Chicanery

## Description

Chicanery created gnomes, and he is the god of cheats and liars. He governs gambling, deception, betrayal, isolation, planning, and secrets. He is worshipped by criminals and others who wish to subvert the rules. Chicanery is also associated with undead, who's souls are said follow his path back from the afterlife. It is said that Chicanery was once a mortal who was the first to escape the underworld. Cheating death this way likely set him on a path to join the pantheon.

## Myths

The tales told of Chicanery's deeds speak of his duplicity, cunning, and wit.

### The Path of Chicanery

Chicanery was once a mortal who, like all mortals, passed on to Macabre's care in the afterlife when his time among the living came to an end. But Chicanery found a way to escape the Underworld by sacrificing his identity to the memory-draining waters therein. He was able to cross the Astral Sea wrapped in a shred of Ouroboros' cloak. Since he had no identity, Ouroboros couldn't detect him, and thus Macabre couldn't use his great lash to pull Chicanery back. When he emerged back into the realm of mortals, he did so as the first of the undead. In time, others discovered this quandary of metaphysics, which is now known as the Path of Chicanery.

### Black Oak of Ortus

Before Ortus became a necropolis, it was a thriving city akin to Horizon or Taernsby. When the city fell before Chicanery's assembled forces, some of the populace begged the god of lies to spare them the touch of Macabre's dread lash. Never one to miss an opportunity to cheat Macabre, Chicanery made a solemn promise to those asking for his mercy, assuring them that they wouldn't be forced into the afterlife, on his honor. Soon afterward, the undead that had invaded the city murdered these people to the last one, whereupon Chicanery, true to his word, bound their bodies and souls to a great oak, making a terrifying amalgam of undeath to guard Ortus and haunt the living for eternity.

### Feud with Senescence

A pair of accomplished hunters, both fervent followers of Senescence, had a bet with one another to prove who was better with a bow. After countless tests found them equally matched, the hunters' rivalry drew Chicanery's attention. Assuming the form of a dryad, Chicanery goaded and taunted the hunters. Though amusing at first, Chicanery's words cut deep, making the hunters careless. Thus, when the dryad suggested a blindfolded test of marksmanship, the hunters agreed. Once blinded, Chicanery positioned the hunters to shoot one another. In the moment they fired, though, Senescence noticed Chicanery's trick. She curved her hunters' arrows mid-flight and multiplied their number. Chicanery's disguise shattered as he was riddled with arrows that pinned him to a great tree. Senescence appeared to the trapped god, mocked his pointless duplicity, and warned him never to threaten her followers again. She then left him to struggle free from the deeply embedded arrows, an escape that took him over a week. During that time, the god concocted plot after plot to have his revenge on Senescence. Some tales claim that this embarrassment directly led to tragedy for Senescence's favorite dryad companion, while others warn that Chicanery's revenge has only just begun.

### A Shift of Personality

Chicanery is the god of all forms of trickery, including the most harmless. While he still presides over the harmless form of trickery, it is far overshadowed by the more cruel and twisted variety. Though he was not always as bleak in his ways. When a Kobold god rose to power and attempted to share the domain of trickery with Chicanery, but no god would be willing to share their power, and certainly not their followers. As such, Chicanery killed the usurper assuring his rightful dominance over the domain of trickery. He is not the only god to have killed another, but no other has been as heavily affected as Chicanery. And he has since become much more cruel in his ways in order to assure no other dares to try it again. This is the reason for the bitter feud that continues to this day between the kobolds and the gnomes.