Deities of Sephailend

Different deities that people of Sephailend believe in.

## The Prism Pantheon

The name for the main religion of Sephailend (also called Prismatic or Chromatic), composed by a pantheon of seven elemental dragons. There is an eighth one, but it's not considered part of the main pantheon anymore.

Each dragon stands for a concept and a color of the rainbow, and also are in order of power and appearance.

* **Virseth**, the Dragon of Sun, also called the First Dragon and Father of All (Red)
* **Mavthor**, the Dragon of Stone (Orange)
* **Araqine**, the Dragon of Fortune (Yellow)
* **Faenthie**, the Dragon of Harvests (Green)
* **Siondral**, the Dragon of Air (Light Blue)
* **Naldyr**, the Dragon of the Seas (Indigo)
* **Myrrilth**, the Dragon of Magic (Purple)

### Rhezerya

Rhezerya, also known as the Eighth Dragon, Dragon of the Night, or the Betrayer, is a deity and a dragon that was once part of the Prism Pantheon but diversed from them and formed her own cult. It's associated with the Underworld and the tieflings, as it's said they are her children.

## Lesser deities

There are several cults throughout Sephailend which pay homage to the so-called lesser deities, most of them being deities of old which faith had been displaced by the faith on the Prism Pantheon, and their influences scattered in very determined territories and almost obsolete in some cases. Followers of said deities are often prosecuted or rather pointed out as outcasts and lunatics when worshipping in the open. Still, the worship remains constant and as long as it isn't perceived as a public menace, it's generally ignored by faith enforcers.

Some of these known deities are:

* **Marlene**, Matron of Corvids, Goddess of Deceit and Secrets and Mistress of the Dark
* **Grohakh**, spirit god of the Oqruk people, God of War and Fair Retribution
* **Idunn**, Goddess of Justice and Chivalry, Keeper of Horses
* **Svarog**, God of Revelry and Subterfuge, Lord of Vines and Patron of Art
* **Fachtna**, God of Hunt and Strife, Master of Felines
* Heavenly dragons in Mingyun
* **Hui Fen**, a trickster goddess from Mingyun. It is considered patron of fox spirits.
* **Cernunnos**, arch fey, God of Abundance and patron of werewolves and shapeshifters

### Fallen deities

These deities, fallen from grace, have lost all followers and influence, and are shadows of what once were. They're often a result of punishment for misdeeds and failures, and they have been lost to oblivion to mortals. Some of them have donned mortal identities to survive. Most deities consider these fallen gods as cautionary tales, or directly forget them as well.

* **Dazbog**, former god of Strength and Compassion, for a time Keeper of the Underworld's Gates
* **Chunhui**, former heavenly dragon, now in a cycle of eternal reincarnation as a mortal wanderer

## Interaction with the world

> "*Pray that you are never being noticed by the gods. It is seldomly a good thing*"
>
>

It is extremely rare that deities notice mortals, even their followers or worshippers, as they view mortalkind as naturally inferior, something they are bound to watch for and protect but little else. However, the truth is that without those believers, they would never have influence nor power, and without influence and tributes they would extinguish themselves, becoming a shadow of what they were. As it is, the more extended the worship of a god is and the more tributes they are paid, the more powerful they are.

As a fact, the semblance of gods when on the mortal plane is very much the one mortals imagine them to be, and the one that holds representation in that very plane. If mortals believe a god is beautiful beyond compare, their beauty will pale everything in the world. If they believe a god has a beastly semblance, then they will appear with a form of a beast.

It's not unheard of from gods to choose mortal bodies to interact with the world even if it often displeases them, for many different reasons. These vessels have diminished power, as they are only fleshy avatars and easily disposable, but some aspects or domains about them still remains whatever is the disguise they choose. In the very exceptional cases a divine intervention is performed, there will be always something in the act that precedes the gods' presence: a scent in the air, some manifestation of one of the god's domain in question, or they would even personate themselves.

### The Chosen Ones

It is true that sometimes, gods play favorites on mortals; some even fall in love with them. If a mortal has gotten their attention enough to be noteworthy of them, they will receive a blessing of one of the domains the god represents and a boon, and they would become their Chosen, Champions or even paladins if the mortal swears an oath to the deity. This is just as much of a good as a bad thing, for the favor of the gods can be easily revoked if slighted. Whatever the case is, the mortal's life will never be the same again, as the air of divine favor or, in the case this is reversed, curse will always be around them from that moment on.

Some noticeable Champions, Chosen or Paladins of gods are:

* Klauss Akerfeldt, husband and paladin of Marlene
* Gwenael Hargreaves, messenger to Marlene
* Xanthos Koróne, paladin of Rhezerya
* Therion, champion of Araqine
* Beleth Ashner, chosen of Svarog
* Maeve Ashner, chosen of Dazbog

## Offspring and demigods

The question of gods reproducing themselves in some way is somewhat preposterous, as they are immortal and can live for millenia, but, as it happens, gods do have offspring. Sometimes as a will of their manifestation, to leave a mark on the world, or as a result of laying with a mortal and either the god on their vessel form or the mortal carrying the birth to term, producing demigods.

These offspring and demigods carry some aspect of the divinity of their parents, but either they carry a domain of their very own and ascend to godhood in very multiple ways, or, in the case of demigods, they remain mortal in all the other aspects of their life, with only some semblance of their parent's heritance on them. They can either be unremarkable or become heroes, whatever the course in life they choose.

Some divine offspring and demigods are:

* Ishkandar, Riviera and Lavi, children of Marlene and Chthonic Gods of the Underworld
* Chunhui, son of Siondral, wind spirit
* Kalyna, daughter of Faenthie and Goddess of Flourishing and Fertility
* Erikel and Reginn Akerfeldt, children of Marlene and Klauss
* Alecto and Thalía, children of Damokles (Virseth in a mortal vessel)
* Anya, half sister to Svarog