Ilemer

## God of Trade, Commerce and Fortune

* Artwork
* Symbol

Ilemer, also known as the Goldhand and the Guildmaster's Master, is a member of the Ahlusian Pantheon known as the Principal Sixteen.

He is the God of Trade, Commerce and Fortune.

## Commandments

* Never turn down an opportunity when it presents itself, particularly when it facilitates the betterment of yourself and others alike.
* Words, whether spoken upon lips or shaped by ink, often prove to be more potent than any sharpened blade or bloodied fist.
* Remain watchful for the greed of the Undying Queen, for she would hoard the riches that are better spent.

## Holy Day

Writ's End takes place on the 30th day of Otealt, the last day of the third month. During the day annual contracts are revisited by the involved parties for matters of modification, alteration, renewal or cessation. Contracts can be broken on Writ's End without fear of repercussion in matters of criminal law, although civil law may still stand. In time, Writ's End has become a more general celebration of commerce and guilds often compete to throw the most lavish parties in the streets around the headquarters.

## During Aita's Second Gift

During Aita's Gift, Ilemer was said to have placed gold, silver and all manner of precious materials through the earth, teaching the peoples their worth and showing them how to barter and trade to further their own goals and that of those around them. He is also credited with the creation of the first metallic dragons of Ahlus long before the Second Gift, as well as Coautls - which are considered by most as his chosen celestial messengers.

## Exarchs

The matter of the Goldhand's Exarch is a curious one, for two seemingly worthy candidates have found themselves well known throughout the Realms, making no undertakings but those dedicated to furthering the goals of Ilemer. Forging alliances, provisioning trade and prosperity, offering counsel to employers and employees alike, it is undeniably assumed by many that one, if not both were serving Exarchs in their heyday and prime. This was particularly true for the Coautl Chaklinas when they were associated with the Silver Dragon Xorithromlax, another creation of Ilemer, whom served Tohmos the True as their Exarch at the time. Standing fast against many foes side-by-side, and seemingly comparable in zealotry and might, it would be easy to assume that Chaklinas was the Guildmaster's Master's chosen - and although undoubtedly powerful and a core ally in the service of Ilemer, as aforementioned, Exarch Chaklinas was not.

Likewise, named as they were as "Ilemer's Drake", further folk would be forgiven to assume that the Gold Dragon Xelzintarth was the serving Exarch of Ilemer. Having resided upon the soil and stone of Ahlus long before the arrival of the Principal Races, Xelzintarth was said to have been created during the conflicts that took place after Aita's First Gift, when primordials, fiends of the hells and abyss alike and other forces from beyond attempted to lay claim to the lands shaped by Caihrnn. Leading vast numbers of metallic dragons of all kinds, Xelzintarth largely retired from conflict with the stabilisation of the continent, and has since acted much more as a counsellor to the Principal Races in matters of peace and war alike, in place of a warrior to shield them from threats directly.

Despite this, the identity of Ilemer's Exarch is instead known only to a lesser few, a truth cited for several reasons. First and foremost, the identity of the individual spurned a religious schism when it was revealed to the Archpriest of the Goldhand in a vision within the High Temple of Mannefeld, with many acolytes seeking to besmirch Ilemer in response, shifting predominately faith to that of Theamera, Tohmos or Vyra. Dubbing Ilemer instead the "Fiend's Friend", many have come to accept the purpose and lesson in Ilemer's acknowledgement of the Archdevil Focalor, said to have been first forged during their former master Mammon's attempts to leech the precious ores of the newly forged Ahlusian continent from the soil and stone to bolster his own riches. Having served as the Viscount of Minauros' seneschal for an eternity, Focalor worked to manage the administration, diplomacy and security of the Third Hell in his master's frequent absences, and thus was made responsible for the attempted incursions after Aita's First Gift at his master's behest. While seemingly loyal, Focalor had long despised Mammon, considering him both incompetent and irresponsible - and thus had his mind opened when he encountered Ilemer upon the deific battlefields, pledging himself in service to the Goldhand. Initially hesitant and expecting of a beguiling fiend, Ilemer presented unto Focalor an eternal contract of service, to be reviewed each Writ's End for continued and/or updated terms. No such amendments has supposedly been made, nor has Focalor acted in any manner but that befitting of his newfound patron - and has since largely resided in the City of Brass in the Elemental Plane of Fire. His position within the city is twofold, first in acknowledgement of the shining beacon of trade and commerce that the city serves across the planes, but secondly to provide ongoing petition to the vizier of the Grand Sultan to end the slave trade and transition instead to mutually beneficial contractual terms. It is believed this goal, considered impossible by many, is on the verge of completion, although outlier groups clinging to traditional values remain particularly vocal.

## Conciliator

Known as Conciliator, the Remnant artifact of Ilemer served as a statement of its given name in more ways that one. Said to be a huge shield shaped of mithral, silver and gold, it was capable of provisioning protection for entire armies when wielded by Ilemer himself, forcing violent conflicts into stalemates of conquest instead managed through parley and dialogue. Little is known of the battles before Aita's Second Gift, for written histories fail to stretch back as such owing primarily to the simple truth of the absence of the Principal Races, but legends and ballads shaped from prophecy and dreams talk of the shield standing fast against the fiery might of the Balefyre, proving unyielding against the hoards of the Demon Lord Acherontia, and insurmountable to the might of the Battle Chief.

Later in the campaigns of conflict, spurned by their rivalry, Ilemer and the Undying Queen fell into a terrible and divine combat, sundering the peaks that they strode atop so greatly that they ground them into the dusts carried across what would become the Aurochs Plains. As Ilemer turned to offer aid to Veth as the Walking One conjured rainfall to dilute the swathes of acid spilled across the soil and stone by the Corroded One - the Primordial Elemental Prince Vapocaenum - the Undying Queen rended Conciliator in twain with the artifact blade Avarice. As she revelled in her victory, the Undying Queen found herself promptly decieved by the Lord of Nessus, whom has held her trapped with Avernus ever since - and so the disruption of her triumph further enrages the flames of hatred felt towards both Asmodeus and Ilemer.

Of further mystery is what happened to the sullied shield after its desecration. Most sagas sing and talk of a reforging, a creation anew from the fragments, but few agree on the nature of the final creation. Some believe that the gold, silver and all manner of precious metals laced through the earth are what became of Consiliator, hence Ilemer's commandments to use the coinage wrought from such ores to bolster, protect and improve one's self and those around them. Others instead take a more literal approach, suggesting a new shield was made, one with will and autonomy of its own as to further serve the Goldhand, regardless of where his attention might currently lie.