Digend

Digend is the god of Chaos. The youngest god of Hireath, only recently brought into tangible existence by centuries of scattered worship. 
Digend is the patron god and creator of Allagi, and the people of Asylon. He is also worshipped by the sadistic Cult of Digend, and is the unofficial patron of all wanderers of Hireath. Poorly understood by the larger societies of Hireath, Digend has only recently begun the long route to be accepted as a true god like his older “siblings”.
Although Digend is genderless, like all gods, in his current incarnation he prefers he/him.
== Mythology ==
Digend is a god with many faces, many names and many dissonant stories around him. Although he is less controversial than some of the gods of the old pantheon, like Ignacio or Alya, this is more so due to his relative obscurity. The Cult version of Digend was, for many years, the primary aspect of Digend known to denizens of Hireath, and even that was not widely known outside their own circles.
The originally less-known, but increasingly popular second interpretation, divergent from the bloodthirsty Cult god was always that of a kind, protective deity, associated with luck and positive change. This version of Digend is thought to be the original one, sought for protection by the wandering Vagabonds.
The third, modern version of Digend is that of a god who champions change, societal upheaval and breaking of old norms and traditions. He is a god of pacts and deals, eager to work with mortals rather than rule them. It is this version of Digend, with elements of the second interpretation, that is slowly becoming known to the herds of Hireath. This modern Digend is closely associated with, and often symbolized by, moths. 
Even though Digend himself is not yet well-known, his sphere of change, luck, fortune, evolution and randomness is becoming more apparent with each change Hireath, and even its gods, face. It remains to be seen how the theology of each herd develops around Digend, and how his values and sphere may come to fit within their belief systems.
Digend is not mythologically associated with other gods, as knowledge of him is still relatively new and limited. Those who have met Digend will often mention his outspoken opposition to the old gods and their ways, although others claim that he is in fact allied with Argus.
== The Cult of Digend Interpretations ==
The Cult of Digend is perhaps the oldest “organized” group worshipping Digend as their main patron, although even their understanding and vision of the god has changed over time. For centuries, Digend has granted occasional, jumbled dreams and visions to their Ascendants, and Channelers, and although his ability to communicate slowly became clearer, the established cultist canon often colored these visions.
To the Cult, Digend is a bloodthirsty, dark god who was brought into existence by the destruction and utter hopelessness of the God’s War, of which he is the manifestation. To them, Digend is primarily a god of chaos and evermoving energy - violent, unpredictable and relishing in bloodshed, a god to be feared as much as he is to be revered. He is believed to demand bloodshed, and to receive the souls of those killed by his followers as servants bound to his will until the end of time.
The Cult never had a unified vision of Digend’s appearance, with each Ascendant giving a completely dissonant description of the specter in their dreams. Most commonly, however, he took the shape of a large, dark stallion, often with skeletal features, fires, spines or other frightening elements.
To the Cult, Digend’s symbol is a skull wearing an upside-down crown. For hundreds of years, this was the only symbol used to depict the god, and remains the only symbol actively used by cultists today.
==Worship ==
Although the worship of Digend has existed in some rudimentary form for nearly thousand years, for almost his entire history this worship has been limited to a very small number of devotees, almost exclusively Vagabonds. Even today, as he has grown into a “true” God, Digend remains an obscure deity, yet to be officially recognized into any of the herd pantheons. 
It is said Digend enjoys personal gifts as a sign of commitment - especially hoof-crafted small items or trophies. 
=== Organized Herds ===
None of the organized herds have yet recognized Digend as an official deity, good or bad. Perhaps this will soon change.
=== Asylon ===
The denizens in Digend’s own territories see Digend as a kind, understanding, protective and attentive god. To them, Digend is without equal, and although some choose to worship other gods - either as relics of their old herd lives or simply out of habit - almost all profess love to Digend first and foremost. Digend is seen less as a parental figure, and more as a guide and friend. He is believed to be personally invested in the lives of each of his followers.
Not chaos, but rather change and fortune are the most honored aspects to people of Asylon. The scary, aggressive or violent aspects of Digend are not worshipped, although his followers do generally recognize that at times, violence may be needed to elicit the necessary changes.
=== Cult of Digend ===
To Cultists, to celebrate chaos is to cause it. Digend’s worship is synonymous with anarchy, destruction of order, breaking of taboos and laws, and violence. Cultists believe their acts, especially violent ones, further strengthen their god, and that should they die in his service, they will be welcomed into his eternal army of spirits. 
While the peaceful Vagabond ancestors of the faction merely embraced chaos, modern day Cultists embrace it, and are exclusively devoted to Digend. They believe Digend is the cause of any great disaster or upheaval, and praise him for it - and, indeed, seek to cause more mayhem in his name.
Across the years, only a few herd horses had enough contact with Cultists to learn of their beliefs - even the War-Forged, who most frequently interacted with them, knew next to nothing of their strange god. The cultist worship of Digend is thus relegated to a cultural footnote or a scary bedtime story, rather than a widely known or held belief system.
