Ashoc, Instruments of Chaos

### Introduction

Ashoc is the great deceiver, a god of true unpredictability. Being a god of Chaos, they are an easy scapegoat to blame when things go wrong and many cultures perceive them as evil because of this. Unlike most gods, who acquire Grace from worship and carrying out rituals, Ashoc’s source of power also comes from hatred of their being. Despite all the stigma surrounding Ashoc, they are not inherently a bad god, even going out of their way to do good things sometimes. The main reason people perceive them as a dark god is because chaos defies order and when bad things happen, they are an easy god to blame due to natural fickleness of fate and the inability of the common person to predict it.

Ashoc is not actually a term for one god, but three entities that comprise one greater being. Though they can combine to become one, they seldom do on the mortal plane. The three smaller entities consist of; Valeria, Mother of Thought, Vesquin, Disruptor of Fate Fate, and Khamos, Curator of Nature. Though they get power in their own unique ways, all their grace is shared amongst them, presumably being sent through a conduit to do so. Each Instrument is in control of their own type of chaos per se, all combining to work flawlessly, yet against each other at the same time. Followers often worship Ashoc as a whole, but few who know through esoteric texts often worship one of the Instruments in particular, being able to concentrate their power and maintain one’s grace considerably easier.

### Valeria, Mother of Thought

Valeria is the Instrument of Consciousness. She is the master of abstract concepts that only beings of sentience can understand. She reigns over ideology, thoughts, creativity, crime, and any other concepts made by intelligent beings. Due to her being a part of a greater being of chaos, her nature actively resists order. She often regaled herself by watching humans and other races, inherently chaotic beings, attempt to seek order, only for her to disrupt them for her amusement.

Her followers are often those of urban living and philosophers, who use her power to better understand themselves and their peers. They are often amazing at planning and subverting human expectations, and because of this, those with darker intentions often make complex schemes that very few outside of the religion could understand. Her followers' pragmatic attitudes are often followed by a disregard for natural beauty and preservation of the environment. They are also extremely more likely to be corrupt, or have a disregard for human life if it is to allow them to progress their own goals. She often rewards those who kill someone in secret rather than brutalizing someone in public, though she will also accept honorable duels, as honor is one of her concepts.

### Vesquin, Disruptor of Fate

Vesquin actively defies and warps fate around them, going against the natural order of the world. Whether it’s bending fate to perform a blessing or a curse, their actions actively defy Yul’ser and his followers. Though they defy the god of time in nature, they are not a harsh or cruel god, actually being the most benevolent of the trinity of chaos. They often grant miracles and actively bend fate to allow for people who do not even worship them to accomplish what could be considered impossible feats when they need it the most. At the same time, he will set things in motion that will cause massive loss of life and destruction simply because fate did not allow it.

Vequin’s followers are just as fickle as they are, often falling into two main groups. One group dedicates themselves to better the world, often trying to defy fate to save those cursed by it. The other group is the smaller group, being ones who scheme to bend fate in ways that would only benefit them. These two groups often clash against each other because of the differences in morals. There are small outliers of groups that do not abide by either philosophy, but they often make no impact as a whole. Followers of Vequin are granted the ability of foresight, albeit weak and practically uncontrollable. Their followers often use this to avoid dangerous situations, warning their comrades of a potentially dangerous situation. The foresight as said above is completely random, and those who get it often experience them in dreams, where it is difficult to discern between reality and a dream. Most are not aware of a future prediction until the moment it happens, where they have just minutes to seconds to change fate to save them or those who they intend to protect.

### Khamos, Curator of Nature

Khamos is the Instrument of chaos that curates natural chaos. He presides over chaos in nature, from prey and predation to natural disasters. Not to be confused with Astrafus, he mainly concentrates on the extremes of nature, whereas Astrafus monitors nature in general. He enjoys nature overtaking civilization and often colludes with Valeria to carry out his will. It’s also speculated that he and his servants decide if beings close to death should live or not. People who had near death experiences had seen him or his servants telling them that they are not ready. Because of this, it’s speculated that they also take those who die to be judged.

His followers are often those who live more rurally, in small villages or in complete isolation. They often do not embrace the luxuries of society and do not understand the stigma of death. His followers are often considered more in tune with nature, gaining a sixth sense per se that allows them to avoid danger much more effectively. The instruments of chaos are often fickle and this sixth sense is not always consistent, forcing someone out of nature or closer to objects not made of nature will often disrupt their powers. His followers often despite urbanization and other complex concepts, resulting in clashes with those who worship Valeria, even if the two gods work closely together. His followers are often the opposite of Valeria, being shut in and uncomfortable around people, despising conversations to the point that an unaware person would just think they are madmen.

### Ashoc, Orchestra of Chaos

On extremely rare occasions, all three Instruments will formulate into one being to walk the earth. When this happens, Ashoc is born again into a new body. In this state, he is most unpredictable, allowing himself to alter the course of history using world changing events. Those who venerate him either want to see great miracles performed for a dying world, or for a world to be destroyed altogether. He is a god of extremes, rarely picking a middle ground. Where he steps, the environment shifts and the ground changes material, as the air crackles and warps in his presence. Those who view him often go mad trying to comprehend his ever-changing form. Worshippers of Ashoc often struggle to remain in his grace because of how unpredictable he is, but those who maintain it are often the most powerful of the Ashoc worshippers, being able to tap into all sects of Ashoc’s power. Those that are able to do that are the ones who often change the world.

### Muses of Chaos

The closest servants to Ashoc are none other than his twisted form of angels. Though holy in essence, their forms are twisted and malformed to barely even resemble their brethren. Instead of following one of the three beings that make up Ashoc, they follow all three, often choosing their orders one at a time instead of dedicating themselves. The muses often perform tasks like ensuring a plan, no matter how impossibly nonsensical it is, is carried out. A peculiarity is that they also regulate the amount of chaos an event can and the following events can have, often safeguarding the timeline from complete annihilation by either Ashoc’s or the Mortal Race’s doings.

When carrying out the dealings of an individual Instrument, their agenda varies to fit the orders, becoming a personification of one of the god’s traits. A muse carrying out Valeria’s orders could be sowing the seeds of corruption in a political figure one day and then the next they regulate Khamos’s wrath when he does a natural disaster. One would think that this could lead to conflicts between the Instruments and factionism amongst the Muses, but somehow, this works almost flawlessly. Perhaps this is because the Instruments are technically one god and thus all have the same end goal. Or perhaps, something more powerful is keeping them in check, preventing infighting amongst them to ensure things run smoothly. Due to how functional their relationship is, the Instruments view their Muses as children, thus, if one gets injured, those who had harmed it should expect the wrath of all three Instruments without regulation from the other Muses, who are too busy tending to their brethren.