Bogovi

## The Bogovi

### Known Aliases

The Rus, Slavic Gods, Czech Gods, Russian Gods, Serbian Gods, Slovene Gods, Ukrainian Gods, Gods of the Slavs

### Identity

Public Identity
(Believed to be Mythical by Most Persons)

## Membership

### Current Members

Khors, Dažbog, Jarilo, Mokosh, Morana, Radegast, Stribog, Svantovit, Svarožic, Veles, Živa, Zorya, and others

## Summary

Gods of the ancient Slavs, a people who stretched from the frozen reaches of Russia to the more hospitable climes of southern Germany and Poland, the Bogovi are ancient and nearly forgotten in the modern world, relics of a bygone era. Being forgotten by humanity is no hardship for them; however, the Bogovi are supreme adapters and chameleons, able to become part of any culture and survive its influence with their own unique character.

They are gods of the natural balance of the universe, the ebb and flow of tides, seasons, and mankind itself, and they can never be eradicated by such a small thing as the loss of worship. The Bogovi are as flexible as reeds, as hardy as the earth, and as entrenched as the permafrost of their northern lands; they have never been conquered and do not consider it boastful to assume that they never will be.

In fact, the Bogovi are not at all absent from the world, though their current forms are more subtle than the larger-than-life imprints some other pantheons leave on the world. The Slavic gods have colored and flavored every memory of their people for centuries, influencing their myths, folktales, and even rival religions so naturally that humanity is entirely unaware of their influence and other pantheons can only shrug in wonder. Though many cultures have invaded and conquered their lands over their long lives – the Greeks, the Persians, and the Norse, to name only a few, sometimes accompanied by their own gods – the Bogovi have never worried that they would be supplanted. Invaders inevitably find themselves settling down and "going native", becoming part of the unique Slavic world within a few generations; even intruding gods find themselves at a loss as to why they somehow cannot make their mark permanently in the Slavic lands.

The Bogovi are as flexible as reeds, as hardy as the earth, and as entrenched as the permafrost of their northern lands; they have never been conquered and do not consider it boastful to assume that they never will be.

### Modern Times

The Slavic gods have not been directly heard from in a very long time, almost to the point of being completely forgotten by humanity; this is intentional and, in fact, the result of the divine law laid down by Svarožic (supposedly under Rod's commands) that the gods should not meddle in the affairs of humans. The law was made long ago in order to allow humanity to grow on its own without the pressure of divine interference, and, for the most part (aside from a few major and severely punished incidents), it has worked, making the Bogovi more absentee deities than those of most other pantheons. They do not lack interest in humanity (they are quite avid observers of their people's doings and inventions); they simply choose not to inflict their divine presence upon them.

## Trivia and Notes

### Trivia

* To those sensitive to magic, the Bogovi smell like rich, loamy earth after a heavy rain; accompanied by the rustling of dried, cracked leaves in fall.

### Notes

* Bogovi is the Slavic word for "gods". Its singular form is "Bog".