== History ==
Following the devastation of the God’s War, and the departure of the gods from mortal realms, the denizens of Hireath were left in a changed world. In the years of recovery and instability that followed, the first Vagabonds of Hireath were truly born - a few independent souls became thousands of lost souls, ripped from the world they knew and the gods that had sheltered them. Losing faith and growing disillusioned with the old pantheon that had failed them, some chose to send prayers to a void; hoping, dreaming, that someone was listening.
It was from this faith of the original Vagabonds that the Ungod was born. At first, he was a mere shared dream, a thought, a whisper without a name. He could hear the prayers of the scattered, and in return, he would give them good fortune. Powerless to do much more, powerless to even see the world that called to him, Digend lived in isolation, a ghost accompanied only by the occasional prayer.
So it was for centuries. Slowly, Digend grew stronger - and angrier. The anguish of the abandoned souls of Hireath beckoned to him, and he grew bitter at the old gods who had abandoned this world and its people.
Over time, one group came to be particularly devoted to him, and one day, Digend managed to appear to one of them in a dream. So came the first Ascendant, and through the scattered and jumbled visions, the Cult of Digend came to spread Digend’s name and his element, chaos, across Hireath. Through generations they carried on bloody traditions, and the unshakeable belief that their god of Chaos was not only real, but, as their Ascendants told them, that one day this Ungod would rise, and rule the world.
It was through their devotion that he grew more powerful. Generations of faithful bled and died for Digend, and he recalled each of their names, and with each repeating of the cycle he was stronger still. Like the gods, he too learned to project his consciousness to a mortal body, but such attempts always died young. Desperate to connect, he kept trying, and seeking out new minds open to his influence, just as the first Ascendant had been.
=== In-Game Events ===
Finally, in late 1700, he manifested in a rudimentary form, confined into a place known as The Pit in central Sirith. He was unfinished, then, a colorless foal with a featureless face and an amalgamation of ideas and features. He was weak, but finally, he had taken form as a God, rather than a mortal.
It was in this form that Digend responded to the summonings of the Wordsmith Gathering of 1701, showing them his “birth” and making the promise to not abandon them. Soon after, his new reach allowed him to manifest a new body - now sparkled with color, and shaped like a youth rather than a child. In spring 1701, Digend was freed from the Pit, and was ready to move about Hireath.
During the next year, he created the Five Towers of Digend, the City of Asylon, and appeared to mortals countless times, increasing his influence far further than it ever had before. Eager to abandon the idea of being a simplistic, bloodthirsty god, Digend embraces Hireath, even as he seeks to change it.
== Blessings ==
Digend has the unique ability to corrupt the blessings of other gods, and for a year after he manifested on Hireath, he could only grant these corrupted blessings. Recently, Digend has developed blessings of his own, each seemingly representing a corrupted aspect of the old pantheon. Digend’s blessings are, as a result, quite the varied bunch.
Standard Blessings
Holy Blessings
Corrupted Blessings
== Places of Worship ==
Due to having been worshipped mostly by nomads for centuries, Digend has no permanent temples or shrines anywhere on Hireath that would have been constructed in his name. Instead, he has carved his own holy sites into existence.
Particularly pious Cultists are known to create temporary makeshift "shrines" out of the resting places of their victims, but these function more as markers of their blood sacrifices to Digend than as places of prayer, although significant sites (such as scenes of previous Nights of Bloodletting) may be returned to for prayer later on.
=== Asylon ===
Main Article: City of Asylon
The city of Asylon was constructed by Digend in the summer of 1701, and is the largest gathering of her followers anywhere on Hireath. Although the city is not explicitly a place of worship, its status as a place the god personally created and gifted to his followers makes it a holy site in its own right.
The city also houses the Sanctuary, one of Digend’s two homes on Hireath, which acts as his temple. 
=== Dikos ===
Main Article: City of Dikos
Like Asylon before it, Dikos is considered particularly important as a site for the worship of Digend, and is the capital of Digend’s new continent, Allagi. Founded in summer 1702, it is quickly coming to rival Asylon in size.
This city is home to the Opal Tower, Digend’s sixt and final tower, as well as his home and temple on Allagi.
=== The Towers of Digend ===
Main Article: Towers of Digend
The Towers of Digend are five unnatural constructs, one on each of Hireath’s old continents. They were created by the Ungod, but each was in part raised by the help of mortals. These towers act as places of pilgrimage and worship, and help lead people to Asylon.
=== The Pit ===
For around 3 months, Digend lived in a place known as The Pit in Sirith - a deep hole in the earth from which his voice could be heard, and those who visited him there would receive responses from the god. After Digend abandoned this site in spring 1701, it has remained empty, and is no longer visited by devotees or curious souls.
Category:Gods
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