonic confluence of Aechros (EVENTS 273 onwards).
+ The Walker
Status: Freed?
Info: God of Air with a fickle nature, surrounded by many unverified rumours. Known by many titles, but the Walker is His most common. While worship of Him is not outright banned in Delve, He is rarely spoken of, and only then in hushed superstitious whispers. A small few Sapients claim to have been subjects of the God's amusements, their proof being possession of a cursed faceless coin that represents Him. Said to have sunk a temple of Damariel.
+ Balgraug, the Devourer
Status: Freed by the Eschaton at the end of the Monomachy.
Info: God of Earth that devours all, embodying the eventual destruction of all things. In recent history, an exiled Earthern Warlord named Grumagh, fervent follower of Balgraug, led an army upon Bloodloch in an attempt to break a seal on Balgraug's prison. At the end of the Creators' Monomachy, Balgraug was set free from imprisonment by the Eschaton and devoured the Pillars of the Earth, fulfilling the earthen prophecies of damnation foretold in the Apocalyptia. It was this act which forced Ivoln, the Sapient God of the Earth, to take up eternal vigil holding the Prime and Earth planes apart from each other to prevent absolute destruction.
+ Jox, the Serpent
Status: Was Dreaming, details in READNEWS EVENTS 245. Now freed by the Eschaton at the end of the Monomachy.
Info: God of Water and the embodiment of oceans and storms. It is said that the leviathan race was spawned from Him. When set free at the conclusion of the Monomachy, Jox was cast into the eastern ocean where It vanished in a storm of massive waves.
THE ELEMENTAL GODS OF ACCORD
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According to Albedi legend, the Gods of Tumult and Accord were formed during an ancient clash between Dejaani and Ohlsana. Those of the Accord are the Gods who were imbued with the essence of Dejaani, and the God of each element is considered a 'twin' to their Tumult counterpart. Hruan, in the Pious Wards of Delve, talks about the Gods of Accord.
+ Seelis, the Harlot
Status: Destroyed by Bamathis during the Creators' Monomachy.
Info: God of Fire, embodying temptations, desires and emotions. Many brothels hold small shrines to Her and offer libations for good luck. Little is known about Seelis, and most are reluctant to mention Her due to Her association with prostitutes and adultery.
+ Heva, the Speaker
Status: Freed, details in READNEWS EVENTS 219-220.
Info: God of Air, known as the Giver of Breath amongst the Atav of Sapience. Recently, a cult to Her by the name of the Azure Guard has sprung up on Sapience. Her current whereabouts are unknown since Her freedom.
+ Gereghond, the Bull
Status: Freed by the Eschaton at the end of the Monomachy.
Info: This God of Earth is a God of many natures, representing both fertility and harvest, as well as the necessity of war to protect one's herd. Set free from His prison on Tcanna at the end of the Monomachy, the Bull Elephant God rampaged across the Island, spreading His fertile seed and coaxing an incredible amount of new growth in both fauna and flora, before departing to Albedos.
+ Kaj, the Child
Status: Freedom by Enorian during the Creators' Monomachy.
Info: God of Water and the embodiment of rivers and drinking holes. He has wide-spread worship amidst the people of the desert Bonro region of Albedos, where an oasis is seen as His blessing upon the land.
