Biographies (2/2)
While typically associated with insects of all types, he is not known to have a sacred animal. Instead, his sacred texts tend to elevate spirits and other energy based lifeforms.
Personality:
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Of all of the Creator Gods, Lysande is credited with being the most rational and contemplative. Detractors might call him dry or unfeeling, but he is simply unconcerned with the mundane. While usually calm, in the presence of the new and unknown he becomes a passionate researcher, and will often go to extremes to track down the information he wants. He does not often speak in the presence of others, but when he does, his words carry great weight.
With the exception of Yilon, Lysande is the Creator God who is least involved in mortal affairs. He rarely answers prayers, and his clergy cannot expect much of anything from him. This has given him the reputation of being an absent and uncaring deity. As a result, he is rather unpopular with the common people.
This is not to say that he's completely unconcerned with the people of Ea. On the contrary, he often intercedes in a minor capacity to give subtle inspiration to deep thinkers like philosophers, inventors, and scientists. Many magical and technological discoveries have come about due to his subtle influence.
His clergy and temples are almost universal concentrated in areas of learning and knowledge, with scholars and mages being his most ardent followers. He holds a special place in the hearts of those who work with books and there are few authors or researchers who don't offer him a prayer before starting a new task.
Among the other gods, he is largely a recluse, rarely leaving his home realm. The Ascended tend to see him as being aloof and unapproachable, but those who manage to encounter him while he's in a rare talkative mood will be regaled with rare tidbits of knowledge. Whether or not such information is useful is typically inconsequential to Lysande.
Contrary to what might be expected, he actually has a fairly strong following among the Ascended, albeit a fractious and disunited one. His laissez-faire attitude to most things outside of his interests makes him quite popular for members of the Ascended who chafe under rules and restrictions. He also tends to get along with those gods outside of the major factions. As a result, he can be surprisingly influential under the right circumstances.
When interacting with his fellow Creator Gods, Lysande prefers to maintain a professional cordiality, with one notable exception. He has a very unstable romantic relationship with Teun. They seem to go through cycles of passionate love affairs, domestic bliss, arguments, break-ups and eventually reconciliations.
Spheres of Influence
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Lysande governs the Aspects of the Stars, Magic, Knowledge, Wind, Invention, and to a lesser extent Civilization and Cities. As he is essentially the god of Technology, he carries a fair amount of influence with nearly every facet of life for humanoid beings.
In some regions of the world, he's also associated with the, as of yet, unclaimed Aspect of Death. While he officially denies any involvement, it often falls to him to maintain this portion of Ea's Destiny since his sense of responsibility will not let such a vital part of the fabric of reality go unmanaged. Until a reliable God of Death appears amongst the Ascended, he will likely continue this thankless duty.
Much like the Twins, his following in primarily urban, but even more restricted. His temples are rarely found outside of places of learning or inventions, and are virtually unheard of in most rural communities. Of all regions, he is perhaps most heavily worshiped in Cadun, The City of Spells, where the Mage's Guild is based.
That said, it is not uncommon to encounter a traveling priest of Lysande in the midst of conducting field research. All members of his clergy are required to acquire and catalogue knowledge as part of their advancement in the church, and first-hand experience is viewed as being the most valuable. As such, there are a number of small and isolated societies whose only experience with organized religion might be a travel-worn priest of the God of Knowledge barging into their lives with a battery of seemingly nonsensical questions.
Lysande is the patron god of the Star Elves, and one of the Triune of Mirithia. Most Star Elf communities are little more than isolated and self-contained monasteries where the mysteries of the universe are explored, thanks in large part to the race's talent for nearly all forms of magic. He is also rather influential among Moon Elves due to his role as the God of Magic, which remains a point of contention between him and the Twins.
Dwarves and beastmen rarely worship the god, with only a small segment of their race's intellectual elite paying him homage. He is often associated with elves and humans far more than other races, something that makes him a little unpalatable to those outside of those particular groups. That said, it is not unheard of for dwarven craftsmen to offer up a prayer to the Lord of Invention when experimenting with new techniques.
Outside of major humanoid communities, Lysande has little following. Only rarely do sentient monsters even know of his existence. The noted exception being the sphinxes of the Shimmering Desert, who are best known for their penchant for intellectual puzzles and riddles.
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Teun
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Also known as the Mistress of the Earthen Realm, Ruler of All That Grows, Giver of Life, Mother of Instinct, and a host of regional names and titles, Teun is one of the Five Creator Gods of Ea.
Like all of the greater gods, she has no definite form, but usually appears as a statuesque women with skin the color of rich earth and tangled, vine-like growth in place of hair. As the goddess most frequently associated with physical passion and lust, she is known to have an enchanting and seductive air. Few among the Ascended can resist her charms, and even her fellow Creators are known to fall prey to her persuasion when she's seeking a favor.
Teun is commonly associated with plants and mammals, and her sacred creature is the Treant.
Personality
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Vivacious and mercurial, Teun is a goddess of passion who embraces emotion and embodies the principle of living in the moment. She is the most direct of the Creators, often boldly stating her opinion with no thought to how it might derail the conversation, something that irritates Aminatrea greatly.
