The Deities

The deities of this pantheon have always been around but their presence was not truly felt until they stepped into their role during the Era of the Gods. They are divided here into their relative alignments. Good aligned deities of the Higher Planes are openly worshiped in most major towns, and even some of the neutral deities of the Midplanes can find temples in cities. Deities of the Nether Planes are only worshiped in secret. Clergy of the respective deities don't always fight or even get along like their patrons might, each clergy having their own motivations and moral compass.

## Higher Planes

The Higher Planes include the planes of Mount Celestia, Bytopia, Elysium, The Beastlands, and Arborea. These also include all the celestials and good outsiders, not to mention any of the gods with mostly good alignments. Deities that reside in these planes include:

Aubade (NG) - God of the sun, healing, agriculture, spring, and lightCasdonna (LG) - Goddess of community, life, home, and summerIsbrea (CG) - Goddess of beauty, love, joy, and fertilityMorkai (NG) - God of the seas, wind, travel, and luckGallant (LG) - God of valor, strength, honor, courage, and chivalryAncillia (CG) - Goddess of the moon, stars, divination, fate, and illusion
## Midplanes

The Midplanes includes the mostly neutral planes. They are divided into the lawful planes (Archeron, Mechanus, and Arcadia) and the chaotic planes (Ysgard, Limbo, and Pandemonium). These also include all the mostly neutral outsiders and any gods with mostly neutral alignment. Deities that reside here include:

Khanos (LN) - God of death and winterLorkayn (TN) - God of knowledge and magicLuontu (CN) - God of nature, wilderness, and ElvesMyndel (TN) - Goddess of trade, wealth, crafts, and commerceTolujar (CN) - God of storms, tempest, oceans, and lakesTulgga (LN) - Goddess of invention, forge, fire, and ash
## Nether Planes

The Nether Planes include the planes of The Abyss, Carceri, Hades, Gehenna, and The Nine Hells. These also include any fiends and evil outsiders, plus any of the deities who have a mostly evil alignment. Deities that maintain residences here include:

Malasar (NE) - Goddess of lies, trickery, poisons, spiders, and assassinsXorlog (CE) - God of war and discordOlum (NE) - God of evil secrets, betrayal, and undeadVane (LE) - God of tyranny, murder, envy, greed, and slaughter
## Creation Myth

#### In The Beginning

Before recorded history or even mythological history, there was just chaos. Over time, maybe even millions of years, the chaos began to change. The particles or essence of this chaos began to sort. The light particles began to rise, the darker ones falling below. Eventually these particles coalesced into forms. The light particles formed the Higher Planes, or planes of good. The darker particles formed the Nether Planes, or planes of evil.

All the particles that remained in the middle formed the Midplanes, or planes of neutrality, and the Prime Material Plane, which is the world of Arcane Sanctum. The Midplanes floated outside the Prime Material Plane. The space in between all these worlds eventually became known as the Astral Plane.

Within the Higher Planes was Mount Celestia, Bytopia, Elysium, The Beastlands, and Arborea. Within the Nether Planes was The Abyss, Carceri, Hades, Gehenna, and The Nine Hells. The Midplanes were divided into two sections, one lawful, the other chaotic. The lawful Midplanes were Archeron, Mechanus, and Arcadia. The chaotic Midplanes were Ysgard, Limbo, and Pandemonium.

With the creation of this universe, a interesting side effect was the creation of the Ethereal Plane, which was a mirrored, coterminous version of the entire universe and could often be used for travel between planes.

#### The Gods

From these new planes, the deities were born, each of them similarly aligned to the plane that bore them. To the Higher Planes were born Aubade, Casdonna, Isbrea, Morkai, Gallant, and Ancillia. To the Midplanes were born Khanos, Lorkayn, Luontu, Tulgga, and Myndel. To the Nether Planes were born Tolujar, Malasar, Xorlog, Olum, and Vane.

For a long time, these deities stayed in their planes, crafting their domains and interacting with like-minded deities. Eventually, some of them looked out beyond their domain and decided to investigate the Prime Material Plane in the center.

#### The War

The deities of the Higher Planes and the Nether Planes fought over the Prime Material Plane. The deities of the Midplanes usually stayed out of the fight. Two deities, whose names who have been lost in history, were casualties in this war. When they died, their essence spread over the world, creating two different planes that were coterminous with the Prime Material Plane. These two planes became known as the Feywild and the Shadowfell. It is assumed these unnamed deities were gods or goddesses of the fey and shadows, but only the deities themselves actually remember them.

After enough battles and casualties, the deities decided to stay in their realms. The agreement was to leave the Prime Material Plane as neutral ground, but all the deities secretly influence the worlds from a distance.

#### The People

Another of the unforeseen consequences of the war between the deities was the accidental creation of life. Magic and divine power were being shot across our world and all that energy created the races of the world. The Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes, Orcs, and Halflings all became sentient races that began to thrive on their own.

Some of the creatures that served the deities in the war were left behind as well, explaining the origins of dragons, magical beast, and strange creatures. The mingling between these creatures and the civilized races led to the spawning of Tieflings and Dragonborn as well.