Detractors often call her reckless and impulsive, prone to sudden mood swings. To her adherents, however, she is bold and adventurous, unwilling to waste time on overly complex plans when action is required. This is not to say she doesn't exercise some degree of forethought, merely that long-term consequences rarely factor into her decision making process.
Teun, thanks to her role as the goddess of life is easily the most popular deity amongst mortals. Rural communities are nearly universal in their devotion to her. This is especially true in the case of farmers, miners, and those who work with the soil. As such, her church is by far the largest and most diverse, spanning nearly every race and region.
She is quite popular among her fellow gods, but rarely has the wherewithal to maintain a strong faction. As such, she tends to ally with one of the other Creator Gods when making major decisions, lending what support she can muster to their causes. Teun is in an unstable romantic relationship with Lysande, which is often leads to intense drama between the two celestial entities. However, this has not stopped her from taking on a number of lovers among the Ascended, and even the occasional mortal.
Spheres of Influence
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Teun governs the Aspects of Earth, Life, Plants, Animals, Passion, and Instinct. She is often associated with Fertility, and to a lesser degree, Marriage. As such, most wedding ceremonies in the Inland Sea Region are partially dedicated to her.
Because of her involvement with nature and natural processes, virtually every person who makes their livelihood off the land pays her some degree of homage. From the hunter offering a silent prayer before his fires his arrow, to the farmer planting seeds blessed by a Teundan priest. From the miners requesting safe passage through her domain, to the expectant mother pleading for a safe delivery. When combined with her role as the supposed source of carnal pleasure, she is understandably the most popular goddess in the pantheon. A fact that continues to irritate Aminatrea to no end.
With few exceptions, the various races of Ea routinely worship her, with her most fervent supporters being the many tribes of beastmen. Most of their rituals and traditions stem from the worship of one of her Aspects. Teun is also the patron of the dwarves, who focus primarily on her role as the goddess of Earth, and by extension, all the lies within the ground.
Not all of her followers are benign, however, and several primitive monster tribes worship her as the Mistress of the Hunt and Goddess of Hunger. They pay homage through ritual sacrifices and feasts, which is all too often composed of their sentient victims.
Similarly, vampires, ghouls, and those types of undead that must feed to survive are also frequent worshipers of hers. However, she is often superseded in their hearts by certain members of the Ascended that more closely align with their worldview.
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Yilon
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Also known as the God of the Void, Master of Entropy, Manifestation of Oblivion, The Veil of Hidden Truths, and a handful of local and regional titles, Yilon is one of the Five Creator Gods of Ea.
It appears as a sphere of impenetrable darkness which seems to absorb the light and heat from its surrounds. Although it likely has the capacity for taking on other forms, it has never done so.
Yilon is not associated with any kind of living thing, nor does it have a sacred creature.
Personality
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Its questionable if this mysterious being even feels emotions in the traditional sense. When necessary, it speaks in a blunt monotone, rarely taking any side in a conflict between the Creators. Indeed, it rarely seems to have any opinion at all, and instead appears to be content with merely maintaining the status quo.
Yilon never involves itself in mortal affairs. As such, it has little in the way of followers on Ea. A few desperate or insane individuals will offer up prayers to the Manifestation of Oblivion, wishing for an end to all things, but even these requests go unfulfilled. Although it has no real clergy, Yilon is still included in major temples dedicated to the Creators, ensuring that its existence is not forgotten by mortals.
Among the Ascended, it is viewed as a strange and somewhat terrifying entity. Thanks to its tendency to slowly absorb the divinity of the lesser gods in its vicinity, Yilon has no faction to speak of. However, on the rare occasions that it offers an actual suggestion, its fellow Creators usually go along with it. Whether this is because they recognize the being's wisdom, or merely fear the repercussions of ignoring it, remains unclear.
Spheres of Influence
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Yilon governs the Aspects of Void, Entropy, Space, Time, the Unknown, and the Apocalypse. Its role as the master of the unseen underbelly of Ea's cosmic structure means that it is also the only being that truly understands the workings of the System. At times, it has been referred to by the other Creators as the Administrator.
Outside of a few obscure theological treatises, little is known about Yilon on Ea. Most major cities have at least some small shrine dedicated to the entity, usually funded by the other churches, but most sentient beings prefer to pretend that it doesn't exist. Not many can comfortably acknowledge the eventual end of all things, a concept it embodies as the Herald of the Apocalypse.
Despite its usual tendency towards non-involvement, Yilon is somehow the patron god of the void elves, a mysterious race of beings said to inhabit a shadowy realm known as Nocturnis. They, along with many of realm's inhabitants, tend to worship the God of the Void to the exclusion of all others, something that remains rather troubling for the other Creators.
Outside of Nocturnis, Yilon has little presence. Some apocalyptic cults pray to it, and a few Demon Lords are said to be in its employ, but neither group seems to have any real backing from the Master of Entropy.
Of course, no one is truly sure just how much influence it has on the System itself, and whether or not it makes use of it.